Axis Powers

We explain what the powers of the axis that faced the allies in World War II.

What were the axis powers?

Axis powers They were a coalition headed by Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan who fought against the allies in World War II (1939-1945).

The origin of this alliance was the progressive understanding between Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and fascist leader Benito Mussolini during the final years of the interwar period. This understanding led on October 25, 1936 to the proclamation of The existence of a mutual friendship, which later received the name of “Roma-Berlin Axis”.

In this approach between Germany and Italy, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 had an essential role, which caused Mussolini's departure with respect to the governments of France and the United Kingdom, and the fact that both Germany and Italy fight together in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) in support of Francisco Franco's rebellion.

Shortly after, On November 25, 1936, Germany and Japan signed the Antikomintern Pact against the Communist International headed by the Soviet Union (USSR), to which Italy joined in November 1937.

The approach between Germany and Italy resulted in a full political and military alliance When the steel pact was signed on May 22, 1939. Finally, On September 27, 1940 the tripartite pact was signed between the three powers, which formally constituted the military alliance of the axis powers. Other countries Like Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania or Hungary collaborated to a greater or lesser extent with the axis.

Axis powers were defeated in World War II. Mussolini was dismissed in July 1943 and the new Italian government signed the armistice with the allies on September 3, 1943. Germany signed the unconditional surrender on May 7 and 8, 1945 and Japan did so on September 2, 1945, date on which the war concluded.

See also: World War II alliances

The historical context

After the end of World War I (1914-1918), in Europe a process of radicalization of nationalism began that in Italy gave rise to fascismwho came to power in 1922, when Benito Mussolini was appointed president of the Council of Ministers.

The rejection of some social sectors to the rise of socialist and communist movements, especially after the triumph of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917, was combined in the thirties with the effects of the great depression. This allowed the growth of Nazism in Germanya nationalist movement that also manifested the discontent with the war repairs that were imposed by the allies to Germany after the First World War.

Adolf Hitler, Nazi party leader, he was appointed Chancellor of Germany In January 1933 and soon a process of rearme and expansionism began that a few years later, in September 1939, caused the beginning of World War II. For its part, Mussolini began the invasion of Ethiopia In October 1936 and occupied Albania in April 1939. Meanwhile, in East Asia, The Empire of Japan began a political expansion with the annexation of Manchuria in 1931 and the invasion of other parts of China in 1937.

See also: Delivery period

The Roma-Berlin Axis (1936)

The first step towards the formation of the axis as a military coalition between Germany, Italy and Japan It took place in 1936. Despite its obvious ideological affinities, the relationship between Mussolini and Hitler was initially based on distrustbecause they had conflicting interests about the future of Austria (Hitler wanted to annex it to Germany and Mussolini wanted it to be under Italian influence). This initially prevented an alliance between the two fascist powers.

However, two events contributed to the Italian government turning towards an alliance with Nazi Germany:

• France and the United Kingdom condemned the Italian annexation of Ethiopia (Abisinia) in October 1935, and this broke the Stresa front formed by Italy, the United Kingdom and France in April 1935.
• Germany and Italy militarily supported the same side (Francoist) in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

The work of the Foreign Minister of Italy, Galeazzo Ciano, better known as “Count Ciano” and appointed in June 1936, the firm led on October 25, 1936 of A statement in which both countries proclaimed their friendship and the maintenance of common views in international politics.

On November 1, Mussolini delivered a speech in which he greeted the new German -abalian friend an axis around which the other European states would revolve from now on. The journalists soon began to talk about the Roma-Berlin axis. This agreement was subsequently reinforced by the antikomintern pact between Germany and Japan.

The Antikomintern Pact (1936)

On November 25, 1936, shortly after the formation of the Roma-Berlin Axis, Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan signed the Antikomintern Pacta treaty in which they declared the hostility of both countries to the communism and the communist international (also known as Komintern). In November 1937 It also joined Mussolini's Italy And in 1939 Franco's Spain did.

This pact It was an important step for the configuration of the axis side that would fight against the allies during World War II. This side, composed of three countries of nationalist and militaristic ideology (Italy, Germany and Japan), was fully configured with the signing of the tripartite pact on September 27, 1940.

The signature of the Pact of German-Soviet aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union in August 1939 meant the cancellation of the Antikomintern Pact, but it regained its validity when Germany launched its attack against the Soviet Union in 1941.

