AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE

In order to understand the lives of Lehár, Kálmán and Oscar Straus and some of the references in The Merry Widow, Countess Maritza and A Waltz Dream, it is necessary to know something of the political situation in Central Europe in the early twentieth century.

They were both born into what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the remnant of what had been the Holy Roman Empire which had once covered most of Europe. Weakened after the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the Holy Roman Empire finally fell apart at the time of Napoleon, and the Holy Roman Emperor became the Emperor of Austria. Although dismembered, the Austro-Hungarian Empire still covered much of Central Europe including today's Hungary, Austria, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Transylvania (now in Romania), and parts of Italy, Yugoslavia and Poland. Theoretically Austria and Hungary were separate states, but they were ruled as one.

This is the country in which these three composers were born (Kálmán in Moravia now part of the Czech Republic, Lehár of Moravian descent but born in what is now Slovakia, and Straus in Vienna). Although the Hungarians had their own unique language and culture, and Austria and the Habsburg emperors were German, politically they were one country and people. Artists and the upper classes moved freely between the twin capitals of Budapest and Vienna. Their music reflected their dual heritage, especially in the use of the dances, the Viennese waltz and the Hungarian csárdás. In addition, Gypsies and their music often play a prominent part. (There are a number of web sites which have maps showing before and after states of the Empire. For example:
http://www.hapsburg.com/menu.htm and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Hungarian_Empire - near the end of the article. )

At the end of World War I, this Empire was divided into several smaller states, particularly Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Countess Maritza appeared in 1924 and Kálmán set it in 'A Balkan country near the Hungarian border', that is, in a country which had just been separated from Hungary. While set in Paris, most of the characters in The Merry Widow are Moldavian. Moldavia is a thinly disguised Montenegro. A Waltz Dream takes place in "a nearby country".

Many of the characters of Countess Maritza have Hungarian names and traditions. Disguised as a farm manager, Tassilo uses the purely Hungarian alias Béla Törek. Formerly the toast of both Vienna and Budapest, his real name is Count Endrödy-Wittenburg, a combination of Hungarian and German names. He sings longingly of his former life in Vienna. Prince Moritz Dragomir Popolescu has a mixture of German and Romanian names. Maritza's many estates, in what was once one country, are now in several of the Balkan states. They and the characters of The Merry Widow are just as at home in Vienna as in Hungary. The names of some of the characters in The Merry Widow come from Montenegro

World War I brought other changes. Vienna, formerly the seat of the Empire, became the capital of a much smaller country. It was no longer a force in European politics, but the upper-class Viennese tried to keep up the old traditions in their palaces: a life of balls, casinos, theatre, horse races and similar amusements. Countess Maritza reflects all of this. However, things soon began to change dramatically.

The Anschluss
The depression took a heavy toll on Vienna and many Austrians looked for unification with Germany as a solution to their problems. The rise of Hitler tempered this to some extent but, although the Treaty of Versailles had specifically prohibited the attachment of Austria to Germany, much popular support among the Austrians remained.

Göring and Hitler issued a forged telegram purporting to be a request from the Austrian Government for German troops to enter Austria and, on March 12, 1938, they did. Simultaneously there was a well-planned internal overthrow of the government by the Austrian Nazi party. No fighting took place; most Austrians greeted the Germans with cheers, and Hitler was soon in Vienna to proclaim the Austrian Anschluss. Within a few days all of Austria was in his hands, and it ceased to exist as an independent nation. One of the many results was the persecution of Austrian Jews which caused Kálmán and Straus to leave . Although his wife and many of his friends were Jewish, Lehár decided to stay.

The Anschluss was declared null and void after world War II, but Austria did not become fully sovereign until 1957.