Italian Fascism: Relationship Between Nazi Germany And Italy

Nazi Germany’s obvious political and military ally in Europe was Italy. The Italians had been governed by a fascist regime under Benito Mussolini since 1925. Italian fascism was very much the elder brother of Nazism, a fact Hitler himself acknowledged. Yet for all their ideological similarities, the relationship between Hitler and Mussolini was bumpy and complex. The alignment of their two countries was consequently not as firm as many anticipated. By the late 1930s Germany and Italy had become military allies – however their priorities were still with their own national interests, rather than supporting the interests or ambitions of another country. The union between Nazi Germany and fascist Italy became a marriage of convenience and expedience, rather than a firm alliance of sister states.
In his early years at the helm of the NSDAP, Hitler was a great admirer of Mussolini. The Nazi leader was particularly fascinated with Mussolini’s ‘march on Rome’ – a 1922 protest where thousands of fascists and fascist supporters strode into the Italian capital, which led to Mussolini’s appointment as prime minister. In 1923 Hitler wrote to his Italian counterpart about the ‘march on Rome’; the Munich putsch
was Hitler’s attempt at replicating it. From the late 1920s Mussolini provided some financial support to the rising Nazi Party; he also allowed SA and SS men to train with his own paramilitary brigade, the Blackshirts. Hitler’s ascension to power in 1933 was publicly praised by Mussolini, who hailed it as a victory for his own fascist ideology.
Competing egos

In private, however, Mussolini was scornful of Hitler and his party. The Italian leader described Mein Kampf as “boring” and thought Hitler’s ideas and theories were “coarse” and “simplistic”. Mussolini, who was prone to egomania, also had a low opinion of Hitler’s elevation to power, which he thought less glorious than his own. The first meeting between the two, held in Venice in June 1934, was disastrous. Mussolini spoke some German and refused to use a translator – but he had great difficulty understanding Hitler’s rough Austrian accent. The Italian was subjected to some of Hitler’s long monologues, which bored him greatly. Both men emerged from the Venice summit thinking much less of each other. Despite this, Nazi and Italian fascist propaganda of the 1930s suggested a close working relationship and even a friendship between the two leaders.
Another important point of difference between the two was their racial views. Mussolini, like Hitler, considered white Europeans to be the architects of civilisation and culture – but his views on race did not extend to hateful anti-Semitism or eugenics. Mussolini was an Italian nationalist who often harked back to the glory and triumphs of ancient Rome. He was therefore scornful of Hitler’s rants about Aryan supremacy. In one speech, the Italian leader expressed “pity” for the racial views being expressed by the Nazis, “the descendants of those who were illiterate when Rome had Caesar, Virgil and Augustus.”
Support and alliance
Their relationship evolved gradually over the years they had known each other. At first Hitler deferred to the Duce, the more senior dictator, and seemed genuinely to admire him. Later, and especially after Mussolini began to play second fiddle to Hitler as a war leader, summit meetings between the two men had consisted mainly of long monologues by Hitler, with Mussolini barely able to get in a word. At one memorable meeting in 1942, Hitler talked for an hour and forty minutes while General Jodl dozed off and Mussolini kept looking at his watch.
Ray Moseley, historian
Despite their personal differences, Hitler and Mussolini did manage a degree of co-operation. Germany offered support to Rome during and after the Abyssinian crisis of the mid-1930s. Mussolini had grandiose visions of building a new Italian empire, to replicate the glories of ancient Rome. His first target was Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia), one of the few African kingdoms not yet under European control. In October 1935 Italian troops invaded and occupied much of Abyssinia. Italy was strongly criticised in the League of Nations, however Hitler – who had pulled Germany out of the League in 1933 – backed Mussolini’s action. German-Italian relations were later boosted by their joint involvement in the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
In September 1937 Mussolini paid a state visit to Germany, where he was met with a long parade of troops, artillery and military equipment.
These shows of strength were obviously convened to impress the Italian leader, and it worked. Two months after, Italy joined Germany and Japan in the Anti-Comintern Pact: an agreement to resist the expansion of the Soviet Union and prevent the spread of communism. Hitler’s influence on Mussolini became evident in the Italian leader’s Manifesto of Race (July 1938). This decree, which proved very unpopular in Italy, stripped Italian Jews of their citizenship and removed them from government occupations. In September 1938 Mussolini was part of the four-nation summit on the Czechoslovakian crisis and a signatory of the Munich
Agreement.
Preparations for war
In May 1939 the Nazi-fascist alliance was extended further, with the signing of the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy. Informally called the ‘Pact of Steel’, this ten-year agreement committed Rome and Berlin to supplying military and economic aid if either nation found itself at war. The pact also contained secret discussions and protocols where Germany and Italy agreed to prepare for a future European war. Negotiators promised a rapid increase in German-Italian trade and military co-operation, while both nations secretly agreed to avoid waging war without the other until 1943.
Hitler ignored this commitment when he ordered German troops to invade Poland in September 1939. Mussolini had received advice that Italy would not be ready for war until late 1942, because of slow industrial growth and military production. The Italian leader heeded this counsel, holding off on declaring war until June 1940, by which time the German conquest of western Europe was almost complete. Mussolini’s main war aim was to seize control of British and French colonies in northern Africa. The campaign was disastrous: by late 1941 most Italian troops in Africa had been defeated. The Allies invaded Italy in July 1943; Mussolini was soon expelled from power and the new government surrendered to the Allies in September. The former fascist dictator was captured by partisans and executed in April 1945, two days before Hitler suicided in Berlin. The body of Il Duce – once the ‘saviour of Italy’ – was suspended on meathooks and pelted with stones.
- See more at: http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/hitler-and-mussolini/#sthash.A58ACouo.dpuf