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- Chapter 1348: Interest comes first
Considering the Nazis¡¯ huge demand for tungsten ore and the extraordinary measures they took to ensure its supply, the Allies accurately deduced that tungsten was the Nazis¡¯ most important strategic resource
The Allies also need tungsten, but they have other sources and are not completely dependent on the production of Spain and Portugal. Therefore, the Allies' goal is to prevent the Nazis from getting as little tungsten sand as possible. To this end, they rush to buy Portuguese tungsten sand in large quantities.
By 1943, the price of tungsten sand had risen to 775% of the pre-war level, making Portugal a huge profit. Its tungsten sand production also soared from 2,419 tons in 1938 to 6,500 tons in 1942. ""Updated fastest, full text hand type
In order to maintain neutrality, Portugal established a strict export quota system in 1942, allowing the Allies and Axis powers to export ore from the tungsten mines they owned in Portugal, while establishing fixed quotas for Portugal's own mines.
The UK has the largest tungsten mine in Portugal, and Germany has several smaller tungsten mines. In 2016, Portugal and Germany signed a trade agreement, increasing exports of tungsten sand to Germany to 2,800 tons, and Germany provided coal, steel and potash fertilizer.
In 1943, the Allies also tried to sign a new tungsten sand import agreement with Portugal. Portugal asked the Allies to lower the price of ammonium sulfate oil and other products in return, but was rejected. Portugal therefore reduced its tungsten sand exports to the Allies. ""
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Parallel to the battle for tungsten are negotiations over the Azores, which could provide vital air bases for anti-submarine warfare as the Battle of the Atlantic comes to a head.
Churchill was tempted by the restoration of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance of 1373, and signed an agreement with Portugal on August 17, 1943. From October 1943, the US military was also allowed to use the Azores Islands to establish a military base.
In April 1944, the United States decided to impose economic sanctions on Portugal to force Portugal to interrupt the supply of tungsten sand to the Nazis. Portugal needed to rely on the United States to import oil and other products.
On June 5, the day before the Normandy landings, the Allies forced Portugal to stop transporting tungsten sand to Germany. After Germany learned of this, it immediately sold off all tungsten mines in Portugal and purchased other industries.
According to the estimates of the Allies, after June 1944, Germany hid more than 2 million US dollars in capital in Portugal by opening hotels, operating cinemas, etc.
On May 14, 1945, Portugal froze all German property in its native colonies, including the property of German diplomatic institutions. At the request of the Allies, Portugal seized the German legation in Lisbon and seized a large number of gold pound coins.
While seizing German assets, Portugal insisted that no German gold had been shipped to Portugal between 1938 and 1945. However, intelligence possessed by the Allies showed that Portugal had received $144 million in Nazi gold from the Swiss National Bank, including $22.6 million in gold bricks. Stamped by a Belgian bank, at least 72% of the remaining gold was also Nazi loot.
The Allies proposed that Portugal should return the US$50.5 million in gold it received after 1942. In the end, Portugal only agreed to return US$4.4 million.
There is evidence that Portugal was quite deceitful in collecting German gold. As early as 1940, Albino Bisso, secretary-general of the National Bank of Portugal, said in a confidential exchange of letters with Gautier, a senior official of the Swiss Federal Central Bank, that Portugal was unwilling to do so. Receive gold directly from the Nazis, but pass it through Swiss banks to legalize the transaction of Nazi gold
Initially, Portugal used the offices of the Bank for International Settlements and the National Bank of Yugoslavia in Basel to launder money. However, after the Nazis invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, especially the Governor of the Bank of England, Montagu Norman, formally wrote to the Bank for International Settlements on January 8, 1942. After Thomas McCurry, the American governor of the United States, declared that any gold transaction transferred from the Bank for International Settlements to Portugal was illegal, Portugal began to look for other ways to launder money.
The Portuguese side requires the German side to first sell its gold to a Swiss bank at the current price in exchange for Swiss francs, then deposit the money into an account of the National Bank of Portugal in Switzerland, and then use this "clean" money to purchase gold from the Swiss bank.
