Why was Portugal Neutral in World War 2?

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Something else worth talking about is Japan's position when it came to Portuguese neutrality. They didn't care for it one bit when it came to Portuguese Timor. In December 1941, Portuguese Timor was occupied by a small British, Australian and Dutch force to stop a potential Japanese invasion. And said Japanese invasion came in February 1942. During the subsequent fighting, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties, but they were eventually able to contain the Australians. The campaign lasted until 10 February 1943, when the final remaining Australians were evacuated. Many Timorese and European civilians fought with the Allies or provided them with food, shelter and other assistance. Some Timorese continued resistance, but the Japanese took revenge on the Timorese for this, and tens of thousands of Timorese civilians died during the occupation. Though a bit of a different story for Macau. Japan actually respected neutrality there to an extent, and this led to economic prosperity for being the only neutral port in the region. But in August 1943, Japanese troops seized the British steamer Sian in Macau and killed about 20 guards. A month later, they ordered Macau to install Japanese advisors, virtually making Macau a Japanese protectorate. And when the US found out Macau was gonna selling aviation fuel to Japan in 1945, they launched air raids to destroy said fuel. After the Portuguese government protested, The US paid over 20 million dollars to the Portuguese government as compensation in 1950.

[@RodolfoGaming]

yeah salazar looked the other way in the pacific theatre anytime the japanese would put up fires, Portugal was simply no longer in a position to contest or support military actions there. Its actually surprising he got a lot from both sides

[@markusskram4181]

hey Avery been a while since I have seen your comments on KZbin videos. How are you doing?

[@TimSerras]

Japan invaded Portuguese Timor because it was in Australian hands thus breaking its neutrality. Simple. Macao was respected because the Brits didn’t interfere there.

[@RodolfoGaming]

@@TimSerras Australians were there because the Japanese didn't really respect other neutralities to start off with anyway and was invading China for it's own gain as well as in the time it was invaded the other east Asian countries/colonies that had the resources Japan lacked. Japan could've chosen to not invade the island which was merely insignificant given they had the dutch part of the island and the allies had naval and air bases in both Australia and new Guinea rendering timor strategically insignificant not to mention the fact that the allied force present there was way too small for offensive operations and was only meant to give some defence to the island inhabitants since Portugal was unwilling to do so in order not to give the axis a reason to fight Portugal until Salazar was pressured by UK to do as such (Portuguese elite garrison arrived too late because of Salazar stalling prior to the agreement either deliberately or impulsively out of fear of axis retaliation)

[@realhawaii5o]

Hello. I see you everywhere.

[@Lion_Heart_Zimbabwe]

Speaking as a Zimbabwean of British descent. All my love to the Portuguese people. A loving, kind and compassionate people who give selflessly and are some of the friendliest people in the world. 💚💚🙏🏻🙏🏻🇿🇼🇿🇼🇬🇧🇬🇧🇵🇹🇵🇹

[@mursefaneca]

Rhodesians never die!

[@imjennasidel6703]

im portuguese and the same to you my brother

[@bibekjung7404]

Almighty God KABIR is the CREATOR OF all SOULS -- SAINT RAMPALJI MAHARAJ

[@55victorf]

🇵🇹🇩🇪🇵🇹🇩🇪

[@andrepereira744]

Thanks for your kind words, Sir. Unfortunately, me as a Portuguese, think that "we" as a nation are becoming worse and worse in those departments. Especially among the youngest generations. Greetings from Portugal and love to you and to yours, mate.

[@still_resume]

Fun fact: Portugal is the only country in the world to join WW1 but not WW2

[@zoltankarman7123]

Yeah so true

[@veersavarkar5857]

Turkey?

[@NateBlade17]

​@@veersavarkar5857 Turkey declared war on Germany at the tail end of the war (with no combat), so technically, they joined both World Wars.

[@QWERTY-gp8fd]

@@veersavarkar5857 turkey didnt exist in ww1. it was ottoman. which is well a OTTOMAN not TURKEY.

[@TreyMessiah95]

@@QWERTY-gp8fd what does that suppose to mean lol turkey was always called that

[@PeeGeeThirteen]

You glossed over WW1 being a major reason for Portugal not joining WW2. Portugal's disastrous involvement in WW1 during the 1st Republic suffering many casuslties and embarament hurt big time Salazar was instrumental at keeping Franco neutral to avoid having Germany invade the peninsula

[@oldwine2401]

Portugal's army was spread across the globe, The best companies were not sent to France. Portugal's interests were not in Europe at all.

[@tunespt]

Well, being a fact we were heavily beaten in WW1, it's not the major reason. Our interests at the time had nothing to do in europe, besides peace. Salazar was a a very wise man and protected the country as a whole.

[@GenikaXVI]

Our population is very tiny, no troops to fight those big wars

[@MysteryPuke]

@@tunespt and then thrusted the country into unnecessary death in Africa. Get a grip mate. Portugal didn't enter the war because it didn't matter if it did or not. Was not a great feat of strategy by uncle O of S

[@RodolfoGaming]

If Portugal had something to gain in WW2 that was as significant as it was in ww1 the it would've fought. Just look at Italy, hungary and Bulgaria who all had devastating post ww1 repercussions and fought because of threat of axis/soviet invasion + no neutrality guarantees from allied side. Portugal had less to lose from it's land being occupied and the Germans also had something to gain from the trade instead of invading. Portugal choosing the axis would mean starvation and loss of overseas possessions while choosing the allies would mean axis invasion and devastating of the motherland and the best technology in the country as well as exploitation. Being neutral meant both strategic goals were secured, keeping colonies and staying afloat

[@leandromiguel4481]

Portugal however did send in troops to France to help them during ww1 , although the battle of La Lys ( that's its name in Portugal) was a disaster for Portugal , 1 men stood out from that battle , Anibal Milhais , or the soldier worth a million men , 1 of most forgotten heroes during ww1, i know this is during ww2 but just a little known fact lol

[@JAG8691]

My Paternal Grandfather fought are La Lys.

[@albertorosales5555]

Small correction , Salazar had degree and PHD in Law , he was a professor not a simple graduate .

[@RodolfoGaming]

True, his main domain was economics and that's also how he got into politics

[@TheGrenadier97]

And he was a fine economist by the way.

[@RodolfoGaming]

@@TheGrenadier97 very true

[@alessandro_ofc_06]

@@TheGrenadier97 He was not very good in the Economy... because in his government the Portuguese Economy had a strong State Corporatism linked to protectionism and the absence of an Industrialization, which gave a little space for competition. All these factors caused the Portuguese Economy to stagnat throughtout his government.

[@TheGrenadier97]

Perhaps his métier was fiscal governance, but i don't believe that industrialization and competition are absolute standards in the case of Portugal. Internal stability and opportunist market are much safer bets for a small State in such difficult decades than aggressive measures in the international scenario.

[@HistorywithWhiskey]

You got it wrong in 09:00 .Salazar didn't led a coup in 1933. The background picture is from the 1926 coup led by the armed forces, where you can see Great War hero general Gomes da Costa (in the horse waving a sword in the air) Salazar was first the Minister of Finances (1928-1932) . In 1933 he demanded more authority and so he became the President of The Minister's Council, a modern Prime Minister, but it wasn't a coup and in 1926 he wasn't part of the coup as he wasn't in the military.

[@karllux-d6g]

Of course, one thing is the May Revolution (28/5/26), and another thing is the 2nd Portuguese Republic, or Estado Novo (33). To Caesar his own.

[@TheAtlasReview]

I find the "neutral" countries in WW2 very interesting. Ireland and Portugal leaned more to the Allies, whereas Sweden, Argentina, Turkey, Switzerland and (especially) Spain leaned towards the Axis for a wide array of pragmatic and ideological reasons.

