“Is Hitler going to start the war before we get back at the end of the first week of September?” he asked, half in jest. Gans zu Putlitz did not smile. “On present plans the attack on Poland starts on 26 August but it may be postponed for a week, so if I were you, I’d cancel the trip.” Elliott swiftly reported this “startling statement” to Klop, who passed it on to London.
