Germany/North Italy

Germany/North Italy is a popular and canonical slash pairing in the series Axis Powers Hetalia, involving the characters of Germany and North Italy. It is also commonly referred to as Gertalia and Gerita (from both Germany and Italia).

World War I

In the middle of WWI, Germany was in search of the heir to the Roman Empire, and sought to fight him. Upon finding a crate in the middle of the woods, he opened it and found a panicked Italy hiding inside.

Germany proceeded to take Italy prisoner, and kept him captive until he became too annoying to handle when the war was over, upon which he literally kicked Italy back home.

In the webcomic, Germany soon discovered that Italy had nearly starved to death in a desert (from using all his water to boil up pasta) and had to bail him out. However, in the published manga and anime, Italy became poor due to the fallout from the war and convinced Germany (who was going through money troubles himself) to let him come back to work for him.

World War II

In the leadup to WWII, Italy became aggravated that Germany was ready to go to war and took it upon himself to become the self-proclaimed "ally" of Germany. Though Germany initially refused Italy's assistance, he relented and the two made a promise to help each other out if either was in a pinch. But Germany soon found the alliance to be a source of frustration, since he continued to have to bail Italy out of desperate situations. Since he had no one else that he could genuinely call a "friend", it was even more frustrating.

When the two were captured early on as prisoners of war, Germany refused to tell their captors anything, but Italy quickly spilled all the secrets that he had, which caused humiliation for Germany.

Germany came to find that Italy was like an obedient dog, as Italy would agree with anything he said and would state that he was right in many different ways. Germany would also frequently discipline Italy, due to him running away from battle, flirting with girls, or forgetting to put on pants after he woke up from a naked siesta. He also had to deal with Italy's older brother Romano, who hated him and tried (and failed) to enact his vengeance.

Italy became distressed after Germany didn't like the friendship posters he put up, and Romano attempted to convince him that Germany hated him, causing the naked Italy to run through Europe in an attempt to find out if Germany liked him or not. Though a blushing (and naked) Germany told Italy that he didn't hate him, Italy insisted he tell him in a way that he could understand more clearly. Italy became overjoyed at hearing that Germany "loved" him, and announced to Japan that he finally got closer to him.

While camping out in the African war front, Germany and Italy saw a falling star. Italy wished for England to get a headache and go home, though Germany told him it wouldn't work. But Germany soon secretly made his own (long) wish on the star, hoping that Italy would stop being a crybaby and eating pasta everywhere, that he would stop pigging out on gelato and learn to make actual hand grenades, and that Romano would stop trying to get revenge on him. He also wished for a change in government, but the star could not grant all of those wishes, and instead granted Italy's wish: It crashed into England's head, causing him to get a headache.

When it came time for Germany and Austria to invade Poland, Italy bid them good luck and attempted to imitate Germany's style of saluting.

Buon San Valentino

In a storyline left hanging, Germany began getting mixed signals from Italy's affection after they finished a war training session. He decided to get a book about communicating with a partner, and soon learned that Valentine's Day was approaching.

When they next met, Italy gave Germany a bouquet of red roses as a Valentine's Day gift. Italy was unaware that the gesture was a romantic one, while Germany began to believe that Italy actually did have feelings for him and not any girls that he would usually flirt with, (due to the fact that red roses are a German confession of love). Italy confessed that he did have a first love, but that it was a boy, which caused more confusion.

Germany soon felt pressured to give Italy an answer to his "confession", while Italy felt it unusual that Germany actually wanted to play soccer with him. Upon hearing Germany say "Yes", Italy believed that Germany read his mind and was referring to wanting to play another game, though Germany was actually giving an answer to the assumed confession.

After following the last chapter of a dating advice book, Germany decided to ask Italy out to dinner. He soon became nervous in planning for the date, and had to get a reluctant Austria to help him out. Germany confessed that he had no prior romantic experience at all, and that he'd only read a few romance novels.

At the dinner, Germany began to feel emotions that he hadn't previously felt before, and became jealous at Italy for flirting with girls (believing him to be cheating). Italy was oblivious to the jealousy though, and wondered if it was something else he had done. But after Germany handed him a bouquet of flowers and a tomato engagement ring, Italy became flustered and scared of his "strange" behavior. Germany attempted to wipe his tears away, which only caused Italy to become more frightened.

