Neutral Portugal and the Holocaust: Salazar and the German ultimatum of 1943

In February 1943, the German legation in Lisbon warned the Portuguese government that all foreign Jews, including those of Portuguese citizenship living in France, Belgium, the Netherlands would now be subject to the provisions in force concerning Jews, including their internment and later expulsion. Salazar and his government did little to save the lives of those persecuted and no direct assistance was offered to the refugees. Nor did he denounce the persecution and massacres carried out by the Nazis. Portugal fell very short of what it could have done