Claiming that Portugal considered joining the Axis is a bit of a stretch. Salazar was politically similar to Franco and to the other european fascists as well but Portugal even leased bases in the Azores to the British and the Americans, something that was was never considered for the Axis. Essentially Portugal was afraid of Spain using the Axis as a way to invade them, hence the neutrality. But it was still a biased neutrality towards the allies.
I'm pretty sure Spain and Portugal had good relations at that time as Portugal sent food and supplies to Spain during the civil war.(I think to Franco but not sure)
the only reason they leased the azores was because the end was already close for the axis. Spain and Portugal were sticking together at that time. The Portuguese were so strict about allowing the allies use the azores that the allies had even drawn up plans to invade the islands for themselves.
Yet Portugal was one of only two countries in the world, the other one being Southern Ireland, to send official condolences to Berlin on the news of Hitler's death.
There were several reasons why Franco sent the "volunteers" 1. Not all was well in Spain after Franco's victory in 1939. The country was shattered by three years of war. Over a half million Spaniards had perished. The economy was in tatters; the people were hungry and fearful. Conditions were ripe for another revolution against Franco; not only by Communists, Royalists, and Republicans, but within the Falangists also. Sending off the more militant of the Falangists to fight in Russia was a way to stem off internal strife. 2. Fulfillment of a "debt" to Hitler and Mussolini. Most military historians agree that Franco could not have won w/o German and Italian support. 3. "Payback" against the Soviets. Obviously, before Barbarossa, Franco had no realistic way to gain revenge against the hated Soviets, but once the war in the East was on, and especially in wake of surprising German successes, it seemed there was opportunity to pay back Stalin for Communist support against Franco, as well as help to eliminate the Soviet threat once and for all. "La division Azul", officially, the 250th Infantry Division of the Heer, did not at first lack for volunteers. After their training, the Blue division travelled by train to the pre-war Polish-Soviet border, where they disembarked and commenced a grueling 600-mile trek to their assigned sector under Army Group North, in the vicinity of Novgorod. A year after their initial deployment; the division was transferred to the Leningrad sector of AG Nord's front. In January 1943, the division was hit hard by a Soviet offensive to relieve Leningrad at the battle of Krasny Bor. Despite being hugely outnumbered, the Blue Division managed to hold its sector, keeping the 18th Army's positions to bombard Leningrad with heavy guns for another year. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Krasny_Bor By mid-1943, seeing that it was unlikely that Germany would win over the Soviets, Franco had the Blue division recalled to Spain; also being bought off, mainly by the British. He also curtailed shipments of vital tungsten ore, at least openly, to the Germans.
@@selfdo even though the Blue Division was recalled to Spain by 1943 there were still many who continued fighting up until the battle of Berlin. Simple history made a video about this if you're interested
@@oliversherman2414 Yes, the Blue Legion, which was far less in numbers. Although attached to the "Walloons" division (which itself was seldom much greater than a regiment in numbers), they weren't formally part of the Waffen-SS. These men more or less did not want to go back to Spain, and quite a few of those that survived, including the fighting in Berlin, didn't. Their motives were probably less about Nazism or Fascism, or even a chance to "kill a Commie for Christ", but rather to eat and get paid on a steady basis. Wartime Spain wasn't exactly a paradise.
Portugal simply couldn't join Axis even if it wanted because it would mean they would no longer have access to their oversea colonies. In fact, joining the Allies would always be more likely than the Axis, not only because of their relationship with the UK, but also because Japan, a member of the Axis, invaded portuguese oversea territories in Asia.
@@stanzer09 To be fair, the Japanese invaded Timor because there were Australian forces there. Japan never attacked the Portuguese city of Macau in China since Portugal was neutral.
@Soulplexis That is literally not the facts. He took advantage of Falangism and gave it lip service to win the Civil War, but he was always a Carlist at heart and subjugated the Falange to Carlism by creating la FET y de las JONS after he won the war. The Spanish State was Capitalist, not Fascist. Franco only maintained a few trappings of Fascism such as putting the arrows on the flag and posthumously making José Primo de Rivera a Duke, but those were to placate rhe Falange and aid in their pacification. Franco never agreed to the defining points of Fascism as defined by Mussolini, and in fact saved Jews during WW2. If you meant to say that Franco was *authoritarian*, then sure, he was; he did not, however, fit the definition of a *Fascist* at all.
Vichy France was definitely collaborating with the Germans. They might have not a full ally or did it under pressure, but they still went out of their way to help the Germans.
Portugal was neutral, and if it maintained economic relations with both sides until 1943, it was much more inclined to the Allies. And the reason was simple - the Empire in Africa. Portugal considered its colonies to be an integral part of its territory, and one of the few ways the country could have some international influence. If it ever joined the Axis, the Allies would easily occupy those territories and Portugal would have no way to get them back. Also, a member of the Axis - Japan - was already occupying Portuguese Timor. Also, while Salazar was a Dictator, we was not of the Fascist type one could see on other countries. The Estado Novo was an Authoritarian regime, not a Totalitarian one. And while Salazar had good relations with Franco, they were mostly driven by national security, by not giving the Spanish nationalists any reason to invade Portugal.
@@Ali-bu6lo Italy really didn't have a real religious base. The pope in the beginning really supported Mussolini, but he was also known as the defender of Islam so it's just a bunch a bullshit he was on
@@Miguel-ed9sr yeah but he was a dictator. No matter what a few will say, its true that he actually didnt get wealthy with his dictatorship, since it seemed he was incorruptible, but he definitely was a dictator since there was no freedom of speech, media control, very restrictive economy.
The notion Iran was going to join the Axis just isn't right. Reza Shah wanted Iran to remain neutral, and didn't like any foreign influence in Iran. People ignore the fact that the Shah denied Germany support in their attempted coup in neighbouring Iraq, and offered the allies intelligence on the USSR...when they were still friends with Germany.
If Iraq under Rashidi al gaylani helped the Germans in the war and attacked England, Germany would have won or the war extended. Instead the British disposed rashidi al gaylani restored the sleazy pro British monarchy and with American helped them with operation mincemeat and the battle of Normandy which Hitler fell for and that led to Germany's defeat in the war.
fr. Iranian military force was mainly bought. from/trained by British (beside all the British military advisors in the country). so if there was any influence, it was theirs. so much so that the whole "war" ended in 6 days. Plus, there was not much of a worry about Iraq. It was invaded on may 1941. Iran's invasion was on August 1941. And on the east, India was still practically a British colony Iran was the ideal route to send backup to Soviets. and thus it had to be in allied hands. that is all there is to it.
Yeah, when you're next to the Soviet Union you tend to be wary of them. It's not like they cared about helping the allies, they just wanted to not be attacked by the Soviet's like the Afghanis
@@ahennessy7998 under British control iraq was with the allies. But under Rashidi al gaylani iraq was under Axis little over a year before Rashidi al gaylani was overthrown and immediately murdered.iraq was forced to rejoin the allies once the British retook control reinstalling the sleazy puppet king until his murder in 1958.
not really as the country was overrun either way. But for the allies Spain joining the war would make a landing in Europe much easier and further split axis forces and ressources, far more than a spanish entry could ever give back. In a WW1/1870 Style battle of France you would be right, but since this is WW2, the ressource part is even more important, and if the allies could bomb the spanish, the axis would have even less ressources than in our timeline, in which they bought essential tank components from the spanish
@@myhonorwasloyalty thats also right but i think that this does not compensate for all the other things. Also trough air supply and supply over the suez canal the allies would still have a chance in africa, of course the axis could have won it then, but i believe that sooner or later the allies would recapture both gibraltar and egypt as the axis ressources are, espacially further streched trough the garrision of spain, so low that the hold on Egypt is not that important as to give it so many ressources
France already got steamrolled by Germany. Spain and Portugal joining the Axis would affect the UK a lot more, as it'd make it a lot more difficult to get to the Mediterranean .
Well. Turkey only joined Allies on February 23, 1945 almost 1 week after the bombing of Dresden. At that point, it was clear that that Allies were determined to do what needed to win the war - even though it would mean the total annihilation of Nazi Germany. It became clear to the Turkish administration at that time that Hitler had no chance of winning and Turks wanted to be on the side of victors, and also didn't want to be excluded from the new League of Nations.
Always opportunistic. Turkey was doing bussines with the Germans an then one month before the war ended they joined the allies. Ofc the did that just to claim that they were in the right side and request fair trades. Like they are currently doing. A NATO state that has bussines relationships with Russia and buys Russian weapons. But then claims to be supporting NATO and the alliance
Thailand was actually a part of the Axis, under Feild Marshall Pleak Pibalsongkram..He wanted to take Vietnam, Burma, Lao, Cambodia, and indo China, calling it the Thai Race.
@@satazs6195 Thailand Declared War om both the United Kingdom and the US of A,,but the ambassador to the US, Semi Promoj, did not deliver the declaration to Washington..
@@joshapple6905 But in reality the Thais stayed out of the fighting in neighboring Burma and Malaysia and their army never fought for or with the IJA. But they cooperated with Imperial Japan.
In Iran, Britain and USSR was viewed the same as the world viewed the nazis'. non the less, the shah even expelled many german engineers and officials to convey that he had no intention of joining the war (since the army at that time was not capable of matching the allied armies) and the shah was more interesting in matters in Iran but that did not prevent the 2 allied nations to bombard the cities in Iran until the shah surrendered. Iran asked the united states for help as it was an ally but the united states said it agrees with what every its allies were doing.
Not only that, in WW1 the allies invaded Qajar Iran and occupied the nation leading to nearly 8 million death (or more) leading to deep resentment of the British and Russians for their genocidal and violent behaviour, It only made sense why Reza Shah the great felt closer with the Germans however even when conceding to the allies demands the British and Russians sought violence and territory instead of peace. /
When a German diplomat hinted to Franco that Germany might invade, Franco casually made a comment--the implication of which was not lost on the German--that the word "guerilla" was of Spanish origin.
Yugoslavia was part of the axis powers for a bit until many people opposed it and this made the axis powers furious. Iran on the other hand wanted to remain neutral as it could but it was invaded by both the USSR and the UK. Portugal wanted to stay neutral in the second world war as means as to preserve it's colonial empire overseas specifically in africa.
I wish we were still a part, because then we would not be invaded and our country would not be destroyed and people would not die, we would switch sides like Romania and Bulgaria in the last minute. But the British intelligence made a coup to drag us into the war to buy time for them.
Portugal was too closely tied to Britain to consider joining the axis Also fun fact Spain also considered joining the Allies in response to Japan’s treatment of Catholics in former Spanish colonies, especially the Philippines
Reza Shah used the Germans to develop all of irans infrastructure projects with no promise to join Germany’s side during the brink of war. He effectively used them to build his country but this action came off as partnership to the western nations. It also serves as context for why Iranians today feel heavily indebted to their former kings, and still have distrust in the UK and eventually the USA
Half way through the war Portugal gave the Allies use of an airbase in the Azore Islands which are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This was very useful for air patrols against U-boats. If Portugal even slightly favoured the Axis, they would not have done that.