As Germany attempted to comfort Italy, his mind became flooded with more strange emotions and he became silent (causing Italy more distress). As his mind overflowed with emotion, he seemed to recall a hazy memory from the past...

Modern Life

Little is known about what happened to Germany and Italy after the events of Buon San Valentino at this time, or what happened to them in the years after the end of WWII in the series.

During France's rampage on Christmas Day of 2007, the two were seen together as they shopped for candy apples. The merchant (in actuality France) ordered both of them to take off their clothes as payment for the apples. In the deleted sequel to the strip series, the two were shown to still be naked as they celebrated Christmas.

Fan Speculations

Germany seems to have a crush on Italy, as evidenced by always blushing in personal moments between them and becoming awkward around him. If Germany really was the Holy Roman Empire, it would be certain that he had one, but at that point of time he had believed Italy to be a girl. It is assumed that in the case of him being HRE, he lost all his childhood memories and forgot that he knew Italy.

In the reverse, Italy grew to deeply care for HRE, who he was afraid of at first due to having been stalked by him. Germany was visibly shocked at learning that Italy had first loved a boy, which furthered his confusion and belief that Italy was in love with him.

However, it is debatable as to what Italy's exact feelings for Germany are. It is speculated that Italy may love Germany, but that he also may not know the distinctions between different types of love and therefore might have a different sense of "love" for Germany than what Germany himself feels.

Due to having had no previous friends or any sort of romantic interest, it can be inferred that Germany has a deep interest in Italy because he has never felt anything like it before.

Germany=Holy Roman Empire?

A common theory, mentioned above, is that Germany is in actuality HRE, having survived his apparent death in the Napoleonic Wars when he was dissolved. It is often speculated that he got amnesia due to his defeat, though some believe that HRE gradually lost his memories over time (or purposely blocked them out to focus on his goal to win in wars) and that his dissolution was what wiped his mind clean.

In the series, it is notable that Hidekaz Himaruya has not shown Germany at a younger age, and that there seem to be various hints connecting the two characters in some way. The strongest hint came at the cliffhanger of Buon San Valentino, when it appeared that Germany was recovering a memory of having seen Chibitalia (it seemed to be from HRE's point of view).

The two characters bear an uncanny physical resemblance to each other, though HRE's eyes are drawn differently. When Germany's hair is not slicked back, he resembles an older version of HRE. In a scrapped illustration, HRE fantasizes about the day he and Chibitalia will become adults: An adult HRE is shown from the nose down and appears to resemble Germany in build and facial shape.

A historical connection for the two does exist: The Holy Roman Empire is considered by historians to be the First Reich, while the German Empire and Nazi Germany are the second and third, respectively. Supporters of the theory will use this as evidence, along with the fact that the Holy Roman Empire's full name after the 16th century was The Holy Roman Empire Of The German Nation. Detractors of the theory offer the counter-argument that the Second Reich would better represent Prussia, for it grew out of the Prussian war conquests and annexations of the 1860s. The government differences between the Empire and Germany are also pointed out in counter-arguments opposing the connection.

It is notable that HRE and Germany both share Germania as an ancestral figure (a father or grandfather, depending on the canon source), and have Prussia as an elder brother. But there are many offspring of Germania, so a counter-argument is that HRE and Germany could be brothers. The personality differences of the two characters are also noted in the counter-arguments, though the differences could be chalked up due to HRE's amnesia.

Another series connection drawn between the two is that Chibitalia gave HRE panties as a parting gift, while the adult Italy gave Germany boxers as a gift for Christmas. A strip featuring HRE and Chibitalia was also featured alongside the Christmas strip, and involved panties as well (HRE accidentally pulled Chibitalia's underwear down in trying to help "her" out of a box).

Himaruya once promised that Chibitalia and HRE would eventually get a "happy ending", though it is debatable what he might have meant by that statement.

After The War?

