The countries aligned against the Allies in World War II. The alliance originated in a series of agreements between Germany and Italy followed by the proclamation of an "axis" binding Rome and Berlin (October 25, 1936) and then by the German-Japanese Anti-Comintern Pact against the Soviet Union (November 25, 1936). The Pact of Steel (May 22, 1939), a full military and political alliance between Germany and Italy, and the Tripartite Pact, signed by all three powers on September 27, 1940.