History of Portugal and the Holocaust in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: March 20, 2025

Portugal maintained official neutrality during World War II and the Holocaust. Despite being under the authoritarian rule of António de Oliveira Salazar, Portugal wasn't significantly influenced by racial antisemitism and leaned towards the Allies more than Francoist Spain. This neutrality allowed Portugal to play a complex role, including aiding some refugees while also engaging in economic activities with both sides of the conflict.

1933: Foundation of COMASSIS

In 1933 Augusto d’Esaguy became the committee’s Secretary-General of COMASSIS since its foundation.

1933: Establishment of the Estado Novo Regime

In 1933, Portugal was ruled by the authoritarian Estado Novo regime under António de Oliveira Salazar, which remained neutral during World War II and did not explicitly incorporate antisemitism into its ideology.

1937: Publication Applauding Lack of Anti-Semitism

In 1937, Adolfo Benarus published a book in which he applauded the lack of anti-Semitism in Portugal, and the honorary president of the Jewish community of Lisbon claimed that "happily in Portugal, modern anti-Semitism doesn't exist".

1937: Salazar's Criticism of Nuremberg Laws

In 1937, Salazar published a book entitled Como se Levanta um Estado (How to Raise a State), in which he criticised the philosophical ideals behind Nazi Germany's Nuremberg laws.

1938: Portugal Not Invited to Évian Conference

In 1938, Portugal was not invited to participate in the Évian Conference, a meeting convened to address the growing refugee crisis caused by Nazi persecution.

1938: Salazar Orders Non-Discrimination of Jewish Citizens

In 1938, Salazar sent a telegram to the Portuguese Embassy in Berlin, ordering that it should be made clear to the German Reich that Portuguese law did not allow any distinction based on race, and that therefore, Portuguese Jewish citizens could not be discriminated against.

1938: Increased Refugee Influx and COMASSIS Leadership Change

With the Anschluss of 1938, Portugal experienced an increased influx of refugees, and Adolf Benarus, stepped down as president of COMASSIS and Augusto d’Esaguy assumed the presidency.

September 1939: Start of World War II and Increased Refugee Numbers

Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany. As a result, the number of refugees trying to travel through Portugal increased substantially.

September 1939: D’Esaguy Helps German Jews Pass Through Portugal

In September 1939 Augusto Isaac d’Esaguy helped more than 600 German Jews, that got trapped in Spain on their way to Cuba and Mexico, to pass through Portugal.

November 1939: Tightening of Transit Visa Rules

In November 1939, the Salazar regime, along with many other countries, tightened the rules governing the issuance of transit visas by its consuls, due to fears of economic and political consequences from the influx of refugees.

November 1939: Issuance of Circular 14

On 11 November 1939, the Portuguese government sent Circular 14 to its consuls in Europe outlining categories of refugees considered "inconvenient or dangerous" imposing restrictions on the issuance of visas.

December 1939: Increased border control

Between September and December 1939, approximately 9,000 refugees entered Portugal. The Portuguese regime felt the need for tighter control.

June 1940: Unitarian Service Committee Sets Up Operations in Lisbon

In June 1940, Waitstill Sharp and his wife Martha set up their operations at the Metropole Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal, to assist Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi regime, securing visas, arranging safe passage, offering financial support, and giving legal assistance to hundreds of refugees.

June 1940: Aristides de Sousa Mendes Issues Transit Visas

In June 1940, amid the Fall of France, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, issued substantial numbers of transit visas at his own initiative, contravening regulations.

June 1940: United States Tightens Conditions for Admitting Refugees

In June 1940, the United States further tightened its conditions for admitting refugees from German-occupied Europe, making it more difficult to use Portugal as an escape route.

June 1940: Sousa Mendes Issues Transit Visas Against Orders

In May and June 1940, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese consul at Bordeaux, issued an undetermined number of transit visas to substantial numbers of refugees on his own initiative, acting contrary to Circular 14.

June 1940: Salazar Authorizes HIAS-HICEM Transfer to Lisbon

On 26 June 1940, four days after the French armistice, Salazar authorised the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS-HICEM) in Paris to transfer its main office to Lisbon.