[@peterboeckmans7726]

Indeed all South American countries were axis alligned to some degree. Only Brazil really became an ally

[@ptafonsofm]

​​@@peterboeckmans7726 Brazil was about to be an Axis member but allied pressure made them join the allies

[@darkwolf1202]

Portugal played a double game. Salazar was smart enough to please both sides, and maintain his dictatorship no matter who won.

[@fk_yu]

​@@ptafonsofm e a construção de uma siderurgia no brasil pelos americanos. Eles não tinham na altura

[@eneaganh6319]

As Portugal was also a fascist state, salazar himself probably supported the acis but he couldn't do anything cause John I 600 years prior or so

[@WilliamEvans-xy5og]

Thank you 🇵🇹 for being a real ture friend from 🇬🇧

[@mendesjosr4438]

The key of Portuguese neutrality is Gibraltar. To drag Portugal into the war would mean Spain would be dragged in as well (either by Hitler forcing Franco into a military alliance or through invasion of Spain). Spanish neutrality protected Gibraltar from an attack from the mainland so the British were quite keen on it. Ideologically Salazar was closer to the Axis, but not fully aligned, NAZISM was too heathen for Salazar's liking. He was closer to the conservative dictatorships of Hungary, Austria before the annexation, Spain and even Italy. The Portuguese were also suspicious of the British. They were made aware that british diplomacy, begore 1939, wanted to give the portuguese colonial Empire (and belgian)to Germany in a "final settlement" thus avoiding the return of former German colonies in their posession. The sentence "perfidious Albion" was used by Salazar who had lived through the ultimatum of 1890 that started the process that brought down the monarchy and the secularism of the Portuguese first Republic, which Salazar hated, so Salazar did not trust Britain. He knew Portugal's interests and even internal stability would have been thrown under the bus by the UK without even an afterthought if it suited the UK. As iberian neutrality suited Britain best the wolfram trase was seen as a reazonable trade off for the Azores until the war situation showed Germany could no longer involve the Iberian peninsula. At that point it was made to stop. Spain was also not interested in joining the war even if Hitler tried to tempt Franco into it. The economic situation of post civil war Spain made it dependent on food coming in from the Americas. That would have stopped by the British navy and Germany, despite promising new lands to Spain, could not guarantee the replacement of these food supplies. Franco also despised Hitler even if he admired NAZI Germany. Hitler is a corporal and Franco was spanish military aristocracy and a General. In the end Franco and Salazar were lucky and wise at the same time and saw their dictatorships survive well into the 1970's In the long run both Franco

[@juann1492]

I dont think franco admired nazi Germany, he wasnt even close to fascism, and years away from nazism ideologically.

[@karllux-d6g]

''Perfidious''. The man damn sure knew how to choose words.

[@ShepardCommander]

While Portugal was a right wing dictadorship, with persecution of the people and the press, it was never on the level of nazi germany. If Portugal had joined the war at any side, not only would it have to fear spain joining the other side or the iberian peninsula being conquered, but aslo a potential revolution from the people.

[@MOZAMUSIC2011]

excelente comentário mas " The sentence "perfidious Albion" was used by Salazar who had lived through the ultimatum of 1890"....o Salazar tinha 9 meses de idade aquando do Ultimato de Janeiro de 1890....😀

[@karllux-d6g]

@@MOZAMUSIC2011 sim, e depois foi para a escola e depois para o Seminário, e depois para a Universidade, onde com certeza, entre os meios Monárquicos de Direita que frequentava, o Ultimatum seria como um espinho cravado no amor-próprio e orgulho pátrio. Quantas vezes pérfida foi Albion? E de resto, a expressão ''lived through'' está correcta - mesmo com 9 meses, ele viveu nesses anos.😁

[@josepedrobaptista7515]

Thank you very much for this outstanding video! I'm very happy that you're taking an interest in Portuguese history. It's always cool to see how the world sees Portugal, puts things into perspective. Antonio Salazar is a particularly challenging figure to understand, though his intentions towards the country's economic growth and overall national improvement were good, the price for his reforms was too high and naturally led to revolt (needless to say, to the opposite side of the political spectrum). I think that this video is a good reminder that Salazar shouldn't be demonized, as he currently is, but rather studied carefully. Portugal did remain neutral and avoided the catastrophe and the economy and national health did improve considerably, after all. Keep up the amazing work and again, thank you very much! VIVA PORTUGAL!

[@rodrigofpteixeira]

All dictators should be demonized, Salazar is no different and he ruled Portugal to his own interests.

[@o.portista]

So glad, we are spoken about. Were a country that never get the respect we truly deserve, especially with how small we are.

[@michaeladams2959]

Respect is earned, but I get your point.

[@Allskil88]

Staying out of the war provided Salazar with a lot of political leverage back home. Portugal had had a disastrous experience in WW1, and left it feeling bitter and betrayed by its own allies (France and England) for whom they fought. This somewhat directly led to Salazar's rise to power, and continued as a talking point. Several propaganda posters of the time show bombed out French and German towns, with captions such as "It is Salazar who protects you from sharing this fate".

[@monolith94]

If you’re going to have a dictator in charge you could do a lot worse

[@lerneanlion]

Sometimes, remaining neutral turned out to be a big mistake like when Austria did during the Crimean War. But sometimes, remaining neutral like Portugal during the World War II is the best decision like ever.

[@plafskijenkins1357]

Austria was a great power at the time, Portugal was less than Italy.

[@patrickjeffers7864]

Austria actually lost by not fighting lol

[@JDDC-tq7qm]

​@@plafskijenkins1357At least Portugal didn't get humiliated like Italy did in their failed invasion of Greece 😂😂

[@testerpt5]

@@plafskijenkins1357 militar and economic might absolutely yeas, but population and resources potential far outweighet Italy. At tge time Portugal full aggregated territory land surface and population was superior to Italy. Even today Portugal is one of the biggest geographic countries jn Europe IF you consider both land surface and sea surface. we are really badly managed bu both politicians and self proclaimed “economic” elites.

[@Koala1203]

Heróis do mar, nobre povo, Nação valente, imortal, Levantai hoje de novo O esplendor de Portugal! Entre as brumas da memória, Ó Pátria, sente-se a voz Dos teus egrégios avós, Que há-de guiar-te à vitória! Às armas, às armas! Sobre a terra, sobre o mar, Às armas, às armas! Pela Pátria lutar! Contra os canhões, marchar, marchar!

[@oliversherman2414]

As a Brit, I think very highly of our Portuguese friends, despite their decision to stay out of WW2. 🇬🇧🇵🇹

[@miguelpadeiro762]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890_British_Ultimatum?wprov=sfla1😘😍🥰😗😍🤩☺️😚

[@homelessjesse9453]

And you would've abandoned them like your nation abandoned Poland.

[@jfarinhote]

Staying out was a political and tactical move. Portuguese neutrality helped spain being neutral as well

[@oliversherman2414]

@@jfarinhote yeah I know

[@reds20009]

isnt portugal the oldesnt ally of GB?

[@v.miguel.almeida]

People always forget the fact that overseas empire was at stake in Africa, in one side, there was direct borders with german colonies, and on the other side a total maritime blockade threat from Britain.

[@diogoferreira7427]

That was during ww1, during ww2 germany had no colonies in Africa, they were all given to Britain if I'm not mistaken

[@v.miguel.almeida]

@@diogoferreira7427 My mistake, I made a confusion with situation in WW1 that lead for Portugal's entrance in the great war, besides the eagerness for affirmation of the recently established Portuguese republic in world diplomatic stage. Nonetheless, it'd be either attacked by Britain or by Germany.

