Political and military neutrality of European countries in World War 2

S ciljem da ne budu uvučene u ratne sukobe za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata neke su europske države proglasile neutralnost. Da bi ostvarile ulogu promatrača, a ne i aktivnog sudionika rata, većina je samoproglašenih neutralnih država vidjela šansu u vlastitim resursima te plasiranjem robe i sirovina na “gladno” tržite. Neke od njih, poput Irske, uspjele su potpuno sačuvati svoj integritet i teritorijalnu neovisnost, a da gotovo nisu sudjelovale u ratu ili bile uvučene u interesne odnose (unatoč nekim provokacijama), dok, recimo, Švedska nije prezala od pregovaranja s nacistima s kojima je, štoviše, razvila izrazito plodan tgovinski odnos, što je bila njihova cijena neutralnosti. Španjolci su nakon građanskog rata zazirali od svakog novog sukoba, tako da su po hitnim postupkom proglasili neutralnost, dok je poslovična Švicarska svoju neutralnost branila zaštitom svog bogatstva, te se pokazala velikim zalogajem za bilo kojeg okupatora. S druge strane Portugal je, poput Švedske, za vrijeme krvavog rata zadržao status neutralne zemlje uz pomoć trgovine, i to volframom, važnom sirovinom koja je trebala svim zaraćenim stranama. No, činjenica je da ni jedna neutralna zemlja nije bila potpuno lišena ratnih zbivanja, a da nije bila nekin dijelom sudionikom rata. Evidentno je da su zajedničke karakteristike većine europskih neutralnih zemalja poput Portugala, Španjolske, Švicarske i Švedske za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata bili trgovinski odnosi s obje zaraćene strane koje su održavali za vrijeme trajanja cijelog rata, te spremnost vojske u slučaju eventualnog napada.With the aim of not being drawn into the conflicts of war during World War II, some European countries declared neutrality. To achieve the role of observer rather than an active participant in the war, most self-proclaimed neutral states saw an opportunity in their own resources and by placing goods and raw materials on the "hungry" market. Some of them, like Ireland, managed to completely preserve their integrity and territorial independence without almost participating in the war or being drawn into interest relations (despite some provocations), while, say, Sweden did not stop from negotiating with the Nazis with which, moreover, it developed a highly fertile relationship, which was their price of neutrality. After the civil war, spaniards were wary of any new conflict, so they declared neutrality by emergency, while the proverbial Switzerland defended its neutrality by protecting its wealth and proved to be a big bite for any occupier. On the other hand, Portugal, like Sweden, maintained the status of a neutral country during the bloody war with the help of trade, with tungsten, an important raw material that all warring parties needed. But the fact is that no neutral country was completely deprived of war time and was not part participant in the war. It is evident that the common characteristics of most european neutral countries such as Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden during World War II were trade relations with both warring parties that they maintained for the duration of the war, and the military's readiness in the event of an eventual attack