1940: D’Esaguy and Amzalak Intervene for Luxembourgish Jews

In 1940 Augusto d’Esaguy together with Moisés Bensabat Amzalak played a decisive role on behalf of the Luxembourgish Jews whom the Germans deported from Luxembourg aboard the Zwangstransporte, they were released from detention and made their way into Portugal in late 1940.

January 1941: COMASSIS Acts as Liaison for Refugees

From January 1941, COMASSIS acted as a liaison for thousands of refugees who migrated from Nazi-occupied territories in sealed trains that connected Berlin with Lisbon, within the first three months of 1941, over 1,603 Jewish refugees passed through Lisbon in this way.

1941: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Informed of Jewish Persecution

From 1941, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received information from its consuls in German-occupied Europe about the escalation of the persecution of Jews.

1941: Decline in Refugee Numbers Passing Through Portugal

From 1941, there was a significant decline in the number of refugees passing through Portugal en route to the United States and Latin America, although some continued to transit.

July 1942: German Interest in Preventing Jewish Emigration from Portugal

In July 1942 the Reich Security Main Office asked German diplomats in Lisbon if it was possible to "prevent emigration from Portugal" as they had interest in "the seizure of the Jews...as part of the final solution for the Jewish question in Europe."

1942: Allied Leaders Aware of the Extent of Jewish Plight

By 1942, Allied leaders were aware of the deadly attempts to kill millions of Jews, but in public, downplayed their plight.

1942: Allied Revelations About the Extermination of Jews

From 1942, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also kept informed of revelations about the extermination of Jews which had been published in Allied countries.

1942: Awareness of Jewish Extermination

From 1942, the Salazar regime was generally aware of the extermination of Jews in German-occupied Europe and took some measures to repatriate Jews with Portuguese citizenship from Vichy France and Axis-occupied Greece.

February 1943: Nazi Repatriation Ultimatum

In February 1943, the Nazi authorities issued a repatriation ultimatum (Heimschaffungsaktion) informing the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Portuguese Jews would no longer enjoy protected status in German-occupied Europe.

March 1943: Salazar's Intervention for Portuguese Jews in the Netherlands

In March 1943, Salazar, after being implored by Moisés Bensabat Amzalak, ordered the Portuguese Legation in Berlin to inquire about the possibility of treating Portuguese-Sephardic Jews in the German-occupied Netherlands as Portuguese nationals for evacuation purposes; however, the Germans rejected Salazar's request.

October 1944: Branquinho Recalled to Lisbon

On 30 October 1944, Carlos de Liz-Texeira Branquinho, who had been issuing protective passports to Hungarian Jews, was recalled to Lisbon.

1944: Repatriation of Sephardic Jews from Vichy France

In 1943 and 1944, The Portuguese regime assisted small numbers of Jews considered "Portuguese", including 137 Sephardic Jews of Portuguese descent from Vichy France.

1944: Extermination of Jews in the Netherlands Continues

In 1944, the extermination of Jews in the Netherlands continued and only around 400 individuals within the Portuguese community survived the war. This event is the consequence of the inaction of the German government in the previous year.

1944: Issuance of Protective Passports to Hungarian Jews

In late 1944, the regime provided tacit support for small-scale rescue operations including the issuance of 1,000 protective passports to Hungarian Jews by the diplomat Carlos de Liz-Texeira Branquinho.

1945: Augusto d’Esaguy as president of COMASSIS

In 1945, Augusto d’Esaguy remained as president of COMASSIS a role he kept through 1945.

1954: Death of Sousa Mendes

Aristides de Sousa Mendes received a full consul salary until his death in 1954.

1998: US Allegations Regarding Stolen Gold

In 1998, the United States alleged that much of the gold Portugal received from Germany during the war had been stolen from Holocaust victims by German authorities.

1999: Commission of Inquiry Established

In 1999, following allegations that Portugal had received gold stolen from Holocaust victims, a commission of inquiry led by Mario Soares was established to investigate the matter.