[@smparreira]

during WW1 portugal & germany were directly at war on the namibia-angola border

[@kevinfrancisco6504]

Salazar had also learned from the mistakes of the Republic during WWI. Portugal was involved in the war and it had bad impact in the economy of Portugal (0 compensation for the war efforts), portuguese people didn't understand why portuguese soldiers went to war, so the war had a huge negative impact on portuguese people and on the Republic (which at the same time also decided to give less power to the religion in Portugal while religion has always been really important for portuguese people). Salazar learned a lot of all these mistakes and played well with the neutrality to maintain the country safe, developed the portuguese economy, and avoid possible protests from portuguese people

[@history-jovian]

That is actually smart

[@smparreira]

1st republic were in fact lots of regimes ... the milkitaristic cdictator (Sidonio?) wanted to go to war so he sent CEP (portuguese expeditionary corp) and when deposed the next government refused to get the troops back ... fearing "another" military intervention

[@tiagogomes3807]

Its clear why Portugal entered WWI. To save their colonies from being conquered by Germany. And so they went to North Mozambique and fought the germans. A huge loss followed by another huge loss and yet another huge loss. That's how Portugal lost his army, with a embarrassing defeat against a german army with less man and lighter armament. In what was supposedly home ground. The year after the British gave Portugal a chance to clean the face. A chance Portugal couldn't refuse to be in the winners table at the end of the war. And so there went a couple thousand farmers to their almost certain death. So Portugal could withhold their African colonies. Portugal kept the colonies but the year after the man who returned from the european frontline would commit a coup and start a killing spree which lasted until Salazar rose to power. The invitation to take part in France was a "favour" Britain made to Portugal. If Portugal hasn't join the French would at the end of the war take the former german colonies and of course the colonies of Portugal as well as they were unable to defend them. England wasn't capable of taking Control of them all but also didn't want France to have them and keeping them in portuguese hands was their solution to the problem.

[@Allskil88]

@@tiagogomes3807 We entered WW1 to save our colonies from being conquered by Germany *BECAUSE* we entered the war. The Germans had given guarantees in Africa, and it was English pressure and abuse of our African borders that raised the hostilities in Africa. Finally, the port arrest ultimatum from the English forced us to act and thus the Germans to declare war. The Germans attacked us in Africa as a consequence of our joining the war, not as cause.

[@anomalousviewer3164]

What was your point of saying not giving more power to religion?

[@Vrykron]

You know today's a good day when there is a new Knowledgia video!

[@Hapotecario]

Esta secção de comentários é incrível. Devia ser sempre assim.

[@marciocarvalho8975]

Is important to mencion that Salazar was an dictator and at the time Portugal still had the Áfrican colonies! As all dictators Salazar was a mad man so he had afraid to lost the colonies...

[@MELO-u8p]

For those who want to understand Portugal's neutrality in WW II these are the most well spent 12 minutes in the internet, I'm really surprised. Conciseness, accuracy and coverage of multiple aspects. Well done.

[@LucianoMMatias]

Fun fact: The exploration of volfram was supervised by English engineers and there were also German technicians who selected the cargos to be sent to Germany. A ridiculous situation.

[@s3killerspt639]

Fun fact that's actually not that fun: Salazar was a dictator. Me being a Portuguese, old people like my grandpa say that he was a good person, but people like my mom who was born in the 80's say that he wasn't actually that good of a person

[@hydravegetal8239]

Infelizmente, há cada vez mais portugueses com vontade de um novo Salazar. O Chega é a expressão moderna do neofascismo em Portugal.

[@karllux-d6g]

Always trust the elders sageness. The real ones in your lifetime.

[@herlandercarvalho]

Not contesting the historical facts of the video, or even if Portugal not having joined the WW2 on either side was a good or bad decision (probably good). However I find it disturbing the fact that it was not mentioned that part of his politics were much more aligned with those of fascism. What is also very disturbing is seeing people in the comments section praising him, even if they acknowledge that he was head of an autocratic regime AND a dictator, since he was never elected in a democratic process. EVER!

[@hydravegetal8239]

Infelizmente o fascismo está na moda hoje em dia, incluindo em Portugal. Se não tivermos cuidado, as coisas podem facilmente recuar.

[@eduardextreme]

O Estado Novo nunca foi fascista, por mais que tenha sido uma ditadura e um regime autoritário. Aliás, havia um movimento fascista liderado por Rolão Preto que o Salazar sempre se opôs. Qualquer conversa contrária é apenas ignorância e propaganda socialista do pós-ditadura.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Portugal fun facts: In Porto, they opened a McDonald's in 1995 inside the historic Cafe Imperial, a former coffeeshop that was in the city since the 1930s. It has massive stained-glass windows and chandeliers. On top of that, it has a GIANT bronze eagle at the entrance designed by sculptor Henrique Moreira. Many call it the world's most beautiful McDonald's. Goes to show you there are still locations that resist the minimalistic design changes that many McDonald's locations have made. The Portuguese Empire lasted from 1415 with the conquest of Ceuta (now in Spanish hands) and ended in 1999 when Macau was transferred to China. In the wake of the Reconquista, Portuguese sailors began exploring the coast of Africa and the Atlantic archipelagos in 1418-1419, using recent developments in navigation, cartography, and maritime technology such as the caravel, with the aim of finding a sea route to the source of the lucrative spice trade. They'd eventually go around Africa to reach Asia. Portugal is famous for tarts known as pastel de nata. These were created by many Catholic monks sometime before the 18th century. At the monastery, they used egg whites for starch (laundry and all that), but what to do with the egg yolks? Bake ‘em into stuff, of course! Thus the tastiest custard tart in the world was born. Tempura originated in Portugal! Toward the end of the 16th century, the technique of fritter-cooking with a batter of flour and eggs was acquired in Nagasaki from Portuguese missionaries. It was a way to fulfill the fasting and abstinence rules for Catholics surrounding the quarterly ember days.

[@markocroatia7630]

Weird, Portugal have large lasted Empire but still have 10 million inhabitans and haven't secure larger motherland Portugal like Spain's Galicia to be bigger country. I expected from that country to be larger at size and more like 30 million inhabitans.

[@ptafonsofm]

If we count with Madeira and Azores, the empire is still here, but they got integrated into Portuguese core territory

[@Leppymusic]

​@@markocroatia7630 well... Supposedly Portugal was the first country in the world to define it's own borders and we've kept them that way ever since... Even though we have been invaded by the moors, Romans, Spanish, French and several barbaric tribes over the years we've kicked them out but never claiming more territory from Spain. So the territory isn't huge and I believe we're at 11 million inhabitants by now. We did had colonies but considerably far away.

[@TSilva96]

2 fun facts: 1 - Portuguese volunteers from the Blue Division fought for the axis in the east front against the soviets. 2- The parisian resistance cells had many portuguese fighters some of which took part in the liberation of the city before allied forces arrived from Normandy.

[@marusdod3685]

can confirm, one of my great grandparents was there

[@tomasemidio2465]

@@marusdod3685 Huge coincidence, I had a great grandparent there as well

[@fabiomacario7638]

Fun fact nowdays our gold our assets are in britain hands. But we dont forget, and they also should remember bota fogo and the twins. We Will get it Back!!! As Well as the gold invested in drexel!!!!☝️

[@isaoport2246]

Contre les russes ?? Ils étaient nos alliés et c'est grâce aux russes que nous avons gagné contre les nazis ??? Vous vouliez dire contre les allemands ??

[@Uzair_Of_Babylon465]

Fantastic video keep it up you're doing amazing things 😁 👍

[@tonylove4800]

Very good indeed. I've watched another video about this which was informative but this is informative AND entertaining. A bit of a different angle. The other one mentioned the Portuguese brigade which I didn't really know about. Thank you for this.

[@___David__]

The Treaty of Windsor is STILL enacted and valid to this day. It wasn't ended at any point in time. Which is why it's still considered the world's Oldest Alliance. Also, while Germany's Military Command DID have a plan to invade Portugal and Spain, there's plenty documentation proving it was Hitler himself who continuously stopped any invasion. Meaning Franco's feelings toward Germany would be irrelevant if Hitler had decided to invade. That being said, if Napoleon failed to conquer Portugal, if Spain throughout centuries, failed to conquer Portugal...if Rome itself went through Hell and had to resort to treachery to finally subdue Lusitania...yeah, it wouldn't be the Germans to be able to conquer us. We would have kicked them out back to Schwarzwald.

