ABSTRACT
Neutrality in twentieth-century warfare seemed to be a status that existed totally at the mercy of the belligerent. In that century's two world wars, Europe's neutrals often compromised their national integrity to maintain their nonbelligerent status. Prewar Portugal had a Jewish population of no more than 1,000. Portugal's greatest failing during the Holocaust was its role as a conduit for laundered German funds, some of which were stolen from Holocaust victims. Medieval Spain was home to one of Europe's most vibrant Jewish communities. This all began to change in fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as a growing wave of anti-Semitic violence forced many Jews to convert to Christianity or leave Spain to survive. There were from 6,000 to 7,000 Jews in Sweden prior to Second World War, and they were well-integrated into Swedish society. In 1943, one Roman Catholic newspaper proclaimed that Switzerland was the “European post of good Samaritans,” a “great European sick bay,” and a "world refuge for children".
