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

Afford in what way? If it is a money question then joining the war will cost you a lot more than staying out.

The reason that Germany and other axis powers did not invade them is that is would be counterproductive. A bit simplified is that Germany/Italy had UK/US on one side and the Soviet Union on the other.

Capturing Spain, Portugal and Switzerland do not result in you controlling any strategy important geographical location, the exception is the ability to capture Gibraltar from the British. But what is does is extend what you to defend along the Atlantic coast. You also need to use troops to counquer the countries and occupier them. If you occupied them their factories will risk getting bombed by the allies but as neutral they can operate without that threat

You do get access to their workforce but what do you get from that? The countries did trade with the axis during the war. The Swiss did export arms Germany and Italy from 1940 -1944 when they stopped because of pressure from the allies. That way you can use the money to get stuff you want from a workforce that is a lot more willing to do good work compared to if you occupied them.

Spain and Portugal did export important wolfram to Germany during the war until 1944, Spain stopped with the Allies and created an oil embargo against Spain. This show that Spain was reliant on the allies during the war. The allies continued to train with Spain as a way to keep them out of the war.

Germany would have liked to have Spain join the war. Franco’s regime was a variant of Fascism and they did align with Gemany. Their dependence on trade with the allies is a major part of why they did not join the war. What they for sure would have liked to do is to capture Gibraltar or let German troops do that from Spain. Having Spain join the war is quite different from invading Spain. You do not get access to extra manpower instead for having to use manpower to control them

So Spain, Portugal and Switzerland did trade with Germany and Italy. When the trade stop Italy was out of the axis and a part of the allies. Germany did not have the military capacity to invade them. That Germany could not invade them is one of the reasons they stopped the trade.