[@macmaniac3080]

Finally someone looks at Portugal unbiased! Well done, this is a very accurate portrait of an obscure episode of this very interesting nation

[@TobinPT]

You forget to mention one important fact. If Portugal joined one side it would put in dangerous the colonies in Africa and Asia in case of defeat.

[@ianrager4]

He did say that. He said it when talking about the Iberian Pact. He stated "This would put both nations colonies at risk"

[@hugosenshida999]

Im pretty sure if portugal lost, their colonies would not be only the payment to the winners

[@DoomshopMF312]

Fun fact, Portugual didn't join because he didn't trust Spain being that they are on the axis and all. Plus, Spain and Franco did have a conversation about the possibility of invading Portugual.

[@TimSerras]

You are wrong there. Franco never intended to invade Portugal. It was Azaña, the socialist President who thought about it but he was advised not to do it.

[@AlejandroLopez-ed8kj]

​@@TimSerrasWhat? Sources, please.

[@DoomshopMF312]

@@TimSerras While it is said Salazar was sympathetic to the Spanish cause, he was not so much accepting of Nazi ideology. Along with the very real possibility of an invasion from Spain if they were to perhaps join the wrong side. Not a guarantee, but it truly was Portuguals safest bet to remain neutral otherwise, as stated it didn't have the military means to logitically supply any sort of defense if Germany were to invade thru Spain.

[@TimSerras]

@@AlejandroLopez-ed8kj Why would Franco invade a country that helped him during the civil war? Remember that most of logistical support to the Nationalist Franco forces namely food and ammo came through Portuguese ports with Salazar’s approval. Azaña however was an enemy of conservative and deeply catholic Salazar regime.

[@TimSerras]

@@DoomshopMF312 It doesn’t make sense at all. Why would Germany and Franco invade Portugal if Salazar although not very sympathetic to Nazis, he did Sell the much needed wolfram to the germans and got along well with Franco. Besides, Portugal was never a major player in European arena due to its geographycal position and small population.

[@sunburstshredder]

I've been wondering about this, thanks for uploading!

[@geoms6263]

Political Career Salazar was a member of the 'Academic Centre for Christian Democracy.' In January 1921, he established the 'Catholic Center Party.' Soon, he began his political career with the 'Cortes' (parliament). However, he stayed only for one session and then resumed his job at the university. In May 1926, Salazar's name was proposed for the post of the minister of finance. He declined the offer because he was not given the autonomy he desired. In 1928, when General Óscar Carmona became the president, Salazar received the offer again, but this time, he had full control over the government's income and expenditures. Thus, he accepted the offer. As a finance minister, Salazar ended Portugal's tradition of public debts and became the first to introduce fiscal surpluses, which were used for several development projects. He also stabilized the currency and brought in a balanced budget. Salazar brought financial stability and abolished the import of foreign goods. He reduced the state budget and introduced a new tax structure. On April 15, 1929, Salazar became the 'Grand Cross of the Order of Saint James of the Sword.' In July 1929, Salazar wanted to resign because the government had canceled a law that had benefited many religious organizations in the past. He, however, remained in the ministry. The following year, he assumed his duties as the minister of colonies and announced the 'Colonial Act' of 1930, which brought the overseas territories under his administration. To justify Portugal's colonial policies, Salazar adopted the theories of Lusotropicalism, according to which he proved Portugal’s exceptional ability to adapt to multicultural environments and maintain harmony among multiracial societies. Surprisingly, many of Salazar's political rivals strongly supported his colonialist policies. On April 21, 1932, Salazar was honored with the 'Grand Cross of the Order of the Colonial Empire,' and on May 28, he became the first civilian to receive the 'Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword.' Recommended Lists:Taurus Men Prime Minister On July 5, 1932, Salazar became the 100th prime minister of Portugal. He introduced a new constitution to restructure Portugal's political system according to his authoritarian ideas. Most of Salazar's policies had influences of Catholicism, conservatism, and nationalism. He established the ‘Estado Novo,’ or the 'New State,' with anti-parliamentarian thoughts. Since Salazar had a close association with the Catholic lobby before he ventured into politics, his political ideas were inclined toward the Catholic social doctrine. Thus, he was expected to bring in major religious reforms during his regime. On the contrary, he did little for the religion. He neither attempted to establish a theocratic policy nor restored the Church's lost property. In 1932, Salazar canceled the Catholic political party to gain control over all political parties and argued that the Church was meant to serve the society without any affiliation to politics. Salazar invited the Catholic political party members to join his political organization, the 'National Union,' which consisted exclusively of government supporters. Salazar chose his ministers, whose operations he closely supervised. This curtailed political freedom in Portugal. Salazar expelled Portugal's 'National Syndicalists.' Since Salazar's initial premiership years were marred by the Great Depression and World War II, the former half of his premiership years witnessed the introduction of economic programs based on autarky and interventionism policies. In 1933, Salazar established the 'Polícia de Vigilância e de Defesa do Estado' (PVDE), or the "State Defence and Surveillance Police," which became 'Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado' (PIDE), or the "International and State Defence Police," in 1945 and lasted till 1969. The military force was trained to suppress rebels, and major attention was given to Portugal's economic recovery. His economic system, labeled as “corporatism,” fought against class struggle and the supremacy of economics. To attain economic stability and counter the effects of the turbulent years of the Portuguese ‘First Republic,’ Salazar introduced reformatory taxes. He hoped to balance the Portuguese budget and clear the country’s debts. The rising radicalism under Salazar's regime attracted the hostility of anarcho-syndicalist Emídio Santana, founder of the 'Metallurgists National Union,' who made a failed attempt to assassinate him on July 4, 1937. In 1937, Salazar released 'How to Raise a State,' a critical analytic book on ‘Nazi’ Germany's ‘Nuremberg Laws.’ In 1938, 'Fordham University' presented him an 'Honorary Doctorate of Law.' 'Oxford University' granted him an 'Honorary Degree of Doctor of Civil Law' in 1939. Salazar had also authored the book 'How to Re-erect a State.' In the wake of the Spanish Civil War and World War II, Salazar held additional portfolios, taking charge of the ministry of war (1936-1944) and the ministry of foreign affairs (1936-1944). Salazar's 'Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society' (HIAS-HICEM) in Paris helped people reach and find refuge in Portugal after France surrendered to Germany. More elementary schools opened during Salazar's regime, while the illiteracy rate dropped to a great extent. In October 1945, Salazar began a liberalization program devised with the prime motive of restoring the suppressed (during the Spanish Civil War and World War II) civil rights. He announced parliamentary elections, a general political amnesty, freedom of the press, and limitation of legal suppression. He also promised the introduction of the right of “habeas corpus.” The liberalization program was designed on the basis of a broad coalition, the 'Movement of Democratic Unity' (MUD). Despite his friendship with the head of the government of Spain, Francisco Franco, and his support to Spain's ‘Nationalist’ government, against the ‘Second Republic’ forces, he kept Portugal unbiased in World War II. Portugal became one of the founding members of the 'North Atlantic Treaty Organisation' (NATO) in 1949. Throughout the 1950s, Salazar continued the same approach to economic policy that helped Portugal sustain its neutral status in World War II. In 1960, Portugal co-founded the 'European Free Trade Association' (EFTA) and subsequently the 'Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development' (1961). The start of the 1960s saw the rise of new “technocrats," experts in economics and technical-industrial aspects. Soon, the new economic period in Portugal attracted foreign investments. The decade also flourished with industrial development and further economic growth. The GDP also soared under Salazar's glorious regime. During Salazar's 'Estado Novo,' the Jewish and Protestant minorities were not discriminated against. Thus, the movement of different Christian Churches flourished. However, this was the time when most of the world, specifically the newly independent African nations, excluded the Portuguese government because of Salazar's colonial policies. On the other hand, some of Portugal's domestic factions, too, challenged the policies.