In addition to banks, there must have been a certain amount of Nazi gold flowing into Portuguese folk. In 2016, a bank was asked to help melt the recast gold bricks at the Fatima Catholic Church, and it was found that 4 of them were cast with the emblem of the German National Bank.
The total weight of these gold bricks is 50 kilograms. The church is trying to improve its financial situation by selling gold. It is unknown whether the church holds more Nazi gold.
Salazar¡¯s choice to remain neutral in World War II was based on both geographical and strategic considerations. Portugal had many ports on the Atlantic Ocean, making it difficult for the British to blockade them. Therefore, Salazar was mainly worried about the Nazi invasion.
During the war, Lisbon became the center of espionage activities for the Allies and the Axis powers. Negotiations for Italy's surrender in 1943 and Germany's attempts to negotiate a separate peace with the West in 1945 were held there.
Generally speaking, during World War II, Portugal adopted a neutral line that was more pro-Allied, while Spain's neutrality tended to favor the Axis powers. Many European neutral countries attached themselves to fascism out of helplessness, and Franco's Spain itself was uncompromising. unabashed fascist
During the Spanish Civil War, both Germany and Italy provided assistance to Franco. In 1941, Franco also sent 40,000 volunteers called the "Blue Legion" to the Russian front, fighting with their Nazi allies until 1945.
Although Franco declared Spain a neutral country at the outbreak of World War II, he hesitated to join the Axis powers from 1940 to 1941.
Whether Spain will participate in the war depends on who can win the early victory between Germany and Britain, and whether Germany can support its territorial expansion in Monaco, French Africa, and even Europe. The outcome of the "Battle of Britain" made Franco choose to continue to wait and see.
Spain guards the western entrance to the Mediterranean, and its strategic position is more important than Portugal
As early as 1940, Germany had a plan for an all-out attack on Gibraltar, the "Plan Felix." The plan was originally planned to be carried out in mid-1941 and required two armored forces to quickly cross Spain along the road. Because the Spanish railway is wide gauge, it can only walk highway
Once the Germans reach Gibraltar, the solid rock fortress will suffer a double fatal blow from the ground and the air. Once the plan is successful, the other two forces will attack Morocco.
After 1941, Germany also had a plan to attack Gibraltar similar to "Operation Felix". However, Germany had already attacked Russia at that time. The plan ended without any problems due to lack of troops and equipment.
Franco knew the strategic location of Gibraltar better than Germany. If the Nazis occupied Gibraltar, the British transport fleet would have to detour around the Cape of Good Hope, which would take several more weeks.
He also realized that Britain in 1940 was no longer able to cope with attacks on its empire around the world, let alone tiny Gibraltar.
However, Franco, who had been honed in the bloody civil war, was much more scheming than Mussolini and Hitler. He believed that as long as Britain did not finally surrender, the two Anglo-Saxon empires, the United States and Britain, would be able to join forces to fight and bring the British to the throne. The Three Islands served as a springboard to counterattack Europe, thereby winning the war.
¡°It was Hitler¡¯s miscalculation that he did not bring Franco into his camp. Whether it was caused by the interference of the American ambassador or Franco¡¯s cunning, this was one of the biggest mistakes that Nazi Germany made in its diplomacy and strategy.
After the Allied forces landed in North Africa in 1943, Germany hesitated to "preventively" occupy Spain and formulated the "Gisela Plan" to occupy its northern part. However, Hitler rejected this idea: "The Spanish are the only tenacious people among the Latin peoples. People who will fight guerrillas in our rear areas"
In the end, Germany chose to occupy southern France and Tunisia and use them as the core of defense
In the early days of World War II, both Britain and the United States had been trying to keep Spain neutral. They supplied Spain with grain and oil, and the United States would have provided even more if Spain had not resold much of that oil to the Nazis.
After 1941, Spain moved closer to the Allies, providing an escape route for Jewish refugees fleeing Europe. By 1943, the problem of German invasion between the United States and Spain no longer existed.
