The Axis Powers were Italy, Germany, and Japan, joined by other nations and puppet states during World War II. The term was coined by Mussolini in 1936, and the alliance was defeated in 1945 by the Allied Powers, including the US, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. The Axis is often regarded as evil due to war crimes and lust for power. The term “Axis of Evil” was used by George Bush in 2002 to label North Korea, Iraq, and Iran.
The Axis Powers were the three main belligerents in World War II: Italy, Germany and Japan. They were briefly joined by other nations, and Italy abandoned the alliance towards the end of the war. Together, these powers managed to seize control of vast amounts of land and other resources until they were defeated in 1945.
The term “Axis Powers” was in fact coined by Benito Mussolini, head of fascist Italy, in 1936, when Italy and Nazi Germany signed a friendship pact. Mussolini boasted that Germany and Italy would become the axis around which the rest of Europe would be forced to rotate. In 1939, the two countries signed the Pact of Steel, and in 1940, they signed an official agreement, the Tripartite Pact, which included Imperial Japan.
A number of nations joined the Axis, often under pressure, including Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Thailand and Yugoslavia. The alliance also bolstered with an assortment of puppet states: Imperial Japan in particular had a number of states that controlled large parts of Southeast Asia, including the governments of Manchuko, Burma, Vietnam, and Inner Mongolia.
Iraq and Finland have both collaborated with the Axis Powers, offering resources, land and expertise, although they have not signed formal agreements. Other nations also collaborated to varying degrees, including occupied France, Portugal, Spain and Denmark. After the war, the extent of cooperation by these countries was sometimes unclear and often became the subject of controversy.
Opposing the Axis Powers were the Allied Powers: the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union, assisted by a number of other nations including Australia, Canada, Norway, Belgium and a number of South American countries.
Many people regard the Axis as the epitome of evil, pointing to war crimes committed in the name of the alliance and the obvious lust for power and resources exhibited by the big three. In 2002, then-President George Bush played heavily on associations with the Axis when he labeled North Korea, Iraq and Iran the “Axis of Evil,” citing their involvement in terrorist activities.
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