Arrancada Heroica

[6][7] During the Second World War, after maintaining a neutral position throughout the first three years of the conflict, in February 1942, Brazil broke diplomatic relations with the Axis countries, after the Germans and Italians began torpedoing Brazilian vessels in the Atlantic Ocean.

Before that, in the same year, an ordinance approved in March 1942, under decree number 4,166, determined that assets belonging to Germans, Italians and Japanese, both individuals and legal entities, could be confiscated and used by the Brazilian government for compensate for losses generated by countries in the war against Brazil.

Another determination by the government of Getúlio Vargas was carried out through a decree that prohibited any entity from using names related to Axis countries, under penalty of loss of assets.

Leaders of the then Palestra still accuse São Paulo Futebol Clube as one of the opponents responsible for the greatest pressure in political circles, since, according to them, there was interest from the rival in the Estadio Parque Antartica.

After hours of discussion and resistance, and the suggestion of names such as Piratininga and Paulista, it was finally decided on Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, partly due to the preservation of the letter P on the club's shields and symbols, and partly in honor of the Associação Atlética das Palmeiras, a club that was then extinct but which always maintained an excellent relationship with Palestra Itália, having provided decisive support on several occasions of disputes with São Paulo football directors.