Abstract
By 1937, the events of the previous year had left few in doubt that Europe had become a more dangerous place. In November 1936, Mussolini and Hitler had drawn appreciably closer together with the declaration of the Rome-Berlin ‘Axis of European Peace’ — a vague declaration of like-mindedness of the two fascist powers. The agreement signified that Mussolini was very close to deciding that the best deal he could get to help him achieve his ends would come through agreement with Germany. He still had his doubts, but by the end of the year he would abandon his concerns about the importance to Italy of an independent Austria — the final point which divided him from Hitler — and take his chances with Germany. The declaration of the Axis was not a firm alliance, but it certainly was an important milepost on the road towards one.
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Notes and References
Laurence Lafore, The End of Glory: An Interpretation of the Origins World War II (Philadelphia, 1970) p. 93.
Robert Paul Shay, British Rearmament in the Thirties: Politics and Profits (Princeton, New Jersey, 1977) p. 141.
William R. Rock, British Appeasement in the 1930s (New York, 1977) p. 25.
John Harvey, ed., The Diplomatic Diaries of Oliver Harvey, 1937–1940 (London, 1970) p. 61.
Malcolm Smith, British Air Strategy Between the Wars (Oxford, 1984) p. 178.
John Charmley, Chamberlain and the Lost Peace (London, 1989) p. 18.
The Earl of Birkenhead, The Life of Lord Halifax (London, 1965) p. 372.
Halifax’s diary, entry of 19 November 1937, quoted in Lord Halifax, Fulness of Days (London, 1957), p. 188.
Keith Feiling, The Life of Neville Chamberlain (London, 1946) p. 319.
Ian Colvin, Vansittart in Office: An Historical Survey of the Origins of the Second World War based on the Papers of Sir Robert Vansittart (London, 1965) p. 172.
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© 1993 R.J. Q. Adams
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Adams, R.J.Q. (1993). 1937: Calm Before the Storm. In: British Politics and Foreign Policy in the Age of Appeasement, 1935–39. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230375635_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230375635_4
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