UNIVERSITY OF LISBON

LAW SCHOOL

ARGENTINA AND BRAZIL IN WORLD WAR II: FROM BELLIGERENT PARTIES TO SAFE
HAVEN FOR NAZI WAR CRIMINALS

Course:

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Name: Lucca Moro Costa

Student No: 68440

E-mail: luccamcosta@hotmail.com

Class: PB

Lisbon

2023
 INDEX

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………3

CHAPTER I…………………………………………………………………………………..4

CHAPTER II…………………………………………………………………………………10

CHAPTER III…………………………………………………………………………………

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………….
1 INTRODUCTION

This research project aims to discuss the participation of Argentina and Brazil,
in World War II and their conflicts against Axis countries, especially Germany, and
how, after the end of the war, the region became a safe haven for Nazi war criminals
like Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele. By analyzing the declarations of war, the
processes of the rupturing of foreign relations, trade embargoes it is evident that, at least
formally, and much so because of the pressure of the United States of America, the
participant of those countries as belligerent parties, Brazil the most. Although they
participated as enemies, much because of the great presence of German and Italian
immigrants in their territories, there was heavy pressure from those influential
immigrant communities for a different kind of participation, from neutrality to alliance
with the Axis. After the end of the war, Nazi war criminals found refuge especially in
Argentina, Chile and Brazil, some of them living undercovered normal lives. The goal
of this research paper is to analyze how these people were able to find refuge in
countries that targeted them a few years before and how the political and social
conditions in these countries enabled some Nazi war criminals to live, for at least some
period of time, in a state of total impunity.

2 PAPER

3
CHAPTER I: THE ONSET OF THE WAR

I.I.: THE ONSET OF WORLD WAR II

At the onset of World War II, Argentina and Brazil both were countries with
autocratic leaders that were trying to make their mark as emerging political and
economic leaders in a world that, after the end of the First World War, was changing
rapidly.

Argentina was, at the time, led by Roberto M. Ortíz, a former Treasury

Secretary that became an influential figure in the administration of the previous
President, Agustín P. Justo, with Keynesian policies that encouraged economic growth
after the Great Depression. Ortíz was one of the presidents of the so-called “Infamous
Decade”, an era that lasted from 1930, when a coup d’état overthrew the democratic
and reformist government of Hipólito Yrigoyen, until 1943, when the military coup
brought down Ramón Castillo’s government, and was marked by illiberal policies, the
curtailment of civil liberties and the crack down on the opposition, mainly the Unión
Cívica Radical (UCR) and Communist parties.

Brazil, at the same time, was facing its most brutal dictatorship yet. Getúlio
Vargas, Brazil’s president at the time, had completely changed the balance of power in
the country when he came to power in the Revolution of 1930, a coup d’état supported
by military sectors and the agricultural elites of the Southern and Northeastern states
that overthrew the “Old Republic”, when the agricultural elites from São Paulo and
Minas Gerais ran the country in an oligarchical system. Although Vargas committed to
a democratic transition when rising to power, he suspended the 1932 Constitution in a
coup d’état in 1937, restricting civil liberties, shutting the Houses of Congress down
and banning parties. Thousands of people, mainly those with Communist party
connections, but also students and opposition leaders were arrested and tortured, in what
came to be known as the Estado Novo dictatorship.

4
 When the war began, both countries espoused a policy of neutrality, but the
Atlantic Charter and the changes in Latin American foreign policies under Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, who took office in 1933, helped change it.

I.II: ARGENTINA

Argentina was in the midst of the “Infamous Decade” when the war began.

From 1916 until 1930, Argentina endured a period of rapid changes and great
economic growth. Hipólito Yrigoyen (1916-1922) and Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear
(1922-1926), both members of the Unión Cívica Radical, led the country through a
period of democratization, rapid economic growth, middle class ascension and the
beginning of the construction of the Argentine welfare system. But, as in most Western
nations, the Great Depression changed everything.

An exporter of commodities, Argentina relied heavily on the exportation of

beef to Britain and other European nations. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 changed it,
as more protectionist policies were adopted and the country suffered gravely from this
crisis. In this context of economic decline and high unemployment, the then-popular
government became vilified and it was overthrown in a military coup led by José Félix
Uriburu.