Fans will also speculate about the status of the Germany/Italy relationship after the end of the main WWII storyline. Historically, the two nations' alliance was broken due to the Italian armistice with the Allied Forces, and Germany soon invaded Italy. After the war ended, the two nations were not on good political terms for several decades due to what German forces had done to the country and due to Italy's betrayal in the war. Though an "alliance" of sorts was formed with West Germany and Italy during the Cold War for a European union, it is not considered to be an actual alliance between the two nations, for they were still on poor terms. Some will note that even in the present, the two actual nations cannot be considered politically close.

In series canon, Himaruya has yet to reach the later years of the war, so it remains to be seen how the broken alliance will be touched upon. There have also been no strips featuring Germany and Italy together in the time between the WWII strips and the 21st century ones (such as Meeting Of The World and their cameos in April Fools' Summary), so it is ambiguous as to what their relationship dynamic is in current canon or what happened to them in the decades following the war. They do appear to be on good terms in April Fools and Rampage, suggesting that their relationship carries on in some form, even if only just as a friendship.

However, the current relationship between the two countries is close.

Political relations between Germany and Italy are close, resting on an excellent foundation: common historical development 
(...) Government ministers and parliamentarians from both countries exchange
views regularly and often meet at international conferences (including
EU, NATO, United Nations, G7/G8 meetings). Federal President Köhler and
the Italian President Napolitano are also engaged in close dialogue.
Villa Vigoni on Lake Como is home to the German-Italian Discussion
Forum and hosts numerous events on political, economic, cultural and
scientific issues. The political foundations also play a major role in
relations.

(...)
In individual projects, there is close cooperation on armaments
production. German and Italian units and military staffs also cooperate
closely and successfully in various foreign missions of the United
Nations, NATO and the EU.

(...)Germany is Italy’s principal trading partner. In bilateral trade,
Italian imports fell by 3 per cent in 2008, while exports to Germany
grew by 1.1 per cent. At EUR 13.7 billion, Germany’s trade balance
surplus decreased slightly compared with the previous year. In 2008,
12.8 per cent of Italian exports went to Germany and 16 per cent of
Italy’s imports come from Germany. The clear focus of German foreign
investment is northern Italy. (1)

Italy's nightmare in Pact Of Steel has been interpreted as a foreshadowing to the broken alliance of the Axis, much like how his dream as a child foretold that he would meet Japan some day.

Moments

Webcomic: Main Storyline

• Hetalia Chapter 1
• Hetalia Chapter 2: Allied Forces
• Hetalia Chapter 3: G-R Nonaggression Pact?
• Hetalia Chapter 4: Pact Of Steel
• Hetalia Chapter 5: Lietuvis

Published Manga

Volume 1

• Meeting Of The World
• Prologue
• Axis Powers
• Power Ranger Allied Forces (strip: Back To Axis)
• :) In The World
• Shouting S.O.S At The Center Of The Earth! (reprint of You Know, We're Kind Of...)
• German Simulator
• Preview: To The Unfinished Tomorrow (reprint of the deleted original ending to Lietuvis)

Volume 2

• Academy Hetalia Christmas
• With Grandpa Rome (altered and redrawn reprint from the "Extra Stories")
• Hello World! Hello Italy!
• Wish Upon A Star (redrawn reprint from the "Extra Stories")

Webcomic: "Extra Stories"

• Germany vs. Italy
• Big Brother France And The Information Manipulation Activities!
• Contrary To The Italian Image
• Italy Omake
• Germany And The Drug Store
• Wish Upon A Star
• Chapter 5 Omake
• Axis Powers Jokes
• Christmas Scribbles (second strip)
• You Know, We're Kind Of...
• Italy And The African War Front
• We're Shipwrecked!
• We're Shipwrecked Too! (cameo)
• You Be Italy, And I'll Be Germany
• If It's Japan, He Can Make It: High-Efficiency Binoculars To See Inside Brains (cameo)
• Christmas Rampage 2007
• Buon San Valentino series (incomplete)
• The World Conference (incomplete prototype strip)
• Italy Observation Diary
• With Grandpa Rome
• April Fools Summary
• National Foundation Day
• Salted Salmon

Webcomic: "Comic Diaries"

• Comic Diary 1
• Comic Diary 2
• Comic Diary 8
• Comic Diary 10