Complex sentence: To help a friend in the banking business, Auguste Caroline Lammer (1885--1937), von Trapp withdrew most of his money from London and deposited it in an Austrian bank; unfortunately, it failed, wiping out most of the family's fortune.
Split into simpler sentences: To help a friend, Auguste Caroline Lammer (1885--1937), in the banking business, von Trapp withdrew most of his money from London and deposited it in an Austrian bank. The Austrian bank thereafter failed, wiping out most of the family's fortune.