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The Rome-Berlin Axis, 1936–1940. Myth and Reality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2009

D. C. Watt
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Extract

The title chosen for this paper1 is to some extent misleading. This is not to be another exercise in clearing the history of the 1930's of the myths that encrust it. Professor Toscano, Professor Wiskemann, and Sir Lewis Namier, more senior and more experienced hands than mine have already performed this task for the Axis. It would be presumptuous to attempt to improve on their work.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Review of Politics , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , October 1960 , pp. 519 - 543
Copyright
Copyright © University of Notre Dame 1960

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References

1 This paper was first read to the modern European History Section of the Anglo-American Historical Conference held at the Institute of Historical Research, London University in July, 1959.

2 See Toscano, Mario, L'Origine diplomatiche del Patto d'Acciaio (Firenze, 1956)Google Scholar; Wiskemann, Elizabeth, The Rome Berlin Axis (Oxford, 1949)Google Scholar; Namier, Sir Lewis, “Ciano and Mussolini” in Diplomatic Prelude, 1938–1939 (London, 1948)Google Scholar and “Giano's Early Diary,” and “The Pact of Steel” in Europe in Decay, 1936–1940 (London, 1950)Google Scholar.

3 Baynes, Norman H., Hitler's Speeches, 1922–1939 (London, 1940), Vol II, 1436Google Scholar.

4 Ibid., Vol. II, 1576.

5 Wiskemann, , op. cit., p. 53Google Scholar.

6 Lord Halifax to Sir Hugh Knatchbull-Hugessen, April, 12, 1939; Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919–1939 (London, in progress), 3rd Series, Vol. V, document No. 138.

7 See Magistrati, M., “La Germania e L'Impresa italiana in Etiopia,” Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali, XVII (Ottobre–Dicembre, 1950), 563–606Google Scholar.

8 Sir Robert Vansittart held this view. So did Duff Cooper. Both Churchill and Leo Amery held it for a time.

9 Greatly to Ribbentrop's chagrin as he had proposed an offensive defensive alliance. For texts of the German and Italian drafts see Watt, D. C., “An Earlier Model for the Pact of Steel,” International Affairs, XXXIII (04, 1957)Google Scholar.

10 Ciano's Diaries, 1937–1938, ed. Muggeridge, Malcolm (London, 1952), entry of May 1, 1938Google Scholar.

11 Attolico, Italian Ambassador in Berlin, to Count Ciano, June 23, 1938; in Toscano, , op. cit., pp. 24–26Google Scholar.

12 Ciano's Diaries, 1939–1943, ed. Muggeridge, Malcolm (London, 1947)Google Scholar, entry of March 10, 1939. On the negotiations for a triple alliance see Toscano, op. cit., passim.

13 Hoffmann, Heinrich, Hitler was my Friend (London, 1958), caption to illustration facing p. 177Google Scholar.

14 There are various accounts of this delightful episode. See Anfuso, Filippo, Rom-Berlin in diplomatischen Spiegel (Munich, 1951), p. 68Google Scholar; Magistrati, M., L'ltalia a Berlino, 1937–1939 (Milan, 1954), p. 184Google Scholar; Kordt, Erich, Nicht aus den Akten (Stuttgart, 1950), p. 218Google Scholar.

15 Dietrich, Otto, The Hitler I Knew (London, 1957), p. 140Google Scholar.

16 Hitler's Table Talk, 1941–1945 (London, 1953), p. 101Google Scholar.

17 Magistrati, , L'ltalia a Berlino, p. 18Google Scholar.

18 Anfuso, , op. cit., p. 42Google Scholar.

19 Kordt, , op. cit., pp. 100–01Google Scholar; Anfuso, , op. cit., pp. 76–77Google Scholar.

20 Ciano's Diaries, 1939–1943, entry of September 18, 1939.

21 Anfuso, , op. cit., p. 57Google Scholar.

22 Cited in Pese, Walther Werner, “Hitler und Italien, 1920–1926,” Vierteljahresheft für Zeitgeschichte, III (1955)Google Scholar.