After the Nazi threat disappeared, Spain¡¯s neutrality became even more obvious
In June 1943, U.S. Ambassador Hayes met with Franco and explained that if Spain really wanted to be neutral, it must take three measures: 1. Spain must clearly and publicly declare its neutrality; 2. The government agencies must adopt a neutral policy like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 3. Recalling the "Blue Legion" from the Russian Front
Franco said he has not completely given up on participating in the war, but has begun to shift towards neutrality
An important aspect of Spain's relationship with the Nazis is debt owed during the Civil War, including weapons and other supplies. Spain owes Germany more than $212 million.
Moreover, because the 330 tons of gold reserves of the National Bank of Spain were smuggled to the Soviet Union by Soviet advisors as early as 1935, Spain was unable to repay the huge sum of money. In the end, all this gold was transported back to the capital Jinling by the Far East Army of the Chinese Federation. China¡¯s gold reserves
In addition to debt relationships, Spain¡¯s rich mineral deposits and trade resources were also needed by the Nazis
In a secret German-Spanish agreement signed in 1939, Spain promised to help Germany import beef and grains from South America. In May of that year, Spain and Italy signed a three-year food cooperation plan, promising to provide necessary grains.
By 1942, the focus of German-Spanish trade shifted from food to mineral resources necessary for the war. Spain was rich in high-quality iron ore. Germany also imported zinc, lead, mercury, fluorite, lapis lazuli, mica, cork, cork, and wool from Spain, as well as the most important tungsten sand.
The Allied blockade blocked Spain's attempts to help Germany import food, but it never??The industrial diamonds and platinum in the hands of the Nazis were shipped to the United States via Spain. These can be used in chemical industry and electrical machinery, and due to their small size, there is no way to intercept them.
British post-war analysis pointed out that the material blockade imposed on Germany in the early stages of the war was futile. During that period, the Nazis lived comfortably on what they looted, and there was no problem of material shortages. Only the large-scale bombing campaign in 1944 and large-scale battles that truly weakened the Third Reich.
Trade between the Allies and Spain has three purposes. First, it is to obtain some resources that only Spain can provide. Second, purchasing supplies from Spain can reduce its supply to the Nazis. Finally, trade with Spain can reduce the impact of the Nazis on the Spanish economy.
In March 1940, Britain and Spain signed a half-year trade agreement. Britain provided petroleum products and fertilizers to Spain, and Spain supplied ore oranges and lemons to Britain. Throughout the war, the trade agreement was renewed every six months.
The real focus of trade between the Allies and Spain was also tungsten sand. By 1941, Germany had discovered all of Spain¡¯s tungsten mines and controlled the largest tungsten mine in Spain through agents, acquiring almost all of the tungsten sand produced. The British Only got 32 tons
Spain¡¯s tungsten ore exports follow the principle of free trade and do not implement a quota system like Portugal. Since it has a large amount of hard currency, this is an advantage for the allies.
From the beginning of 1942, Britain and the United States began to jointly buy out all tungsten ore production in Spain. As a result, the output of tungsten sand almost doubled from the previous year to nearly 2,000 tons, and the price soared from the original US$75 per ton to US$16,800. The Allies gained Nearly half of the tungsten sand
In February 1943, Spain and Germany secretly signed a new agreement. Germany agreed to use weapons as the payment for the purchase of tungsten sand. However, during the negotiations, Germany increased the price of weapons four times, arousing the anger of the other party.
Finally, Spain and Germany reached an agreement: the debt owed to Germany during the civil war was paid off in four installments, and Germany would use the money to purchase tungsten sand. During the year, Germany purchased tungsten ore, accounting for 35% of its output, and Spain's total tungsten ore production that year was Production is about 4 to 5 times that of 1940
In January 1944, British Ambassador to Spain Samuel Hall met with Franco on the issue of stopping tungsten trade with the Nazis, but no consensus was reached.
Subsequently, the Allies imposed an oil embargo on Spain on March 2. Spain agreed to reduce tungsten exports to Germany to half of the previous year. However, Germany still obtained tungsten sand through smuggling that year.
Exports of tungsten sand to Germany were suspended in August 1944, by which time the Spanish border had been closed
The "Safe Harbor Plan" in Spain was launched in the spring of 1944 and was put in charge by Klaus of the Fea. He noted in his report that Spain was the least cooperative of all neutral countries.
