The Pact of Steel, known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany signed on May 22, 1939, by the foreign ministers of each country and witnessed by Count Galeazzo Ciano for Italy and Joachim von Ribbentrop for Germany. Anthem Marcia Reale dOrdinanza (Royal March of Ordinance)¹ The Kingdom of Italy at the height of its power in 1940. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gian Galeazzo Ciano, Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari (March 18, 1903 – January 11, 1944), was Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Benito Mussolinis son-in-law. ... Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (born Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim Ribbentrop) (April 30, 1893 – October 16, 1946) was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. ...

The Pact consisted of two parts: the first section was an open declaration of continuing trust and cooperation between Germany and Italy while the second, a 'Secret Supplementary Protocol' [1], encouraged a joint military and economic policy. However, members of the Italian government, including the signatory Ciano, were opposed to the Pact ^{[citation needed]}.

Clauses

Generally, the Pact of Steel obliged Germany and Italy to aid the other country immediately, militarily or otherwise, in the event of war being declared, and to collaborate in military and wartime production. The Pact ensured that neither country was able to make peace without the agreement of the other. The agreement was based on the assumption that a war would occur within three years. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and war broke out on September 3, Italy was not yet fully prepared for conflict, and had difficulty meeting its obligations. Consequently, Italy did not enter World War II until June 1940 with an aborted invasion of southern France. is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Article I

Article I stipulated that Germany and Italy were to remain in constant communication with one another, in order to 'come to an understanding of all common interests or the European situation as a whole' [2].

Article II

Article II obliged Italy and Germany to follow similar foreign policy: for example, the two countries agreed, in the event of any 'international happenings' [3], to enter into mutual consultation.

Article III

Article III promised the full military support of the signatories should the other country go to war. heyṚ₦₢

Article IV

Article IV supported the intentions of Article III of the Pact of Steel, encouraging the establishment of greater cooperation in 'the military sphere and the sphere of war economy' [4]. This article also supported greater communication between Italy and Germany in order to achieve economic and military cooperation.

Article V

Article V compelled Italy and Germany to agree any armistice together, further supporting increasing military planning between the two countries.

Article VI

Article VI of the Pact instilled the importance of maintaining relations with countries which were friendly towards either Italy or Germany.

Article VII

Article VII of the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy dealt with the validity of the Pact: it stated that the Pact came into force immediately and that it was to last for ten years. A pact is a formal agreement, usually between two or more nations. ...

Secret Supplementary Protocols

The Secret Supplementary Protocols of the Pact of Steel, which were split into two sections, were not made public at the time of the signing of the Pact by Ribbentrop and Ciano. Joachim von Ribbentrop Joachim von Ribbentrop (born Joachim Ribbentrop) (April 30, 1893–October 16, 1946) was the Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany from 1938 until 1945. ... Gian Galeazzo Ciano, Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari (March 18, 1903 – January 11, 1944), was Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Benito Mussolinis son-in-law. ...

The first section urged the countries to quicken their joint military and economic cooperation whilst the second section committed the two countries to cooperate in 'matters of the press, the news service and the propaganda' [5] to promote the power and image of the fascist Axis. To aid in this, each country was to assign 'one or several specialists' [6] to the embassy of their country in the capital city of the other for close liaisons with the Foreign Minister of that country. Economics (deriving from the Greek words οίκω [okos], house, and νέμω [nemo], rules hence household management) is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ...

Failure

While according to Article VII the pact was to last ten years, Italy's alliance with the Allies of World War II in 1943 effectively ended the pact. This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ...

See also

• Anti-Comintern Pact
• Tripartite Pact
• Abyssinia
• Mussolini
• Hitler
• Triple Entente

The Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded between Nazi Germany and Japan on November 25, 1936. ... The Tripartite Treaty (1906) also refers to a 1906 treaty concerning the Nile river (see Hydropolitics in the Nile Basin. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

References

• A translation of the text of the Pact of Steel from AdolfHitler.ws