@@styrus3164 why do we say that Japan was in the axis despite not being in the axis, they had an alliance, sure, but they weren't actually in the axis, like how the Soviet Union was never in the allies
@@prussiaball1871 Japan was in the axis. We usually define axis powers as those in the tripartite pack and Japan [along with Germany and Italy] were one of the first to join the pact
Spain and Portugal were in no position to join the Axis powers due to Spain being devastated by the Civil War and Portugal powerless to contribute much or defend its foreign territories. Turkey was more likely to join in that Iraq anyway. The invasion of Iraq by the British and Russians was a rare collaboration between them too.
Turkey's jointment to axis was entirely impossible. You couldn't convince İsmet İnönü to join alongside with Axis. Main goal of Turkish government during WW2 was always neutrality and make necessary diplomatical moves in order to maintain it.
To be fair Finland was close to joining axis but never officially did. We just kinda fought alongside nazis because we wanted our lost lands back from the Russians. Nazis wanted us to take part in the Leningrad siege, but Mannerheim declined Hitler citing that we were fighting a separate war.
Bullshit, your Finnish government and prime minister deliberately blocked the city of Leningrad and had set up concentration camps where Russian children were held. The Plan was to destroy the city and to occupy large part of Northern Russia. Mannerheim received the Iron cross with golden leaves from Hitler personally which was one of the highest medals. Also Finland kept on hosting German submarines and building its military infrastructure before winter war!
@@alisherri77 No. I never said that. There were some Finnish volunteers at the German army with some of them taking part in the Leningrad siege, but Finnish army itself didn't take part in it.
Tehy were apart of axis basically, japan wasnt part of axis it was just the triapte deal, japan was apart of the co eastern hemisphere, so yea if were saying that about japan finland was to
I like how people never mention Finland as being apart of the axis although their government was aligned ideologically with Germany they were part of the alliance with them
They werent ideological allies aside from sharing the belief that the USSR was a threat to both of them. It was an alliance founded out of realpolitik and mutual aid.
Same thing with the Poles annexing parts of Czechoslovakia at the same time as the Germans nicked the Sudetenland. Also the whole "Finland was threatened" narrative is BS as the Continuation war was about retaking the territory they lost in the Winter war, by the same logic Germany was right to attack Poland in WW2 to retake what they lost in WW1.
Forgetting the biggest country who almost joined the Soviet Union. They had negotiations but Hitler felt like they were asking so much it would turn them into the super power they would later become anyway.
The meeting in Hendaye was fascinating and quite funny. Apparently Franco spoke very fast in an ancient canary dialect that made it very hard for Hitlers interpreter to understand and translate. :D
Franco was a very hard guy to negotiate with, a similar thing happened to general Mola when trying to persuade him to take part in the 1936 coup d'etat.
We would never know how the war would end if those countries joined the Axis. Specially with Spain and Portugal. With the support of Spain and Portugal would be very hard to the Allies to control the Mediterranean. And with the support of Portugal, the Axis would have a key spot in he middle of Atlantic, the Azores islands, which could help them to control the Atlantic ocean, and the routes of trade and weapons between USA and the Allies in Europe. The WWII was very traumatizing for all humanity, specially for all europeans. Marked the Human History, and after that, United Nations, EU and NATO were created, and curiously, after the war USA become the strongest nation in the world.
I've never understood why people comment before viewing the full video. Here's what I never knew and what I got out of the video: Britain gave Spain £ 200 million to not join the axis?!
@@thedude1165 From the first moment this money was not a present for the Spanish people. The aim was to individually buy Franco's main generals and goverment. So this was a individual present for them.
France. A great 'What if?' Not even joining the Axis, but being a co-beligerant like Finland, would have made the entire Med/North African campaigns a very different prospect. The French in Syria could have linked up with an Axis Iraq and Iran.
Turkish government was never inclined to join the axis. I dont know where this idea comes from but I hear this often in western circles. Although some state officials were sympathetic to fascism, İnönü administration was pro allies while trying not to give excuses to germany to invade. There were many treaties signed with britain and france. The treaty with germany doesnt mean turkey was leaning towards the axis side.
Turkey supported Germany economically and let Germany allowed to use the streets for military purposes. Furthermore German submarines used bases on the Turkish Black Sea shore for resupplies
@@abukafiralalmani those are not true. Turkey sold borium to germany for machinery and weapons but it had similar trade links with britain and france. German submarines supply is a total fabrication. In the first sign of german weakness (1943) turkey cut the trade with germany. It was just a pragmatic politics of balance between great powers. İnönü's real problem was stalin and he believed an alliance with western powers will bring more security.
@@abukafiralalmani in 1944 official termination was announced. Turkey stopped shipment of borium to germany in 1943. In october 1939 turkey had signed a mutual defense pack with britain and france. However italian participation and fall of france and greece put turkey in a very delicate position. It was not their choice but survival politics. As I said in normal circumstance İnönü adminstration was pro ally.
No Finland? Though they fought with the Germans on the eastern front, they were never part of the axis, and you would think that's alot closer than the Portugal claim.
Spain would have been the most interessting since the Strait of Gibraltar would have been an easy gateway to Africa as well as cutting Allied sea power off from the Mediterranean. What has to be kept in mind however is, that Franco owed his victory in the civil war as much to the UK and the US as he did to Italy and Germany. His tanks may have been German but the fuel that moved them was as American as apple pie.
The balance of power will often outweigh similar ideologies. Spain was one of the last independent major nations left in Europe and nations of similar size and considerably more strength fell in weeks (Poland and France). People often feel Spain was inclined to join the Axis primarily, but if Russia fell and the UK forced into an unbalanced peace, Spanish independence would be in question
Spain and Portugal would have been a threat in the long run of WWII but Turkey and Iran would have been steam rolled over by the Soviets after the failure of Operation Barborossa for Stalin needed any excuse to take other countries, especially ones so close.
Basically most of the countries that wanted to join axis were fighting against the allies and colonialists because the axis “promised” them independence and freedom
Actually there miss a few nations like Hungary, Bulgary, Romania, Thailand… all members of the axis. Although they did join and thus would not be mentioned as “could have”, they should at least have been mentioned on top of the original 3 . Also, Finland could have been mentioned as “could” although it remained actually unaligned, only fighting with the Germans against USSR, but not against the Allies
It is believed That Franco's strategy was to ask Germany for imposible conditions so Spain didn't join. After the Civil War, the Spanish already had enough war
Salazar and Franco could support each other out necessity and convenience, but they disliked each other. So no, Salazar was not fond of Franco (he saw him as an "uneducated sword") and Franco saw Salazar as devious, untrustworthy, who never spoke clearly.
In 1943 before the battle of Koursk, the Russians wanted peace talks with the Germans. It was the outcome of their victory in Stalingrad and their huge defeat in the battles of Kharkov and Bielgorod. The Russians still tgought that the war could last long. And that they still could loose.
@knowledgia You completely missed the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union requested to join the axis and received no response, being invaded later on with Operation Barbarossa.
@@charliehill8484 Did we not watch the same video? I understand simple ideology and history, that’s not what this comments about. The title of the video is “who were the nations that almost joined the axis?” The Soviets nearly did, and they signed treaties with the axis like the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. We’re not talking about ideology here, we’re talking about countries that nearly joined the Axis, which the Soviets nearly did. No different than Spain, Iraq, or Irans circumstances. They nearly did, and they ended up not doing it.
@@eNoble-US no no no. the Soviet Union would never ally with Germany, as Stalin demanded territorial concessions from the Nazis, which they were not prepared to give him. The Soviet Union understood this and the negotiations themselves were conducted in order to drag out time, to delay the war. And don't forget that similar negotiations, such as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, were conducted by both France and Great Britain with Gitler in 1938, during the partition of Czechoslovakia, and after, unofficially. The Soviet Union, during 1936-1938. tried to conclude an alliance with France and Great Britain, but they themselves did not want this, which is why they had to conclude a non-aggression pact with Germany. Very different from the conditions in Spain, which had a fascist government, and from Iraq/Iran with authoritarian leaders. There were communists in the Soviet Union, whom the Nazis hated as well as the Jews, in addition, the main population of the USSR - the Eastern Slavs - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, who were also genocide during the war and kept in concentration camps on a par with Jews, they were treated much worse, than, for example, to the American, French and British, whom the Germans considered more or less equal to themselves (look at the conditions of detention on the western and eastern fronts, the difference is huge)
@@eNoble-US my point is that the soviets never nearly joined because that was never on the table the Germans where happy to be friendly with them until they were ready to attack
The Sovjets would never have entered long term. Stalins plan was always to attack Germany, just not as soon as Hitler attacked him (Which was one of the reasons Hitler attacked the USSR). They were way too different for any lasting alliance.
Let's not forget that the Soviet Union almost joined the Axis in 1940. The only reason they didn't was because Hitler didn't want to risk to share the sphere of influence over East Europe. Stalin was expecting to join the Axis until the Barbarossa Op was launched.
They were allied in the non aggression pact and the various other trade pacts they had until 41 They remained their allies until the Nazis stabbed them in the back
That makes no sense. Every single person in the world knew that any pact between the USSR and Germany would not last, and that the war would end up being between them anyway. Nazism = anti communism.
Hitler despised communism so I doubt he would become allies with them. He didn't want war either, and operation Barbarossa was a pre-emptive attack as the Soviets were spreading further West towards Germany
Untrue and actually should be corrected in regards to Portugal. England and Portugal agreed we would not enter the war due to domino effect of making Spain side with Germany Though we sold to both sides, the English got the goods on credit whereas Germany paid upfront. Looking back at history we were screwed by the British several times but don’t seem to find one single time we screwed them in return
Turkish main objective was to avoid a German or Soviet invasion. So unless an actual invasion happened president İnönü had no intension of joining the war on any side. It would be damage the country regardless. Last war was a near annihilation for us. And we had nothing to gain from a new one.
Finland was a strong Axis ally also. I’m surprised that France wasn’t mentioned, they were one vote away from joining the Axis after the Brits sunk their fleet of ships after France surrendered to Germany
Hungary mobilized over 1 Million soliders and fought with the Axis Powers. Hungary deployed most of its troops on the Eastern Front and were heavily engaged at the Battle of Stalingrad where they suffered massive casualties.
The part on Portugal is plane wrong! Salazar was instrumental in keeping Spain out of the war aligned with the Germans. Franco has even changed Spain's Timezone to be the same as Germany and till this day, Spain and Portugal are on different Germany's and Britain's Timezones. By staying neutral and inducing Spain to stay neutral too, Portugal ensured the Allies would not have to win back another battle in the Iberian Peninsula and that places such as the Azores would be free to be used against Germany when invasion and it's use by the Germans were no longer a possibility. On top of that, by remaining neutral and free, Portugal was used by tens or hundreds of thousands of refugies, Jews and others, that would not have had the chance to flee a full nazi Europe if either an alliance with or an invasion by the Germans had taken place. Besides, Salazar was a devout catholic, a discrete personality and the opposite of a populist character such as Mussulini, Hitler and even Franco. The Soviet Union was not a threat to Portugal at that time and the socialist origins of both Nazism and Fascism didn't appeal at all to Salazar's kind of person nor to Portugal's Corporativism political doctrine!