The coup suspended civil liberties, banned political parties and installed a
right-wing government with fascist tendencies. The government that was installed was
supported by the Argentine Patriotic League, a xenophobic, antisemitic organization
that organized attacks in the Jewish communities. The nationalistic tendencies of the
government were exacerbated by its heavily personalistic propaganda.

Although initially, it attracted support, Uriburu’s government became less

popular overtime and it was pressured to call for elections. But Argentina’s electoral
system was fraudulent and the dominating party, CONCORDANCIA, which was
assembled by the coup forces, won handily.
5
 In 1931, with the election of Agustín P. Justo, Argentina took another turn to
the right with austerity policies aimed at overcoming the economic crisis of the 1930s.
When it became clear that austerity was not enough to overcome the challenges,
Keynesian policies were adopted and the country steadily grew.

To comprehend Argentina’s policies at the time, it is essential to understand

the close relationship the country maintained with the United Kingdom throughout its
history. British immigrants came en masse to Argentina to work in the railroad and
cattle industry, with lots of them settling in the region and instilling British culture. The
United Kingdom became the first country to recognize Argentina’s independence and
was the final destination of a great portion of Argentina’s exports of beef and grain.

When the Great Depression began, Britain decided to curtail the imports of
beef from Argentina, adopting more protectionist policies that benefited Commonwealth
nations and isolated Argentine goods from the British market. This policy led to the
worsening of the financial crisis in Argentina and the government had to sit down and
negotiate with the British to avoid a complete breakdown. The Roca-Ronciman Treaty
was signed in 1933 and ensured preferential treatment for British imports into Argentina
and facilitated British investment in Argentine industries, mainly the cattle and the beef
ones.

Agustín P. Justo presided over a period of slow economic growth, trying to get
the country out of the crisis. During his rule, political opponents such as former
presidents Hipólito Yrigoyen and Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear were persecuted, with
Yrigoyen passing away in house arrest and Alvear heading into exile, as well as various
other UCR members.

After tense negotiations, the concerning parties agreed to new elections in

1937, pitting former President Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear against Treasury Secretary
Roberto M. Ortíz. The elections were widely considered to be fraudulent, with threats
made against opposition militants, but, although Ortíz won, the UCR was able to gain a
parliamentary majority.
6
 Ortíz became president in a period where American influence in the region was
changing rapidly. Franklin Delano Roosevelt had won the presidential elections of 1933
in the United States of America and, along with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, viewed
Latin America as a partner in military and defense issues, so much so that, at the VII
Conference of the Americas, the United States proposed the creation of an
Interamerican Permanent Consultative Council with the aim of mutual defense. This
idea was widely repealed by the Argentines and the proposal didn’t move forward in the
conference, which happened in 1936 in Buenos Aires.

The VIII Conference of the Americas happened in Lima, Peru and, once again,
there were efforts by the United States to create some kind of Pan American
organizations aimed at ensuring mutual defense of American countries in the case of
foreign aggression. Again, the efforts were stemmed by Argentina and close allies like
Paraguay and Uruguay, who resisted attempts of breaking neutralities and instigating
conflicts with other countries. After a long debate, the Lima Declaration was signed,
and, while agreeing to the principles of continental solidarity, Argentina’s resolution to
enshrine the principle of equality between the states in the Declaration. Argentina’s
stance contributed to its isolation on the regional stage and Brazil, aligned with
Washington in the commitment for mutual defense, became a more prominent player in
the region.

I.II: BRAZIL

Brazil, when the War began, was a much different country than Argentina was
at the time.

Everything changed in Brazilian politics with the Revolution of 1930, a coup

d’état led by agricultural elites of Southern and Northeastern states and the military,
installed Getúlio Vargas and a new generation of leaders overthrew the so-called Old
Republic.

7
 The new government revoked the 1891 Constitution and was supposed to be
“provisional”, with the goal of reorganizing the country under a new Constitution and,
after it, calling for general elections. In 1932, a National Constitutional Assembly was
formed to draft a new Constitution, which resulted in the democratic 1934 Constitution.
But the new Charter was short lived, as the Vargas government, in another coup, closed
both Houses of Congress and bestowed an autocratic Constitution that centralized
power in the Federal government, banned opposition parties, restrained the rights of free
speech and freedom of assembly, among other things. The coup d’état was justified as
necessary because of the so-called Operation Cohen, a never proven plan of a
Communist conspiracy to overthrow the government and install a new regime in Brazil.

