In March 1938, during a farewell luncheon held in honour of German ambassador von Ribbentrop at No 10 Downing Street, British prime minister Chamberlain received a message. He read it silently: Hitler had invaded Austria.
The meal proceeded, but soon Mrs Chamberlain, who had received some signal from her husband, tried to bring the proceedings to an end by getting up and saying, "Let us all have coffee in the drawing room." However, von Ribbentrop and his wife tarried and engaged their host and hostess in voluble conversation. Evidently, they both knew what had happened, but thought it was a good manoeuvre to keep Chamberlain away from his work and the telephone. At length Chamberlain said to the ambassador, "I'm sorry I've to go now to attend to urgent business," and he left the room.
一九三八年三月，唐寧街十號舉行午宴，餞別德國大使馮．里賓特洛甫。席間，英國首相張伯倫收到信件，默讀內容：希特勒揮軍犯奧地利。
午宴沒有中斷，但張伯倫夫人獲得丈夫暗示，過了不久，就要把餞別事宜結束，站起來說：「大家一起到客廳喝咖啡吧。」不過，馮．里賓特洛甫夫婦逗留不去，還滔滔不絕跟主人家夫婦攀談。他們顯然知道發生了什麼事，只是覺得最好不放張伯倫去辦公、打電話，最後，張伯倫告訴馮．里賓特洛甫：「對不起，我有急事要辦，得告退了。」說罷，轉身離去。