[@TheGrenadier97]

In short: a good man.

[@TimSerras]

Brillant! Thank you. No wonder the Portuguese voted Salazar as the most influential Portuguese of the 20th. Century.

[@aryanalfa2444]

That's a great piece of history on a KZbin comentong session😊

[@fabiomendes3545]

4:48 funny thing, Portugal's wolfram is of a surprisingly good quality, still is

[@gillesaboubechara2978]

"If Salaza had chosen to join the Axis, he also would have been breaking a centuries-old treaty with one Portugal's close allies" Yes right, nice lie. That treaty, although not officially terminated by Portugal was effectively over when Britain, in violation of that treaty, sent an ultimatum to Portugal in 1890 demanding its colonies. Yes, a very close allie, thanks Britain

[@giovanni_vaz_cardoso]

It was not effectively over lol.

[@gillesaboubechara2978]

@@giovanni_vaz_cardoso when you violate a treaty, you effectively terminate it

[@giovanni_vaz_cardoso]

@@gillesaboubechara2978 That's so naive, reality is much more complex than that.

[@gillesaboubechara2978]

@@giovanni_vaz_cardoso the one that doesn't see it this way is naive

[@giovanni_vaz_cardoso]

@@gillesaboubechara2978 Yup keep being naive

[@مُوَحِّد-ط2و]

Great work! keep going

[@alessandro_ofc_06]

6:32 Just an observation: Denmark was also under German military occupation in 1944; Yugoslavia was divided between the Axis in 1944; Albania and Greece were occupied by the Axis in 1944; Hungary had control of northwest Romania; Romania had control of parts of USSR in 1944 since 1941... Greetings from Brazil🇧🇷🤗

[@feastguy101]

A cobra fumou! 🐍🐍🐍

[@alessandro_ofc_06]

@@feastguy101 E fumará novamente se precisar kkkkk

[@jacksilvapro]

Amazing video, but just wanna give you 2 corrections: 1°. In 1:43 he's name isn't John I but D. João I, also known for "Mestre de Avis". 2°. Around 8:16, Salazar forbidden the giving of passports to jews and other refugees, however some portuguese guys with the power to give them that passports went against it's rules, risking it's own live if discovered, to save hundreds of thousand people

[@canal10centrado]

The neutraliry of Portugal goes way deeper then this. We had an underground facility to build airplanes for germany on the biggest fieldstrip of Europe. We also did buziness with the USSR to continue neutral, they needed grain so we sold tons and tons of grain to the Soviets. Even our small arms contracts were used to balance our neutrality. Our small arms were all axis pattern such as Mauser Rifles and P-38 pistols because allied countries didn't want to sell their firearms. We were at war on our colonies Agola, Mozambique and so on.

[@carlos-ju7ce]

Fun Fact: Portugal is a founding member of NATO. The only founder that didn't actually fight in WW2. It was however the theatre of a battle (Battle of Aljezur), the only one in continental Portugal. Four Portuguese were awarded the Cross of Merit of the Order of the German Eagle by Hitler, for their involvement in it. The battle was 100 years ago this month, 9 July 1943. Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf FW 200 Condors, operating out of Southern France were harrying Allied shipping sailing down to the Mediterranean, often off the coast of Portugal. On the day of the battle there were four Condors attacking the shipping, which was being escorted by three RAF aircraft, based out of Gibraltar, two Bristol Beaufighters, in this extended role, and a Lockheed Hudson. One of the Condors was shot down and the seven crew were buried with honours, in this small town in the Algarve. The reason the medals were awarded.

[@gillesaboubechara2978]

You forgot a small point: Japan invaded Portuguese East Timor but Portugal didn't even declare war

[@rubenmicaelo3980]

But Portugal did send troops to east timor , my grandpa was one of them

[@paulocosta4744]

The Brits actually asked us to keep out without asking to keep out. This way, they wouldn't have to defend Gibraltar and the Mediterranean access, because, since Portugal would have to join the war on the British side, Spain would join with Germany. And Spain had actual plans to invade Portugal, they asked the Austrian painter to send in the Luftwaffe, and the Austrian painter said no. The Iberian Pact wasn't worth the paper it was signed on.

[@brunobaia7898]

There was no Salazar coup. In 1926 there was a coup, not led by him. 2 years later he was appointed finance minister and in 1933 the dictatorship was born, with him as prime minister.

[@MOZAMUSIC2011]

a ditadura começou em 1926, Salazar instituiu outra ditadura, em 1932. Depois de 1926, foi sempre ditadura. Abraço

[@joseleandrobaptista5690]

Love your videos

[@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns]

After seeing how much of a "help" Mussolini was, I think both Franco and Salazar did Hitler a huge favor by staying out of the Axis.

[@tiagogomes3807]

What a dumb comment. Regarding Italy's efforts and both Portugal and Spain.

[@polyglot8]

You overstate the risk of Spain joining the Axis. Briefly, 1) Unlike between Hitler and Petain, and Hitler and Mussolini, there was horrible personal chemistry between Hitler and Franco; and 2) Franco's list of demands to join was so inflated that it was obviously made knowing it could not be accepted by Hitler - not least of which his demands for French / French Empire territory to be carved out of Vichy.

[@rnanni1048]

Netherlands was also neutral in both Wars, untill Germany did its thing…

[@winteraardappel2154]

belgium same no?

[@KennyNGA]

​@@winteraardappel2154yes and USA

[@jonathancurran5366]

Italy was neutral in both until it decided to grab some real estate.

[@Comred1]

@@KennyNGA How does the US fit in this.

[@KennyNGA]

@@Comred1 they stayed neutral until this not well known little incident called the attack of pearl harbor

[@baywesty]

My parents are Portuguese and escaped the regime for France as the poverty and the mobilisations to atrocious useless wars in Africa raged. Even today, 50 years after the revolution, the scars are not fully healed in my family. The salazar / caetano regimes were awful and drown his subjects to the abyss.

[@Americandragonrider333.]

Neutral is a relative term, at list when it came to WW2! Switzerland for instance helped the Nazis capture downed allied pilots and crews. Sweden supplied the Nazis with some Steel and other industrial materials. Spain was only were friendly with the Third Reich because the Allied country’s abandoned them to the Communist, Hitler and Mussolini were the only ones to help save Spain from the Communist! (So ovcourse they would be more friendly towards the ones that helped them) And there were those neutral countries who were secretly helping the Allies like Portugal here, one of the neutral countries to be secretly allied with the Allie’s. Ovcourse like in all cases including in the fighting sides, not everyone in the nations neutral and involved were bad!

[@diogoferreira7427]

Switzerland took any plane that invaded their airspace, wether it was allied or axis, they took down nazi jets too Sweden also provided the allies with steel and other materials, yes they did provide more to the axis, but same case as Portugal, they did still traded with the allies, and it wasn't that little The allied powers did not abandon spain, they never joined the war, but small note, the spanish civil war wasn't fascists against communists, it was left vs right, as the left parties saw the rise of extremist right parties they united the entire left wing, communists, socialists, anarchists and more to fight the extremist right, that also happened in many other countries, they just didn't help because they couldn't, britain was facing the same problem, oh, no one helped them, france, portugal and sweden aswell, and no one helped them either, spain was the only country where things actually evolved into a civil war, and the other european countries didn't have the stability to support them, yet

[@Americandragonrider333.]

@@diogoferreira7427. First off your generally right! I’m not bashing anything you say I’m just adding. Anyway. The Nazi’s had planes, prop airplane’s not jets. (They built the first jet plane in the last years of WW2, but that’s irrelevant to this conversation) Sweden did supply both sides, you’re 100% right with that. (Sweden was just a War profiteering nation clearly) And on Spain. Allies didn’t “officially” do anything to help Spains Leftist side. (Thank god for that, Spain lucked out from having a people’s republic of Spain, which is just the Communist name for we rule everything) And having the Communist butcher anyone that didn’t go for them. Franco (as rough as he was) was fighting to keep Spain free from being taken taken over by Communist and Spains destruction. Funny thing that he went to the other leftist side of with Fascist, but they were the only ones going to help Spain fight off the Communists takeover. Leftist Fascist And Leftist Communist are literally the same just different names and small administrative things that make them different. Leftist rivals what they are. Anyway. All the Allies really did was praise Stalin. (Like idiots considering what Stalin was, a bigger monster than Hitler. Both were monsters. Nether we’re nearly as bad as Mao, Mao killed more of his people during peace time than either Hitler or Stalin did during war time. Anyway awesome stuff, very interesting.

