Partisans would have murdered him had they known of his existence. Anton and remote wooded areas north of Milan. Until December 1948, when he was finally cleared by the allies, he lived in St. Like millions of others he was denied the means to support himself or his family. Upon Germany’s defeat, the conductor was persecuted by the forces of occupation. Herbert von Karajan represented the culture of the Third Reich. His was a life of grueling hard work, ingenuity, and God-given talent. No one can read of Karajan’s struggle for fame without admiration for his tenacity. His was a period dominated by the celebrated Furtwangler and Toscanini. As they neared the ruins, bombed by the USAF then looted, von Karajan expressed deep sadness, “there is no monument to him.” Roger Vaughan, the conductor’s biographer, tells of the time they drove through Berchtesgaden and up winding forested roads to Adolf Hitler’s mountain home. The conductor’s esteem for Hitler endured and not once did he deny his membership. He carried a German issue NSDAP card (#3 430 914) despite it being illegal for an Austrian to be a member. He had the distinction of being a member twice over. His membership card carries the number #1 607 525. Herbert von Karajan joined the National Socialist Deutsche Arbeit Partei (NSDAP) within weeks of Hitler’s election. The maestro earned the respect of iconic sportsmen.
The multi-lingual Austrian-German piloted his own aircraft, fixed wing and helicopter.
At the age of 54 he descended Mont Blanc on skis. On water he had few equals: a gifted water skier, he sailed super yachts and was a scuba diving virtuoso. Yet, he was also a mountain climber, drove Formula One supercars, and enjoyed fast motorcycling. Herbert von Karajan (1908 ~ 1989) is regarded as the greatest orchestral conductor ever to mount the podium.