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Herr Zeller

Hans Zeller was the Gauleiter of Salzburg under Nazi Germany. Zeller was an Austrian Nazi Party member until the Anschluss, when he was appointed the Nazi Party's regional representative in Salzburg.

Biography[]

Hans Zeller was born in Salzburg, Austria-Hungary, and he served in the army during World War I. During the Interwar period, Zeller sympathized with the Nazi Party, and he formed a rivalry with Captain Georg von Trapp, a fellow Austrian World War I veteran, due to Von Trapp's dislike of Nazism. At a ball held by Von Trapp at his villa in 1938, Zeller ridiculed Von Trapp's obvious display of the Austrian flag in the hallway while talking with another guest, as he believed in German nationalism instead of Austrian independence.

Zeller was appointed the new gauleiter of Austria under Adolf Hitler after the Austrian authorities agreed to the Anschluss annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany, and Zeller attempted to force Von Trapp to head to Bremerhaven in Germany to join the Kriegsmarine navy of Nazi Germany, also forcing him to hang the Nazi flag from his mansion. However, the Von Trapp family escaped Austria after the Salzburg Festival with the help of the local Catholic nuns, and Zeller was unable to stop them.

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