History Abridged: The Axis

So last year I got really into WW2 history. I made four different videos about the diplomacy that was going on between the Allies throughout the war and the lasting impact those scant few meetings and treaties would have on the rest of the century – how America’s involvement in the war hastened the decline of the British Empire, how the Cold War began, how Germany was denazified, and how Western Europe was securely brought into the American capitalist fold through one of the most ambitious and successful instances of economic aid and development. And this year I thought to myself, huh. I wonder what was going on with the Axis during all this time. The great Axis of Evil that threatened peace and democracy the world over, what diabolical machinations brought them together? And in my research, I realized: when your entire alliance is predicated on being so evil that no one else will talk to you, you do not have a good alliance. No, the Axis was not an alliance – it was a circus.

[niku_alt]

"He did WHAT!" - the entire history of the Axis summarized

[Dragoran]

President of Finland, Risto Ryti made a promise to Hitler that as long as he was in power Finland would stay Reich’s friend. When natzi started to lose, he stepped down and gave presidency for Mannerheim who made peace with USSR and West.

[TheOsis]

Finland often gets forgotten
>Germany sells out Finland with Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
>Finland gives Soviet a bloody nose and lunch money
>Germany sees this and allies itself with Finland against Soviets in the hopes of an easy blitz
>Finland gives a noncommittal sure whatever bro if we get our pennies back
>Barbarossa
>Finland cuts a deal with Soviets to betray Germans in exchange of peace and no occupation
>Finland kicks Germans out of Finland
>Sits quietly in the corner for the rest of the war and the peace negotiations hoping to be forgotten
>Was mostly forgotten
>Had to give more lunch money to the Soviets
>Remained a democracy

[QwertiusMaximus]

Germany, Italy, Japan: "We have a deal."
Also Germany, Italy, Japan: "I am altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further."
Again Germany, Italy, Japan: "This deal is getting worse all the time!"

[daevious_]

Don't forget Spain, which had a fascist government but refused to join the Axis because:
a) They didn't like Hitler siding with the Japanese, who went on to genocide several Spanish people living in the Phillippines.
b) They were too busy holding together a Spain that had just gone through an incredibly destructive, convoluted civil war.
and
c) They had the actual patience to wait and see if the war was worth supporting.

[enoughothis]

As much of an unorganized mess as the Allied war effort was at times, the Axis was far worse.

[masterplokoon]

"To be united by hate is a fragile alliance at best"- Darth Kreia. Whenever I think of the Axis this quote always comes to mind.

[happysadsmile]

You forgot to mention other minor axis allies in the video like Bulgaria or Thailand which both later switch sides later in the war.

[lordMartiya]

Fun fact: most Italian Fascists actually liked France and Britain far more than Germany, and Mussolini would have continued treating Hitler as a clown had the utter political idiocy of the 1936 war with Ethiopia not forced the Italian Fascists to change plans. Even then, Mussolini had to gift Gabriele D'Annunzio with a decommissioned warship to keep in the backyard of his mountain house (I'm not joking, and the warship is still there) to keep him quiet... And in 1940, most of the population still liked France more.

[MrWaterlionmonkey]

Fun fact: Japan had good relations with Poland and Ethiopia before the war and were not happy with German and Italian aggression against them. Japan refused to respond to the polish government in exiles declaration of war. Germany also attacked the island of Nauru to destroy British and Australian Phosphate production to harm their agriculture because it made great fertiliser, however Japan was furious because they bought their phospphuus from Nauru. Japan also refused to give over its jews in shanghai to Germany because it did not understand nazi antisemitism. Another fact. When Hitler was trying to court britian it offered the British German military support against Japan in the event of a Japanese British war. Another fun fact, nazi member John Heinrich Detlef Rabe saved hundreds of thousands of Chinese from the genocidal massacres in Nanjing because he, amoung other Germans, did not understand Japanese hatred for the Chinese. Another fact: Japan had been asked much earlier in the war to join and attack Britain but it refused. Later it was asked to attack the soviets, not only did they refuse they kept refusing all the way till the end of the war until the soviets attacked them. Finally: the Indian ocean theatre was the only theatre in the whole war where German and Japanese were both fighting at the same time with ships and subs against the allies. The Germans targeted merchant shipping and the Japanese targeted warships. And in 1943 Japan repeatedly tried to convince Germany to stop attacking the soviets, give them back their territory back and a large piece of the Mediterranean in order to bribe the soviets to join the axis or at the very least so German forces could put more pressure on the west, Germany refused. Japan also attacked Italian troops in China after the Italian surrender.

[leolinguini]

"And to be honest, we kinda just all forgot about Finland"
Seems like you forgot Bulgaria too.

[stevelucky]

Italy actually stopping Germany’s first big push is actually surprising because I don’t recall if I have heard that being so impactful before. But it does help explain some things.

[apiwichteralapsuwan]

Thailand out there acting like nothing ever happen

[sizanogreen]

Ah yes, making fun content out of WW2, truly never gonna get old.
They've been doing it for over a hundred years by now.

[ShadowTigerYT]

I know that the Axis is two VERY different things
One is a force for tormenting regular people
the other One is the exact same

[gimmeyourrights]

This is why villains don't make good teams. Egos clash, strategies fall to the wayside and everyone is trying to turn against each other.

[Danthesane]

“Too strong und powerful to make you angy”

lol. Amazing dialogue.

[akramgimmini]

Just the average Groupchat buds hanging out

[Moponen]

Really is abridged isn't it?
Finland was "Fighting over some land the USSR took from them"
That's one way of putting it. You could also say Japan sank some of USAs fishing boats and Germany was walking around on some French land

[MalikF]

Man with so many alliance shifts I was thinking I was back in the mid 1700s Austrian succession war