Uhhh that Portugal one is almost fairy tale. Portugal was neutral but played both ways in secret. Salazar didn't want anything to do with that war and just stringed along Hitler with selling uranium. But at the same time they gave access to the allies for the azores air bases. He was playing both ways and none at the same time. It was not benefitial for Portugal to join. We already had learned that lesson in ww1
Hitler had 2 options in 1941 invade or Russia or control the Mediterranean. Militarily the 2nd was the strategically logic choice and easier to achieve. Control North Africa, the islands of the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal which would cut Britain off from middle eastern oil and India. Support Indian independence from Britain and Britain is totally reliant on the US and Canada. Germany not only retains access to Russian oil but also gains access to oil from Iraq and Iran. Not that I’ve put much thought into this😉
For real it’s a no brainer, on hitlers ignorance. He committed over 200 hundred divisions to operation Barbarossa the invasion of the Soviet Union, while only sending Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Corp, with his 3 Divisions, to take Egypt and the Suez Canal.
That would make sense the only problem is Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union was every bit for ideology as it was for resources. Hitler wanted to completely destroy “ Judeo bolishvism” as well as conquer the east for its resources.
4:40 Iraq was an independent country, but it had a ruined economy, a people suffering from ignorance, poverty and disease, and a feudal agricultural economy supported by a British-dominated monarchy. Iraqi leaders were looking forward to liberating the oil wealth for the benefit of the people, and the only solution to get rid of British domination was the victory of the Germans and Italians. At that time, the conflict was European, not global, because America, the Soviets, and Japan did not enter the war, and the balance was tilted towards Germany and Italy, especially after the fall of France. The Germans were looking forward to obtaining oil, so they turned their compass towards Iraq The ambitious Iraqi adventure ended with a British invasion in 1941 Then the Germans attacked the Soviet Union to obtain oil and other resources, a decision that made them lose the war.
Reza Shah proudly howled whenever he got the chance that his people were not lowly Semites like their Jewish or Arab neighbors, but pure-blooded Aryans - same as the Germans. He made sure the world got this message, too. In 1935 he issued a proclamation to the League of Nations that “henceforth” the country of Persia would be called Iran - the name reaching back in time to the country’s ancient roots and the Sanskrit phrase “Airyanem Vaejah,” or “Home of the Aryans.” In quick response, Germany bestowed their seal of racial purity on the kingdom: the pernicious Nuremberg Laws that had made anti-Semitism the law of the land, were amended. Iranians, the Nazi’s racial nit-pickers formally adjudicated in 1936, were to be considered as Aryan as any full-blooded German. This happy kinship received further cultural staying power from the fact that the swastika was emblazoned all over Germany, from the flag to the uniforms of its goose-stepping battalions. It was the iconic emblem of the Third Reich. Yet millennial before the crisscrossed geometric design had been designated as the calling card of the Nazi Party, it had been a commonplace good luck symbol in Eurasia; the word, “swastika,” can be traced back to sacred Sanskrit texts. The swastika had decorated Persian art since the time of Zoroaster, carved into ancient stone columns, etched into tribal pottery. Now, however, this historical accident was deliberately seen as something more - further proof of the deep-seated Aryan ties between the people of the Reza Shah and, as the German chancellor was called with deference in Iran, Hitler Shah.
The original meaning of Aryan is quite different to the nazi definition. Aryans were Germans or people of northern Europe and had characteristics such as being tall,blonde and blue eyes and fair skinned. The Nazis certainly didn't consider Persians Aryan as they were from the middle East . Racial theorists in the 19th century used the term because it had to do with indi European languages and so the Nazis adopted it as the term for their master race. Persians don't fit into any of the characteristics for Aryan and so it is really just a term that was used for Persians originally but changed meaning over time.
Where the fuck did the Persians get the idea that they were pure blooded Aryans and the sam as the Germans. They were middle eastern and Semitic same as the Jews. Any Iranians who think that the Nazis thought that they were Aryans are delusional. After all why would they. They were the same as every otherarabic country and were viewed as non Aryans. Reza Shah just sounds like he's was trying to convince himself into thinking being Persian meant he was above Jews and was Aryan. He should just look in a mirror and stop fooling himself into thinking he was of some superior all because some racial theorists in the 19th century happened to choose the same term for their superior race as what some Arabic people used to class themselves hundreds of years beforehand
@@yousuf6382 they are delsional. They are so far genetically and in appearance from the Germans yet they want to believe that they belong to this master race. It's just complete delusion based on the hope that they can say that they are better than they're neighbours, but they're just the same as them
Portugal was divided at the time. Some elites wanted to support the Axis, others the Allies. Salazar never trusted Franco, he supported him in Spanish Civil War because he feared the spread of commmunism, so he had to support Franco to keep the Nationalism/Fascism ideology intact. If Portugal joined the Axis probably Spain would join the Allies, and if he suported the Allies then Spain would probably join the Axis, to have a pretext to invade Portugal and try his dream of an Iberian Union. We cant forget that Portugal had the overseas colonies in Africa and in Asia, so would be a risk to support one of the sides, he had to ensure that after war Portugal would keep his colonies no matter the winner. Dispite the fact that Salazar had good relations with Hitler and Mussolini and shared some ideology at some point (specially with the italian doctrine), he also had in mind the Treaty of Windsor and the oldest alliance with England. Can't imagine how hard it was in terms of diplomacy to Portugal.
At first even Yugoslavia was offered to join and the king wanted to but there was sort of uprising in Belgrade and it was decided to not join thus resulting in Germany and Italy declaring a war against YUGO (Yugoslavia)
Why? Finland was neutral and was invaded by Russia, Germany's ally, in 1939. Finland never wanted to join the war so why would Finland want to join Axis? Later in WWll Finland was just fighting the same enemy Germany was, but for different reasons. Finland to gain back the land they lost one year earlier and remain independent unoccupied nation while Germany wanted to occupy Russia.
@@RoyalMela The point is that Finland officially fought against USSR so it fought WW2 as an ally of Axis powers. Spanish case is more or less similar because it didnt officialy enter at war against USSR but yet they sent voluntairs to fight against the soviets and support the war effort of Germany until they realised germans were going to lose the war and returned to neutrality.
Another nation that almost joined the Axis was Finland. Although a co-belligerent at war with the Soviet Union, Finland was never an ally of Germany and never joined the Axis.
Finland was, in fact, an ally of Germany. The Soviets invaded Finland, and the British didn't care or offer any assistance or even really mention it in politics. Germany directly helped Finland, and when they reached Finland in their invasion of the USSR, they fought alongside the Finns. The Finnish Army was also near completely funded and supplied and advised by Germany, which is why it was so effective. The only reason why Finland was not fully allied with Germany, was to prevent Britain invading Finland.
@@heythere2115 Finland was a co-belligerent of Germany and not an ally. If you do not know the difference between these two words, there are dictionaries and whatnot that can help you out.
Don't forget a large contingent of Indian freedom-fighters joined the Japanese to fight the Brittish. Their leader, Subhash Chandra Bose, is practically idolized by many in India. In Punjab (where peaceful protestors were massacred by British troops) many old-timers, when a youngster show courage, will offer the praise, roughly translated as, "As brave as Hitler!!!" When my father was posted in India, I used to hear my highschool coach say that whenever you overcame some great challenge.
They actually requested to join but Hitler never responded but of they if in some universe they had joined bc they had the same enemies then allies would've been absolutely crushed all over the world so the cold war would've eventually been between the USSR and Germany bc they still had opposing ideologies
@@henkschrader4513 hardly, remember that Germany was already finishing the nuclear bomb designs by 1944, by defeating together all of the Western powers, the would have seen no other use for the soviets and wipe them out with nuclear attacks before the soviets could even get the schematics like they did whit the americans in 1951
If you think that then you have no idea why WW2 took place, and you're not the only person to say such stupid things in the comments. Germany and the USSR could not be allies. I saw somebody above saying "Hitler tried to get the USSR to sign the Tripartite Pact"... The Axis Alliance was an anti-USSR pact to defend against the upcoming Soviet invasion. Here's an idea. Read Mein Kampf. This will end the speculation and braindead theories that people have when it comes to WW2. You will see how history channels like this lie, you will see how the media lies. You will see how schools and society lies when it comes to WW2. Or at least, "lie" might not be the right word but they essentially talk out of their ass. *Hitler conveniently wrote down exactly what he believes:* Hitler wanted to firstly reverse the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler wanted to secondly rebuild Germany as the central European power. Hitler wanted to thirdly invade the USSR, kill Stalin and the commissars, and remove Communism's ability to invade Europe(how's that alliance with the USSR sounding?) Hitler wanted to fourthly create a political structure where Europeans govern their own states. Russians govern Russia. Slovaks govern Slovakia. Germans govern Germany. French govern France. etc This was the objective of Adolf Hitler. The only reason why you think Germany and the USSR would be allies : is because you believe that Germany wanted to take over the world and wanted to invade the USA. But you fail to realise that the British and French, who owned the world, declared war on Germany and tried to prevent/distract Germany from the USSR. The Soviets were going to invade Europe 2 weeks before Operation Barbarossa.
@@heythere2115 you totally missed the point he said they were CLOSER to join then other countries and the USSR actually sent an request to join the axis bc stalin thought it would be very beneficial for both, but Hitler didn't respond bc as you already said his ideology and believes were that the germans naturally had to expand eastwards bc that was perfect land to expand the Germanic peoples land and in the long term population growth. Stalin was aware that their ideologies opposed but thought that he could comvince Hitler into excepting the soviets into the pact bc together they could actually take over the world but he underestimated the hate Hitler had towards the soviets and actually wasn't already happy about the fact that he had a war against Britain bc it was and is a brother nation... But that doesn't mean that there were already plans for the future of the entire west bc they wanted it under German control but it didn't have priority at the time in their eyes...
Argentina might be on that list. And if Iran, Iraq & Turkey had joined the Axis, the Germans would have had a supply line to oil - a serious weakspot for their military.
Yeah maxim, you are just a russian troll who wants to make a big fat lie here. Finland lost territory to Russia when Russia attacked Finland in 1939. Finns wanted the land back and took in in 1941. And yes, in North Karelia Finns went beyond the old border. Why? Because Stalin had killed tens of thousands ethnic Finns in Karealian areas. Finland wanted to liberate those small towns from facing sent to Gulaks or mass executions. Which started already in 1938.
As someone who has studied Salazar,, Portugal was never close to joining the axis, even before the war Salazar didn't like Hitler, and during the war, despite doing business with both sides, they always favoured the allies, and later even gave them an air base in the Açores island
Yes, Salazar sympathised with anti-communism but not with Hitler. And regards trading. Portugal traded tungsten in equal amounts to the allies and the axis, actually allowing the allies to run a bill and forcing the axis to pay upfront. When the allies asked Portugal to suspend trading with both the allies and the axis, Portugal did, and when asked, also provided the Azores islands. Portugal was never close to join the axis.
