It seems to me that if we think of Hitler as the
artist, it explains a great deal. It explains his
uncanny ability to weigh chances, to estimate the
extent of the reluctance on the part of the other
states to intervene, to time his blows when the other
states feel most impotent. In this matter of Austria
he has picked out the moment when Schuschnigg's folly
was generally recognized, when Italy had just started
its negotiations with Great Britain and before, they had
reached conclusion, when France was without a govern-
ment. His dramatic visit to the town of his birth and
his own revelation of what it means to himself to come
home in this connection - all seemed to me to be a
revelation of some measure of artistic feeling.
Bismarck would have weighed conditions in other countries.
Bismarck would have taken advantage of Schuschnigg's
attempt to call a plebiscite without preparation.
Bismarck would never have been able, however, to make
the personal appeal to the Germans and to the Austrian
people that Hitler made in his speech at Linz.
 
 
 These are immediate impressions and perhaps
further study will modify them. I am me rely attempt-
ing to give you a picture of how the scene looks
from here.