The Second World War is, undoubtedly, an armed conflict on a planetary scale. However, despite all the scope, there were many territories where the fighting never reached. And if, for example, with Antarctica everything is more or less clear, then even at the epicenter of the war - Europe - there were also territories that were outside both fronts. And all because the governments of several countries at once decided simply not to enter into conflict. Your attention to the "four" states that during the Second World War remained neutral.
1. Portugal
Portugal not only stayed away from hostilities and did it out of purely pragmatic motives, but also tried to make good money on the largest military conflict. Being at that time a colonial empire, she did not want to lose her logistical networks, which would supply the resources of Africa under its control, and in the event of entry into the war, this would certainly happened. In addition, in the military sphere, Portugal did not differ in power, therefore, if it had stood on one of the sides, it would hardly have been able to withstand the enemy’s offensive. Therefore, the then head of the country, Antonio di Salazar, from the very beginning of hostilities, declared the neutrality of Portugal and opened trade with both sides of the conflict - its biggest buyers in the early years of World War II were Britain and Third Reich.
2. Sweden
The history of Sweden's development is quite curious, and it was she who became the reason for the declaration of neutrality. So, once this state was very strong, but over time it lost its greatness and focused on increasing internal comfort. And they managed to do it: according to the Novate.ru editorial staff, back in 1938, Sweden entered the list of countries with the most high standard of living on the planet, and therefore lose it, getting involved in large-scale hostilities, it does not was in a hurry. Yes, and the armed forces did not differ in its power, and therefore declared neutrality. However, to some extent, the Swedish authorities still waged a war, only a diplomatic one: all the years she had to maneuver between the parties to the conflict. Thus, it is known that, unlike other Scandinavian countries, Sweden did not show open support for the Germans, but traded with them, refused to accept Jews on their territory, and their volunteers fought either in small detachments of the SS troops or in the Finnish parts. True, since 1943, relations with the Third Reich began to deteriorate, and by the end of the war, Sweden completely abandoned trade agreements with it.
>>>>Ideas for life | NOVATE.RU<<<<
3. Spain
Unlike the same Sweden, Spain, which also decided to remain neutral, managed not to provide assistance to the Germans, and this despite the fact that relations between the heads of state were quite warm. And it happened like this: Hitler supported General Francisco Franco and his supporters in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), as a result of which they came to power. But when, at the very beginning of World War II, an offer was received from the Third Reich of Spain to join the coalition, he was refused. Franco motivated him by the devastation after the Civil War, and therefore Hitler did not receive significant help from him. But in Spanish society, there were enough radical citizens who wanted their country to enter the war on the side of the Germans. Franco coped with this situation too: he allowed them to go to the front as volunteers - from them the SS formed the Blue Division. Thus, he killed two birds with one stone: he sent the radicals wherever they wanted, and he kept the state neutral.
4. Switzerland
The smallest but proudest country, located literally in the epicenter of Europe, has also managed to maintain neutrality. There are several reasons for this state of affairs in World War II. Firstly, the Germans themselves did not really want to fight with her: the territory is small, and resources for the capture will potentially be spent very a lot, because the Swiss are mountaineers who have always been famous for skillful warriors, and the geographical position is inconvenient for expansion. In addition, Switzerland itself was not eager to enter into a conflict. And the third, no less important reason why this small country was not touched by any side of the conflict - after all, at that time it was already the most famous repository of finances of the largest corporations and the richest families. No one really wanted to expose their savings to the threat of destruction or plunder, Switzerland without any problems remained on the sidelines of hostilities throughout the Second World War.
Do you want to know what valuable resource Portugal supplied to the Third Reich? Then read: "Wolf foam" for shells: how Portugal satisfied the "tungsten hunger" of the German army
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/010222/62007/