It wouldn't change anything Spain was devastated by a bloody Civil War Portugal was not that powerful turkey could not put up much of a fight and Iraq well you know they joined the war it wouldn't make any difference the Ally still would have won different is the war would have lasted a lot longer like maybe to 1947 Franco being removed from power and we played with a democratic Western leader as well as lose land to France most definitely Spain had more to lose from the war so in short Germany still would have lost Spain turkey Portugal Iraq and Iran into an War wouldn't make any difference especially when the United States joined it wouldn't really change the outcome of the conflict the access power was was destined to lose it was the invasion of the Soviet Union and declaren War on the United States is what's doomed the Germans Halo is too overconfident and his ability then they came to bite him in the ass so in short Spain during the war would not change the outcome it would just make the Allies do horrible stuff to Spain and probably eradicate Portugal
Didn’t Iran change its name from Persia in 1935 under the influence of German ambassadors (not only because it was what Iranians called themselves) but also because it was so inline with the idea of belonging to the “Aryan” bloodline, which the word “Iran” is a derivative of?
08:52 The Treaty of Windsor (1386) was a treaty between Portugal and ENGLAND, not Britain….and I think, is the oldest treaty between two countries still in existence…it was also the reason why Portugal sent troops to the western front in WW1…
Saying that Portugal was going to join the Axis makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. Just because we had a right wing dictator automatically means that we were friends with the Germans? All wrong. Salazar never trusted Hitler or Mussolini because he knew very well that they never kept their promises; Salazar was an awful person but he was extremely smart and cunning. During the War, Portugal allowed the Allies to use the Azores Islands as Air Bases to hunt German submarines during the war (which was a clear violation of Portuguese Neutrality). It´s true that Portugal during the War also sold raw materials to the Germans, but they did the same to the British (it was literally first to buy, first served), in fact the British purchased WAY more materials (especially from the Portuguese Colonies in Africa) during the War than the Germans ever did. The British trusted Salazar and the Portuguese, not only because of the treaty of Windsor but also because the British had landed in Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars to help them against the French and Spanish, something that they actually considered doing during WW2. Many of the requests that Franco asked from Hitler at Hendaye in terms of equipment and quarantees were actually suggested to him by the Portuguese Embassy in Madrid on behalf of the British. Because of this, Portugal received Spitfires, Hurricanes, Beaufighters, Blenheims and many other British planes to increase their Air Force, plus Valentine and Centaur tanks to dissuade the Spanish from ever invading. Meanwhile, the Spanish had Heinkels and Messerschmitt planes. That clearly shows who supported the British and who supported the Nazis. :D
well then, in case of Spain joining Axis, Portugals last hope at peace was to sell more raws to Axis. As if it wouldn't be a big deal to give Portugal to Franco, with a hasty blitzkrieg of german expeditionary force.
@@DeusEversor history repeats itself. If Spain joined the Axis, the British would repeat what they did during the Napoleonic Wars and send forces to Portugal and repeat the Peninsular Wars. You might say its easy to conquer Portugal (small Army and Air Force in 1941) but that invasion would add 900km of coastline for the Germans to defend, most of them with excellent beaches for allied landings. And Spain also has a massive coastline... plus if the French and Yugoslav Resistance was fierce during the Second War, the Portuguese and Spanish one would have been WAY more effective (Napoleon felt that). The other reason was why? Why invade Portugal? The moment that the Germans crossed the Border, the british and Americans would occupy the Azores and Madeira, further increasing their battle potential against the U boots in the Atlantic. And with the invasion, the German Forces would be stretched even further (Invasion of Norway, Tunisia, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union...) all that for virtually no return. Also, by 1944, Portugal had a huge Air Force and Army which was way more capable than the few Spanish T-26s and Panzer IVs tanks and the old Bf-109E fighters. At some point Portugal had 50 Thunderbolts and more than 200 Spitfires and Hurricanes. If Salazar wanted, he could order the Invasion of Spain and conquer some territory quite easily by 1945.
....Salazar and Franco could be highly venerated by London and Washington. They've kept the Mediterranean safe for the Royal Navy, Gibraltar was not occupied by the Wehrmacht and Vichy's France did not joined the Axis as result. Imagine Rommel arriving to Alexandria, malta conquested, the British expelled from Malta and the tropicalize Panzers in the Suez, Jerusalem, Bagdad, the Turkish forced defection and the Germans/Italians attacking the Caucasus also from the south.
According to Iranian historians, Hitler's statement about the superiority of the German race was a slogan and his goal was to dominate the resources, and the friendship between Reza Shah and Adolf Hitler was based on the fact that the blows that Iran had received from the two governments of Russia and England in the past periods with this Movement was healing and Reza Shah was ready to give oil and Hitler to strike these two countries
Yeah I played this colonization game and realized a after a few days after industrializing (finland in my case) that suddenly oil, coal and grain etc went down drastic and needed to annex nations. Managed to get whole of russia but still lacked grain and went almost to brink, went further down and Lithuania had a relatively lot of grain, got my arse annihilated there. Everything went haywire afterwards. Fallen.
Claiming that Portugal considered joining the Axis is a bit of a stretch. Salazar was politically similar to Franco and to the other european fascists as well but Portugal even leased bases in the Azores to the British and the Americans, something that was was never considered for the Axis. Essentially Portugal was afraid of Spain using the Axis as a way to invade them, hence the neutrality. But it was still a biased neutrality towards the allies.
I'm pretty sure Spain and Portugal had good relations at that time as Portugal sent food and supplies to Spain during the civil war.(I think to Franco but not sure)
@@amsalkhan4754 Portugal also sent thousands of volunteers to help Franco with the ground fighting in Spain.
the only reason they leased the azores was because the end was already close for the axis. Spain and Portugal were sticking together at that time. The Portuguese were so strict about allowing the allies use the azores that the allies had even drawn up plans to invade the islands for themselves.
Yet Portugal was one of only two countries in the world, the other one being Southern Ireland, to send official condolences to Berlin on the news of Hitler's death.
the Portuguese-english alliance is I believe the oldest continuous military alliance in history, that may have had something to do with it
Despite being neutral, Franco's Spain did still send over 47,000 volunteers to aid the Axis on the eastern front in the form of the Blue Division
There were several reasons why Franco sent the "volunteers"
1. Not all was well in Spain after Franco's victory in 1939. The country was shattered by three years of war. Over a half million Spaniards had perished. The economy was in tatters; the people were hungry and fearful. Conditions were ripe for another revolution against Franco; not only by Communists, Royalists, and Republicans, but within the Falangists also. Sending off the more militant of the Falangists to fight in Russia was a way to stem off internal strife.
2. Fulfillment of a "debt" to Hitler and Mussolini. Most military historians agree that Franco could not have won w/o German and Italian support.
3. "Payback" against the Soviets. Obviously, before Barbarossa, Franco had no realistic way to gain revenge against the hated Soviets, but once the war in the East was on, and especially in wake of surprising German successes, it seemed there was opportunity to pay back Stalin for Communist support against Franco, as well as help to eliminate the Soviet threat once and for all. "La division Azul", officially, the 250th Infantry Division of the Heer, did not at first lack for volunteers. After their training, the Blue division travelled by train to the pre-war Polish-Soviet border, where they disembarked and commenced a grueling 600-mile trek to their assigned sector under Army Group North, in the vicinity of Novgorod. A year after their initial deployment; the division was transferred to the Leningrad sector of AG Nord's front. In January 1943, the division was hit hard by a Soviet offensive to relieve Leningrad at the battle of Krasny Bor. Despite being hugely outnumbered, the Blue Division managed to hold its sector, keeping the 18th Army's positions to bombard Leningrad with heavy guns for another year.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Krasny_Bor
By mid-1943, seeing that it was unlikely that Germany would win over the Soviets, Franco had the Blue division recalled to Spain; also being bought off, mainly by the British. He also curtailed shipments of vital tungsten ore, at least openly, to the Germans.
@@selfdo even though the Blue Division was recalled to Spain by 1943 there were still many who continued fighting up until the battle of Berlin. Simple history made a video about this if you're interested
@@oliversherman2414 Yes, the Blue Legion, which was far less in numbers. Although attached to the "Walloons" division (which itself was seldom much greater than a regiment in numbers), they weren't formally part of the Waffen-SS. These men more or less did not want to go back to Spain, and quite a few of those that survived, including the fighting in Berlin, didn't. Their motives were probably less about Nazism or Fascism, or even a chance to "kill a Commie for Christ", but rather to eat and get paid on a steady basis. Wartime Spain wasn't exactly a paradise.
@@selfdo their motives would've probably been a little bit of all of those "not individually but just in general"
@@selfdo I was meant to put these () in and not these "" sorry about that lol
Portugal simply couldn't join Axis even if it wanted because it would mean they would no longer have access to their oversea colonies. In fact, joining the Allies would always be more likely than the Axis, not only because of their relationship with the UK, but also because Japan, a member of the Axis, invaded portuguese oversea territories in Asia.
But they did invade it anyway. Just look at the Japanese occupation of Timor Leste.
@@stanzer09 That's why I said they invaded oversea territories in Asia
@@stanzer09 Well, you are not in a topic and category . You are going so far.
Well, Good solutions. If they joined it would be also unfair and decivedness in humiliation that they are flee down against the illegal side.
@@stanzer09 To be fair, the Japanese invaded Timor because there were Australian forces there. Japan never attacked the Portuguese city of Macau in China since Portugal was neutral.
American: *Shows a picture of Hitler*
Franco: "I have never seen that man in my life, colega..."
Imagine the picture being from his meeting with Hitler
@@christossymA3A2 Franco: that’s fake
@@christossymA3A2 There must be Photoshoper innit
-every change side Italian move
@@ALIKN1-1 Franco: ¡Ay, caramba!
Franco never gave Hitler any territory, unlike how Britain and France did...
Franco played Hitler...then pivoted to the US after the war. He knew how to survive.
You're right. Franco was more cunning that people give him credit for.
Fascists do that
@Soulplexis Franco was not a Fascist, and in fact, suppressed Fascism in Spain. c.f. Dr. Paul Preston's biography of the Caudillo.
@@anastasios0513 he was though. He was literally on the nationalist side of Spain and responsible for Spain becoming fascist
@Soulplexis That is literally not the facts. He took advantage of Falangism and gave it lip service to win the Civil War, but he was always a Carlist at heart and subjugated the Falange to Carlism by creating la FET y de las JONS after he won the war. The Spanish State was Capitalist, not Fascist. Franco only maintained a few trappings of Fascism such as putting the arrows on the flag and posthumously making José Primo de Rivera a Duke, but those were to placate rhe Falange and aid in their pacification.
Franco never agreed to the defining points of Fascism as defined by Mussolini, and in fact saved Jews during WW2.
If you meant to say that Franco was *authoritarian*, then sure, he was; he did not, however, fit the definition of a *Fascist* at all.
