Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T09:07:59.843Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Argentine Neutrality, September, 1939–June, 1940 A Re-Examination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Stanley E. Hilton
Stanley E. Hilton*
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin, Texas
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Argentina’s foreign policy during World War II is often believed to have been one of indifferent, or even pro-Axis, neutrality from the very onset of hostilities in Europe. Passions aroused by the Axis leanings of the government leaders during most of the period of American belligerency have tended to obscure the fact that the attitude of the Argentine government during the period preceding the fall of France was unquestionably favorable to the Allies. Previous writers have neglected this period, and have tended to skip directly from the Panama Conference in September, 1939, to the capitulation of France, following which Argentina adopted a policy of strict neutrality, and thus have given the erroneous impression that Argentina’s position on hemispheric neutrality was the same throughout the war.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , January 1966 , pp. 227 - 257
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1966

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Bemis, Samuel F., The Latin American Policy of the United States (New York, 1943), p. 378 Google Scholar; and Smith, O. Edmund O. F. M., Yankee Diplomacy—U.S. Intervention in Argentina (Dallas, 1953), p. 47.Google Scholar

2 Mecham, J. Lloyd, The United States and Inter-American Security, 1889–1960 (Austin, 1961), p. 185.Google Scholar

3 This proposal has been mentioned by only a few writers. See: Guerrant, Edward O., Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy (Albuquerque, 1950), p. 148 Google Scholar; Langer, W.L. and Gleason, S.E., The Challenge to Isolation 1937–1940 (New York, 1952), pp. 608–610 Google Scholar; and Peterson, Harold F., Argentina and the United States 1810–1960 (New York, 1964), p. 403 Google Scholar. Both Guerrant and Peterson err in placing the time of the initial proposal after the German conquest of the Lowlands.

4 Argentina, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto (cited hereafter as AMREC), Dirección de Investigaciones, Archivo y Propaganda, Informaciones Argentinas, 32 (15 Sept. 1939), p. 2 Google Scholar (cited hereafter as Informaciones Argentinas).

5 Italian Ambassador Gabriele Preziosi to Foreign Minister Ciano, Buenos Aires, 28 Aug. 1939, in: Italy, Ministero degli Affari Esteri, I Documentici Diplomatici Italiani, 8a Serie, 1935–1939 (Rome, 1952-), XIII, 237Google Scholar (cited hereafter as DDI(8)).

6 AMREC, Memoria 1939/40 (2 vols.; Buenos Aires, 1940), I, 13–14.Google Scholar

7 U.S. State Dept., Report of the Delegation of the United States . . . to the Eighth International Conference of American States, Lima, Peru, December 9–27, 1938 (Washington, 1941), p. 90.Google Scholar

8 AMREC, Memoria 1939/40, I, 23–25.Google Scholar

9 Argentina, Cámara de Diputados, Diario de Sesiones, Año 1939, vol. I (Buenos Aires, 1939), passim;Google Scholar Dickmann, Enrique, La infiltración nazi-fascista en la Argentina (Buenos Aires, 1939)Google Scholar, includes speeches on Nazi activities made by the Socialist deputy in June, 1938.

10 Italian amb. (Berlin) to Ciano, , 28 June 1939, DDI(8), XII, 305.Google Scholar

11 German chargé (Buenos Aires) to the Foreign Ministry, 28 Sept. 1939, U.S. State Dept., Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918–1945, Series D (12 vols.; Washington, 1957-1962), VIII, 157–158Google Scholar (cited hereafter as DGFP).

12 Preziosi to Ciano, , 30 Sept., 1939, DDI, 9a Serie, 1939–1943 (4 vols.; Rome, 1954-1960), I, 329–330.Google Scholar

13 Arregui, J.J. Hernández, La formación de la conciencia nacional, 1930–1960 (Buenos Aires, 1960), p. 251 Google Scholar; Rennie, Ysabel F., The Argentine Republic (New York, 1945), pp. 267–268 Google Scholar; Haring, C.H., Argentina and the United States (Boston, 1941), p. 60.Google Scholar

14 German chargé (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 28 Sept. 1939, DGFP, VIII, 158.

15 Preziosi to Ciano, , 28 Sept. 1939, DDI(9), I, 296.Google Scholar

16 German chargé (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 30 Sept., 1939, DGFP, VIII, 158.

17 Quién es Quien en la Argentina (2nd ed. Buenos Aires, 1941), p. 130.

18 Ciano, Galeazzo, Cian's Diary, 1931–1938, trans. Mayor, Andreas (London, 1952), p. 75.Google Scholar

19 Ibid., p. 93.

20 U. S. chargé (Buenos Aires) to Hull, Cordell, 23 Nov. 1938, U.S. State Dept., Foreign Relations of the United States, 1938 (5 vols.; Washington, 1955-1956), V, 44 Google Scholar (cited hereafter as FR).