In addition to Franco's Spain, other countries in the orbit of the axis or clearly facing the Soviet Union signed the pact, such as Manchukuo, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia or Finland.

The steel pact (1939)

The steel pact was the military alliance formed by Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. He was searched insistent by German Foreign Minister Joachim Von Ribbentrop, since 1938. However, he initially ran into the lack of Italian preparation for an immediate war.

Tensions between Germany and other European countries increased in 1939. Italy and France, meanwhile, colonial territories were disputed. In this context, Mussolini and Count Ciano considered it convenient to strengthen the link with a government that challenged Western powers and finally accepted a pact of narrow military alliance with Germany.

On May 22, 1939, Germany and Italy signed the steel pact in Berlin, for which They promised to provide mutual military assistance. The Italian war industry was exhausted after the intervention in the Spanish Civil War, so the Italian government requested that the conflict not explode within at least three years.

However, Germanywhich was the most powerful of the two European totalitarian powers, The war began in September 1939 by invading Poland. Mussolini alleged lack of preparation of the Italian army and waited a few months before launching war with his German ally. His declaration of war to the allies just occurred on June 10, 1940, when Germany was about to complete the conquest of France.

The tripartite pact (1940)

The three totalitarian powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) had signed the Antikomintern Pact between 1936 and 1937, directed against the Communist International (in practice, against the Soviet Union). The signature of the Pact of German-Soviet aggression in August 1939 outraged the Japanese government, which left the Antikomintern pact.

After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and the entrance of Italy in the War in June 1940, The growing tension in the Pacific led the Japanese government to accept to sign another pact on September 27, 1940, which was called the tripartite pact and formally constituted the axis powers.

The tripartite pact It was signed by Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan. In this covenant, Japan recognized the leadership of Germany and Italy in Europe and the two European totalitarian powers accepted Japanese hegemony in East Asia.

In addition, the key to the pact was that The three signatory countries promised to use any political, economic or military means to help themselves in case of being attacked by any power not involved in the European War (initiated in 1939) or in the Chinese-Japanese war (initiated in 1937). The pact was clearly directed against the United States.

Who was Count Galeazzo Ciano?

Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), better known as Count Ciano, He was an Italian politician and diplomat who had an outstanding role in the fascist regime and at the entrance of Italy in World War II. He was the son of an Italian admiral who adhered to fascism and entered the diplomatic service in 1925.

In 1930 He married the eldest daughter of Benito MussoliniEdda. His promotion was immediate and He reached the position of Foreign Minister in 1936, with only 33 years.

Ciano He supported fascist intervention in the Spanish Civil War and promoted the Treaty of Friendship with Germany which gave rise to the Roma-Berlin axis in 1936. However, he began to distrust Nazi Germany. In response to the German annexation of Czechoslovakia, which occurred in March 1939 without Germany consulting Italy, Ciano insisted on the Italian invasion of Albania, which was held in April 1939.

The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 also occurred without a prior consultation to Italy, although in May it had been agreed that both states would be assisted militarily under the assumption that the war would begin only in three years (since the Italian army was not sufficiently prepared). Ciano advised Mussolini not to immediately enter the war.

The German successes in 1940 made him change his mind and support Italy's entry into the war, which began with the declaration of war to France and the United Kingdom on June 10. Ciano especially promoted Greece's invasion (considered “the war of Ciano”), which began in October 1940 and was a huge failure. In September, he signed the tripartite pact with his peers in Germany (Joachim von Ribbentrop) and Japan (Saburo Kurusu).

Ciano's influence was diminishing until In February 1943 he was dismissed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and appointed ambassador to the Vatican. In July 1945 He voted in favor of Mussolini's overthrow In the great fascist advice.

Subsequently, he fled to Germany, where It was taken prisoner and sent to the Italian Social Republic, the puppet regime led by Mussolini under German control in northern Italy. In January 1944 he was accused of betrayal and shot.

Leaders of countries attached to the axis

In addition to Germany, Italy and Japan, other countries were part of the axis during World War II, either because of the expectation of obtaining territories and protection or because they were forced by the German threat. These countries were Mainly Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Finland.

