Explain how the closer relations with Hitler Essay Example for Free

Explain how the closer relations with Hitler Essay Mussolini’s closer relations with Hitler certainly contributed to their defeat in the Second World War. It was because of Germany that Italy felt pressured to join the war in the first place. The scale of the German victories of the autumn of 1939 and the early summer of 1940 stimulated Mussolini’s greed. There was now the prospect of large rewards if Italy joined the war on Germany’s side. It appeared that the war would soon be won by Germany. It was, therefore, imperative to ‘assist’ Germany before the opportunity to gain economically and territorial gains from the war was lost. He feared being isolated in a German dominated Europe. Militarily, Germany was not a trustworthy ally. Mussolini pushed ahead with the ‘parallel war’ despite the fact that Germany was unlikely to co-operate with Italian desire for French colonies. Hitler was unwilling to hand France’s North African colonies to Italy, preferring to leave them and the French Med fleet under the puppet Vichy regime to ensure the latter’s permanent collaboration. Furthermore, Italy attacked Greece in 1940, interestingly in part because the Greek government was too friendly to Germany for Mussolinis liking. It could also be said that the German Italian Alliance contributed to the Italian’s failure in North Africa. Hitler’s priority became the Russian Front which involved drawing off German troops and supplies from North Africa. This sealed Italy’s fate. The German alliance had a poor economic effect on Italy as well. The regime had given little thought to the problem of large-scale armaments production during war time, with strategic materials, notably coal and iron ore, having to be imported from Germany and German occupied territories. Despite the pre-war policy of encouraging autarky, the Italian economy was far from self-sufficient in 1940. There was a 35% decrease in industrial production and a 25% reduction in agriculture as peasants were being conscripted. This led to a fall of 20% in Italian steel production between 1940 and 1942, with result that losses, particularly in tanks and aircraft, could not be replaced. As war began to go badly for the Axis, the Germans became increasingly reluctant to divert such scarce resources to their ineffectual Italian allies. This put further strain on the already over-stretched Italian economy. Furthermore, the German alliance only increased the disillusionment the Italian people felt towards the war. The German alliance had always been unpopular, illustrated by Grandi’s comment of July, 1943: â€Å"You believe that you have the devotion of the people†¦You lost it the day you tied Italy to Germany. † Elements within the Fascist Party, the army, the Vatican and the Royal Household began considering alternatives culminating in the July coup of 1943. On 8th September, 1943, Italy’s new government officially surrendered to the Allies. The Germans, however, occupied North Italy and delayed final victory for the next 18 months. To conclude, the German alliance was detrimental to Italy’s war effort and contributed greatly to their loss.