With the coup, the Estado Novo dictatorship began, a period of eight years of
repression and torture began, with a fascist-leaning dictatorship. Some of the most
influential people in the Brazilian government at the time were supporters and admirers
of the Italian Fascist Party, like Filinto Muller, Commander of the political police, and
Francisco Campo, Justice Minister. Personalistic propaganda, nationalism, Federal
government centralization and, mainly, the corporatist structure used to repress and
control the unions were main features of this era.

CRUZ1 when writing about the Fascist-tendencies of Vargas government,

spoke about this corporatist structure:

A simpatia de Vargas pelos regimes fascistas era, contudo, visível, pois a

estrutura corporativa montada por ele era próxima a existente no governo
fascista da Itália, e visava controlar as reivindicações da classe trabalhadora,
evitando empecilhos para a acumulação de capital no país, pois o objetivo era
o desenvolvimento econômico através da industrialização.

Another relevant point of contact was the belief in racial superiority that was
espoused by some within the government structure. Antissemitic hatred, along with an
eurocentric appeal to immigration and the curtailment of immigration of Asians and
Africans were some characteristics of the period. Anti-communism was another big
point of contact between Vargas' government and Fascist governments in Italy and

1 NATÁLIA DOS REIS CRUZ. O Governo Vargas e o Fascismo: Aproximação e Repressão. Disponível
em: < http://www.seer.ufs.br/index.php/tempopresente >
8
Germany. The deportation of the German-Jewish communist militant Olga Benário to
Nazi Germany, where she was killed at the Lichtenburg concentration camp in a gas
chamber, is another example of cooperation between Brazil and an Axis power.

Although there was admiration and some efforts to replicate Fascistic-style

governments in Brazil, the Vargas government, when the War began, sought to embrace
the Pan-American ideals espoused by the Roosevelt administration. Although initially
skeptical of the approach, the government saw an opportunity for economic
development and cooperation, expanding trade and military cooperation with the United
States. At the Lima Conference, differently than Argentina, Brazil was more active in its
support for regional security issues, aiming to create a more integrated Latin America
while also promoting the principles of non-interventionism.

I.III. GERMAN AND ITALIAN COMMUNITIES IN BRAZIL AND

ARGENTINA IN THE PERIOD

Brazil and Argentina both, before the War, had tens of thousands of German
and Italian descendents living in their territory.

Both countries had, in the 19th century, put in policies that aimed to incentivize
immigration from European countries. Millions of Germans and Italians came to Brazil
and Argentina fleeing the wars of unification that happened in the latter half of the 19th
century, receiving grants and land leases from the Brazilian and Argentinian
government to populate low-density areas and promote agricultural efforts.

There was also a racist and eugenic ideal in promoting migration from Western
European countries like Germany and Italy. Both governments saw the incentivization
of immigration as a way of “whitening” their population, both of which had, especially
Brazil, millions of African-Americans.

At the same time, both countries had National-Socialist Party chapters, the one
in Brazil being the biggest in Latin America. Also, Argentina, in the Argentine Patriotic
League, and Brazil, with Integralist Party, right-wing fascist-style parties that espoused
racist views, Nazi-like rhetorica, nationalistic and anti-Communist views. Although, at
9
some time, those parties were persecuted by their governments (Brazilian political
police persecuted and deported integralists and nazis), their ideas and, sometimes, their
political support, was necessary.

CHAPTER II: THE WAR

II.I - THE NEUTRALITY OF ARGENTINA

When the War began, Argentina enforced a policy of neutrality, the same it had
during World War I. During the Great War, the country had endured its most prosperous
period yet, benefiting from trade relations with both belligerent parties. Right after the
beginning of the war, the Ortiz administration, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
informed Britain and France of its policy.

What the Argentines did not know was that the War would come to their
shores when the Battle of the River Plate erupted, the first naval warfare between
German and British ships, that took place in the South Atlantic Ocean. Although
Argentina was not involved, the German submarine Graf Spree used their shores to
rebuild.

The Ortiz administration wanted to join the Allied effort, but the plans leaked
and the public heavily opposed it. There was a heavy sentiment for the need of
neutrality, along with German and Italian descendants that maintained some kind of
pressure for the country to remain neutral.

At the same time, Argentina was facing some internal crisis. The Ortíz
administration had committed to a more democratic society and was trying to navigate
the widespread allegations of electoral fraud that had come to mark the “Infamous
Decade”. The election of 1937 had widespread fraud in several provinces in the
country, in a way that power became delegitmized and the Federal government had to
intervene to secure new elections.

