German Ambassador, held of value to German interests, and which I myself attended. Things couldn't go on that way.

I went to Berlin to see Herr von NEURATH and demanded that he put BOHLE, recently promoted to a State Secretaryship in the Foreign Office, in his place. Herr von NEURATH was too weak to do this. This man BOHLE had done so much harm abroad; his proteges, all "Landesleiter" (Nazi Party chiefs for a foreign country) had done nothing but blunder around. The man's promotion to State Secretary meant by no means a curb on him. On the contrary: He now ruled in the Foreign Office, too. Thus I had no other choice but open opposition against this Party chieftain. Until the end of my career I have continued the sharpest opposition against this vermin who gnawed away our esteem abroad. I will come back to this later. (Ankara Peace Case.)

Even after the Austrian government entrusted the direction of the "Kulturbund" to the excellent, spirited, and tactful Baron HAMMERSTEIN, the "Auslandsorganisation" did not change its pugnacious attitude towards me. In this connection I will never forget the mediating hand of our revered friend, Countess Elsa THUN-LUETZOW.

This peaceful work was interrupted again and again by the unchecked dynamics of Austrian National Socialists, of whom a large number were still imprisoned in the concentration camps. One summer evening I was at Kammeram-Attersee with my relations, when suddenly several hundred young fellows of the surrounding communities made me a big ovation. There were flowers, patriotic songs, a speech, etc. I was rather embarrassed, for I knew that proceedings would immediately be instituted not only against the hotel owner, but also against the participants. Herr SCHUSCHNIGG would undoubtedly assume I had ordered the demonstration. In the end it would become quite impossible for me to travel about the country, without fear that "sympathizers" would try to exploit my movements politically. On my return to Vienna I immediately sensed a great annoyance at the federal chancery [Bundeskanzleramt]; all my protests of innocence were regarded skeptically. Proceedings were instituted against the hotel owner and the demonstrators. I often regretted the federal chancellor's lack of tact and gentleness; he seemed always convinced that he could serve Austria's interests only with an iron fist.

An incident of a special sort merits mention. It shows most clearly how difficult it was for me to negotiate the passageway of peaceful evolution between the Scylla of Austrian National So

cialism and the Charybdis of HITLER's desire for an "Anschluss". One day-2 May 1937, to be exact-I was informed that Austrian soldiers had insulted the German flag the previous day at Pinkafeld, a small town in Styria. The Treaty of 11 July 1936 had permitted Reich citizens resident in Austria to fly the National German flag on national holidays. Following this agreement, a respectable craftsman who lived on the town square of Pinkafeld had flown the swastika from his garret window on the first of May. Pinkafeld was the garrison of an Austrian infantry battalion; on that same day a mounting or dismounting guard, commanded by a lieutenant, marched across the square at noontime. This lieutenant had been transferred from a large garrison because he was suspected of Nazi sympathies. Simultaneously he was told that he would be cashiered, if he ever again showed signs of such sympathy. Now, as the lieutenant's guard calmly crossed the town square, which was slumbering in a noontime siesta, the sergeant at the rear of the detail called to the lieutenant in a shocked voice: "Goddamit look, Lieutenant, up there's one of them damned flags!" ["Herrgott sakra, schaun's Herr leutnant, droben hangt so an verflucht's Fahnderl!".] A chill runs through the lieutenant: "If you don't act now, you are cashiered!" He turns to the sergeant and three men and orders: "Get up there and bring the rag down!" ["G'schwind hinauf und holt's den Fetzen runter!"] No sooner said than done. The soldiers rush the house, penetrate to the garret window and return flushed with victory, carrying the carefully furled emblem, which they take along to the guard house. So much for the incident. The newspapers reported on it, and HITLER was undoubtedly immediately informed telegraphically by BOHLE agents of the "Auslandsorganisation" who must have told him of the rape perpetrated on the sign of German sovereignty. I wired Berlin that I would contact the competent Austrian authorities immediately and would settle the incident. This did not seem to suffice. I received orders to report in Berlin immediately. I sped to the Reich capital by plane with evil forebodings. I informed the Reich Chancery that I had arrived and was ready to report to HITLER. Nothing happened. Nothing happened the next day. I telephone Herr von NEURATH, informed him of the events, and asked him to see to it that I was received immediately, so that no serious conflict could develop from this "flag incident". Still no sign of life!

The third day, still without news from the Reich Chancery, I sat down and wrote HITLER as follows: "On your orders I arrived here by plane three days ago, in order to report on the

flag incident at Pinkafeld. Since you have not received me in spite of my repeated request, I must assume that I no longer enjoy the amount of your confidence necessary for the conduct of business in Austria. If this is so, I request my immediate relief".

Thirty minutes after I sent the message off the Reich Chancery phoned that I should report to the Fuehrer immediately. I met HITLER, who was obviously greatly excited. Before I had a chance to describe to him the incident in its setting, he spoke in terms of reproach of the impossibility of the repetition of such "shameless events" in Austria. Insults to German honor on Austrian soil must finally be put to an end! I let him rage for half an hour. I knew this manner and remained entirely silent. Then I interrupted him: "If you want a flag incident as a pretext to invade Austria, then this one is very inappropriate. But any ass can create a proper flag incident for you in 24 hours, so as to give you the opportunity for armed intervention and forced 'Anschluss'. Another question is how the world would react. And still another question arises over the fact that you thus break our agreement, that no drop of German or Austrian blood must be shed to unite our countries. I repeat: You cannot carry on such a course with me that is not what I went to Vienna for!"

