Saved by World War II
Italy, under the fascist Benito Mussolini, went back to Ethiopia in 1935 to try and annex the country, and this time they succeeded. Between 1936 and 1941, Italy practically ruled over Ethiopia as Emperor Haile Selassie fled into exile.
Except for the Soviet Union, all the major countries in the world recognized Italy’s annexation of Ethiopia.
But in 1941, Italy, a part of the Axis powers who fought against the Allies in World War II, was defeated by British forces which included Ethiopians. Haile Selassie thus returned to Ethiopia and since then, Italian colonization has been viewed as unsuccessful.
