Lisbon War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-1945

by Lochery, Neill

• ISBN13: 9781610391887
• ISBN10: 1610391888
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-30
• Publisher: PublicAffairs

Summary

Lisbon had a pivotal role in the history of World War II, though not a gun was fired there. The only European city in which both the Allies and the Axis power operated openly, it was temporary home to much of Europe's exiled royalty, over one million refugees seeking passage to the U.S., and a host of spies, secret police, captains of industry, bankers, prominent Jews, writers and artists, escaped POWs, and black marketeers. An operations officer writing in 1944 described the daily scene at Lisbon's airport as being like the movie "Casablanca," times twenty. In this riveting narrative, renowned historian Neill Lochery draws on his relationships with high-level Portuguese contacts, access to records recently uncovered from Portuguese secret police and banking archives, and other unpublished documents to offer a revelatory portrait of the War's back stage. And he tells the story of how Portugal, a relatively poor European country trying frantically to remain neutral amidst extraordinary pressures, survived the war not only physically intact but significantly wealthier. The country's emergence as a prosperous European Union nation would be financed in part, it turns out, by a cache of Nazi gold.

Author Biography

Neill Lochery, PhD, is a world-renowned source on Israel, the Middle East, and Mediterranean history. He is the author of five books and countless newspaper and magazine articles. He regularly appears on television in the UK, the USA, and the Middle East. He is currently based at University College London and regularly gives talks in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

Table of Contents

Maps	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Sitting Out the War	p. 9
The Most Beautiful Dictator	p. 14
Preparing for the Worst	p. 20
Mixed Messages	p. 26
Forget About Your Troubles	p. 32
Wartime Refugees	p. 38
Retired, Outcast	p. 45
The Jewish Question	p. 52
On the Run	p. 61
Operation Willi	p. 69
The Portuguese Banker	p. 77
Spanish Connections	p. 85
Secret Jewish Rescue Lists	p. 94
Double Dealing	p. 108
Under Pressure	p. 118
Shocked to Discover That Spying Is Going On	p. 125
The Dossier	p. 142
Agents and Double Agents	p. 148
Death of a Hollywood Star	p. 155
Farewell to Friends	p. 162
Ancient Alliance	p. 169
Reluctant Participant	p. 176
A Painful Set of Negotiations	p. 183
The Cost of Doing Business	p. 191
Nazi Gold	p. 196
Golden Triangle	p. 203
Safehaven and War Criminals	p. 210
There May Be Trouble Ahead	p. 217
Should I Stay or Should I Go?	p. 223
Old Wine into New Bottles	p. 229
Epilogue	p. 235
Acknowledgments	p. 241
Photo Credits	p. 245
Notes	p. 247
Bibliography	p. 279
Index	p. 295
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