Geist, Raymond H., Berlin. To G.S. Messersmith, Washington., 1938 March 01

Enclosure: See No. 959. Hitler has forbidden Party chiefs to intrigue in Austrian affairs; has established direct contact with liaison person between German and Austrian Nazis; anxious to move on Austria while Mussolini still occupied with Spain; Italian government disapproves present German-Austrian arrangement; does not wish Austrian independence forfeited; talked with Ambassador [Hugh R.] Wilson; Germans in official quarters expect improvement in relations because of Wilson.