21 U. S. chargé (Rio de Janeiro) to the acting Secretary of State, 1 Dec. 1938, FR, 1938, V, 47Google Scholar; Hull, Cordell, Memoirs (2 vols.; London, 1948), I, 604.Google Scholar

22 Preziosi to Ciano, , 3 Sept. 1939, DDI(8), XIII, 387.Google Scholar

23 Preziosi to Ciano, , 9 Sept. 1939, DDI(9), I, 74–75.Google Scholar

24 White, John W., Argentina: The Life Story of a Nation (New York, 1942), p. 165.Google Scholar

25 Hull. Memoirs, I, 605.

26 AMREC, Memoria 1939/40, I, 41.

27 Italian Minister (Bogotá) to Ciano, , 16 Sept. 1939, DDI(9), I, 149.Google Scholar

28 Preziosi to Ciano, 28 Sept. 1939, ibid., p. 289.

29 Ciano to Missions in Latin America, 21 Sept. 1939, ibid., p. 221.

30 Ciano to Italian amb. (Madrid), 21 Sept. 1939, ibid., pp. 221–222.

31 Italian chargé (Lima) to Ciano, 22 Sept. 1939, ibid., p. 232.

32 AMREC, Memoria 1939/40, I, 53.

33 Whitaker, Arthur P., Argentina (New York, 1964), p. 109.Google Scholar

34 Peterson, , Argentina and the United States, p. 402.Google Scholar

35 Ortiz, to V, Gustavo, 17 Oct. 1939., AMREC, Memoria 1939/40, I, 17.Google Scholar

36 Hull, Memoirs, I, 703.

37 Preziosi to Ciano, 30 Nov. 1939, DDI(9), II, 313.

38 German amb. (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 3 May 1940, DGFP, IX, 279.

39 Preziosi to Ciano, 1 Dec. 1939, DDI(9), II, 332–333.

40 Ibid.

41 La Prensa (Buenos Aires), 3 Dec. 1939, p. 11.

42 Cantilo, to the Secretary General of the League of Nations, 4 Dec. 1939, AMREC, Memoria 1939/40, I, 81.Google Scholar

43 Italian Consul General (Geneva) to Ciano, , 5 Dec. 1939, DDI(9), II, 357.Google Scholar

44 Preziosi to Ciano, 5 Dec. 1939, ibid., p. 371.

45 AMREC, Memoria 1939/40, I, 86.

46 German amb. (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 3 May 1940, DGFP, IX, 279.

47 AMREC, Memoria 1939/40, I, 91.

48 U.S. Amb. Norman Armour (Buenos Aires) to Hull, 16 Dec. 1939, FR, 1939, V, 98, 101.

49 N. Y. Times, 19 Jan. 1940, p. 11.

50 Armour to Hull, 12 March 1940, FR, 1940, I, 708.

51 La Prensa, 2 April 1940, p. 12.

52 Ibid., 13 April 1940, p. 12.

53 Armour to Hull, 11 April 1940, FR, 1940, I, 719.

54 Armour to Hull, 12 April 1940, ibid., pp. 724–725.

55 La Prensa, 13 April 1940, p. 12; Italian charge (Buenos Aires) to Ciano, 13 April 1940, DDI(9), IV, 50.

56 El Mercurio (Santiago), 10 April 1940, p. 3.

57 Preziosi to Ciano, , 20 Sept. 1939, DDI(9), I, 209 Google Scholar; 1 Nov. 1939, II, 50.

58 Melo disclosed this information to the Peruvian Minister of Commerce who in turn discussed it with the Italian minister in Lima. Italian min. (Lima) to Ciano, 30 Oct. 1939, ibid., II, 38. Ambassador Preziosi confirmed the report in subsequent discussions with Melo. Preziosi to Ciano, 1 Nov. 1939 and 8 Nov. 1939, ibid., II, 50, 99–100.

59 Hull to Armour, 15 April 1940, FR, 1940, I, 720.

60 Armour to Hull, 19 April 1940, ibid., pp. 743–744.

61 Ibid.

62 Ibid.

63 Armour to Hull, 22 April 1940, ibid., pp. 748–750.

64 Memorandum of Conversation by the Under Secretary of State, 22 April 1940, ibid., p. 745.

65 Ibid.

66 Ibid.

67 Hull to Armour, 24 April 1940, ibid., pp. 752–754.

68 Armour to Hull, 25 April 1940, ibid., pp. 754–755; Hull to U. S. amb. (Rio de Janeiro), 27 April 1940, ibid., pp. 755–756.

69 Armour to Hull, 25 April 1940, ibid., p. 754.

70 Italian amb. (Santiago) to Ciano, , 26 April 1940, DDI(9), IV, 174.Google Scholar

71 Informaciones Argentinas, 43 (15 May 1940), p. 6.

72 German amb. (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 3 May 1940, DGFP, IX, 280.

73 Armour to Hull, 29 April 1940, FR, 1940, I, 756.

74 Italian chargé (Buenos Aires) to Ciano, , 30 April 1940, DDI(9), IV, 208 Google Scholar; La Prensa, 30 April 1940, p. 12.

