Anti-Comintern Pact

An agreement between Germany and Japan, concluded in 1936, which outlined both countries' hostility to international communism. The Pact was also signed by Italy in 1937, followed by other nations in 1941. In addition to being specifically aimed against Soviet Russia, it also recognized Japanese rule in Manchuria.

The Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded between Nazi Germany and Japan on November 25, 1936. In 1937, Italy also joined the pact, which was directed against the Communist International (Comintern) in general, and the Soviet Union in particular.

In case of an attack by the Soviet Union against Germany or Japan, the two countries agreed to consult on what measures to take "to safeguard their common interests". They also agreed that neither of them would make any political treaties with the Soviet Union, and Germany also agreed to recognize the Japanese puppet regime in Manchuria. Italy's decision was more or less a reaction against the failed Stresa front, the Franco-British initiative of 1935 designed to keep Nazi Germany from extending beyond her present borders.

Earlier, in June 1935, the surprise Anglo-German Naval Agreement was signed between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany. This marked the beginning of a series of attempts by Adolf Hitler to improve relations between the two countries, form a pact and isolate the Soviet Union, while both the Soviet Union and Britain attempted to do the same and isolate Germany. In August 1939, Germany broke the terms of the Anti-Comintern Pact when the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, making a non-aggression agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany official. However, by 1940, Hitler began to plan for a potential invasion of the Soviet Union and the German foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, was sent to negotiate a new treaty with Japan. On September 25, 1940, Ribbentrop sent a telegram to Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister, informing him that Germany, Italy and Japan were about to sign a military alliance. Ribbentrop tried to reassure Molotov by claiming that this alliance was to be directed towards the United States and not the Soviet Union:

The Anti-Comintern Pact was revived in 1941, after Germany's assault on the Soviet Union that commenced with Operation Barbarossa and on November 25 its renewal for another five years was celebrated. This time the parties were: Germany, Japan, Italy, Hungary, Spain, Manchukuo, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Romania, Slovakia, and the Nanjing Nationalist Government in China.