Pact of Steel

Pact of Steel

Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy
Galeazzo Ciano, Adolf Hitler and Joachim Von Ribbentrop at the signing of the Pact of Steel in the Reichskanzlei in Berlin
Type	Military-political
Signed	22 May 1939
Location	Berlin, Germany
Expiration	1949 (effectively in 1943)
Signatories	Germany Italy
Languages	German, Italian

The Pact of Steel (German: Stahlpakt, Italian: Patto d'Acciaio), known formally as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy, was a military and political alliance between the Kingdom of Italy and Nazi Germany.

The pact was initially drafted as a tripartite military alliance between Japan, Italy and Germany. While Japan wanted the focus of the pact to be aimed at the Soviet Union, Italy and Germany wanted it aimed at the British Empire and France. Due to this disagreement, the pact was signed without Japan and became an agreement between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, signed on 22 May 1939 by foreign ministers Galeazzo Ciano of Italy and Joachim von Ribbentrop of Germany.

The pact consisted of two parts. The first section was an open declaration of continuing trust and cooperation between Germany and Italy while the second, a "Secret Supplementary Protocol", encouraged a union of policies concerning the military and economy. Although intended to last 10 years, it was effectively cancelled in 1943 with removal of Italy's fascist government.

Germany and Italy fought against each other in World War I. Popularity and support for extremist political parties, such as the Nazis of Adolf Hitler and the Fascists of Benito Mussolini, exploded after the Great Depression severely hampered the economy of both countries.