23 Cited in Pese, , op. cit., p. 125Google Scholar.

24 Das politische Tagebuch Alfred Rosenbergs ed. Seraphim, Hans-Gunther (Göttingen, 1956)Google Scholar, entry of June 11, 1934.

25 Hitler's Table Talk, p. 417.

26 Documents on German Foreign Policy, 1918–1945 (London and Washington, in progress), Series D, Vol. I, document No. 19. Hereafter cited as D.G.F.P.

27 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VII, document Nos. 192, 193.

28 Di Monza to Mussolini, 1 Documentè Diplomatiè. Italiani, Seventh Series, 1922–35, Vol. II, document No. 474. Hereafter cited as D.D.I.

29 Aloisi, Baron Pompeio, Journal (25 Juillet 1932–14 Juin 1936) (Paris, 1957)Google Scholar, entry of October 14, 1933.

30 Ibid., entry of March 24, 1935.

31 Ibid., entry of May 4, 1935.

32 Ciano's Diaries, 1937–38, entries of April 23, April 24, 1938.

33 Ciano's Diaries, 1939–43, entry of March 15, 1939.

34 On this see Watt, D. C., “Gli accordi mediterranei anglo-italiani del 1938,” Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali, XXVI (Gennaio-Marzo, 1959), 51–76Google Scholar.

35 In a speech of August 1, 1920, cited in Pese, , op. cit., p. 82Google Scholar.

36 Tedaldi to Mussolini, D.D.I., Seventh Series, 1922–1935, Vol. I, document No. 131.

37 Rosenberg, Tagebuch, entry of June 11, 1934. The former German military attache1 in Rome, Enno von Rintelen, quotes von Hassell, the German Ambassador, as ascribing the failure of the Venice meeting to Mussolini's failure to understand Hitler completely. Rintelen, Enno, Mussolini als Bundesgenosse (Tubingen, 1951), p. 11Google Scholar. Aloisi records Mussolini describing the first meeting as trés mouvemerité Journal, entry of June 14, 1934.

38 For the speech of September 3, 1938, during Hitler's tour of the Westwall, see D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VII, Appendix III (K), document No. (iii).

39 Magistrati, article cited in note 7.

40 D. C. Watt, “Gli accordi anglo-italiani,” cited in note 34.

41 See Rosen, Edgar R., “Mussolini und Deutschland, 1922–23,” Vierteljahresheft für Zeitgeschichte, V (1957)Google Scholar, citing Foreword written by Mussolini to Suster, Roberto, Germania Reppublica (Roma, 1923)Google Scholar.

42 See Mussolini, B., Scritti e Discorsi, 1935–1936 (Milan, 1936), pp. 199–212Google Scholar.

43 Sec Documents on International Affairs, 1936, Royal Institute of International Affairs (London, 1937), pp. 341, 343–347Google Scholar.

44 It is contained in a file of the State Secretary of the German Foreign Ministry, entitled Be such Ciano's in Berlin, Oktober 1936, together with various correspondence on the preparations for Ciano's visit, photostats of which are now on view in the Public Record Office under P.R.O. No. GFM 2/348. The account given in this paper is based on this correspondence.

45 On these see Ciano's Diplomatic Papers, ed. Muggeridge, Malcolm (London, 1948), p. 46, footnote 1Google Scholar.

46 Magistrati, , L'Italia a Berlino, pp. 41–46Google Scholar.

47 Scritti e Discorsi. The translation is the official Italian one printed in Documents on International Affairs, 1936, p. 346.

48 Magistrati, , L'ltalia a Berlino, pp. 58–59Google Scholar.

49 Jedlicka, Ludwig, Heer im Schatten der Parteien. Die militar-politische Lage Oesterreichs, 1918–1938 (Graz-Köln, 1955), pp. 140–41Google Scholar.

