Axis Pact

A discussion of word histories and origins.
bnjtokyo

Axis Pact

Postby bnjtokyo » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:14 am

Italy and Germany signed the a pact in 1936, and, apparently, a Hungarian, General Gumbos, dubbed the agreement "The Axis Pact" shortly thereafter.

The name lives on, but I haven't been able to discover WHY he called it that.
Does anyone know?

Flaminius
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Postby Flaminius » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:57 am

Wikipedia is of opinion that the term was first used by Mussolini.
The term was first used by Benito Mussolini, in November 1936, when he spoke of a Rome-Berlin axis in reference to the treaty of friendship signed between Italy and Germany on October 25, 1936.
He may have been thinking of a North-South axis linking the two capitals.

Flam

bnjtokyo

Postby bnjtokyo » Tue Feb 14, 2006 6:18 am

Dear Flaminius,

Thank you for the information.

Maybe I got it wrong: This website http://hungarianhistory.com/lib/montgo/montgo07.htm
says
"The man who coined the phrase "Rome- Berlin Axis", was in his grave when the Axis became a military reality. General Gombos had died in October,1936."

Which means he didn't name the pact, but the basic alliance.

Flaminius
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Postby Flaminius » Tue Feb 14, 2006 10:00 am

Hmmm, I regard Wiki as a handy information source but not the final word of anything. Your Web site looks plausible too. Are we then to look for the scripts of the speeches by the two?

Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Tue Feb 14, 2006 12:18 pm

Encyclopedia.com
Axis

AXIS [Axis] coalition of countries headed by Germany, Italy, and Japan, 1936-45 (see World War II ). The expression "Rome-Berlin axis" originated in Oct., 1936, with an accord reached by Hitler and Mussolini. The Axis was solidified by an Italo-German alliance in May, 1939. This was extended (Sept., 1940) by a military alliance among Germany, Italy, and Japan—the so-called Berlin Pact, to which Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Croatia adhered later. The related Anti-Comintern Pact (see Comintern ), originally concluded between Germany and Japan in 1936, later had as adherents, besides the Berlin Pact nations, Spain, Denmark, Finland, and the puppet governments of Manchukuo and Nanjing.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
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tcward
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Postby tcward » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:06 pm

"The man who coined the phrase "Rome- Berlin Axis", was in his grave when the Axis became a military reality. General Gombos had died in October,1936."
bnj, the way I read this statement is that Gombos died before the Axis pact could be carried out... that the agreement had been reached earlier, but was not fulfilled until after his death.

So I don't think there's necessarily any inconsistency here.

-Tim

bnjtokyo

Postby bnjtokyo » Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:24 am

What I am really interested in is the rational for the use of the Italian/Hungarian/German equivalent to "Axis." Why did the orginator of the expression (Mussolini or Gombos or whoever) call it the "Axis Pact" instead of something else?

When you think about it, the word "Axis" is not similar to the terms used to name other international agreements made at the time. Usually, they are named for the place in which the agreement was made: the Berlin Pact or the Versailles Treaty follow the normal naming convention of the day.

Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Wed Feb 15, 2006 4:43 pm

I've tried to find some other supporting quotes, but everybody seems to be copying Wikipedia verbatim.

Wikipedia: Axis Powers
Italy, facing opposition to its war in Abyssinia from the League of Nations, forged an alliance with Germany, which had withdrawn from the League [League of Nations] in 1933. The term was first used by Benito Mussolini, in November 1936, when he spoke of a Rome-Berlin axis in reference to the treaty of friendship signed between Italy and Germany on October 25, 1936. The two countries would form an "axis" around which the other states of Europe could revolve. Later, in May 1939, this relationship transformed into an alliance, dubbed the "Pact of Steel".

The Axis was extended to include Japan as a result of the Anti-Comintern Pact of November 25th 1936 and the Tripartite Treaty of September 27, 1940. The alliance was subsequently joined by Hungary (November 20, 1940), Romania (November 23, 1940), Slovakia's puppet government (November 24, 1940) and Bulgaria (March 1, 1941). The Italian name Roberto briefly acquired a new meaning from "Roma-Berlino-Tokyo" between 1940 and 1945.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

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Postby gailr » Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:24 pm

Don't forget the influence of the Axis of Sort-of-Evil, Larry...
-gailr


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