Amazing 👍
Vichy France was definitely collaborating with the Germans. They might have not a full ally or did it under pressure, but they still went out of their way to help the Germans.
sure. imagine someone saying that when u were helping criminals with their gun pointed toward ur head
Absolutely 💯
Vichy was a fully puppet state..
Taqya. It’s a strategy. You help someone for having no pressure and in the same time, you help allies
@@hazzmati The Vichy French were indeed fascist!! Just as the Italians and Germans were.
Portugal was neutral, and if it maintained economic relations with both sides until 1943, it was much more inclined to the Allies. And the reason was simple - the Empire in Africa. Portugal considered its colonies to be an integral part of its territory, and one of the few ways the country could have some international influence. If it ever joined the Axis, the Allies would easily occupy those territories and Portugal would have no way to get them back. Also, a member of the Axis - Japan - was already occupying Portuguese Timor.
Also, while Salazar was a Dictator, we was not of the Fascist type one could see on other countries. The Estado Novo was an Authoritarian regime, not a Totalitarian one. And while Salazar had good relations with Franco, they were mostly driven by national security, by not giving the Spanish nationalists any reason to invade Portugal.
Also Salazar's regime was mostly Catholic conservative and he didn't like the paganish direction fascists in Italy and Germany chose.
Salazar is not and was not a dictactor my friend, he die with no money
And i'm portuguese a lot a my family menbers fought in the colonial war, and lived during Salazar, even my parents were born during the new state
@@Ali-bu6lo Italy really didn't have a real religious base. The pope in the beginning really supported Mussolini, but he was also known as the defender of Islam so it's just a bunch a bullshit he was on
@@Miguel-ed9sr yeah but he was a dictator. No matter what a few will say, its true that he actually didnt get wealthy with his dictatorship, since it seemed he was incorruptible, but he definitely was a dictator since there was no freedom of speech, media control, very restrictive economy.
The notion Iran was going to join the Axis just isn't right.
Reza Shah wanted Iran to remain neutral, and didn't like any foreign influence in Iran. People ignore the fact that the Shah denied Germany support in their attempted coup in neighbouring Iraq, and offered the allies intelligence on the USSR...when they were still friends with Germany.
If Iraq under Rashidi al gaylani helped the Germans in the war and attacked England, Germany would have won or the war extended. Instead the British disposed rashidi al gaylani restored the sleazy pro British monarchy and with American helped them with operation mincemeat and the battle of Normandy which Hitler fell for and that led to Germany's defeat in the war.
fr. Iranian military force was mainly bought. from/trained by British (beside all the British military advisors in the country). so if there was any influence, it was theirs. so much so that the whole "war" ended in 6 days.
Plus, there was not much of a worry about Iraq. It was invaded on may 1941. Iran's invasion was on August 1941. And on the east, India was still practically a British colony
Iran was the ideal route to send backup to Soviets. and thus it had to be in allied hands. that is all there is to it.
Yeah, when you're next to the Soviet Union you tend to be wary of them. It's not like they cared about helping the allies, they just wanted to not be attacked by the Soviet's like the Afghanis
@@alexcholagh8330 Iraq did join the axis
@@ahennessy7998 under British control iraq was with the allies. But under Rashidi al gaylani iraq was under Axis little over a year before Rashidi al gaylani was overthrown and immediately murdered.iraq was forced to rejoin the allies once the British retook control reinstalling the sleazy puppet king until his murder in 1958.
If Spain and Portugal joined Germany's side, then France will be in the worse position more than ever.
not really as the country was overrun either way. But for the allies Spain joining the war would make a landing in Europe much easier and further split axis forces and ressources, far more than a spanish entry could ever give back. In a WW1/1870 Style battle of France you would be right, but since this is WW2, the ressource part is even more important, and if the allies could bomb the spanish, the axis would have even less ressources than in our timeline, in which they bought essential tank components from the spanish
May France last even as all others fail.
They were the ones that pushed democracy until it stuck!
No real life with out it imo.
@@st1ssl214 nah with spain in axis they had cut the sea route to go to egypt and the allied had suffered
@@myhonorwasloyalty thats also right but i think that this does not compensate for all the other things. Also trough air supply and supply over the suez canal the allies would still have a chance in africa, of course the axis could have won it then, but i believe that sooner or later the allies would recapture both gibraltar and egypt as the axis ressources are, espacially further streched trough the garrision of spain, so low that the hold on Egypt is not that important as to give it so many ressources
France already got steamrolled by Germany. Spain and Portugal joining the Axis would affect the UK a lot more, as it'd make it a lot more difficult to get to the Mediterranean .
Well. Turkey only joined Allies on February 23, 1945 almost 1 week after the bombing of Dresden. At that point, it was clear that that Allies were determined to do what needed to win the war - even though it would mean the total annihilation of Nazi Germany. It became clear to the Turkish administration at that time that Hitler had no chance of winning and Turks wanted to be on the side of victors, and also didn't want to be excluded from the new League of Nations.
Rather like Argentina a nation that broke relations with the Axis powers on 26 January 1944, and declared war on 27 March 1945.
"determined to do what needed"
HA! Is this how you call incendiary bombing major european cities oh 'heroes' of D day you?
Always opportunistic. Turkey was doing bussines with the Germans an then one month before the war ended they joined the allies. Ofc the did that just to claim that they were in the right side and request fair trades. Like they are currently doing. A NATO state that has bussines relationships with Russia and buys Russian weapons. But then claims to be supporting NATO and the alliance
Well what are you expect from the scum bags?
Sounds about right
Thailand was actually a part of the Axis, under Feild Marshall Pleak Pibalsongkram..He wanted to take Vietnam, Burma, Lao, Cambodia, and indo China, calling it the Thai Race.
The Thai ambassador was one of the last visitors to Adolf Hitler in his bunker, on April 20th, 1945
@@satazs6195
Thailand Declared War om both the United Kingdom and the US of A,,but the ambassador to the US, Semi Promoj, did not deliver the declaration to Washington..
@@joshapple6905 But in reality the Thais stayed out of the fighting in neighboring Burma and Malaysia and their army never fought for or with the IJA. But they cooperated with Imperial Japan.
In Iran, Britain and USSR was viewed the same as the world viewed the nazis'. non the less, the shah even expelled many german engineers and officials to convey that he had no intention of joining the war (since the army at that time was not capable of matching the allied armies) and the shah was more interesting in matters in Iran but that did not prevent the 2 allied nations to bombard the cities in Iran until the shah surrendered. Iran asked the united states for help as it was an ally but the united states said it agrees with what every its allies were doing.
Not only that, in WW1 the allies invaded Qajar Iran and occupied the nation leading to nearly 8 million death (or more) leading to deep resentment of the British and Russians for their genocidal and violent behaviour, It only made sense why Reza Shah the great felt closer with the Germans however even when conceding to the allies demands the British and Russians sought violence and territory instead of peace. /
@@dapperduncle1972 yup. Exactly. It was called the persian genocide
Communists are the real enemy then and now
@@lordhosseinlhyes everyone should acknowledge it
When a German diplomat hinted to Franco that Germany might invade, Franco casually made a comment--the implication of which was not lost on the German--that the word "guerilla" was of Spanish origin.
The Spanish uprising against Napoleon.
Napoleon's greatest mistake, according to the man himself.
Yugoslavia was part of the axis powers for a bit until many people opposed it and this made the axis powers furious.
Iran on the other hand wanted to remain neutral as it could but it was invaded by both the USSR and the UK.
Portugal wanted to stay neutral in the second world war as means as to preserve it's colonial empire overseas specifically in africa.
Serbs opposed, Croatia are still glorified Nacisam!
Yugoslavian king even signed to join Axis but people refused to follow
I wish we were still a part, because then we would not be invaded and our country would not be destroyed and people would not die, we would switch sides like Romania and Bulgaria in the last minute. But the British intelligence made a coup to drag us into the war to buy time for them.
@@Zorke691 Bosnians too!
Portugal was too closely tied to Britain to consider joining the axis
Also fun fact Spain also considered joining the Allies in response to Japan’s treatment of Catholics in former Spanish colonies, especially the Philippines
Reza Shah used the Germans to develop all of irans infrastructure projects with no promise to join Germany’s side during the brink of war. He effectively used them to build his country but this action came off as partnership to the western nations. It also serves as context for why Iranians today feel heavily indebted to their former kings, and still have distrust in the UK and eventually the USA
I knew about the first 3 but I never expected Portugal to join the axis. I always thought they were one of the closest ally's of Britain
Yeah, we are. That's why we decided to be neutral. Well, one of the reasons anyway.
they were pretty fascist tbf
Half way through the war Portugal gave the Allies use of an airbase in the Azore Islands which are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This was very useful for air patrols against U-boats. If Portugal even slightly favoured the Axis, they would not have done that.
@@jes3d Portugal was never fascist
@@jota9584 people like to conflate dictatorships with fascism
There was even at one point talks of the SOVIETS joining the Axis, before Operation Barbarossa of course...
Yes, Hitler and Ribbentrop met with Molotov in 1940.
Yeah, it's weird they didn't talk about it in the video. Really Romania is the only reason the Soviet's didn't join the Axis
Yugoslavia actually joined the Axis but after protests of the people they switched sides
It was a sort of British backed coup. That's the entire reason why Hitler invaded Yugoslavia in the first place
@@satazs6195 true
@@satazs6195 That's why it was named Operation "Punishment".
What about Thailand (Siam), they fought on the Japanese side both French and Anglo Indian Burmese forces in 1942.
They already were in the axis by joining japan, this video is about potential allies not actual ones
@@styrus3164 OK.
@@styrus3164 why do we say that Japan was in the axis despite not being in the axis, they had an alliance, sure, but they weren't actually in the axis, like how the Soviet Union was never in the allies
@@prussiaball1871 Japan was in the axis. We usually define axis powers as those in the tripartite pack and Japan [along with Germany and Italy] were one of the first to join the pact
@@styrus3164 oh alright, I always thought the Axis was defined by those in the Pact of Steel like Italy and Germany
Spain and Portugal were in no position to join the Axis powers due to Spain being devastated by the Civil War and Portugal powerless to contribute much or defend its foreign territories. Turkey was more likely to join in that Iraq anyway. The invasion of Iraq by the British and Russians was a rare collaboration between them too.
Turkey's jointment to axis was entirely impossible. You couldn't convince İsmet İnönü to join alongside with Axis. Main goal of Turkish government during WW2 was always neutrality and make necessary diplomatical moves in order to maintain it.
@@Sakhalin_Beg Yup. I just forgat to write "during actual battles".
@@Sakhalin_Beg Hahaha hatamı gördüm. "forgat" ne ya! Teşekkür ederim. Hâlâ öğreniyorum, elimden geleni yapıyorum
@@Sakhalin_Beg Sağolun, siz de Türkiye'deyseniz size de iyi geceler. Duruma göre iyi sabahlar, iyi akşamlar veya iyi günler XD
To be fair Finland was close to joining axis but never officially did. We just kinda fought alongside nazis because we wanted our lost lands back from the Russians. Nazis wanted us to take part in the Leningrad siege, but Mannerheim declined Hitler citing that we were fighting a separate war.
