The Axis powers were originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent, authoritative sources including USHMM, Britannica, and Smithsonian Magazine, all tracing the term to Mussolini's 1936 speech.
Sources
- Axis powers (en.wikipedia.org)
- https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/axis-powers-in-world-war-ii (encyclopedia.ushmm.org)
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-we-call-axis-powers-axis-powers-180960980/ (smithsonianmag.com)
- https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Axis_Powers (newworldencyclopedia.org)