Ribbentrop returned to the German Embassy, where he answered an urgent letter from Hitler, asking what Britain would do if Germany invaded Austria. “I am convinced,” replied the Foreign Minister, “that England of her own accord will do nothing in regard to it at present, but that she would exert a moderating influence on the other powers.”22 When Hitler read these words he was exultant. “It’s exactly as I thought,” he told Reinhard Spitzy. “We needn’t fear any complications from over there.”