[@TheSonicPT]

Great video. A great segue way to this would be how Salazar's position towards the Marshall plan impacted the country economical development in comparison to other countries that were in fact devastated by war.

[@cfmcabrita]

Quite a good video, its a complex subject and I think you only missed one point. Although a neutral country, Portugal was attacked in II WW by both sides. Timor Leste was part of Portugal and due to its location Australian forces invaded the territory in Dec 1941. The invasion was toleraded locally and there were no fights whatsoever. The Portuguese government protested the action but without success. Unfortunately, in Feb 1942, there was a Japonese invasion that was quite bloody. The Australian forces were defeated and retreated to the mountains where they started a guerrilha warfare. Due the Japonese aggressiveness the Australian gain the support of the local population but they were ordered to retreat in Jan 1943. Salazar at the time was furious and even ordered the preparation of an expedition force to recover Timor. This would mean joining the war on the allies side with all the risks explained on the video. The expedition force was never sent and in 1945 the Japonese forces stationed in Timor surrendered the weapons to the Portuguese civil autorities. Unfortunately, during the Japonese occupation dozen of thousands of civilian lifes were taken.

[@giovanni_vaz_cardoso]

The australians did not invade, they were allowed to enter in order to help defending against the japanese.

[@cfmcabrita]

@@giovanni_vaz_cardoso I'm afraid there was no authorization from the Portuguese government and afterward there was a protest, although there was no fights its still an invasion.

[@giovanni_vaz_cardoso]

@@cfmcabrita It is not an invasion, there was a warning and the portuguese let them in, yes some were against that and that's why there were protests, but the overall attitude towards it was "oh it's our buddies coming in to help us defend ourselves" rather than "oh we're being invaded" like it was with the japanese.

[@cfmcabrita]

@@giovanni_vaz_cardoso it mentions: "Acontece que a Austrália, a fim de impedir que o território constituísse um ponto de apoio ao avanço japonês, tinha ocupado Dili a 17 de dezembro. O governo português considerou esta medida uma violação da neutralidade, protestou junto dos Aliados.."

[@cfmcabrita]

Apparently the link to my source was deleted... The mentioned text can be found on the RTP website that is the Portuguese public TV broadcaster... If anyone have a source stating otherwise please post

[@lcacela]

The use of the bases came much later after the start of the war, long before the USA joined. On September 5, 1939 there was a meeting in the British embassy in lisbon where it was agreed portugal would stay neutral so as not to nudge Spain into the war and the British losing Gibraltar. Before the war the dictators of both countries met and agreed to keep the Iberian Peninsula out of the war

[@testerpt5]

Recent document findings showed that Salazar wanted to enter the Pacific conflic alongside the allies, the US and UK said no as Portugal had no relevant forces anymore and it’s military equipment was not compatible with allied ammunition, also by declaring war on Japan there was a good chance it could cause Germany to also declare war on Pt and spread the war to orher areas in Africa, or possibly cause Spain to join the Axis.

[@oldwine2401]

Portugal had a good army , the problem was army of Portugal was spread all of the world because colonies, was too much territory to defend. Japan invaded timor leste colonie portuguese at the time, and Portugal give base of Açores to united states. Was hard to Protugal face too much fronts in so many territories. But Protugal face Germany in africa for a short time , Angola -Namibia war, colonies of portuguese and germany . But Portugal self wolframio to germany and war ended

[@smparreira]

@@oldwine2401 portugal NEVER HAD any sort o regular army in 800y ... only locally raised militias now & then + marines from armada & some national/royal guards

[@andrewrobinson2565]

My great uncle was captured by the Germans on March 21st 1918. He was fighting alongside Portuguese troops.

[@eamonreidy9534]

Its worth noting that many countries were neutral in that war but Germay, the Soviet Union and to a lesser extent, the UK werent always respectful of that.

[@scotthegley4723]

Interesting subject, thanks!

[@Luzitanium]

tbh Portugal had a very smart move during WWII playing both sides while keeping neutral (allowing the allies using ports, bases in the atlantic, exporting tin food to the soldiers, and exporting to the germans volfram) AND managed to keep Spain on a "leash" so it doesnt ally with Hitler by signing a non-aggression pack with Franco, the allies even apreciated Portugal on that and it was for their interests aswell that Portugal would remain that way

[@DraconyForce]

damn! you watched the video as well?!

[@Luzitanium]

@@DraconyForce the video doesnt explain the way i did

[@beverleygibbons4902]

Excellent presentation

[@realhawaii5o]

I wouldn't say Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were neutral since they were literally annexed by the Soviet Union during WW2.

[@Omega_PT]

thank you for talking about my country in your channel we fought in the first world war

[@rrorrogod4494]

Salazar smart man. Portugal and Spanish had great empires.

[@hugosenshida999]

Salazar is one of the worst things to happend to portugal

[@cristinadias5145]

You kwow about Aristides Sousa Mendes ?

[@beachboy0505]

Germany paid Portugal in fake currency, the Portuguese demanded gold currency up front thereafter.

[@danhanqvist4237]

"Neutrality" can mean different things. Spain's neutrality was friendly to the Axis; Portugal's -- largely because of its traditional relationship with Britain -- was friendly to the Allies.

[@musabaksakal9589]

we need a new Salazar in Portugal (coming from a non-Portuguese haha)

[@guilhermecastro9893]

As a portuguese i tell you...we dont

[@musabaksakal9589]

@@guilhermecastro9893 as a non Portuguese I can tell you’re young

[@guilhermecastro9893]

@@musabaksakal9589 ya you dont understand what Salazar did so shut up and sit down...you are literaly going agaisnt a portuguese person on this subject do not be dumb...

[@JamesAnderson-dg7zd]

bro seriously? now that I think about, I think we propably do., so much is fuced up now in porto agora

[@roderichemnetrand6423]

Thanks for the video👍 Could you also make videos about some other neutral countries in WW2, that would be awesome. (or are there already some?)

[@michaelmedeiros9337]

Well done. Thanks

[@vivithegoblindruid]

Salazar wasn't part of a coup. Also you forgot the consequences of WWI and how due to it, the Portuguese population didn't really want to fight in another war. WWI was a shit show for Portugal and it led to the fall of the 1st Portuguese Republic and a subsequent dictatorship. Most of the fighting Portugal did during WWI was in Africa and for a reason, Portugal had hoped to secure additional territorial gains in Africa as a reward for its participation, but its demands were largely disregarded in the treaty negotiations. This led to a feeling of betrayal by the major powers, particularly Britain and France. Not to mentioned the economic consequences of World War I, such as inflation and a decline in trade, affected Portugal as well, Portugal incurred significant debts during the war and faced financial difficulties in its aftermath. In short, Portugal really REALLY didn't want another war, people didn't want it, the government didn't want it, the military didn't want it, no one wanted it, we only got fucked with the first one.

[@twbishop]

@10:20 germany's main oppoinent after june 1941 was the soviet union, and after june 1944 the US/british/french too. like sweden and finland, portugal and spain were relatively insignificant. by early 1944, italy was a fatally weakened ally for germany.

[@CarlonHardt]

Just forgot a HUGE detail: Portugal was an dictadorship and Salazar a fascist. He had deep ideology proximity with franco, mussolini and hitler. The way you put it it seems like he was a nice clever pacifist. He was a monster.

