Argentina during World War II

Argentina during World War II
Argentina during World War II
	A newspaper announcing Argentina's severing of diplomatic relations with the Axis powers on 26 January 1944.
Location	Argentina
Date	1939–1945
Events	Battle of the River Plate (13 December 1939); Operation Bolivar begins (May 1940); Revolution of '43 (4 June 1943); Hellmuth Incident (4 November 1943); Severing of relations (26 January 1944); Declaration of war (27 March 1945); U-530 Incident (10 July 1945);

Since the 19th century, relations between Argentina and Britain had been strong due to trade, as well as British investments and immigration. Nationalistic groups resented this influence over Argentina's economy. In the interwar years, fascist Italian and German influence in the country increased due to trade, investment, and the presence of numerous immigrants from both countries.

The refusal to break relations with the Axis powers as the war progressed furthered the belief that Argentina was sympathetic to them. Because of strong divisions and internal disputes within the Argentine military, Argentina remained neutral for most of World War II, despite pressure from the United States to join the Allies. Argentina eventually gave in to the Allies' pressure, breaking relations with the Axis on 26 January 1944 and declaring war on them on 27 March 1945.

The Nazis had a presence in the country as early as 1925, growing to a peak of 2,110 party members in 1935 before officially dissolving in 1939. Afterwards, Buenos Aires was a major center of Axis espionage under the guise of German labor organizations and with support from the United Officers' Group. Argentine, Chilean, and U.S. agencies shut down some local spy networks, but pro-Nazi activity occurred as late as 1950 under Juan Perón, allowing perhaps 5,000 collaborators to escape there.