Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - what was his nationality at the time of his birth?

[Red Gold]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - what was his nationality at the time of his birth?​

 

[Red Gold]

I say:

He was lots of things - but no Austrian

 

[Red Gold]

Here is a good answer:

If we could ask Mozart himself if he was German, he would definitely answer “YES”. If we could ask him if he was born in Austria, he would definitely answer “NO”. So, for his time, Mozart was most certainly German, and not Austrian.

Things get messier later on, because history changes territories, definitions, and perceptions, and things get difficult if you try to adapt historical facts to modern concepts.

The very nature of your question is quite modern. Up to the late 19th Century, the idea of “Austrian” and “German” being mutually exclusive terms would be perceived as the most preposterous absurd. Saying Austrians were not Germans would be exactly the same as saying Bavarian people were not German. This is because, before 1871, there was no unified Germany and, thus, “German” was not a word to refer to a specific country, but to a broad ethno-linguistic group, of which Mozart (as well as the Austrians) was part of.

More:

Was Mozart German or Austrian?

Answer (1 of 10): If we could ask Mozart himself if he was German, he would definitely answer “YES”. If we could ask him if he was born in Austria, he would definitely answer “NO”. So, for his time, Mozart was most certainly German, and not Austrian. Things get messier later on, because history ...

www.quora.com

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Lol. I'm gonna go against the grain and say he was indeed an Austrian.

 

[Red Gold]

• Total voters 3

 

[Red Gold]

and say he was indeed an Austrian.

Reason?

 

[Red Gold]

I say:

Everything except Austrian

 

[Red Gold]

110

 

[Red Gold]

Lol. I'm gonna go against the grain and say he was indeed an Austrian.

May I ask again: What makes you think that Mozart was Austrian?

 

[Benjamin Müller]

Mozart moved on to Vienna to make a name for himself. I have found that people of particular ethnicity tend to settle where they are comfortable socially, and not just for business reason. The fact he remained in Austrian territory, to me, seems that genetic-wise, he is more Austrian than German.

The difference between Germans and Austrians is like finding the difference between Canadians and Americans. Lol.

 

[Red Gold]

The difference between Germans and Austrians is like finding the difference between Canadians and Americans. Lol.

In Mozart's time Austria was an intergral part of Germany.
Like Texas and Florida and California are integral parts of the USA.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

If you want to go based on territory and boundaries then one could say he's a German; but ethnically, I think he leans Austrian.

 

[Red Gold]

• Total voters 4

I hope for a 5th voter

 

[Red Gold]

There is one detail about the "Anschluss" that I did not know:

“At first the plan was to install Hitler as head of government for two countries. But then the jubilation of the crowds created a new dynamic, so that they said 'we will drop the provisional solution',” Rathkolb explains.

Hitler didn’t hesitate for long. On March 13th, he issued a decree of union, stating that “Austria is a part of the German Reich.”

The “Anschluss” between the two countries was to be total - it even meant that Austrians had to switch from driving on the left to driving on the right like the Germans.

‘Hitler didn’t intend to annex Austria so quickly, then the joyful crowds changed his mind’

It is almost exactly 80 years since Hitler’s Wehrmacht marched into Austria. But while the dictator was after Austrian gold, he didn’t immediately intend to annex the country of his birth, a historian in Vienna claims.

www.thelocal.de

 

[Red Gold]

Did you know?

For 20 years, half of Austria drove on the right-hand side, while the other half drove on the left. The story of Austria's shift from left to right is one of politics, the death and birth of empires, Napoleon and Hitler. Here's what you need to know.

The story of how half of Austria drove on the left and half on the right - for 20 years

For 20 years, half of Austria drove on the right-hand side, while the other half drove on the left. The story of Austria's shift from left to right is one of politics, the death and birth of empires, Napoleon and Hitler. Here's what you need to know.

www.thelocal.at

 

[hislegacy]

He was born

27 January 1756 Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg

At the time, it was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Map it and you find this:

Right in the middle of Austria. His Nationality at time of Birth? Part of the Holy Roman Empire for the last several hundred years - Austrian.

What possible difference does it make?

 

[Red Gold]

He was born

27 January 1756 Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg

At the time, it was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Map it and you find this:

View attachment 332358

Right in the middle of Austria. His Nationality at time of Birth? Part of the Holy Roman Empire for the last several hundred years - Austrian.

Yes, Mozart was a citizen of the Holy Roman Empire.
And at the time of his birth Salzburg was not part of the Austrian region within it.
So he was all sorts of things - but NOT an Austrian.


Q. E. D.

 

[Red Gold]

He was born

27 January 1756 Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg

At the time, it was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Map it and you find this:

View attachment 332358

What possible difference does it make?

It is just a question of interest!

And it is NOT a "stupid" question.

Just let me ask it.

 

[Red Gold]

5 voters ....

As I see, the interest in my stupid question is over-whelming.

A pity.

 

[Red Gold]

as i also see:

255 views - and just 5 votes

I know that there is no law that one must vote.

But I find it really sad and dis-apointing, if a thread is seen 255 times - and there are only 5 voters.