Bullshit, your Finnish government and prime minister deliberately blocked the city of Leningrad and had set up concentration camps where Russian children were held. The Plan was to destroy the city and to occupy large part of Northern Russia. Mannerheim received the Iron cross with golden leaves from Hitler personally which was one of the highest medals.
Also Finland kept on hosting German submarines and building its military infrastructure before winter war!
So ur saying not a single finnish soldier fought in the leningrad siege?
@@alisherri77 No. I never said that. There were some Finnish volunteers at the German army with some of them taking part in the Leningrad siege, but Finnish army itself didn't take part in it.
Some had to choose the lesser evil... Stalin or Hitler. Finland was in a tough spot. I don't blame them
Tehy were apart of axis basically, japan wasnt part of axis it was just the triapte deal, japan was apart of the co eastern hemisphere, so yea if were saying that about japan finland was to
Fun fact: Soviet Union Sent A Request To Join The Axies. But Germany Did Not Respond
I like how people never mention Finland as being apart of the axis although their government was aligned ideologically with Germany they were part of the alliance with them
Can you elaborate how the Finnish government was aligned ideologically to Germany?
They werent ideological allies aside from sharing the belief that the USSR was a threat to both of them. It was an alliance founded out of realpolitik and mutual aid.
What do you mean? Anti Soviet?
@@Dmitry_Medvedev exactly, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".
Same thing with the Poles annexing parts of Czechoslovakia at the same time as the Germans nicked the Sudetenland. Also the whole "Finland was threatened" narrative is BS as the Continuation war was about retaking the territory they lost in the Winter war, by the same logic Germany was right to attack Poland in WW2 to retake what they lost in WW1.
Forgetting the biggest country who almost joined the Soviet Union. They had negotiations but Hitler felt like they were asking so much it would turn them into the super power they would later become anyway.
The great Reza Shah wasn't pro german, but in fact, he was anti british. That's why he wanted to have a somewhat good relationship with germany.
Very good presentation. Thanks
The meeting in Hendaye was fascinating and quite funny. Apparently Franco spoke very fast in an ancient canary dialect that made it very hard for Hitlers interpreter to understand and translate. :D
Franco was a very hard guy to negotiate with, a similar thing happened to general Mola when trying to persuade him to take part in the 1936 coup d'etat.
What? Source? He was galicia, why would he know a canarian dialect?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Being Galician Franco could hardly speak an "old Canarian dialect"
old canary dialect is basically andalusian
We would never know how the war would end if those countries joined the Axis.
Specially with Spain and Portugal.
With the support of Spain and Portugal would be very hard to the Allies to control the Mediterranean.
And with the support of Portugal, the Axis would have a key spot in he middle of Atlantic, the Azores islands, which could help them to control the Atlantic ocean, and the routes of trade and weapons between USA and the Allies in Europe.
The WWII was very traumatizing for all humanity, specially for all europeans.
Marked the Human History, and after that, United Nations, EU and NATO were created, and curiously, after the war USA become the strongest nation in the world.
I've never understood why people comment before viewing the full video. Here's what I never knew and what I got out of the video: Britain gave Spain £ 200 million to not join the axis?!
Question is what did the Spanish do with that money
I mean it's like an entire country's annual budget
No wonder the war bankrupted Britain.
@@thedude1165 What always happens in dictatorships: It disappears in the pockets of the rich people
@offroadguy7772 It's not true, but good opinion.
@@thedude1165 From the first moment this money was not a present for the Spanish people. The aim was to individually buy Franco's main generals and goverment. So this was a individual present for them.
France. A great 'What if?' Not even joining the Axis, but being a co-beligerant like Finland, would have made the entire Med/North African campaigns a very different prospect.
The French in Syria could have linked up with an Axis Iraq and Iran.
Turkish government was never inclined to join the axis. I dont know where this idea comes from but I hear this often in western circles. Although some state officials were sympathetic to fascism, İnönü administration was pro allies while trying not to give excuses to germany to invade. There were many treaties signed with britain and france. The treaty with germany doesnt mean turkey was leaning towards the axis side.
Turkey supported Germany economically and let Germany allowed to use the streets for military purposes. Furthermore German submarines used bases on the Turkish Black Sea shore for resupplies
Italy and turkey were absolutely not friends; in 1936 the turks supplied anti- aircraft guns and crews against the Italians during the Ethiopian war.
@@abukafiralalmani those are not true. Turkey sold borium to germany for machinery and weapons but it had similar trade links with britain and france. German submarines supply is a total fabrication. In the first sign of german weakness (1943) turkey cut the trade with germany. It was just a pragmatic politics of balance between great powers. İnönü's real problem was stalin and he believed an alliance with western powers will bring more security.
@@Ozgur72 Turkey cut trade with Germany after Romania changed sides. This was in late August 1944.
@@abukafiralalmani in 1944 official termination was announced. Turkey stopped shipment of borium to germany in 1943. In october 1939 turkey had signed a mutual defense pack with britain and france. However italian participation and fall of france and greece put turkey in a very delicate position. It was not their choice but survival politics. As I said in normal circumstance İnönü adminstration was pro ally.
When you realise how many times Iran had been meddled with by the Brits, Russians, and Americans
That's very true. 👍
Ask an iranian they would ask you: are you a native?
Franco knew that joining the Axis would be the worst thing he could and therefore made outlandish demands he knew wouldn't to be agreed on
Also, Franco's mother was half Jewish. A fact he was careful to hide from Hitler.
No Finland? Though they fought with the Germans on the eastern front, they were never part of the axis, and you would think that's alot closer than the Portugal claim.
Every time I delve into history of any kid, questions of "what if" always plague me 😅
I need a part 2 on the civil war video! I keep coming back to see if it’s up yet lol
Spain would have been the most interessting since the Strait of Gibraltar would have been an easy gateway to Africa as well as cutting Allied sea power off from the Mediterranean. What has to be kept in mind however is, that Franco owed his victory in the civil war as much to the UK and the US as he did to Italy and Germany. His tanks may have been German but the fuel that moved them was as American as apple pie.
the phrase as american as apple pie, is funny when you realize apple pie isn't american lol.
apple pie is not american...
@@willsmithens5529 it's just a phrase.
Just like the fuel that fuelled Germany. ..
In exchange for synthetic petroleum recipes and tech of course... not just the $$$ of the petrol.
You could have mentioned that Franco sent spanish volunteers (División Azul) to the Eastern Front
Exactly what I was thinking. It wasn't a big contribution but it wasn't nothing either.
By your logic F. Roosevelt sent communist volunteers to Spain to fight against Franco in the Civil war
The balance of power will often outweigh similar ideologies. Spain was one of the last independent major nations left in Europe and nations of similar size and considerably more strength fell in weeks (Poland and France). People often feel Spain was inclined to join the Axis primarily, but if Russia fell and the UK forced into an unbalanced peace, Spanish independence would be in question
Were Turkey independent at that time?
Was*
@@altunaze6127 Yup
Spain is not a country full of plains as those countries
It seems that it is lost on many of you that Spain was a fascist country. German leanings, but Franco didn't join Germany.
Awesome video Knowledgia I love you're videos please keep making videos like these please 👍
Spain and Portugal would have been a threat in the long run of WWII but Turkey and Iran would have been steam rolled over by the Soviets after the failure of Operation Barborossa for Stalin needed any excuse to take other countries, especially ones so close.
Turkey definitely would not be steamrolled by anyone.
Basically most of the countries that wanted to join axis were fighting against the allies and colonialists because the axis “promised” them independence and freedom
Actually there miss a few nations like Hungary, Bulgary, Romania, Thailand… all members of the axis. Although they did join and thus would not be mentioned as “could have”, they should at least have been mentioned on top of the original 3 . Also, Finland could have been mentioned as “could” although it remained actually unaligned, only fighting with the Germans against USSR, but not against the Allies
It is believed That Franco's strategy was to ask Germany for imposible conditions so Spain didn't join. After the Civil War, the Spanish already had enough war
Salazar and Franco could support each other out necessity and convenience, but they disliked each other.
So no, Salazar was not fond of Franco (he saw him as an "uneducated sword") and Franco saw Salazar as devious, untrustworthy, who never spoke clearly.
In 1943 before the battle of Koursk, the Russians wanted peace talks with the Germans. It was the outcome of their victory in Stalingrad and their huge defeat in the battles of Kharkov and Bielgorod. The Russians still tgought that the war could last long. And that they still could loose.
@knowledgia
You completely missed the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union requested to join the axis and received no response, being invaded later on with Operation Barbarossa.
The Germans would never ally the Soviet’s for ideological reasons so it was never an option
@@charliehill8484 Did we not watch the same video? I understand simple ideology and history, that’s not what this comments about.
The title of the video is “who were the nations that almost joined the axis?” The Soviets nearly did, and they signed treaties with the axis like the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. We’re not talking about ideology here, we’re talking about countries that nearly joined the Axis, which the Soviets nearly did.
No different than Spain, Iraq, or Irans circumstances. They nearly did, and they ended up not doing it.
@@eNoble-US no no no. the Soviet Union would never ally with Germany, as Stalin demanded territorial concessions from the Nazis, which they were not prepared to give him. The Soviet Union understood this and the negotiations themselves were conducted in order to drag out time, to delay the war. And don't forget that similar negotiations, such as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, were conducted by both France and Great Britain with Gitler in 1938, during the partition of Czechoslovakia, and after, unofficially. The Soviet Union, during 1936-1938. tried to conclude an alliance with France and Great Britain, but they themselves did not want this, which is why they had to conclude a non-aggression pact with Germany.
Very different from the conditions in Spain, which had a fascist government, and from Iraq/Iran with authoritarian leaders. There were communists in the Soviet Union, whom the Nazis hated as well as the Jews, in addition, the main population of the USSR - the Eastern Slavs - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, who were also genocide during the war and kept in concentration camps on a par with Jews, they were treated much worse, than, for example, to the American, French and British, whom the Germans considered more or less equal to themselves (look at the conditions of detention on the western and eastern fronts, the difference is huge)
@@eNoble-US my point is that the soviets never nearly joined because that was never on the table the Germans where happy to be friendly with them until they were ready to attack
The Sovjets would never have entered long term. Stalins plan was always to attack Germany, just not as soon as Hitler attacked him (Which was one of the reasons Hitler attacked the USSR). They were way too different for any lasting alliance.
Let's not forget that the Soviet Union almost joined the Axis in 1940. The only reason they didn't was because Hitler didn't want to risk to share the sphere of influence over East Europe. Stalin was expecting to join the Axis until the Barbarossa Op was launched.
They were allied in the non aggression pact and the various other trade pacts they had until 41
They remained their allies until the Nazis stabbed them in the back
That makes no sense. Every single person in the world knew that any pact between the USSR and Germany would not last, and that the war would end up being between them anyway. Nazism = anti communism.
@@vitorhugosantana7053 every one in the world knew except Stalin is that what you're saying
Hitler despised communism so I doubt he would become allies with them. He didn't want war either, and operation Barbarossa was a pre-emptive attack as the Soviets were spreading further West towards Germany
Yes, and Germans never experienced so much resistance after they invaded USSR. Because USSR people loved them soo much.....:-)
Untrue and actually should be corrected in regards to Portugal.
