Toast to the Chancellor of the Reich Adolf Hitler
By Benito Mussolini
Führer!
It is with the most cordial joy that I, in the name of the Government and of the Italian people, welcome you in this Rome which today receives you in the dual glory of her tradition and her power.
Your visit to Rome fulfills and seals the understanding between our two Countries. This understanding, which we have firmly desired and tenaciously constructed, has its roots in our two Revolutions, its strength in the ideal fellowship which binds our two peoples, and its historical function in the permanent interests of our two Nations.
One hundred years of history — from the time when Germany and Italy raised themselves by Revolutions and by arms to claim their right to national unity — bear witness to the parallel nature of these positions and the solidarity of these interests.
It is in the same faith and with the same will that Germany and Italy have fought to build their unity, have worked to make it sound and compact, and have redeemed themselves in recent times from the corruption of destructive ideologies in order to create that new regime of the people, which is the symbol of this century.
Along this path, traced by history, our two peoples are marching, united with loyal intentions and with the convinced trust which has been tested by the events of these years of peace and understanding between the two Nations.
Fascist Italy knows only a single ethical law in friendship: that which I recalled before the German people at the Mayfield. It is this law which the collaboration between National Socialist Germany and Fascist Italy has obeyed, obeys, and will obey.
The premises and the objectives of this collaboration, consecrated in the Rome- Berlin Axis, have been repeatedly and openly reaffirmed by us. Germany and Italy have turned their backs on the Utopias to which Europe had blindly entrusted her fate in order to seek between them and with others a regime of international coexistence which may equally establish for all more effective guarantees of justice, security, and peace. This goal can only be reached when the elementary rights of our people to live, work and defend themselves are loyally recognized and the political equilibrium corresponds to the reality of the historical forces which constitute it and determine it.
We are convinced that it is on this road that the Nations of Europe will find that tranquility and peace which are indispensable for the preservation of the very basis of European civilization.
Führer!
I still retain a deep impression in my soul of the admirable spectacle of work, peace, and strength which last autumn was offered me by your country, refreshed by you in those fundamental virtues of discipline, courage and tenacity which create the greatness of peoples. I have not forgotten, nor will I forget, the reception that was accorded to me by yourself, by the authorities, and by the people.
The most fervent wishes of myself and of Fascist Italy are extended to your mighty work of reconstruction. I raise my glass to your health, Führer, and I drink to the prosperity of the German Nation and to the unchangeable friendship of our two peoples.
Hitler responds with the following toast:
Duce!
With deep emotion, I thank you for the moving words of the greeting you have addressed to me in the name both of the Italian Government and of the Italian people. I am happy to be here in Rome, in which the powerful manifestations of young Fascist Italy unites with the testimonies of the city's incomparably glorious past.
From the moment that I set foot on Italian soil, I have found everywhere an atmosphere of friendship and sympathy which makes me profoundly happy.
With the same deep emotion, the German people last autumn greeted in your person the creator of Fascist Italy, the founder of a new Empire, and at same time the great friend of Germany.
The National Socialist Movement and the Fascist Revolution have created two new powerful States, States which stand fast as examples of order and healthy progress in a world of civil unrest and dissolution. Germany and Italy have common interests and are deeply intertwined through their shared ideology.
Thereby a bloc of one 120 million men arose in Europe. These people are determined to ensure recognition of their eternal vital rights and to resist any powers which may try to oppose their natural development.
A heartfelt friendship between our two peoples grew out of the struggle in which Germany and Italy were forced to stand together in defense against a world which neither understood nor accepted them. The developments in these past few years have proven the steadfastness of this friendship. These developments also proved to the world that one must account for the inalienable vital rights of great Nations in one way or another.
It is therefore only natural that our two peoples should continue to develop and deepen, in permanent cooperation, the friendship which has proven itself time and time again in recent years in the future as well.
Duce!
Duce! Last autumn at the Mayfield in Berlin, you proclaimed an ethical maxim which is sacred in your eyes and in the eyes of Fascist Italy, namely: "To speak clearly and openly and, when one has a friend, to march with him to the end.".
In the name of National Socialist Germany, I too acknowledge this principle. Today I shall respond to you: Since the Romans and the Germans met, as far as we know, for the first time in history, 2,000 years have now passed. As I stand on this soil, the most glorious soil in the history of mankind, I feel the tragedy of a fate which established no clear frontier between these two so highly gifted and so worthy races. Unspeakable suffering which lasted for generations was the consequence. Today, after almost 2,000 years, thanks to your historic efforts, Benito Mussolini, the Roman State arises from its ancient traditions to new life.
To the north of your country, a new German Reich has arisen from the numerous tribes. Now that we have become immediate neighbors, and trained by the experience of 2,000 years, we both acknowledge those natural frontiers which Providence and history have visibly drawn between our two peoples. They will give Italy and Germany not only the possibility of peaceful and permanent collaboration through a clear division of their spheres of activity, but will provide a bridge for mutual assistance and cooperation.
It is my irrevocable will and my bequest to the German people that the frontier of the Alps, which Nature has erected between us, shall be regarded forever as unchangeable. I am certain that a great and prosperous future will ensue for Rome and for Germany.
Duce!
Just as you and your people have remained faithful in your friendship with Germany in a moment of crisis, so I and my people are ready to show Italy the same friendship in times of difficulty.
The magnificent impressions I have just received of the youthful strength, the will to work, and the proud spirit of the new Italy will remain imperishable in my memory.
Unforgettable, too, was the sight of your soldiers and Blackshirts, fresh from their recent victories, your most glorious and well-tested Fleet, and the prowess of your magnificent Air Force. They give me certainty that your admirable constructive work, which I follow with sincerest good wishes, will lead to further great successes in the future.
I raise my glass and drink to your health, to the happiness and greatness of the Italian people, and to our unchangeable friendship.
