At the start of World War II in 1939, the Portuguese Government announced on 1 September that the 550-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but 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 Adolf Hitler's occupation swept across Europe, neutral Portugal became one of Europe's last escape routes. Portugal was able to maintain its neutrality until 1944, when a military agreement was signed to give the United States permission to establish a military base in Santa Maria in the Azores and thus its status changed to non-belligerent in favour of the Allies.
Overview
At the outbreak of World War II, Portugal was ruled by António de Oliveira Salazar, who in 1933 had founded the Estado Novo ("New State"), the corporatist authoritarian government that ruled Portugal until 1974. He had favoured the Spanish nationalist cause, fearing a communist invasion of Portugal, yet he was uneasy at the prospect of a Spanish government bolstered by strong ties with the Axis. Salazar's policy of neutrality for Portugal in World War II thus included a strategic component. The country still held overseas territories that, because of their poor economic development, could not adequately defend themselves from military attack.
Since the British did not seek Portuguese assistance, the country expected to remain neutral. In an aide-mémoire of 5 September 1939, the British government confirmed the understanding and Portugal remained neutral during the entire war.
On 15 May 1940, Salazar's important role in the war was recognised by the British: Douglas Veale, Registrar of the University of Oxford, informed Salazar that the university's Hebdomadal Council had "unanimously decided at its meeting last Monday, to invite you [Salazar] to accept the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Civil Law".
Salazar's decision to maintain the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance allowed the Portuguese island of Madeira to come to the aid of the Allies, and in July 1940 around 2,500 evacuees from Gibraltar were shipped to Madeira. At the same time Life magazine, in a long article titled: "Portugal: The War Has Made It Europe's Front", called Salazar "a benevolent ruler", described him as "by far the world's best dictator, he [Salazar] is also the greatest Portuguese since Prince Henry the Navigator", and added that "the dictator has built the nation". Life declared that "most of what is good in modern Portugal can be credited to Dr. Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.... The dictator is everything that most Portuguese are not — calm, silent, ascetic, puritanical, a glutton for work, cool to women. He found a country in chaos and poverty. He has balanced the budget, built roads and schools, torn down slums, cut the death rate and enormously raised Portuguese self-esteem."{ { efn|name=fn-full-LIFE|Life'''s full article, Portugal: The War Has Made It Europe's Front Door, can be accessed online for further reading.}}
In September 1940, Winston Churchill wrote to Salazar congratulating him on his ability to keep Portugal out of the war, asserting that "as so often before during the many centuries of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance, British and Portuguese interests are identical on this vital question."
Despite Portuguese neutrality, in December 1941, Portuguese Timor was occupied by Australian and Dutch forces, which were expecting a Japanese invasion. Salazar's reaction was violent. He protested, saying that the Allies had violated Portuguese sovereignty and jeopardised Portuguese neutrality. A Portuguese garrison force (about 800 men) was then sent from East Africa to take over the defence of East Timor, but did not arrive on time; on 20 February 1942 the Japanese began landing troops in Timor.
Azores
Portugal managed to remain neutral despite extraordinary pressures from both sides. Both the Allies and the Axis sought to control the strategically located Azores islands during World War II. Salazar was especially worried about a possible German invasion through Spain and did not want to provoke Hitler; nor did he want to give Spain an excuse to take sides with the Axis and invade Portugal due to the strategic importance of the Canary Islands. Both the United Kingdom and the United States devised several plans to set up air bases in the Azores regardless of Portugal's disapproval. The plans were never put into operation.