10
 Another instance that showed the fragility of the Argentine government was
the frailed health of its President. Roberto Ortíz suffered from diabetes and the
aggravation of the disease led to full blindness and he resigned in 1942. After his
resignation, Ramón Castillo, the vice-president, became the Executive leader, and a
crisis of legitimacy ensued. The new government had an unpopular leader that resorted
to the military and sectors of the agricultural elites who were not interested in seeing
Argentina entering the war.

The Argentine military, for its part, had intense connections with the German
military that preceded the ascension of the Nazi party. Germany and Argentina had a
history of collaboration on military issues and it is said that the military elites in
Argentina were heavily influenced by the German Army on issues like military strategy,
readiness and capability, et al.

At the same time, the presence of a great number of German immigrants and its
descendents in Argentine territory was another reason that should not be minimized or
overestimated. Certain portions of Argentina’s population were involved in pro-
Germany efforts, sending money or distributing propaganda in the country, most of
them of German descent, but they did not comprise a sizable element of the population.
Their influence was notable among elites, given that many German immigrants became
wealthy people, like businessmen, politicians and military members, but their efforts
should not be construed as the efforts of the Argentine government.

After Pearl Harbor, however, the pressure to get Argentina involved in the
conflict grew. Brazil, Chile and Uruguay made agreements with the United States to get
more involved in Allied efforts, with the US Navy and military installing bases in
Northeastern Brazil and Chile breaking relations with the Axis powers. In January 1943,
Argentina was the only Latin American country to still maintain formal diplomatic
relations with the Axis, but the country continued to maintain the neutrality policy.

In 1943, the Castillo administration and its crisis of legitimacy reached an end
with a coup d’état led by the secret organization United Officers’s Group that had, in its
11
ranks, future president Juan Domingo Perón. The military group took power in June
1943 and installed Pedro Paulo Ramírez as president, thus beginning a military
dictatorship that would last until the calling of elections in 1946.

Under Ramírez, the new government, influenced by Anglophobic members

within its ranks, the policy of neutrality was even more enforced, up to a point where
the administration had to field accusations of being pro-Nazi. Argentina faced so much
internal and external pressure to break relations with Germany, even so that the United
States froze public funds in American banks and Britain threatened to curtail the
imports of beef.

After so much pressure, Argentina formally broke diplomatic relations with

Germany and Japan in January 1944. A military coup within the military government
installed Edelmiro Farrell as president, but the United States of America swore to not
recognize the country until a change in the neutrality policy happened. Cordell Hull,
then the US Secretary of State, accused Argentina of being a Nazi safe haven and its
government of being collaborators with the Axis war powers, using harsh rhetoric to
force Argentina’s entry into the conflict. When Hull left the government, there was an
easing of pressure and sanctions that allowed Argentina to resume more normal
relations with the United States.

About this issue, the historian Francisco Fernando Monteoliva Doratioto 2

wrote:

Houve redução de tensão devido à substituição de Hull, que se demitiu por

motivo de saúde em dezembro desse ano, por Edward Stettinius, enquanto
Nelson Rockefeller assumiu o novo cargo de secretário assistente para
Assuntos Latino-Americanos. Ambos tinham posturas mais conciliadoras e
reduziram as proibições de comércio com a Argentina

2 FRANCISCO FERNANDO MONTEOLIVA DORATIOTO. “A geopolítica platina da Argentina na

Segunda Guerra Mundial”. Disponível em:
https://www.scielo.br/j/his/a/6W4TbyBMFtRQ3Fw5zc9W39F/

12
 With the Allied forces regaining ground in Europe, it became clear for the
Farrell administration that the new geopolitical order would not be led by Germany,
Japan and Italy and that the United States of America was emerging as the hegemon.
With that said, the country started to negotiate with America for the easing of tensions,
which included calling for new elections and declaring war against the Axis. In early
1945, Argentina formally declared war against Japan and Germany, ceding to the
pressure imposed by the Allies.

The government was recognized by the United States, France and Britain and
diplomatic relations resumed to its pre-War state.

II.II - BRAZIL AND ITS BELLIGERANCE

Brazil, on the other hand, became the only nation in Latin America to send
soldiers to fight in Europe against the Axis in World War II, by creating the Brazilian
Expeditionary Force (FEB), who fought in Italy between 1944-1945.

