What did the axis refer to themselves as?

[pieman11]

The allies refered to themselves as such, and their enemies as the axis.

What did the germans/japanese/italians refer to themselves as such?

Bear in mind im 17 and do not need a college explanation, just think it would be a cool history fact to know.

 

[ParkCungHee]

The Axis.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Yeah, they're called the Axis because Hitler referred to Berlin and Rome as the "Axis Around Which the World Shall Turn" or some such nonsense.

 

[GoodGame]

Apparently with Japan and Germany it was just an anti-Communist (i.e. anti-Russian) pact.

 

[Quackers]

Channel 6 news team

 

[Lord of Elves]

The Axis, bearing in mind Cheezy the Wiz's note, and the fact that that term did not have the connotations it has presently.

 

[Traitorfish]

It was also colloquially known as "Roberto" in Italy, from "Rome-Berlin-Tokyo", which tells you more or less how seriously the average Italian actually took Fascism.

 

[Sofista]

Yeah, they're called the Axis because Hitler referred to Berlin and Rome as the "Axis Around Which the World Shall Turn" or some such nonsense.

I think the first usage comes from a speech of Mussolini:

"The Berlin talks have resulted in an agreement between our two countries on a number of issues, some of which have been quite burning recently. But this agreement, formalized in officially signed minutes, this Berlin-Rome vertical, is not a screen, it is rather an axis around which all European countries animated by a desire for collaboration and peace can work" - 1 Nov. 1936

 

[nonconformist]

Well, outside of offiali communiques etc. I think there wasn't much self reference; the Germans didn't really respect the Italians at all as soldiers, and even when they fought as allies in Italy, they tended to keep seperate...and as for the Japanese, there really wasn't much communication, so the concept of the "Axis" was really an Allied one.

 

[BuckyRea]

I believe the actual pronunciation was "Zee Axees" as in "Ve are Zee Axees unt ve haff vays of making you talk." Even the Italians would put on these accents while revealing their insidious master plans just prior to killing the hero.

 

[Lord Baal]

I believe the actual pronunciation was "Zee Axees" as in "Ve are Zee Axees unt ve haff vays of making you talk." Even the Italians would put on these accents while revealing their insidious master plans just prior to killing the hero.

The official designation the Axis powers had for themselves was indeed the Axis. Not all nations allied with Germany and Italy, however were officially members of the Axis; Japan joined later, as did Hungary, but Bulgaria and Finland never did. I'm pretty sure Romania and Croatia were members, but Slovakia and other client states of Germany and Italy were not. Not sure about Manchukuo. The USSR never was, though Molotov and Ribbentrop did discuss the possibility of the USSR joining the Axis; the name used then was not the Axis though, but a "Continental Bloc" to counter the "Atlantic Bloc" of the US and UK.

 

[SG-17]

They referred to themselves as the League of E.V.I.L.





Every Villain Is Lemons.

 

[bombshoo]

I think they called themselves Hitler and Friends.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Can I change my answer to The Legion of Doom?

 

[Lord of Elves]

I think they called themselves Hitler and Friends.

This post has my

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I believe the actual pronunciation was "Zee Axees" as in "Ve are Zee Axees unt ve haff vays of making you talk." Even the Italians would put on these accents while revealing their insidious master plans just prior to killing the hero.

"Come now, you don't expect me to buy that horrible accent, do you Benito?"

"No, Mr. Dzhugashvili, I expect you to die!"

 

[Ataxerxes]

Well, outside of offiali communiques etc. I think there wasn't much self reference; the Germans didn't really respect the Italians at all as soldiers, and even when they fought as allies in Italy, they tended to keep seperate...and as for the Japanese, there really wasn't much communication, so the concept of the "Axis" was really an Allied one.

Quite true. In fact, all three pursued separate goals and didn't consult each other. IIRC Hitler asked Mussolini not to invade the Balkans and then had to intervene to help him. Same in North Africa. Hitler didn't want that front. Japan didn't consult Germany about Pearl Harbor, although they did ask them to declare war. There was a lot more cooperation on the allied side.

 

[Lord of Elves]

As Ataxerxes post pointed out, I think the idea that there was some sort of "Axis of Evil", alliance was mostly propagated by the Allies. "Germany and Co.", weren't really allied or coordinated at all, merely had similar goals and banded together in pursuit of them.

 

[Frank Drebin]

happy hitler and the little men from the east.

 

[Tee Kay]

Ultranationalist Master Races tend to hate each other too much to really cooperate with each other fully.