Due to the corruption of officials, it was easy for Nazi officials to hide their business in Spain and transport their property from Spain to Portugal and then to Argentina
In the autumn of 1944, the Allies first asked Spain to stop all gold transactions involving Germany. Spain initially did not respond, and it was not until May 5, 1945 that it froze all property related to the Axis powers.
After the peace talks between Germany and the Allies on May 7, Spain agreed to let the American and British Property Trustees take charge of German properties in its territory. By July 1947, the Board controlled $25.3 million in German assets, and it was estimated that Germany Total assets in Spain amount to US$95 million
Regarding the issue of Nazi gold in Spain, according to German bank records, statements by Swiss bank officials and records seized from German companies in Spain, Spain received $138 million worth of gold from Germany and Switzerland.
Negotiations to return the gold began in Madrid in January 1946. Rubin, who had negotiated similar issues with Sweden, once again became the head of the delegation. Negotiations were deadlocked from 1947 to March 1948 before an agreement was reached on the issue of Nazi property and gold.
Spain returns **** dollars of gold, most of which is Dutch gold reserves. In exchange, the Allies must issue a statement admitting that "Spain did not know that these golds were looted by the Nazis", even though the Dutch on those gold bricks The text stamp is clearly visible
There were two other factors that accelerated the negotiations. The U.S. State Department demanded a softer approach to negotiations than with the Portuguese to obtain military bases in Spain.
The more critical factor is that Spain was abandoned by the international community after the war and was therefore eager to gain the favor of its allies. As early as July 1944, U.S. Ambassador Hayes noticed that "photos of Hitler and Mussolini had been removed from Franco's desk." disappeared, leaving only the picture of Pope Pius XII.¡±
Spain also severed diplomatic relations with Japan on April 1, 1945 because the Japanese army killed Spaniards in the Philippines.
Despite these flattering gestures by Franco, the Allies still excluded Spain from the United Nations in the Potsdam Declaration due to the fascist nature of his regime.The ambassador of the United States left Madrid in December 1945, and the post remained vacant until 1951.
In May 1946, a United Nations committee presented in a report evidence of Spain's fascist nature, such as support for Nazi activities, providing shelter for Nazi war criminals after the war, and persecuting dissidents.
Spain, the only fascist regime to survive World War II, was isolated from the international community and did not join the United Nations until 1955. After that, many countries did not even know that Spain was once a member of the Axis Powers. This is politics, not much. Morality at all
Negotiations for the Safe Harbor Plan between the United States and Argentina began in 1944 but were greatly limited due to tensions between the two countries
Later, due to the scandals that subverted the regimes of Uruguay and Bolivia, General Ramirez, the Argentine military president, was forced to resign and transferred power to General Farrell. Peron became Vice President. The United States announced that it would not recognize Farrell and recalled ZF. Ambassador to Argentina
On August 5 of that year, the Argentine Foreign Minister wrote a long letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hull, stating that he was not prepared to change his foreign policy because "severing relations with the Axis powers that are facing defeat is inconsistent with Argentina's chivalry."
He also tried to share U.S. Lend-Lease weapons aid in the letter, and Hull seized the opportunity to humiliate Argentina in his reply.
On August 16, all Argentina¡¯s gold stored in the United States was frozen
In September, U.S. merchant ships were banned from sailing to Argentine ports in response, Argentina withdrew from its Western Hemisphere defense system, and its central bank stopped assisting the United States in its investigation of Nazi property.
After the tough-minded Hull resigned as secretary of state due to illness, his successor Stettinius adopted a more moderate policy toward Argentina. Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Relations Nelson Rockefeller also supported the moderate line.
It is worth noting that it was the banks owned by the Rockefeller family that illegally absorbed a large amount of Nazi funds from Argentina during the war, and it was Nelson Rockefeller's Mobil Oil Company that shipped a large amount of oil to Germany through Spain.
This is the nature of the global Jewish plutocrats. In their eyes, there are no enemies or friends, only interests. Even if the Nazis are killing their compatriots, they can still sell them strategic materials (to be continued) - Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report
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