75 German amb. (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 3 May 1940, DGFP, IX, 280.

76 German amb. (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 7 May 1940, ibid., pp. 292–293.

77 Armour to Hull, 7 May 1940, FR, 1940, I, 758–759.

78 La Prensa, 12 May 1940, p. 9.

79 Italian chargé (Buenos Aires) to Ciano, , 11 May 1940, DDI(9), IV, 304–305.Google Scholar

80 La Prensa, 12 May 1940, p. 11; Italian chargé (Buenos Aires) to Ciano, ibid., p. 327.

81 La Prensa, 11 May 1940, p. 10.

82 U. S. minister (Montevideo) to Hull, 11 May 1940, FR., 1940, I, 727.

83 Armour to Hull, 12 May 1940, ibid., p. 765.

84 ibid., pp. 764–765; La Prensa, 13 May 1940, p. 12.

85 N. Y. Times, 14 May 1940, p. 12.

86 Hull to U. S. min. (Montevideo), 12 May 1940, FR, 1940, I, 727–728.

87 See Congressional Record, 10 May 1940, pp. 5913, 5924–5925, 5928.

88 German min. (Montevideo) to For. Min., 14 May 1940, DQFP, IX, 336.

89 Jornal do Commercio (Rio de Janeiro), 13–14 May 1940, p. 3; La Prensa, 14 May 1940, p. 3.

90 Uruguay, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Boletín, IX (March-April, 1940), p. 3.Google Scholar

91 El Mercurio, 12 May 1940, p. 32.

92 Quoted in La Prensa, 14 May 1940, p. 13.

93 El Mercurio, 15 May 1940, p. 16, and 16 May 1940, p. 11.

94 Italian amb. (Santiago) to Ciano, , 15 May 1940, and 16 May 1940, DDI(9), IV, 355, 364.Google Scholar

95 Memorandum by the State Secretary, Berlin, 14 May 1940, DQFP, IX, 344–345.

96 U. S. amb. (Rio de Janeiro) to Hull, , 15 May 1940, FR, 1940, I, 767.Google Scholar

97 U. S. min. (Montevideo) to Hull, 15 May 1940, ibid., pp. 732–733.

98 Hull (for Welles) to Armour, 16 May 1940, ibid., p. 736.

99 U. S. min. (Montevideo) to Hull, 17 May 1940, ibid., p. 737.

100 Italian amb. (Santiago) to Ciano, , 17 May 1940, DDI(9), IV, p. 370.Google Scholar

101 Italian amb. (Santiago) to Ciano, 18 May 1940, ibid., pp. 379–380; El Mercurio, 18 May 1940, p. 17; Chile, , Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Comercio, Memoria 1940 (Santiago, 1943), p. 130.Google Scholar

101 Italian min. (La Paz) to Ciano, , 21 May 1940, DDI(9), IV, 413.Google Scholar

103 Italian min. (Lima) to Ciano, 21 May 1940, ibid., p. 411.

104 Italian min. (Mexico City) to Ciano, 21 May 1940, ibid., p. 412.

104 German min. (Montevideo) to For. Min., 14 May 1940, DQFP, IX, 336–337.

106 Italian min. (Montevideo) to Ciano, , 22 May 1940, DDI(9), IV, 419. Google Scholar

107 State Sec’t. to the Embassies in Chile, Brazil, and the Legation in Mexico, 15 May 1940, DGFP, IX, 349.

108 Circular of the State Secretary, 23 May 1940, ibid., p. 419.

109 de Diputados, Cámara, Diario de Sesiones, 1940, I (Buenos Aires, 1940), p. 10.Google Scholar

110 Italian amb. (Santiago) to Ciano, , 16 May 1940, DDI(9), IV, 364.Google Scholar

111 Italian chargé (Buenos Aires) to Ciano, 16 May 1940, ibid., p. 363.

112 Armour, to Welles, , 17 May 1940, FR, 1940, I, 739.Google Scholar

113 La Prensa, 19 May 1940, p. 10.

114 Armour to Hull, 21 May 1940, FR, 1940, I, 769–770.

115 Hull to Armour, 23 May 1940, ibid., V, 16–17.

116 Armour to Hull, 24 May 1940, ibid., pp. 21–22.

117 Armour to Hull, 29 May 1940, ibid., pp. 22–23.

118 de Diputados, Cámara, Diario de Sesiones, 1940, I, 186–188.Google Scholar

119 Informaciones Argentinas, 44 (15 June 1940), p. 10.

120 de Senadores, Cámara, Diario de Sesiones, 1940, I, 443.Google Scholar

121 German amb. (Buenos Aires) to For. Min., 8 June 1940, DGFP, IX, 530–531.

122 State Sec’t. to German amb. (Buenos Aires), 14 June 1940, ibid., p. 565; Memorandum by the Head of Political Division IX, 18 June 1940, ibid., p. 615.

123 Memorandum by Spears, Captain W.O. . . . , Buenos Aires, 13 June 1940, FR, 1940, V, 29.Google Scholar

124 Armour to Hull, 14 June 1940, ibid., pp. 460–461.

125 Armour to Hull, 17 June 1940, ibid., p. 465.

126 Informaciones Argentinas (15 July 1940), p. 2.

127 Hull, Cordell, Memoirs (2 vols.; London, 1948), I, 824–825.Google Scholar

128 Hull (for Welles) to U. S. amb. (Rio de Janeiro), 11 May 1940, FR, 1940, I, 763.