England and Portugal agreed we would not enter the war due to domino effect of making Spain side with Germany
Though we sold to both sides, the English got the goods on credit whereas Germany paid upfront.
Looking back at history we were screwed by the British several times but don’t seem to find one single time we screwed them in return
Turkish main objective was to avoid a German or Soviet invasion. So unless an actual invasion happened president İnönü had no intension of joining the war on any side. It would be damage the country regardless. Last war was a near annihilation for us. And we had nothing to gain from a new one.
A curiously informative video
Great video
Apparently the Porto-Anglo alliance is the oldest currently upheld alliance in the world (it might be slightly differently worded but yah)
The fact that you left out Finland says a lot about this video. Why did you omit them?
Finland didn't sign Tripartite Pact but allied with the Nazis to retake the territory they lost from the Soviet's in the winter war of 39.
Finland was a strong Axis ally also. I’m surprised that France wasn’t mentioned, they were one vote away from joining the Axis after the Brits sunk their fleet of ships after France surrendered to Germany
Vichy France joined Axis
I'm not sure that Germany would have accepted France as a full Axis member.
Hungary mobilized over 1 Million soliders and fought with the Axis Powers. Hungary deployed most of its troops on the Eastern Front and were heavily engaged at the Battle of Stalingrad where they suffered massive casualties.
Good video, interesting information!
The part on Portugal is plane wrong! Salazar was instrumental in keeping Spain out of the war aligned with the Germans. Franco has even changed Spain's Timezone to be the same as Germany and till this day, Spain and Portugal are on different Germany's and Britain's Timezones. By staying neutral and inducing Spain to stay neutral too, Portugal ensured the Allies would not have to win back another battle in the Iberian Peninsula and that places such as the Azores would be free to be used against Germany when invasion and it's use by the Germans were no longer a possibility. On top of that, by remaining neutral and free, Portugal was used by tens or hundreds of thousands of refugies, Jews and others, that would not have had the chance to flee a full nazi Europe if either an alliance with or an invasion by the Germans had taken place. Besides, Salazar was a devout catholic, a discrete personality and the opposite of a populist character such as Mussulini, Hitler and even Franco. The Soviet Union was not a threat to Portugal at that time and the socialist origins of both Nazism and Fascism didn't appeal at all to Salazar's kind of person nor to Portugal's Corporativism political doctrine!
Uhhh that Portugal one is almost fairy tale. Portugal was neutral but played both ways in secret. Salazar didn't want anything to do with that war and just stringed along Hitler with selling uranium. But at the same time they gave access to the allies for the azores air bases.
He was playing both ways and none at the same time. It was not benefitial for Portugal to join. We already had learned that lesson in ww1
Don't forget about Siam (Thailand). They joined the Axis after Japan invaded them.
Hitler had 2 options in 1941 invade or Russia or control the Mediterranean. Militarily the 2nd was the strategically logic choice and easier to achieve. Control North Africa, the islands of the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal which would cut Britain off from middle eastern oil and India. Support Indian independence from Britain and Britain is totally reliant on the US and Canada. Germany not only retains access to Russian oil but also gains access to oil from Iraq and Iran. Not that I’ve put much thought into this😉
Absolutely 💯
For real it’s a no brainer, on hitlers ignorance. He committed over 200 hundred divisions to operation Barbarossa the invasion of the Soviet Union, while only sending Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Corp, with his 3 Divisions, to take Egypt and the Suez Canal.
That would make sense the only problem is Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union was every bit for ideology as it was for resources. Hitler wanted to completely destroy “ Judeo bolishvism” as well as conquer the east for its resources.
@@iattacku2773 Hitler was undone by his own ideology- he was bent on destroying the Judeo Marxist menace.
@@iattacku2773 As well as for lebensraum.
4:40
Iraq was an independent country, but it had a ruined economy, a people suffering from ignorance, poverty and disease, and a feudal agricultural economy supported by a British-dominated monarchy.
Iraqi leaders were looking forward to liberating the oil wealth for the benefit of the people, and the only solution to get rid of British domination was the victory of the Germans and Italians. At that time, the conflict was European, not global, because America, the Soviets, and Japan did not enter the war, and the balance was tilted towards Germany and Italy, especially after the fall of France.
The Germans were looking forward to obtaining oil, so they turned their compass towards Iraq
The ambitious Iraqi adventure ended with a British invasion in 1941
Then the Germans attacked the Soviet Union to obtain oil and other resources, a decision that made them lose the war.
Abd Al Kareem Qassim : hold my Revolut
This video is missing the elephant in the room: the USSR. At the time of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, an Axis USSR was very much on the table…
What about the USSR? They were in talks to join the Axis for a short bit. That surely would have changed the outcome of the war.
Breslau incorrectly labeled as Somme (River) and Vienna as Somme. This is beyond cursed I won't be able to sleep tonight mister youtube guy
Bugged me as well 😅
Surprised Sweden didn’t make it in here as they literally openly supported the Germans with material and weapons
Wonderful content.
Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria did join the Axis.
Reza Shah proudly howled whenever he got the chance that his people were not lowly Semites like their Jewish or Arab neighbors, but pure-blooded Aryans - same as the Germans. He made sure the world got this message, too. In 1935 he issued a proclamation to the League of Nations that “henceforth” the country of Persia would be called Iran - the name reaching back in time to the country’s ancient roots and the Sanskrit phrase “Airyanem Vaejah,” or “Home of the Aryans.”
In quick response, Germany bestowed their seal of racial purity on the kingdom: the pernicious Nuremberg Laws that had made anti-Semitism the law of the land, were amended. Iranians, the Nazi’s racial nit-pickers formally adjudicated in 1936, were to be considered as Aryan as any full-blooded German.
This happy kinship received further cultural staying power from the fact that the swastika was emblazoned all over Germany, from the flag to the uniforms of its goose-stepping battalions. It was the iconic emblem of the Third Reich. Yet millennial before the crisscrossed geometric design had been designated as the calling card of the Nazi Party, it had been a commonplace good luck symbol in Eurasia; the word, “swastika,” can be traced back to sacred Sanskrit texts. The swastika had decorated Persian art since the time of Zoroaster, carved into ancient stone columns, etched into tribal pottery. Now, however, this historical accident was deliberately seen as something more - further proof of the deep-seated Aryan ties between the people of the Reza Shah and, as the German chancellor was called with deference in Iran, Hitler Shah.
The original meaning of Aryan is quite different to the nazi definition. Aryans were Germans or people of northern Europe and had characteristics such as being tall,blonde and blue eyes and fair skinned. The Nazis certainly didn't consider Persians Aryan as they were from the middle East . Racial theorists in the 19th century used the term because it had to do with indi European languages and so the Nazis adopted it as the term for their master race. Persians don't fit into any of the characteristics for Aryan and so it is really just a term that was used for Persians originally but changed meaning over time.
From 1935 to today, the Persian people are still living a lie that they are Aryans and belong to the German race
Where the fuck did the Persians get the idea that they were pure blooded Aryans and the sam as the Germans. They were middle eastern and Semitic same as the Jews. Any Iranians who think that the Nazis thought that they were Aryans are delusional. After all why would they. They were the same as every otherarabic country and were viewed as non Aryans. Reza Shah just sounds like he's was trying to convince himself into thinking being Persian meant he was above Jews and was Aryan. He should just look in a mirror and stop fooling himself into thinking he was of some superior all because some racial theorists in the 19th century happened to choose the same term for their superior race as what some Arabic people used to class themselves hundreds of years beforehand
@@yousuf6382 they are delsional. They are so far genetically and in appearance from the Germans yet they want to believe that they belong to this master race. It's just complete delusion based on the hope that they can say that they are better than they're neighbours, but they're just the same as them
@@h.d.5194 Persians are not Arab nor do they speak Arabic.
Portugal was divided at the time.
Some elites wanted to support the Axis, others the Allies.
Salazar never trusted Franco, he supported him in Spanish Civil War because he feared the spread of commmunism, so he had to support Franco to keep the Nationalism/Fascism ideology intact.
If Portugal joined the Axis probably Spain would join the Allies, and if he suported the Allies then Spain would probably join the Axis, to have a pretext to invade Portugal and try his dream of an Iberian Union.
We cant forget that Portugal had the overseas colonies in Africa and in Asia, so would be a risk to support one of the sides, he had to ensure that after war Portugal would keep his colonies no matter the winner.
Dispite the fact that Salazar had good relations with Hitler and Mussolini and shared some ideology at some point (specially with the italian doctrine), he also had in mind the Treaty of Windsor and the oldest alliance with England.
Can't imagine how hard it was in terms of diplomacy to Portugal.
Portugal and Spain had very good relations during this time. I don’t think a Spanish invasion of Portugal was a serious possibility.
It's impossible. At that time, Portugal was Spain's only ally by treaty (Iberian Pact).
At first even Yugoslavia was offered to join and the king wanted to but there was sort of uprising in Belgrade and it was decided to not join thus resulting in Germany and Italy declaring a war against YUGO (Yugoslavia)
I am sure the cases of Finland or Thailand should also have been considered in this video.
Why? Finland was neutral and was invaded by Russia, Germany's ally, in 1939. Finland never wanted to join the war so why would Finland want to join Axis? Later in WWll Finland was just fighting the same enemy Germany was, but for different reasons. Finland to gain back the land they lost one year earlier and remain independent unoccupied nation while Germany wanted to occupy Russia.
Good point.
@@RoyalMela The enemy of my enemy is my friend (by default).
@@RoyalMela The point is that Finland officially fought against USSR so it fought WW2 as an ally of Axis powers.
Spanish case is more or less similar because it didnt officialy enter at war against USSR but yet they sent voluntairs to fight against the soviets and support the war effort of Germany until they realised germans were going to lose the war and returned to neutrality.
@@RoyalMela but they did join the Axis, and the Soviet's were never allies with the Germans, they just had a lot in common so they were somewhat close
Another nation that almost joined the Axis was Finland. Although a co-belligerent at war with the Soviet Union, Finland was never an ally of Germany and never joined the Axis.
Finland was, in fact, an ally of Germany.
The Soviets invaded Finland, and the British didn't care or offer any assistance or even really mention it in politics. Germany directly helped Finland, and when they reached Finland in their invasion of the USSR, they fought alongside the Finns. The Finnish Army was also near completely funded and supplied and advised by Germany, which is why it was so effective.
The only reason why Finland was not fully allied with Germany, was to prevent Britain invading Finland.
@@heythere2115 Finland was a co-belligerent of Germany and not an ally. If you do not know the difference between these two words, there are dictionaries and whatnot that can help you out.
Don't forget a large contingent of Indian freedom-fighters joined the Japanese to fight the Brittish. Their leader, Subhash Chandra Bose, is practically idolized by many in India.
In Punjab (where peaceful protestors were massacred by British troops) many old-timers, when a youngster show courage, will offer the praise, roughly translated as, "As brave as Hitler!!!"