[@CarlonHardt]

Hitler had many interests that Portugal join Axis. He would had a good friendly port to atlantic water, expanding his U-boad range.

[@CarlonHardt]

About Salazar's position in WW2, in Brazil we have a call that says: "while some cry, others sell handkerchiefs".

[@ptlemon1101]

Short answer: Money and UK didn't let us. We should have because Japan attacked our oversea territories.

[@Icenfyre]

A fleet was on standby in moazambique after Timor's invasion. They planned to take back timor and by doing so declaring war on japan, but not germany.

[@tjheitor89]

Franco was also a spaniard monarch dictator and spaniards by then wanted Portugal as part of Spain and Franco couldnt be safer for Hitler than Salazar as it wasnt good for Portugal to be a danger to Hitler. Also in the 40s Portugal was a developing country and was supported by United States and get assistance by them which was as important,that would be problematic if we would join Germany Axis as an ally.

[@assisnady]

It sounds all very smart decisions for the people of Portugal, but we did had extreme poverty, hunger, and no liberty at all, not even to speak or send private letters to family/friends..my grandparents lived those times, I grew up listening to all of the pain the country suffered. Although he had that strategic finance skill, Salazar was a fcking monster for most of us 🇵🇹❤

[@bladehea]

​@@oldwine2401u joking right?

[@jeffy6903]

I don't know if Spain was really ever that close to joining the Axis. They were still reeling from their Civil War, and frankly, Hitler did not like Franco. I doubt he would have thought Spain was worth the trouble.

[@MysteryPuke]

This question of Portuguese neutrality is a funny one to me. Portugal was never a factor for the war. It was not a strategic geographic location, it was not the location of raw metals or oil in any capacity that justified invasion, it had a negligible military force. So why would it be a factor in the war? Already in WWI Portugal only entered the battle out of folly from the Republicans trying to show that Portugal was still a nation to be reckoned with. They were never invited into it, having to pretty much force themselves into participating. So Portuguese neutrality is a moot, very uninteresting point. Even though Portugal was in Europe, it was never a factor and so little a country it is, that no one would care enough to force Portugal's hand into taking sides. Further, to the argument laid by some people, that Salazar was worried about saving Portuguese lives, this begs the question. Why were those lives so worthless when it came to the disastrous and losing campaigns of the Colonial Wars?

[@MOZAMUSIC2011]

Napoleon thought the same, tried to invade and conquer the place three times and did not succeed.

[@MysteryPuke]

@@MOZAMUSIC2011 did not? If it wasn't for the British we'd be singing the Marseillese

[@Icenfyre]

Portugal did not lose the colonial wars. There was a coup at home. Kinda similar to the US/Vietnam situation minus the coup. But to draw a parallel the US "coup" was the massive unrest at home. Angolan, Mozambique, St. Tome and Cape Verde were under control. The only real active guerrilla still not beaten was in Guine-Bissau.

[@MysteryPuke]

@@Icenfyre we can all believe what we want. If you wanna believe that that's up to you. You can ignore that the Portuguese Army was outnumbered with little to no air support. It was even being pwned by the natives being drawn to defend worthless targets. But sure we were winning!

[@Icenfyre]

@@MysteryPuke the portuguese was using their NATO planes and napalm to some member's discontempt. I think a couple of books (portuguese ones) should instruct you a bit more on the events.

[@peachsangria8704]

I think that because Spain was so supportive of Hitler and Mussolini Portugal had to walk on eggshells during that war.

[@luispereira5517]

Correcção!!! A capital de Portugal chama-se Lisboa. Nomes próprios não se traduzem, embora possa haver tradução.

[@tjrex9458]

Apesar de não se traduzirem os nomes próprios, cidades podem sim ser traduzidas. Por exemplo "London" pra "Londres" ou "New York" pra "Nova Iorque" , duvido que por exemplo chames Varsóvia de "Warszawa" como os Polacos lhe chamam.

[@smparreira]

se nao traduzes entao chama-se Olisipo

[@SurfLouco]

Back in the day Portugal was a sovereign country that could decide to be Neutral it makes political and economical sense. Portugal should continue to remain Neutral now, but it gets dragged into wars, by "The good guys" (or else).

[@TTHIAGO666]

after all the good guys are not so good, but when you see the good guys demonizing Salazar it is because something is not right...

[@jfarinhote]

Great video, as a portuguese I thank you.

[@honodle7219]

"Wolfram" a.k.a. Tungsten. Portugal was also a hotbed of spies for both sides of the war.

[@micahistory]

It's fascinating to me how the Anglo-Portuguese alliance still exists

[@55victorf]

I' m portuguese and i prefere Germany , English generally speaking are a land of Pirates

[@jayc342009]

probably because they introduced the English to tea

[@andreazallocco2221]

PERCHÉ SALAZAR ERA UN GENIO❤❤❤

[@IsmaelLovecraft]

wolfram is tungsten, a rare metal.

[@terrys2735]

What is the mineral "wolfem" used for?

[@virenor]

8:38 Side fact: This photo was taken during the siege of Warsaw. A Polish soldier looks at a poster with the inscription "To arms - tight and united we will defeat the enemy". The poster was created shortly before German invasion by Polish artist Adam Siemaszko. This particular one hangs on the column of already damaged Warsaw Opera Hall. The photo was taken by American photographer Julien Bryan, considered the only foreign journalist documenting the death of the city. As soon as he arrived at September 7th, city's mayor provided him with a car, an interpreter and bodyguards so that he could freely film the city and show the world the German methods of total warfare and the bombing of the city by the Luftwaffe. The mayor knew the key role of international media in efforts to get any help from Western countries. Two weeks later Bryan escaped from burning Warsaw with many iconic pictures (including the first-ever color photographs of World War II on Kodachrome film) which were soon printed in Life and Look magazines. Moreover, he shot 80 minutes of motion picture film and managed to present it to President Roosevelt. Despite the hopes placed in all these (and many other) efforts, the results in terms of aid delivered have been very modest, to say the least. Warsaw Opera Hall (Grand Theatre-National Opera currently) was destroyed in 75%, reconstruction was completed in 1965. Adam Siemaszko survived the war in Soviet and later German captivity. Stefan Starzyński, the mayor, was most likely executed in prison in 1939. Julien Bryan visited Warsaw several times after the war, always greeted as a city hero.

[@tricycle7274]

Spain was a real dog’s breakfast after its brutal civil war (1936-39). Although the Portuguese government supported Franco and his fascist uprising, many Portuguese joined the International Brigades and brought in Republican refugees into their homes. Salazar was a pragmatist: war with Spain would have been disastrous for both nations. The backbone of his regime was reliance on a colonial economy of supply of raw materials at a time when these were at a premium. Portuguese ‘neutrality’ was handsomely rewarded by the allies by allowing the Portuguese overseas dominions to last upto 1974/75. The main reason the regime fell, aside of being authoritarian, was due to the huge amounts of conscripts sent to die in Africa in the 60’s & 70’s. A coup d’état was engineered by the military and a new era of democracy heralded while the former colonies collapsed into power vacuums and decades long civil war.

[@lourencooliva7429]

Another point, not one reichsmark entered the Bank of Portugal. Salazar always knew that the Allies would win.

[@feastguy101]

No Monopoly money, gold only, pls and thank you lol

[@SurfLouco]

@@feastguy101 that's why we had the biggest gold reserves in Europe. And now a bunch of dummies are in Power and we get dragged into bloody wars thanks to NATO

[@KnightofAges]

The German Reichsmark was not convertible to other currencies; it was not a currency that was part if the International Finance (akin to the Soviet Ruble). Germany used barter or (after its conquests) Gold to purchase abroad. So of course no Reichsmark entered the Bank of Portugal. Or ANY other foreign bank for that matter.

[@danielt.8573]

Not true. Germans started paying with falsified money because of the war effort so Portugal started accepting other forms of payment, including gold.

