September 27, 1940 – Tripartite Pact Signed, Forming the WWII Axis

On this day in history, Chancellor Adolf Hitler of Germany, Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano of Italy and Ambassador Saburo Kurusu of Japan signed the Tripartite Pact, creating the World War II alliance of the Axis Powers. The Pact was later adopted by other members of the Axis, including Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

In the Pact, the Axis powers declared it was their “prime purpose to establish and maintain a new order of things calculated to promote the mutual prosperity and welfare of the peoples concerned.”

You can read the complete text of the pact here.

The signing of the Tripartite Pact by Germany, Japan, and Italy on 27 September 1940 in Berlin. Seated from left to right are the Japanese ambassador to Germany Saburō Kurusu, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano, and Adolf Hitler.