# Lista del molibdeno

The Lista del molibdeno (lit. 'Molybdenum list') was a list of requests of raw materials and military materiel which Benito Mussolini sent to Adolf Hitler's Germany as condition for Italy's entry into World War II.
The list is named after Bernardo Attolico's—Italy's-then ambassador in Berlin—comment, as its amount of molybdenum requested was larger than the entire world's production, making it clear the list was a pretext to avoid joining World War II. The list was redacted during a meeting held at Palazzo Venezia, Rome, on 26 August 1939 among Mussolini and Italy's military staff. It was sent to Attolico on the same date, who sent it Joachim von Ribbentrop, Germany's-then Minister for Foreign Affairs.

## History

The diplomatic situation in Europe worsened in August 1939, making the outbreak of a new war more likely in the short term. The European nations had already signed non-aggression pacts and mutual-assistance pacts between them; one of the most recent was the Pact of Steel (22 May 1939) between Italy and Germany. On 12 August of the same year, Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano went to the Berghof, Hitler's residence in Bavaria, for a meeting with the Führer. Hitler talked about the possibility of an armed conflict restricted to the sole Germany and Poland in case Warsaw refuses Berlin's proposals, adding that "Poland's provocations and the exacerbation of the situation had made urgent Germany's action urgent".
The Pact of Steel's clauses obliged Italy to go to war together with Germany if the latter had attacked Poland, but Mussolini was aware that Italy's conditions, following the 1935–1937 war in Ethiopia and Italy's aid to Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War, did not allow any further vast-scale military operation, so he communicated this to Hitler. On 25 August, the German chancellor asked to the Duce about what military equipment and raw materials Italy required. On the following morning, Mussolini called an urgent meeting at Palazzo Venezia among Mussolini and Italy's military staff to decide what would be requested to Berlin. The generals present at the meeting received from Galeazzo Ciano the recommendation, with Mussolini's tacit consent, of exaggerating Italy's requests and of not applying any "criminal optimism".
On the afternoon of 26 August, Mussolini replied to Hitler with a very long and purposely abnormous list impossible to satisfy. The list, named "Lista del molibdeno" (lit. 'Molybdenum's list') for the 600 tons of molybdenum required, was redacted without any parvence of seriousness and contained a total of 17 millions of tons of material and specified that Italy could not sustain the war effort without such resources. Mussolini himself added 600 pieces of anti-aircraft artillery to discourage the Germans from accepting Italy's requests.
Italy's ambassador in Berlin, Bernardo Attolico, received the list from Rome and sent it to Joachim von Ribbentrop so he could send it to Hitler. Ribbentrop, upon reading it, asked Attolico about when Italy expected to receive such a large amount of material. The question troubled Attolico, who, without any instruction from Rome, replied "immediately."
Hitler, despite suspecting Mussolini was deceiving him, appeared sympathetic and said that he recognised Italy's precarious situation and that he could send only a small portion of the requested resources, but it was impossible to him to satisfy entirely Rome's requests. The Reichskanzler asked Italy to keep France and the United Kingdom thinking they were going to join through propaganda and troop movement and to send manpower to Germany.

## Contents of the List

Below, an excerpt from the letter of requests sent by Mussolini on 26 August 1939:
«Führer, this morning I gathered the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, with Minister Ciano and Minister of Communications present, and here is the minimum that the Italian Armed Forces need to sustain a twelve-month war in addition to what we have:
* coal for gas and steel industry 6,000,000 t
* steel 2,000,000 t
* oil 7,000,000 t
* wood 1,000,000 t
* copper 150,000 t
* sodium nitrate 220,000 t
* potassium salts 70,000 t
* rosin 25,000 t
* rubber 22,000 t
* toluene 18,000 t
* essence of turpentine 6,000 t
* lead 10,000 t
* tin 7,000 t
* nickel 5,000 t
* molybdenum 600 t
* tungsten 600 t
* zirconium 20 t
* titanium 400 t
Without the certainty of these supplies, I have the duty to tell You that the sacrifices to which I would call the Italian people - sure of being obeyed - could be in vain and would compromise Your cause along with mine. [...] If you believe that there is still any possibility of a solution on the political terrain, I am ready to give You - as on other occasions - my full solidarity and to take the initiatives that you may deem useful for this purpose».