Bilateral relations
Embassy of Germany in Rome
Embassy of Italy in Berlin
Germany?Italy relations
are the
bilateral relations
between
Germany
and
Italy
. Both countries are full members of the
European Union
,
Council of Europe
,
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
, and
NATO
. Germany has an embassy in
Rome
and consulates in
Milan
and
Naples
, while Italy has an embassy in
Berlin
and consulates in
Frankfurt
,
Freiburg
,
Hamburg
,
Hanover
,
Munich
,
Nuremberg
,
Saarbrucken
, and
Stuttgart
.
History
[
edit
]
Italia und Germania
, painted by
Johann Friedrich Overbeck
before
Italian
and
German Unification
.
Relations were established after the
Unification of Italy
. The two countries historically enjoy a special relationship since they fought together against the
Austrian Empire
and parts of their respective territories belonged to the
Holy Roman Empire
and the
German Confederation
. Italy and Germany were both part of the
Triple Alliance
but they became enemies during
World War I
. Both countries eventually became members of the
Axis powers
during
World War II
, formed an alliance during the
Cold War
(
West Germany
), were among the
inner six
and became two of the
G6
nations after their
economic miracle
.
Prime Minister
Giulio Andreotti
was not in favour of the
German reunification
but today the Italian government and the German one are full and leading members of the
European Union
. In 2005, a
German cardinal
was elected
Bishop of Rome
.
Early relations
[
edit
]
In 57 BC,
Julius Caesar
began the
Gallic War
; his successor Emperor
Augustus
and his successors extended the borders of the
Roman Empire
across the
Rhine
(see also
Limes
and
Germania superior
). The rise of the
Franks
began with the
migration Period
and the
fall of the Western Roman Empire
.
Large parts of what would later become Italy and Germany were part of
Charlemagne's
Frankish Empire
in the 8th and 9th centuries AD. Even after the
division of the Frankish Empire
(843), the connections did not break off: throughout the
Middle Ages
, large parts of northern Italy were part of the Holy Roman Empire (even if in some cases only formally as the
Kingdom of Italy
), while intensive - albeit rarely conflict-free - relations also existed between the
Papal States
in central Italy and the
Pope
and the
Roman-German Emperor
. One example is the visit to
Canossa
(1077) by the Roman-German emperor
Henry IV
, who wanted to have his
excommunication
lifted by the pope who was staying there (
Investiture Controversy
). Although southern Italy was not part of the Holy Roman Empire, it was ruled by the
Hohenstaufen dynasty
from 1194 to 1268, who also ruled the Holy Roman Emperors.
Palermo
was the capital and residence of Emperor
Frederick II
, who grew up in the south.
Starting in Italy in the late 14th century, the new intellectual movements (the
Renaissance
and
Humanism
) spread throughout Europe and also influenced the
German-speaking world
. With
Charles V
(1516-1556 'Carlos I of Spain'), a German emperor once again attempted to become heavily involved politically and militarily in Italy. One consequence of this was the
Sacco di Roma
of 1527, when a rebellious army, including German
lansquenets
, devastated and plundered the '
eternal city
'.
The
coalition wars
began in 1792. In March 1796,
Napoleon
was given supreme command of the French Italian army by the
French Directory
and began the
Italian campaign
. In the preliminary
peace treaty of Leoben
(signed on April 18, 1797 and ratified on May 24),
Austria
had to renounce the
Duchy of Milan
, among other things, and be prepared to settle the conflict with France that had been ongoing since 1792. The
treaty of Campo Formio
was signed on October 17, 1797; in it, Napoleon forced the end of the
Republic of Venice
, which had existed since the 7th/8th century. In 1806, he forced the end of the Holy Roman Empire (which had existed since the 10th century) and the renunciation of the empire's imperial feudal rights in Italy. Although Europe was able to free itself from Napoleonic rule in 1814/1815, both
German
and
Italian unification
was delayed after the
Congress of Vienna
in 1815 until around 1870. However, the
Italian states
were largely ruled by foreign powers, while the German lands were mostly ruled by native rulers. The
Austrian Empire
ruled
Veneto
and
Lombardy
.
After 1848
[
edit
]
1848 saw the beginning of the
German revolutions of 1848?1849
in the German states and the Italian March Revolution in the Italian states, both of which failed. In 1861, the
Kingdom of Italy
was formed, which in 1866 used the
German War
between
Prussia
and Austria on Prussia's side to gain Veneto and
Friuli
from Austria in the
Third Italian War of Independence
(after Lombardy had already been won in the
Second Italian War of Independence
in 1859). The victory against Austria was an important stage in the
German unification wars
for Prussia and its Prime Minister
Otto von Bismarck
, as Austria was ousted from German politics, enabling the North German state to win the
Austro-Prussian rivalry
. While the last German war of unification
against France
in 1870/71 led to the foundation of the
German Empire
, the Italians took advantage of the war-related withdrawal of French protection troops to annex the Papal States and declare Rome the Italian capital, thus incorporating the papal domains into the new
nation state
.
However, Italian
irredentism
remained virulent. This ideology, which called for all Italians to be united in one state, was directed against Austria, which still ruled over
Trentino
and
Istria
, as well as other regions. As a result, the
Triple Alliance
between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and Italy had little political impact. When the
First World War
broke out, Italy initially remained neutral and then entered the war in 1915 on the side of Germany's and Austria's opponents, as it felt it could better pursue its irredentist interests in this way (see
Treaty of London (1915)
).