HITLER seemed surprised and amazed. But as always when he met energetic opposition he came round. "Right", he said, "You are right. But I cannot bear such high-handed treatment of our flag over there". I told him that I would vouch for an honorable settlement of the incident within 24 hours, and that his injured sense of honor would receive satisfaction. But after he had calmed down and become more thoughtful, I again made it clear to him that slow, patient, peaceful evolution was the only possible and decent way to the solution of the Austrian question, which was so close to his heart. We parted in friendly agreement. One hurdle had been vaulted.

On reaching Vienna the next day, it was an easy thing for me to settle the incident with the federal chancellor to the full satisfaction of both parties. I only hope that the lieutenant of Pinkafeld was at least, "secretly and after delay", promoted for his disregard of his National Socialist feelings. Thus he would at least have gotten some fun out of the story.

When I had concluded the peace with Austria 11 July 1936, the worries of the Successor States had noticeably vanished. Mr. BENES, then chief of state at Prague, had his minister of agriculture extend to me an invitation to hunt stag and bear in the Carpathian mountains. Through the kind offices of Mr. GU

RANESCU, Rumania invited me to shoot duck in the Danube basin. Mr. NASTASJEWICZ (?) expressed the great satisfaction of the Serbian government. The dissatisfied party was the Austrian NSDAP, led by Captain LEOPOLD. It suspected that my policy of peaceful evolution would take much too long, and that drastic measures must be applied. While I had been able to curb this body until 1936, they began to intrigue against me after 1937. Beside the dull-witted Captain LEOPOLD, who had come up through the ranks, the former Captain of Cavalry (Rittmeister) GILBERT-in-der-MAUR played the main part. After the war he had become a journalist and was well-acquainted in all the Balkan states. I had known him for several years, as I had hired him for work on Southeastern problems on my newspaper "Germania". Simultaneously he represented that paper in Vienna, because I had been told that he had excellent connections with the Christian Socialists. As early as the Klagenfurt Christian Socialist Congress of 1931 I became convinced that the contrary was true. For when I entered the congress hall in his company, he was refused admission. At that time I did not fire him, as I thought him an otherwise loyal man.

Now, apparently, he had staked his chips on the future of the NSDAP in Austria, and hoped next to play the Foreign Minister there. When I had recognized his disloyalty towards me, I briefly called a halt (to our relations) and forbade him entry into the Embassy.

I had heretofore maintained contact with the Austrian Party leadership through middlemen only; now the crisis in our relations became patent, and had its reactions in the German Party. The German NSDAP was again and again agitated by the Austrian Legion. That Legion consisted of activists who had escaped to the Reich from Austria since 1934. They had been assembled in camps and underwent military training. It is easy to appreciate how these young men were straining to get back to their homes and families. But seeing that they could never return with SCHUSCHNIGG in power, unless they wanted immediate internment in a concentration camp, they anxiously yearned for the overthrow of SCHUSCHNIGG's government. Needless to say, they too found my policy wanting.

This must be the period during which a plan was conceived to create an incident with Austria serious enough to persuade HITLER to invade the country. Somebody should be hired to murder me that would be the simplest method of all! The assassination of an ambassador could be atoned for only with the sword, as witness the assassination of Ambassador Baron KETTELER in

Peking. Then the "Anschluss" would be accomplished, and Europe could not even lodge a protest!

But the Austrian government with its efficient intelligence service smelled the rat too soon. The government warned me and reinforced the guard, which it had assigned to follow my steps since the first days of my activity in Vienna. This service, which had never annoyed, but often bored me, now became quite comfortable. Incidentally, I did not refrain from advising HITLER of the thoughtful plan of his Party comrades; or, in case he was in the know, from implying that such perfidious maneuver was not within the scope of our Bayreuth agreement.

I would like to conclude this episode with my expression of thanks to the Austrian government for the crews [Organe] who were assigned to follow me. They were always tactful and helpful. Even though I often saddened them during walks through the Vienna Woods by outwalking them, so that they had to spend hours looking for me-I was a faster walker than they. Not to suppress the humor in the story, I am obliged to report that the two main officials of the guard turned out to be old Nazis, when HITLER entered Vienna. Who can read the soul of man?

In connection with all this I must admit that the SCHUSCHNIGG government was in many respects in as difficult a situation as my own. This was, for example, demonstrated in a congress of veterans in Wels in the fall of 1937. Austria had its organizations devoted to the military tradition and comradeship, corresponding to those in Germany. Nothing was more natural than that the representatives of such associations meet from time to time, to keep alive the remembrance of common feats of arms in the last war. The German army had always had a very profound respect for the achievements of the Alpine regiments whose share had been great in all battles. During the times of political tension following 1934 the Austrian government naturally did not desire such movements. Now, however, tension had dropped so much that a meeting of old soldiers could hardly result in any undesirable friction, particularly if the meeting was clear of any political tenor, and constituted only a revival of common military experiences. Of course, most of the old combatants were National Socialists. This, at any rate, was the plan made by me and General GLAISE-HORSTENAU, who had been the SCHUSCHNIGG government's trustee for Reich affairs since 11 July 1936. Herr von GLAISE was widely known as a military writer, and highly appreciated as such in the "Reichswehr".

Unfortunately the Austrian (National Socialist) Party exploited the brotherly meeting at Wels to stage a political demon