50 Schuschnigg, Kurt, Ein Requiem in Rot-Weiss-Rot (Zurich, 1946), pp. 345–46Google Scholar.

51 . DrSchmidt, Paul, Statist auf diplomatischen Bühne, 1923–1945 (Bonn, 1949), pp. 366–67Google Scholar.

51a Ciano's Diaries, 1937–1938, entries of February 3, 14, 1938.

52 Toscano, , op. cit., pp. 11–13Google Scholar.

53 Ciano's Diaries, 1937–1938, entries of February 17, March 13, March 26, 1938.

54 Ibid., entry of May 12, 1938.

55 See Watt, D. C., “An Earlier Model for the Pact of Steel,” International Affairs. XXXIII (04, 1957)Google Scholar.

56 The documents cited on German staff apprecations come from files of the German Naval War Staff, photostats of which are in the London Public Record Office. They are here cited by Serial and Frame Numbers. Guse to OKW, l a 17/38 GkdoS Chiefs of April 26, 1938, 8230/E 585423–25.

57 Lange, German Naval Attaché in Rome, to OKN, GkdoS 667 of August 4, 1938. M70/MOO2233. Neubauer to Raeder's Staff, Ic 1209 GkdzoS of August 18, M 70/MOO2219–20. Ciano's Diaries, 1937–38, entry of July 15, 1938.

58 Kilderlen to Lange, M GkdS 245/38 of September 13, 1938, M 70//M002229.

59 Fricke Minute, 8230/E585435–39.

60 Ciano's Diaries, 1937–38, entry of September 27.

61 Speech of Sept. 3, D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VII, Appendix II I (K), document No. (iii).

62 Ciano's Diaries, 1937–38, entry of July 17, 1938.

63 On this whole complex see Toscano, , op. cit., pp. 46–73Google Scholar, and the documents there cited.

64 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. IV, document No. 411.

65 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VI, Appendix I, document Nos. I–V; D.D.I., Eighth Series, Vol. XIII, Appendix III, document Nos. (a), (b).

66 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VI, document No. 433.

67 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VI, enclosure to document No. 459. D.D.I., Eighth Series, Vol. XII, document No. 59.

68 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VII, Appendix III (k), document No. (iv).

69 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VI, Appendix I, documents Nos. VII–XIV; D.D.I., Eighth Series, Vol. XIII, Appendix IV, document Nos. (a)-(c).

70 On Hitler's naval rearmament programme and Raeder's memorandum of September 3, 1939, see Watt, D. G., “Anglo-German Naval Negotiations on the Eve of the Second World War,” Journal of the Royal United Services Institute, Vol. CIII (05 and 08, 1958)Google Scholar.

71 Ciano's Diary, 1939–43, entries of July 21, July 22, July 27, August 2, August 4, 1939.

72 Ibid., entry of July 19, 1939.

73 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VI, document No. 718. D.D.I., Eighth Series, Vol. XII, document Nos. 677, 678, 687, 702, 717, 720.

74 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VI, document Nos. 736, 757, 758, 759, 760, 761. See also Toscano, M., “L'ltalia e gli Accordi tedosco-Sovietici del 1939,” in Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali, XVIII n. (Ottobre–Decembre, 1951)Google Scholar.

75 Ciano's Diary, 1939–43, entry of August 13, 1939.

76 Ibid., entry of August 26, 1939.

77 Ibid.

78 Haider's Diary, entry of August 27. See D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VII, Appendix I.

79 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VII, document Nos. 307, 317, 341.

80 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. VIII, document No. 176.

81 Ibid., document No. 384.

82 Ibid., document Nos. 504, 663, 665, 667, 669, 670.

83 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. IX, document No, 1; Ciano's Diplomatic Papers, memorandum of March 18, 1940; Ciano's Diaries, 1939–43, entries of March 18, 19, 1940.

84 D.G.F.P., Series D, Vol. IX, document No. 46.

85 Ciano's Diaries, 1939–43, entry of March 16, 1940.

86 Ibid., entries of March 12, March 19, April 1, 1940.

87 Ibid., entry of June 8, 1940.