Brazil, as it still is, was a country heavily dependent on the export of its
commodities, which suffered a lot with the Great Depression of the 1930s, especially
the coffee industry. Seeing an opportunity, the Vargas administration employed an
industrialization approach that transformed Brazil’s face forever, from a rural country to
an urban one and with enormous economic growth.

Getúlio Vargas and his allies never shied away from borrowing elements of
Fascist propaganda and policies for themselves. The Estado Novo dictatorship
imprisoned and tortured Communists which they viewed as an existential threat to the
regime. Brazil, at the time, had the National Integralist Party, a right-wing fascist
organization that espoused racist and nationalistic views and supported the dictatorship
in its beginnings. At first, Vargas saw the Integralists and potential allies in his crusade
against Communists and left-wing organizations and promised their leader and president
Plínio Salgado the job of Minister of Education, in which Salgado promised to
revolutionize Brazil’s education and culture.
13
 But Vargas didn’t keep his promise and the Integralists organized a failed coup
to overthrow the dictatorship and install a Fascist government in Brazil. The uprising
was easily repealed and Vargas set his eyes on destroying the party and Fascist
organizations in Brazil.

As it was cited above, Brazil worked hard in the Pan-American conferences

that occurred before the war to create mechanisms of security cooperation and solidarity
between American states. At the time, the Vargas administration worked closely with
the Roosevelt administration in the US to ensure this kind of Pan-Americanism, seeing
it as an opportunity to advance its interests in the region and to become the main player
in the region when the War ended.

When Germany took notice that Brazil was strengthening its security and
defense cooperation with the US and wanted to create a kind of mutual defense policy
similar to NATO’s Article 5, the Nazis viewed Brazil as a belligerent party. This led to
German and Italian submarines to sink Brazilian merchant ships in the Atlantic, aiming
to curtail the trade between Brazil and the US.

The sinking of Brazilian merchant ships was viewed as an act of aggression

and public pressure for Brazil to join the war grew. Germanphobia and Italianphobia
grew exponentially within the country, with native-speaking Germans and Italians being
prohibited from speaking their own languages and practicing their traditional cultures.

Brazilian cooperation with the United States increased, with the Americans
solidifying their support by financing the construction of the state-owned steel company
CSN and, in return, installing military bases in Northeastern Brazil, a region of great
strategic interest. Brazil broke international relations with Germany and Italy in January
of 1942, right after Pearl Harbor and after thousands of its citizens had been killed in
German submarine attacks on merchant ships.

Finally, a formal declaration of war was issued by the Vargas administration on

August 31st, 1942. At first, the participation consisted of naval fights in the Atlantic
Ocean, but the Brazilian Expeditionary Force was created in 1944 and deployed to Italy
14
that same year, helping the Allies in the Italian Liberation struggle. The FEB won two
important battles against Fascist and Nazi forces in the Battle of Monte Castello and the
Battle of Monte Belvedere.

Politically, Brazil capitalized at the end of the War emerging as an hegemon in

the region and had a pivotal role in the creation of the United Nations and other
international institutions that shaped the world after the end of the war. But, at the same
time, great disappointment ensued after Brazil’s bid to join the UN Security Council
was declined.

CHAPTER III: THE NAZI RATLINES TO SOUTH AMERICA

The Nazi Ratlines were a series of escape routes established after the War
ended to help the escaping of Nazi war criminals after the fall of the Third Reich.

Argentina became a safe haven for Nazi war criminals after the Allied victory.
Using connections between Argentine bishops and their Vatican counterparts, a ratline
was established that enabled German prisoners of war, many of them with unknown
identities, to come to Argentina using false documents and assuming new identities
there. The ODESSA Network, set up by former SS officers also was instrumental in
helping Nazi criminals escape to South America, providing some of them with false
documents and new identities through which they could start new lives.

But the Argentine government, led at the time by Juan Domingo Perón,
encouraged the immigration of German citizens to South America after the war ended.
Perón denounced the Nuremberg Trials was a “disgrace” and actively sought to bring
former Nazi officers to Argentina to help with the industrialization of his country, given
the technological and scientific knowledge of the Germans.

