Denis Fodor wrote:

>I was stationed in Vienna in 1945 and remember attending some concerts
>there, a couple in the winter, when the audience kept on overcoats to
>contend with the lack of heating.

I remember my mother telling me about a concert she attended during the 50s
in Berlin or Vienna.  The hall had been rebuilt and was supposed to have
been sufficiently heated but she felt cold and decided to keep her coat on.

An usher came and told her she had to take off her coat and check it.

My mother, still having it up to here w/ Germans/Austrians telling her
what to do (expecially as to what garments she should remove, which still
had some ugly connotations), angrily refused.  There was a confrontation.
My mother heard the concert w/ her coat on.  Thank God we won the war!

Walter Meyer