Historian and diplomat, Sergio Correa da Costa had the chance to serve his country in the city of Buenos Aires, during the Second World War. Correa lived in the Argentine metropolis during the reign of the GOU (United Officers Group) and later that of Juan Domingo Peron and Evita Duarte de Peron.
During this war, the young diplomat wrote "Brazil, the silences of history", in which he analyzed the country's commitment alongside that of the Allies, and the sympathy of Proax for its larger neighbor, Argentina. However, considering the censorship of the Argentine authorities, GOU, and subjectivism of the time, Correa decided to resume his analysis of this dark period of our history, to clarify the role of the two giants of Latin America during the Second World War.
Indeed, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and the Brazilian Ambassador to the United Nations in his twilight years, wrote "The Nazis in South America: Chronicle of a secret war 1930 -1950". Combining archival documents gathered in the Argentine diplomatic and personal experiences, the author had the goal to educate new generations about South American politics during the Second World War to avoid future conflicts of this kind."Nothing prevents these incidents, and they are repeated".
Thus, Correa became interested in analyzing the progress of the "secret war" that took place in South America. Through memoranda, spies and financing coups, each world power tried to divert the balance of influence and tip South America into their camp. Indeed, "Throughout the War, the two poles enemies, allies and axis powers, fought over the territory for a key influence in defining the fate of mankind". Privileged with resources and skilled labor, this continent is the grand living space about which Hitler said, "We will create in South America a new Germany. We find everything we need there ".
Thus, given the expansionist dreams of Hitler and the geopolitics of the continent, Correa decided to focus his analysis on two particular countries: Argentina and Brazil. But what was the exact positioning of these countries during the Second World War? Can we really say that Argentina was a country of collaborationist Axis powers? To answer these questions, we will focus our analysis primarily on the role of the two South American giants, and take an interest in the possible major criticisms against the work of Correa.
"In 1933, Nazi Germany sought to bring to a new ideology to the world, and Brazil was one of the countries in which German leaders were planning to extend their coverage."Indeed, South America and Brazil in particular have always been key elements in the "Gross-Deutschland" of the Germans.
The presence of Brazil as a protagonist in the expansion plans of the Nazis is explained not only because of its important role in international trade - "in the late 1930s, Brazil was the main supplier of the Third Reich of cotton, coffee and rubber" - but also because of the strategic geopolitical position of the giant Brazilian routes.
[...] Under the support of the Bolivian government, the Nazi army received the franchise rights to build an air base in Trinidad, and a center for education and guidance to the National Socialist Mamore. The indoctrination of Bolivian Nazi youth took on such importance, that affected by this case, the U.S. financed the takeover of General Enrique Peñaranda Valdivieso. Supporting the Allies, the new leader of Bolivia undertook strict restraints of Nazi forces in his country. On its part, Paraguay was the other target of the Nazi foreign policy because of its bellicose history. [...]
[...] In this way, the Larreta doctrine caused a strong issue for governments as part of the Inter-American Union. In short we can say that the book 'The Nazis in South America: Chronicle of a secret war 1930-1950" is fundamental to understanding how the Second World War effected a sub-continent which is so special. Reviewing the experience of this war with respect to the two giants of Latin America, Argentina and Brazil, Sergio Correa da Costa presents two completely opposite cases. [...]
[...] In fact, with a predominantly white population (more than 90% was of European origin), the second Latin American giant represented an attractive alternative in the eyes of Adolf Hitler. " Although a minority compared to the diaspora Spanish or Italian citizens, German citizens living in Argentina were very numerous. Concentrated in the capital and the south, the real "colonies" coexisted with the big German company rioplantense. According to Sergio Correa da Costa, the strong Germanic presence was explained by two reasons. [...]
[...] "The Nazis in South America: Chronicle of a secret war 1930-1950", Segio Correa da Costa, Page 13 "The Nazis in South America: Chronicle of a secret war 1930-1950", Segio Correa da Costa, Page 36 Adolf Hitler "The Nazis in South America: Chronicle of a secret war 1930-1950", Segio Correa da Costa, Page 17 "The Nazis in South America: Chronicle of a secret war 1930-1950", Segio Correa da Costa, Page 49 "The Nazis in South America: Chronicle of a secret war 1930-1950", Segio Correa da Costa, Page 31 Nothing in Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Parana, more than 1,200 German schools were subsidized by Germany.When Hitler took power in 1933, he increased resources for these areas in anticipation of indoctrinate the youth. [...]
[...] Although the Brazilian government says that its position has always been ‘proalliée', Sergio Correa da Costa rejects this theory by showing the network of influence that the axis had in Brazil. Through the establishment of a Brazilian section of the National Socialist Party, the grant of the German schools and colleges , the presence of spies (mainly in São Paulo and Rio di Janeiro), and the sale of newspapers in German, Nazi Germany exercised a considerable influence over a large section of the population of southern Brazil. [...]
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