In this alliance some leaders stood out, such as before Pavelić of Croatia, Joef Tiso de Slovakia and Miklós Horthy of Hungary, as well as the collaborative leaders of countries that remained directly under the German occupation, as was the case of Vidkun Quisling in Norway.

Before Pavelić (1889-1959)

Against Pavelić he was a Croatian fascist leader who headed a puppet state of the axis powers During World War II. He was a member of the Croatia Rights Party until 1929 and served as a deputy in the Yugoslav Parliament from 1927 to 1929.

He fled to Italy in 1929, when King Alejandro established a dictatorial regime based on Serbian centralism. From there he continued fighting to establish Croatian independence. With this intention He worked in the formation of the Croatian Ustasha Revolutionary Organization (Ustasha-Hrvatska Revolutionary Organization). This Nationalist organization of the extreme right soon opted for terrorism and became famous when killing King Alejandro in Marseille in October 1934.

After the conquest of Yugoslavia on the axis in April 1941, Pavelić was proclaimed head of the newly created independent state of Croatia, which also included Bosnia and part of Dalmia. During the Ustasha regime, Pavelić He headed a repression program directed mainly against Serbian and Jewish populations.

When the axis powers were defeated, Pavelić fled to Austria, then to Italy and finally to Argentina, where he lived since 1948. He survived an attempt to murder by a Serbian nationalist in 1957, finally fled to Spain and died in Madrid on December 28, 1959.

JOZEF TISO (1887-1947)

Joef Tiso was a Slovak priestmember of the Slovak Popular Party of Andrej Hlinka, of extreme right. He was a member of the Czechoslovak government from 1927 to 1929 and happened to Hlinka as head of the party in 1938.

Tiso took advantage of the Munich Pact (1938), which allowed the German annexation of the Czechoslovakia south Under Hitler's sponsorship declared the independence of Slovakia in 1939. This measure not only broke the ties with the Czechs, at that time under German domination, but, at the same time, tried to prevent a possible annexation of Slovakia by Hungary.

Tiso He established an authoritarian government in Slovakia, who collaborated during World War II with the Nazi regime. In April 1945, he was overthrown after the invasion of the Red Army. He was judged and declared guilty of betrayal, suppression of freedom and crimes against humanity, among other positions. He was executed at the Horca on April 18, 1947.

Miklós Horthy (1868-1957)

Miklós Horthy It was a Hungarian politician and military. As admiral of the Austro -Hungarian fleet, Yugoslavia had to preside over the transfer of said fleet after the dissolution of the Austrohungal Empire in 1918.

He directed the army that entered Budapest in November 1919, after the defeat of the communist leader Béla Kun. He was elected regent of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Hungarian Parliament in March 1920, but did not collaborate in the attempts to restore the reign of the Habsburgs, so he remained as the first president of Hungary.

Although during the twenties he left government affairs in the hands of his prime minister, István Bethlen, in the thirties, the government went more closely. In 1937 he got his powers reinforced by Parliament, and thus established a dictatorship in fact.

Horthy sympathized with the “crusade against Bolshevism” by Adolf Hitler. Therefore, He supported the axis in World War II. In the final stages of the conflict, He tried to break his ties with Hitler, but the German troops forced him to abdicate and arrested him In 1944. Finally, when the war ended in 1945, he remained in Germany until he marched into exile in Portugal, where he died in 1957.

Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945)

Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian army officer whose collaboration with the German occupation of Norway in World War II turned his name into a synonym for collaborationist.

In 1933 formed the National Union party (Nasjonal Samling), of fascist ideology, who did not get any seat in the Parliament of Norway. In December 1939, During an encounter with Hitler, Quisling requested the urgent invasion of Norway. When it took place In April 1940, Quisling was proclaimed head of the Government.

The wide opposition he found caused his attempt to fail in less than a week. However, he continued to serve the Nazi occupants and was appointed “Minister President” in February 1942, under the authority of a German Reich commissioner who functioned as a governor of the occupied territory.

In May 1945, after the release of Norway, Quisling was arrested. From August was Court, convicted of death and, on October 24, 1945, executed.

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References

• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Before Pavelić. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Axis Powers. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). JOZEF TISO. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Miklós Horthy. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2022). Tripartite PACT. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Vidkun Quisling. Britannica Encyclopedia. https://www.britannica.com/
• Stone, N. (2013). Brief history of World War II. Ariel.