Portugal during World War II
Upon the start of World War II in 1939, the Portuguese Government announced on 1 September that the 600-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but that since the British did not seek Portuguese assistance, Portugal was free to remain neutral in the war and would do so. In an aide-mémoire of 5 September 1939, the British Government confirmed the understanding. As Hitler's occupation swept across Europe, neutral Portugal became one of the Continent's last escape routes. Portugal managed to remain neutral throughout the war despite extraordinary pressures from both sides, notably over the strategically located Azores islands and over the wolfram (tungsten) trade.
The Two Faces of War
In Portugal, the Estado Novo put the country into a dilemma: on the one hand, the Portuguese policy of neutrality in World War II which saved the Portuguese Armed Forces from a possible confrontation between East and West, and secondly, the responsibility for the maintenance of sovereignty over its colonies. Yet the Portuguese governors of the time chose to join the NATO and the consequent desire of an alliance with the winners.