When my father was posted in India, I used to hear my highschool coach say that whenever you overcame some great challenge.
I remember reading that Argentina almost joined the axis as well
Just a quick bit of info but Finland did join the Axis but did not sign the tri partite pact which meant little at this point
Why does everyone ignore the fact that Antarctica literally controlled all three of the main axis nations? The entire war was antarctica’s doing…
I think USSR was closer to joining the axis than spain and portugal can actually be
They actually requested to join but Hitler never responded but of they if in some universe they had joined bc they had the same enemies then allies would've been absolutely crushed all over the world so the cold war would've eventually been between the USSR and Germany bc they still had opposing ideologies
@@henkschrader4513 hardly, remember that Germany was already finishing the nuclear bomb designs by 1944, by defeating together all of the Western powers, the would have seen no other use for the soviets and wipe them out with nuclear attacks before the soviets could even get the schematics like they did whit the americans in 1951
@@elmudonuevo513 true the germans would've actually had the ball to use the thing
If you think that then you have no idea why WW2 took place, and you're not the only person to say such stupid things in the comments.
Germany and the USSR could not be allies.
I saw somebody above saying "Hitler tried to get the USSR to sign the Tripartite Pact"... The Axis Alliance was an anti-USSR pact to defend against the upcoming Soviet invasion.
Here's an idea.
Read Mein Kampf.
This will end the speculation and braindead theories that people have when it comes to WW2. You will see how history channels like this lie, you will see how the media lies. You will see how schools and society lies when it comes to WW2. Or at least, "lie" might not be the right word but they essentially talk out of their ass.
*Hitler conveniently wrote down exactly what he believes:*
Hitler wanted to firstly reverse the Treaty of Versailles.
Hitler wanted to secondly rebuild Germany as the central European power.
Hitler wanted to thirdly invade the USSR, kill Stalin and the commissars, and remove Communism's ability to invade Europe(how's that alliance with the USSR sounding?)
Hitler wanted to fourthly create a political structure where Europeans govern their own states. Russians govern Russia. Slovaks govern Slovakia. Germans govern Germany. French govern France. etc
This was the objective of Adolf Hitler.
The only reason why you think Germany and the USSR would be allies : is because you believe that Germany wanted to take over the world and wanted to invade the USA.
But you fail to realise that the British and French, who owned the world, declared war on Germany and tried to prevent/distract Germany from the USSR.
The Soviets were going to invade Europe 2 weeks before Operation Barbarossa.
@@heythere2115 you totally missed the point he said they were CLOSER to join then other countries and the USSR actually sent an request to join the axis bc stalin thought it would be very beneficial for both, but Hitler didn't respond bc as you already said his ideology and believes were that the germans naturally had to expand eastwards bc that was perfect land to expand the Germanic peoples land and in the long term population growth. Stalin was aware that their ideologies opposed but thought that he could comvince Hitler into excepting the soviets into the pact bc together they could actually take over the world but he underestimated the hate Hitler had towards the soviets and actually wasn't already happy about the fact that he had a war against Britain bc it was and is a brother nation...
But that doesn't mean that there were already plans for the future of the entire west bc they wanted it under German control but it didn't have priority at the time in their eyes...
In Spain Franco was known as "un Gallego listo". He was known for being clever. Certainly, he very astutely managed Spain's situation during the war.
Funny that the Treaty of Windsor is the oldest standing treaty on earth.
Argentina might be on that list. And if Iran, Iraq & Turkey had joined the Axis, the Germans would have had a supply line to oil - a serious weakspot for their military.
Finland: lol, they forgot about me. Probably, they really believed in fairy tales that we just wanted to return the lost territories.
they invaded the soviet union together but never wanted to join the axis.
True, an alliance of necessity
@@user-op8fg3ny3j have u ever head of the idea of greater Finland? This is why Finland invaded with Germany
Greater Finland was just a fantasy from a few individuals who wanted tighter relations with Germany, not a policy of the Finnish state.
Yeah maxim, you are just a russian troll who wants to make a big fat lie here. Finland lost territory to Russia when Russia attacked Finland in 1939. Finns wanted the land back and took in in 1941. And yes, in North Karelia Finns went beyond the old border. Why? Because Stalin had killed tens of thousands ethnic Finns in Karealian areas. Finland wanted to liberate those small towns from facing sent to Gulaks or mass executions. Which started already in 1938.
There was more chance of Afghanistan joining the Axis then Portugal, just look at their army's uniform in the 1930s.
As someone who has studied Salazar,, Portugal was never close to joining the axis, even before the war Salazar didn't like Hitler, and during the war, despite doing business with both sides, they always favoured the allies, and later even gave them an air base in the Açores island
Yes, Salazar sympathised with anti-communism but not with Hitler. And regards trading. Portugal traded tungsten in equal amounts to the allies and the axis, actually allowing the allies to run a bill and forcing the axis to pay upfront. When the allies asked Portugal to suspend trading with both the allies and the axis, Portugal did, and when asked, also provided the Azores islands. Portugal was never close to join the axis.
@@TheSupahBish precisely!, Couldn't have said it better myself
So what you saying is:
Iran had some loose relations with Germany but stayed out of the war but got invaded over it.
can you please do a what if all those countries joined the axis video seres please? id love to see a german led space race !!!
It wouldn't change anything Spain was devastated by a bloody Civil War Portugal was not that powerful turkey could not put up much of a fight and Iraq well you know they joined the war it wouldn't make any difference the Ally still would have won different is the war would have lasted a lot longer like maybe to 1947 Franco being removed from power and we played with a democratic Western leader as well as lose land to France most definitely Spain had more to lose from the war so in short Germany still would have lost Spain turkey Portugal Iraq and Iran into an War wouldn't make any difference especially when the United States joined it wouldn't really change the outcome of the conflict the access power was was destined to lose it was the invasion of the Soviet Union and declaren War on the United States is what's doomed the Germans Halo is too overconfident and his ability then they came to bite him in the ass so in short Spain during the war would not change the outcome it would just make the Allies do horrible stuff to Spain and probably eradicate Portugal
Allies : we are fighting for freedom.
Also allies invading neutral countries just like the Reich.
Didn’t Iran change its name from Persia in 1935 under the influence of German ambassadors (not only because it was what Iranians called themselves) but also because it was so inline with the idea of belonging to the “Aryan” bloodline, which the word “Iran” is a derivative of?
No, Iran was always called Iran inside Iran so it really didn't Change its native name. But it did change it's English name
Always happen to see a video from you
Yugoslavia technically joined the axis but it left
Kind of, there was basically a coup, more like what happened in Italy than "switching sides" as people tend to put it
08:52 The Treaty of Windsor (1386) was a treaty between Portugal and ENGLAND, not Britain….and I think, is the oldest treaty between two countries still in existence…it was also the reason why Portugal sent troops to the western front in WW1…
Saying that Portugal was going to join the Axis makes ABSOLUTELY no sense. Just because we had a right wing dictator automatically means that we were friends with the Germans? All wrong. Salazar never trusted Hitler or Mussolini because he knew very well that they never kept their promises; Salazar was an awful person but he was extremely smart and cunning. During the War, Portugal allowed the Allies to use the Azores Islands as Air Bases to hunt German submarines during the war (which was a clear violation of Portuguese Neutrality).
It´s true that Portugal during the War also sold raw materials to the Germans, but they did the same to the British (it was literally first to buy, first served), in fact the British purchased WAY more materials (especially from the Portuguese Colonies in Africa) during the War than the Germans ever did.
The British trusted Salazar and the Portuguese, not only because of the treaty of Windsor but also because the British had landed in Portugal during the Napoleonic Wars to help them against the French and Spanish, something that they actually considered doing during WW2. Many of the requests that Franco asked from Hitler at Hendaye in terms of equipment and quarantees were actually suggested to him by the Portuguese Embassy in Madrid on behalf of the British.
Because of this, Portugal received Spitfires, Hurricanes, Beaufighters, Blenheims and many other British planes to increase their Air Force, plus Valentine and Centaur tanks to dissuade the Spanish from ever invading. Meanwhile, the Spanish had Heinkels and Messerschmitt planes. That clearly shows who supported the British and who supported the Nazis. :D
well then, in case of Spain joining Axis, Portugals last hope at peace was to sell more raws to Axis. As if it wouldn't be a big deal to give Portugal to Franco, with a hasty blitzkrieg of german expeditionary force.
@@DeusEversor history repeats itself. If Spain joined the Axis, the British would repeat what they did during the Napoleonic Wars and send forces to Portugal and repeat the Peninsular Wars. You might say its easy to conquer Portugal (small Army and Air Force in 1941) but that invasion would add 900km of coastline for the Germans to defend, most of them with excellent beaches for allied landings. And Spain also has a massive coastline... plus if the French and Yugoslav Resistance was fierce during the Second War, the Portuguese and Spanish one would have been WAY more effective (Napoleon felt that). The other reason was why? Why invade Portugal? The moment that the Germans crossed the Border, the british and Americans would occupy the Azores and Madeira, further increasing their battle potential against the U boots in the Atlantic. And with the invasion, the German Forces would be stretched even further (Invasion of Norway, Tunisia, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union...) all that for virtually no return.
Also, by 1944, Portugal had a huge Air Force and Army which was way more capable than the few Spanish T-26s and Panzer IVs tanks and the old Bf-109E fighters. At some point Portugal had 50 Thunderbolts and more than 200 Spitfires and Hurricanes. If Salazar wanted, he could order the Invasion of Spain and conquer some territory quite easily by 1945.
....Salazar and Franco could be highly venerated by London and Washington. They've kept the Mediterranean safe for the Royal Navy, Gibraltar was not occupied by the Wehrmacht and Vichy's France did not joined the Axis as result. Imagine Rommel arriving to Alexandria, malta conquested, the British expelled from Malta and the tropicalize Panzers in the Suez, Jerusalem, Bagdad, the Turkish forced defection and the Germans/Italians attacking the Caucasus also from the south.
Joining the Axis would at that time result in huge ramifications in the Second World War.
According to Iranian historians, Hitler's statement about the superiority of the German race was a slogan and his goal was to dominate the resources, and the friendship between Reza Shah and Adolf Hitler was based on the fact that the blows that Iran had received from the two governments of Russia and England in the past periods with this Movement was healing and Reza Shah was ready to give oil and Hitler to strike these two countries
There was also Finland 🇫🇮 Argentina 🇦🇷 Bolivia 🇧🇴 Peru 🇵🇪 and Venezuela 🇻🇪
Three of those countries are some of the bigger oil countries today.
Which one of Germany's crippling factors at the time was a lack of oil.
Yeah I played this colonization game and realized a after a few days after industrializing (finland in my case) that suddenly oil, coal and grain etc went down drastic and needed to annex nations. Managed to get whole of russia but still lacked grain and went almost to brink, went further down and Lithuania had a relatively lot of grain, got my arse annihilated there. Everything went haywire afterwards. Fallen.
@@VinnyUnion just hire a Brit. They are specialists in colonising in every continent on earth.