Brazil in World War II

[2] Leading up to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Brazil adhered to a policy of strict neutrality and maintained positive commercial and diplomatic relations with both Allied and Axis powers.

Despite Brazil's traditionally strong ties with the United States, by 1940 the country had become Germany's leading export market outside Europe and its ninth largest trading partner.

Brazil hosted significant and influential German, Italian, and Japanese diaspora communities, and Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas, whose administration was ideologically sympathetic to fascism, initially aimed to profit from the war by securing favorable trade agreements from both sides.

[6] Although Brazil's economy and military were relatively underdeveloped, the country committed significant industrial capacity and some armed forces to the war effort.

From mid-1942 until the conclusion of World War II, the Brazilian Navy and Air Force actively contributed to protecting Allied shipping from bases in Brazil's northeast region.

The Brazilian Expeditionary Force was deployed to the front in July 1944, nearly two years after Brazil's declaration of war, and was integrated into the Allied 15th Army Group.

[12][13] Brazil’s gradual alignment with the United States was significant for its government, especially in light of German and Italian attempts to interfere in Brazilian internal affairs.

The implementation of the Estado Novo made it increasingly difficult to maintain stable trade relations with these countries, particularly due to British and later American naval pressure.

An element of this pressure was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor policy, which included economic and commercial incentives such as financing the construction of the Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN).

This base played a crucial role in the Allied war effort, particularly before the Anglo-American landing in North Africa in November 1942 during Operation Torch.

[14] Attacks by Axis submarines on Brazilian ships between 1941 and 1944 resulted in the deaths of over a thousand individuals and were a key factor in Brazil's entry into World War II.

In 1943, despite significant enhancements in patrolling and anti-submarine warfare measures through joint Brazilian and American operations, Axis submarines continued their assaults in the South Atlantic, particularly off the coasts of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The Brazilian Navy experienced the loss of three warships during World War II: The "Atlantic Belt", the narrowest stretch between South America and Africa, was fortified to disrupt the flow of raw materials to the Axis powers, particularly along the 1,700-mile route from Natal to Dakar.

[note 4] The rupture of diplomatic relations and the establishment of American bases in Brazil's Northeast positioned the country as a hostile entity from the perspective of Germany and Italy.

Many of these incidents involved interrogations of shipwrecked crews by German U-boat commanders, who sought information on other vessels' routes and cargoes bound for the United States.

On May 18, the Italian submarine Barbarigo launched the first attack in the South Atlantic basin near Brazil's national waters, targeting the freighter Commander Lira.

The crew needed to steer the ship was taken back on board, and the vessel was towed by the American minesweeper USS Thrush and the Brazilian Navy tug Heitor Perdigão to Fortaleza, where it arrived on May 25.

Although this attack did not cause any damage, the submarine’s captain mistakenly believed he had sunk a heavy cruiser, likely confusing the detonation of a depth charge from the destroyer USS Moffett with a torpedo hit.

[24] This spate of attacks incited widespread outrage and shock among the Brazilian public, leading to Brazil’s formal declaration of war against the Axis powers at the end of August.

Merchant vessels often carried passengers, and stopovers were common, making any journey by sea a potential risk of encountering submarine attacks.

Protesters converged on the Itamaraty Palace, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to voice their demands to Chancellor Oswaldo Aranha, who exclaimed to the people:[24] The situation created by Germany, practicing belligerent, barbaric and inhumane acts against our peaceful and coastal navigation, imposes a reaction at the level of the processes and methods employed by them against Brazilian officers, soldiers, women, children, and ships.

In the wake of the sinking of Brazilian ships and the resulting casualties, there was a surge of violent public demonstrations against immigrants from Axis countries, particularly Germans, Japanese, and Italians.

Additionally, it established detention facilities for foreigners suspected of anti-Brazilian activities, including those captured from German vessels that had been damaged or seized off the Brazilian coast.

The government was concerned about the potential for Axis powers to exploit their connections with immigrants and their Brazilian descendants, seeking to influence and mobilize them in support of their war efforts.

Post-war surveys indicated that a significant portion of the approximately 200,000 Japanese immigrants and their descendants residing in São Paulo still believed that Japan had won the conflict.

Historians have identified these claims as part of Axis propaganda efforts, orchestrated by collaborators known as the "Fifth Columns", who sought to influence public perception and decision-making in Brazil.

The geopolitical dynamics of the war, marked by intense competition between American and German interests for Brazilian support, underscored Brazil's tactical and strategic contributions.

On March 21, they achieved another success by attacking a railroad repair shop in the Po Valley, directly hitting four buildings and destroying three Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s at Galarate Field.

[38] In 1943, the U-507, responsible for the August massacre the previous year, was sunk on January 13, approximately 100 miles off the coast of Ceará, with all 54 crew members perishing.

Notable achievements included the extension of civil service access to those who were illiterate (although this did not benefit a significant number of veterans) and the construction of a Housing Complex for ex-combatants in the Benfica neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, which was inaugurated in the early 1960s.