The Axis Powers

Who were the Axis Powers?

In the build-up to the Second World War, Germany made several informal and formal alliances with militaristic Japan and fascist Italy. This group became known as the Axis Powers.

What alliances were built up between Axis powers Italy and Germany before the Second World War?

Although they were rivals when Hitler first took power, Italy and Germany had formed a strong formal alliance by 1940.

• ❖ In 1934, Mussolini took action to prevent Germany uniting with Austria, and in 1935 he joined the Stresa Front with Britain and France against German aggression.
• ❖ However, in 1936, after the two countries had fought together in the Spanish Civil War, Mussolini announced the 'Rome-Berlin Axis' in November. This was an informal statement of friendship with Germany.
• ❖ In 1937, Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact formed by Germany and Japan.
• ❖ Hitler made sure he had Mussolini's support before sending the German Army into Austria during Anschluss in March 1938.
• ❖ Mussolini played a key role in the Munich Conference, which was about Germany and the Sudetenland, in October 1938.
• ❖ In May 1939, Italy and Germany signed a formal alliance called the Pact of Steel.

What alliances were built up between Axis powers Japan and Germany before the Second World War?

In the 1930s, Japan was a right-wing and militaristic country that had broad ideological similarities with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. By 1940, it had formally allied itself with both.

• ❖ In November 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany. Italy joined the next year.
• ❖ Japan signed the separate Tripartite Pact in 1940. Also known as the Berlin Pact, it was signed between Germany, Italy and Japan.

Which Axis powers were in the Anti-Comintern Pact?

The Anti-Comintern Pact was an agreement between Germany and Japan, and later Italy, to stand against communist expansion. It was also a way of making sure that none of them allied with the communist USSR.

• ❖ Germany and Japan formed the Pact in 1936.
• ❖ Italy joined the Pact in 1937.

What was the Pact of Steel signed by the Axis Powers?

The Pact of Steel was a formal alliance between Germany and Italy, who were by then known as the Axis Powers. It was signed shortly after Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia, and Britain and France had offered their guarantee to Poland.