[@feastguy101]

@@danielt.8573 this is false. No one outside the German area of control accepted RM. I’m going to need some proof otherwise.

[@carlosmarxo8132]

Portugal fighted alongside UK in the Napoleonic Wars. Portugal was invaded 4 times (2 by Spain & France, 2 by France), 10% of population dies, all the coutry was destroyed. Our king had to move the capital to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to keep fighting the spanish/french. After the war ended, Portugal lost Brazil (become independent) and Olivença to Spain. Spain started as an ally of France but get away in the end as a "nice" nation - the british didn't help Portugal to restore Olivença. To this day, Olivença is still under Spain rule. In the conquest of Africa by the European nations (after the Berlin Conference), Portugal had the right of taking the area between Angola and Mozambique. UK made an ultimatium to Portugal, and our king had to accept. This was the main reason for the end of the monarchy in Portugal. In World War I, Portugal fighted in Europe and Africa, alongside UK. Despite another victory, it was another disastarous war for Portugal. Moreover, by 1920s Portugal had massive debts, and at that time no IMF was availabe to bail out nations. Salazar was a clever man, he knew all of this past episodes and didn't make the same mistake to follow the british, at least without some kind of gain, or at least without heavy losses. Only when USA made an ultimatium because of Azores islands, Salazar did break up his iccy attitude towards UK. Nevertheless, Portugal profited from the war, mainly with the germans payments in gold. After the war, Portugal receveid some money from the Marshall Plan but Salazar did pay back the money - I think it was the only country that paid back to USA... Portugal paid back all of his debts. In 1974, when Salazar regime ended, Portugal had no debts and one of the biggest gold reserves in the world. All because Portugal didn't participate in WW2 and used the british and germans in their behalf. Salazar despised Franco and Hitler, but he admired Mussolinni, thus the regime was similar to Italian Fascism, never like Franco or Nazis. Yes, there's a difference. Hitler also used Italian Fascism to develop nazis. Franco was an idiot and it's really ridiculous how so many spanish people still think that he could invade Portugal in WW2.

[@Icenfyre]

Franco couldn't invade a sheep's village let alone Portugal. And Franco knew it, the portuguese could reach madrid unchallanged if they wanted to, thats how bad spain was at the time.

[@monteira77]

Salazar, the only dictator that answered his own phone, and died poor.

[@Luzitanium]

and wasnt a General nor a Commander like most of ditactors (nazist, fascist, and communist) are.

[@stevekane4922]

Also he pragmatically supported Franco and said nice things about him in public, but as with Mussolini he despised their vainglorious style. Salazar's Portugal was corporatist, not fascist. He was as troubled by an extreme right element as he was by Democrats and various flavours of communism. This is often ignored. Among friends and family I have some whose families were on both sides and the ultra right, the maoistas and the stalinists were equally dangerous, ruthless and not even slightly democratic. These ultras are quietly resurgent and revere Franco rather than Salazar in private, as well as the toxic corporal. People feel nostalgic for Salazar's personal honesty, forgetting that the financial corruption and influence peddling continued uninterrupted from before the Republic until now. Portuguese are remarkably sophisticated in their understanding of these realities. The former trotskyites formed a boutique socialist party that did/does far worse than it should by rights, likewise the populist Chega have been damped down. People fantasise that the Estado Novo was a discreet episode in time but of course the rotativismo before and now is not so different. Only membership of EU and nato provides a compass. Ties to the cleptocracies in the old colonies constantly corrodes.

[@Luzitanium]

@@stevekane4922 he didnt supported he was just doing his game to keep Franco on a leash to prevent a alliance between spain and germany, the allies praised him for that. Monarchists also didnt liked Salazar as he buried forever the idea of restoring the Kingdom of Portugal.

[@stevekane4922]

@@Luzitanium yes that's pretty much how I understand it.

[@holycow73589]

Cool stuff

[@SirLelex]

Salazar, a great humble man and one of the best portuguese of all time.

[@JK-et5ct]

hummmmmmm .....foi um pirata!

[@Noflyingdutch]

Ironia é que o povo votou á uns anos largos num concurso televisivo para o maior portugues de sempre e Salazar ganhou...

[@kiwami8499]

🇵🇹🇵🇹🇵🇹

[@luiskaiseler8382]

LOL Morri atrasou o nosso pai s em 50 anos em relação a Europa, se tens a badidagem que tens na política deve se ao atrasado de mentalidade que o senhor Salazar deixou como legado.

[@Noflyingdutch]

@@luiskaiseler8382 Nao sabes o que dizes. Vais na cantiga dos outros... Portugal continua atrasado 50 anos em relação á Europa, de quem é a culpa agora ? Nao me digas que ainda é dele ... Venderam tudo aos chineses, industria morreu, é importar mais que exportar, corrupção nunca foi tao alta. O povo ainda mais burro porque ainda vota nos corruptos que sairam da prisao lol, os outros 60% que nao votao so querem cerveja e futebol. Tens que pesquisar como era Portugal antes de Salazar e depois de Salazar tendo em conta um segunda guerra mundial pelo meio. Pesquisa com quanto ouro Portugal ficou depois dele...! Nao era tudo mar de rosas, nao havia liberdade de expressao, muita fome, guerras no ultramar porque ele nao queria perder as colonias...A unica diferença entre ele e os politicos de hoje é muito simples, todas as decisoes que ele teve boas ou mas foram a pensar em construir um Portugal melhor e os politicos de hoje so querem encher os proprios bolsos.

[@khalidcabrero6204]

You forgot protecting the Portuguese colonies. The Allies certainly had the naval projection to simply take the Azores and overseas colonies in Africa and Asia if Portugal went to the Axis. Portugal would have no way of recovering them, and neither Germany nor Spain would likely do it for them (nor have the capacity to). So there was guaranteed territorial loss. Which is also why Germany didn't press Portugal either. If they closed ports to allied shipping, the Allies would simply take the ports, and they'd be lost to both Portugal and Axis vessels. All loss, no gain.

[@anthonyhargis6855]

Every nation always acts in its own best interest. Nothing surprising here.

[@user-mg3xr9tz7m]

Thats ignorance. Go and read the facts

[@cantrusthestory]

Spain could join the Axis if Portugal joined the Allies, and vice versa.

[@HolyShitNew]

the map looks so beautiful

[@InsaneWayne355]

When references to an element are key talking points, you should use the current official name. In this case ... Tungsten. Wolfram is barely even an alternate name now, there's been heavy discussion over the last 15 years for completely removing Wolfram as an alternate name.

[@poe_slaw]

Channel description says Romania, and the first online translation I found seems to indicate that “wolfram” is the more common term in Romanian. Maybe script writers/ researchers saw that their word “wolfram” has an English cognate and put it in the script, but didn’t realize it was outdated in English.

[@AP-qi3lx]

It’s being called Wolfram in German and Dutch as well

[@v.miguel.almeida]

In Portugal, actually, Volfrâmio is much more coloquial than Tugnsténio.

[@smparreira]

Portugal never sold Tungsten to Germany ... neither spain Idiotic comparison ... try calling LGBTi to the slaves sold to muslism counties ... since its what we call those without o!o today it should be correct! isnt it?

[@nunowhomever5848]

António Salazar was a far right dictator, you forgot to mention that he somewhat sympathized with fascist ideologies. I must say that it bothers me deeply that you paint the man in such a bright light knowing what he stood for and what he put portuguese people through.

[@jorgesousa6683]

Say what you want, Salazar was a very smart guy :)

[@hugosenshida999]

Until he got dumb and stagnated the whole country Also, chair.

[@Garlus]

People asked Salazar to save the country's economy and he said he would do it but only if he had absolute power, for many years people praised his rule and he did saved the country's economy unfortunatly he didn't left his post when he should have and the communist threat forced him into create a special police to fight this terrorist cells, this police made the people feel unsafe and opressed giving him a bad reputation in the end. Also when the terrorists took over the government their propaganda rewrote history making his reputation even more infamous.