Between 1918 and 1938
[
edit
]
In the 1919
Treaty of St. Germain
, the Kingdom of Italy was awarded the previously Austrian territories of Trentino,
South Tyrol
, the
Channel Valley
, the entire former
Austrian coastal region
and part of
Carniola
, the city of
Zadar
and some northern
Dalmatian islands
. Nevertheless, Italy received less than it had expected (the
Entente
and Italy had negotiated territorial gains in 1915 as a “reward” for a change of front in the First World War). After all, South Tyrol, a territory traditionally populated by German speakers, was now part of the Italian state. In October 1922, the
Fascists
led by
Benito Mussolini
took advantage of the political situation after the War to
march on Rome
and subsequently establish a dictatorship. As a result, the German-speaking South Tyroleans, along with other victim groups, suffered massively under the fascist policy of
Italianization
(see
Italianization of South Tyrol
). After the
National Socialist
seizure of power in January 1933, Italy drew closer to Germany, although Mussolini sought to ally himself with
Great Britain
and
France
as late as 1935 in the agreement known as the
Stresa Front
. The emerging Nazi state took Fascist Italy as a model in some areas.
Other important points in German-Italian relations in these years were the joint intervention in the
Spanish Civil War
(1936-1939), the
annexation of Austria to Germany
in 1938, which Mussolini ultimately accepted (South Tyrol remained with Italy; according to the Hitler-Mussolini Agreement, the German-speaking South Tyroleans could only choose between resettlement in the
German Reich
or giving up their culture and mother tongue) and the alliance treaty of May 22, 1939, known as the
Pact of Steel
.
Italy - Germany Relations (1939-1943)
[
edit
]
Reichskriegsflagge
with the Flag of
Fascist Italy
(1943)
Before the eruption of World War II the Italian government, led by Benito Mussolini, established The Pact of Steel between Adolf Hitler's Germany government in efforts to establish a unified military entity to combat the Allied Powers. Although both sides established a governmental agreement, Italy and Germany remained fearful and distrustful towards one another. This distrust between the two governments would often contradict their military actions of unison to being ones aimed against one another.
[1]
In 1940 the original bipolar pact between Germany and Italy would be adding an existing member with Japan becoming the
Tripartite Pact
. In June 1940, Mussolini entered World War II (without consulting Hitler). Mussolini also set his own priorities, which often became a strategic problem for the German
Wehrmacht
(for example the completely failed
Italian attack on Greece
in 1940 forcing Germany to intervene).
Italian Social Republic
[
edit
]
In 1943, members of the
Italian Grand Council
voted against Benito Mussolini's political power and demanded his resignation. The decline in support from Mussolini's government was viewed as being rooted in the betrayal of his closest advisers and aides. During this time Victor Emmanuel stripped the Prime Ministerial powers of Mussolini and demanded his arrest.
[2]
While arrested Mussolini was forced to the island of Ponza and placed as a political prisoner. Soon after Mussolini was sent to the Mt. Gran Sasso where German soldiers made a daring attempt in rescuing him and bringing him to
Adolf Hitler
.
[
citation needed
]
During this time Hitler sought to regain Mussolini's political support back into Italy's government. Just after a short time of Mussolini's demise those that allied against and caused his fall from power were trialed and executed. In efforts to regain a hold on the Italian government Hitler sought to establish the
Italian Social Republic
, a puppet republic in the town of Salo, in which he encouraged Mussolini to rally political support in efforts to fight against allied forces. Being a reinstalled leader Mussolini who was once a sovereign leaders was now seen as a puppet that was in the hands of the German government.
[
citation needed
]
Germany committed
war crimes in occupied Italy
.
Post-war
[
edit
]
Silvio Berlusconi
with
Angela Merkel
(2009)
After the two world wars, Italy under
Alcide De Gasperi
and Germany (1949 to 1963 under
Konrad Adenauer
) were among the founding fathers of a
united Europe
(1951/52: European Coal and Steel Community), which was also intended to serve the reconciliation of the two peoples. Although there was an
economic miracle
in both countries in the post-war period, the
south of Italy
in particular remained underdeveloped; after a recruitment agreement (1955), many Italians tried their luck in
West Germany
as immigrants. For the German-speaking
South Tyroleans
, the 2nd Statute of Autonomy from 1972 created a viable solution by giving South Tyrol extensive autonomy within Italy. Today, South Tyrol sees itself as a bridge between the German-speaking and Italian-speaking Europe. During the
Cold War
, Italy and West Germany were
NATO
allies.
However, during the
euro crisis
from 2009/10, which also massively affected Italy, tensions arose in bilateral relations. At a press conference in 2011,
Angela Merkel
and
Nicolas Sarkozy
only responded with a smile when asked whether they still trusted Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi
.
[3]
After Germany forced southern european states to a hard economic
austerity
policy, a survey showed 54 percent of Italians seeing Germany as their biggest enemy in 2015.
[4]
Economic relations
[
edit
]
During 2017, Italy's economy was valued as being the seventh largest exporting country in the world, while being ranked tenth among all imports around the world. In 2017, Italy's top importing and exporting partner was Germany at $72.2 billion in imports, while exporting $58.5 billion.
[5]
At 7.1%, the largest product that Italy imports are cars, while its leading exports are packaged medicaments (medicines) at 4.5%. These being Italy's largest imports, 33% are imported from Germany and 12% are from Spain. Whereas Italy's leading exports in medicines are to Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland at a combined 32%, exports to Germany alone are at 9.6%.
[6]
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
March 2019
)
|
Migration
[
edit
]
Italians in Germany (2021)
Most Italians who have settled in Germany over the years left their home country in search of work. There are 587,167 (2020)
Italian nationals living in Germany
, making Germany the country with the most Italian nationals outside Italy after Argentina. Around 800,000 people in Germany have Italian ancestry.
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Bessel, Richard, ed.
Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany: comparisons and contrasts
(Cambridge University Press, 1996).
- Knox, MacGregor.
Common Destiny: Dictatorship, Foreign Policy, and War in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany
(Cambridge University Press, 2000).
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