But Perón was not as successful as he might have thought he would have. As
CORRÊA3 writes:

3 DANIEL CORRÊA. Perón, Argentina and the Nazis. Disponível em:

https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/his/50
15
 All in all, Perón’s attempts at rapid industrialization, and boosting
Argentinaǯs economy failed. The money he spent far outweighed the services
received. Argentina was so far behind Germany as far as industrialization
goes, that simply getting the Argentina infrastructure caught up to the modern
standards of the time period used up all the money Perón made available.

Argentina was a perfect place for war criminals to hide, not only because of the
support they received from the government. The presence of a well-established German
community, given that the country had received hordes of immigrants since the late 19th
century and acted as a non-belligerent party until the last days of the War. Also, those
Germans went on to live in the Southern part of the country, in the Patagonian
provinces, where they could live in small towns, with almost no one around.

The most prominent Nazi war criminal to come to Argentina was Adolf
Eichmann, who played a central role in implementing the deportation and extermination
of Jews in concentration camps. Eichmann entered Argentina in 1950 and worked in
various common jobs and maintained a low profile, being able to enter the country by
the works of Alois Hudal, an Austrian bishop who used contacts in the Vatican to
smuggle Nazi war criminals out of Europe.

Eichmann was eventually captured by Israeli Mossad agents and was taken to
Israel for trial, eventually being sentenced to death by hanging for his crimes. The
operation happened in 1961, when Perón was out of power, and created diplomatic
tensions between Israel and Argentina.

Brazil, also, was a safe haven for another Nazi war criminal, Josef Mengele.
For over fifteen years, Mengele lived in Brazil in the rural parts of the state of São
Paulo, living under false identities, with a reclusive life. Mengele feared that
Eichmann’s destiny would fall upon him and was considered to be in a complete state of
mental breakdown by those who knew him at the time.

Gustav Wagner was another Nazi war criminal that found refuge in Brazil. The
Austrian was an SS member that worked as the deputy commander of the Sobibor
concentration camp. Under false identity, Wagner lived in São Paulo and built a family
16
there until being located by famous Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Eventually, Wagner
surrendered to Brazilian authorities in 1978, but the extradition was denied by the
Brazilian military dictatorship at the time. Wagner lived in Brazil until his death by
suicide in 1980.

But, differently than Argentina, the Brazilian government did not encourage
the immigration of Nazi war criminals in the same way. Some of them found refuge in
the country with new identities and false documents, but, unlike Argentina, Chile and
Paraguay, the immigration of Nazis was not an official policy.

But, why did Brazil and Argentina become safe havens for Nazi war criminals
after the War? At the time, both countries had stronghold governments with anti-
Communist sentiments. Also, they had big German descendant populations in which the
fugitives could acclimate themselves and become unknown, not getting much attention
and raising suspicion. Brazil and Argentina, being big countries with low-density areas,
also did not have the same capacity to extradite and process those criminals the same
way that European countries could and cooperated.

17
3 CONCLUSION

Although Brazil and, lately, Argentina acted as belligerent parties in World

War II, both countries became safe havens for Nazi criminals after the conflict.

Argentina as an official government policy that encouraged immigration for the

purposes of industrialization and also because of some sympathy that President Perón
had for the fascists. In Brazil’s case, Mengele, Wagner and others, were able to live
covert lives much because of low scrutiny by the security forces. At the same time, both
countries had big German descendent communities and they could acclimate themselves
while not raising suspicions.

But did those German communities influenced their migration and their initial
reluctance to join the Allied efforts? It is hard to state it how important they were, but,
without a doubt, there was some relevance to their efforts that should not be ignored.

In Brazil’s case, German and Italian communities in the South and Southeast
were comprised of affluent individuals that exerted some influence, but, once Brazil
joined the war, even those that hated the National-Socialist and Fascist parties faced
prejudice and had their business destroyed. In Brazil’s case, there was an admiration for
the Italian Fascist Party by the Vargas administration, but Vargas was an ultimate
pragmatist and saw an opportunity to develop and industrialize his country by joining
the Allied efforts and by combatting Nazis and Fascists at home and abroad.

In Argentina, there is no doubt the country played hardball with the Allies and
only declared war at the last minute. There were various reasons for that, which were
discussed above, but it became clear, after the war ended, that Perón, who exerted heavy
influence in the Ramírez and Farrell administrations, held some sympathy for the Nazis.

Overall, the importance of German and Italian communities in Brazilian and

Argentine decisions concerning the conflict was of some relevance, but it should not be
overestimated.

18
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