A war is fought between two or more countries when they are unable to resolve their conflicts peacefully. In the truest nature, war is monitored, controlled, and fought by the government and defense forces of the country. What drives a country’s actions in the war is primarily influenced by the decisions taken by the leaders of the government and important personnel in the army. They have the power to take their country in the direction of defeat or victory. Here are some of the main personalities involved in the axis group of World War II you should need to know about world war 2 quiz.
- Adolf Hitler: Adolf Hitler was the Chancellor and Fuhrer of Germany in 1933. He was a dictator and was obsessed with the idea of a purely Aryan race. He wanted to expand his territory to provide enough living space for the Aryans and ensure that his race was economically and militarily secure. He violated the Treaty of Versailles with the capture of Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938. Further, he attacked Poland, who had the support of France and Britain. This attack started the second world war. Since then, he had captured many European areas and prepared to attack Britain and the Soviet Union. But his attack on the Soviet Union failed.
Soon his focus shifted on breaking his allies apart rather than capturing territories. Alongside this, he also started the mission to expel Jews, but this soon turned from expulsion to extermination. He was responsible for killing as many as 6 million jews.
As the war progressed, Germany’s position kept weakening with defeat insight. Strained relations with military officers and Anti-Nazi citizens of Germany were ready to remove him and negotiate peace. Many attacks were attempted to kill Hitler but none of them were fruitful. Eventually, in 1945, Hitler committed suicide and sealed Germany’s defeat in the war.
- Benito Mussolini: He was the head of state for Italy and a Fascist leader. Mussolini, along with Hitler, formed the Rome-Berlin Axis. Although he was reluctant to declare war due to the already poor condition of Italy’s resources, in hopes that he would get a ‘share of the booty’ obtained by the Germans, Mussolini joined the war in 1940. He had accepted that Italy was the junior partner in the axis. From the beginning, the war did not go well for Italy, and soon the hope of benefitting from German victory disappeared. Mussolini has fallen weak and people expected his downfall. He was arrested by the royal command. He was rescued from prison by the Germans in 1943.
As the Allied forces kept advancing in Europe and increased agitation against the fascist leader, Mussolini planned to leave Italy in 1945. The Italian communists decided to execute him. He tried to cross borders instead of flying out, against the advice of his sons. Dressed as a German soldier, he tried to cross the border with his mistress but was recognized and shot dead on April 28, 1945. The Italian public celebrated the downfall of the dictator and the end of the war.
