Austria and Hitler: How ‘The Sound of Music’ Distorts History

The Sound of Music is a popular, tuneful and enduring American film. But its portrayal of history, and especially its depiction of the 1938 union of Austria with the German Reich is a gross distortion of reality. In fact, the vast majority of Austrians joyfully welcomed the union (Anschluss) of their homeland with National Socialist Germany, and strongly, even enthusiastically, supported the Hitler government.