How did countries afford to stay neutral in wars, primarily WW1 and WW2?

Question

In WW2 the likes of Spain, Portugal and Switzerland remained neutral, how could these countries stay neutral?

What stopped the Axis powers from invading these countries to add to their countries?

In: 278

Answer 1

>What stopped the Axis powers from invading these countries to add to their countries?

Nazi Germany had plans for an invasion of Switzerland—Operation Tannenbaum—but they were continually pushed back until they were cancelled following D-Day. The reason isn’t entirely clear, but the leading theory among historians is the costs of an alpine war outweighed the strategic benefits of conquering Switzerland.