Already in 1937 Bela Bartók stated his position (in a letter to a Swiss patron): Originally we had intended to go to Italy; but my hatred against Italy has grown so much that I just cannot bring myself to enter the country. However, they say that Austria has been drenched by the Nazi poison as well.” Following the Austrian “Anschluss” (annexation) he terminated the business relationship with his Vienna publisher. Already prior to this he had been able to stay in Switzerland thanks to his patron Paul Sacher. Finally he emigrated – already seriously ill – to the USA, where he died in 1945, the year of the war’s end. – With the expiry of protection, selected orchestral works will be published in “Breitkopf Urtext” as from 2016.