Which totalitarian leader kept his country out of World War II?

Answer 1

General Franco - Spain

Answer 2

Franco of Spain.

Answer 3

Generalissimo Franco. He had just fought a bitter, bloody and ruinous civil war.

"In September 1939, World War II broke out in Europe, and although Adolf Hitler met Franco once in Hendaye, France (October 23, 1940), to discuss Spanish entry on the side of the Axis, Franco's demands (food, military equipment, Gibraltar, French North Africa, Portugal, etc.) proved too much and no agreement was reached. (An oft-cited remark attributed to Hitler is that the German leader would sooner have some teeth extracted than to have to deal further with Franco.) Contributing to the disagreement was an ongoing dispute over German mining rights in Spain. Some historians argue that Franco made demands that he knew Hitler would not accede to in order to stay out of the war. Other historians argue that he, as leader of a destroyed country in chaos, simply had nothing to offer the Germans and their military. Yet, after the collapse of France in June 1940, Spain did adopt a pro-Axis non-belligerency stance (for example, he offered Spanish naval facilities to German ships) until returning to complete neutrality in 1943 when the tide of the war had turned decisively against Germany and its allies. Some volunteer Spanish troops (the División Azul, or "Blue Division")—not given official state sanction by Franco—went to fight on the Eastern Front under German command. Some historians have argued that not all of the Blue Division were true volunteers and that Franco expended relatively small but significant resources to aid the Axis powers."

"On June 14, 1940, the Spanish forces in Morocco occupied Tangier (a city under the rule of the League of Nations) and did not leave it until 1945."

"According to a recent book "Hitler's Chief Spy" (author Richard Basset, 2006), his neutrality was bought dearly with a sum paid by Churchill into Swiss bank accounts for him and his generals. Franco thus waited quite a long time after WWII to pressure the United Kingdom regarding Spanish claims on Gibraltar."

"Francisco Franco : World War II" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Franco#World_War_II

"At the end of the Civil War, Spain was devastated. The economy was ruined after a savage war, with all the gold in the Soviet Union and Mexico, and around one million dead. Franco disbanded most of the military to fill in for workers and farmers to revive the wrecked economic machine, during the struggle in Europe. During World War II Spain was under a military dictatorship, and despite having pro-Axis government companions who filled up for politicians (the Falangists), the government was divided between Germanophile and Anglophile. During the early stages of the war, the Germanophiles were predominant. When the Allies grew stronger, the Anglophiles finally predominated for many years. This can be seen as the period when Ramón Serrano Súñer (Germanophile) was Minister of Foreign Affairs and after 1942 when Francisco Gómez-Jordana Sousa was Minister of Foreign Affairs (Anglophile)."

"However, Franco ordered the divisions to slowly move towards the French border after Hitler threatened him with invasion. By the time it became clear that the Allies were gaining the upper hand in the conflict, Franco had amassed all his troops on the French border and received personal assurances from leaders of Allied countries that they did not wish to invade Spain. Although German soldiers were well prepared and battle-hardened, the recent combat experience of the Spanish army and rugged terrain of northern Spain presented a significant obstacle to any Axis invasion."

"Spain had a debt to Germany of $212 million for supplies of matériel during the Civil War. Indeed, in June 1940, after the defeat of France, the Spanish Ambassador to Berlin had presented a memorandum in which Franco declared he was "ready under certain conditions to enter the war on the side of Germany and Italy".

"At first, the German leader, Adolf Hitler, did not encourage Franco's offer. After all victory was assured - or so it appeared - so why share the spoils? Later on, in September, when Britain had demonstrated its resilience, Hitler was more receptive to Spanish approaches and promised help for Franco in return for its active intervention. This had become part of a strategy to eradicate British power in the Mediterranean by bringing Spain and Vichy France into the war, against Britain, with their possessions in north-west Africa."

"Hitler promised that "Germany would do everything in its power to help Spain" and would recognise Spanish claims to French territory in Morocco, in exchange for a share of Moroccan raw materials. Franco responded warmly, but without any firm commitment, but with military consultation and personal opinion, he was to remain neutral and refuse to aid Germany."

"According to Franco's own autobiography, he also met with Italian leader Benito Mussolini in Bordighera (12 February 1941), at Hitler's request in the hope that Mussolini could persuade him to enter the war. However Mussolini was not interested due to the recent string of defeats his forces were facing in North Africa and the Balkans. At one point Franco asked him, "Duce, if you could get out of this war, would you?" At that point Mussolini raised his arms and said, "If only I could." "

"Hitler and Franco negotiated, at Hendaye on 23rd October 1940 to fix the details of an alliance. By this time, the advantages had become less clear for either side. Franco asked too much from Hitler, including heavy fortifications of the Canary Islands, large quantities of armed vehicles and aviation. To this Hitler threatend Franco with a possible annexation of Spanish territory to the Vichy France. At the end of the day there was no agreement, and later Hitler would tell Mussolini his famous quote, I prefer to have three or four of my teeth pulled out than to speak to that man again. It is subject to historical debate if Franco overplayed his hand demanding too much from Hitler for Spanish entry into the war, or if he deliberately stymied the German dictator by setting the price unrealistically high. Also, Wilhelm Canaris, who secretly relayed information to Franco about the German plans, might have convinced Franco not to agree to Hitler's demands."

"Spain relied upon United States oil supplies and the US had agreed to listen to British recommendations on this. As a result, the Spanish were told that supplies would be restricted, albeit with a ten week reserve. Any Spanish intervention would rely, inevitably, upon German ability to supply oil. Some of Germany's own activity relied upon captured French oil reserves, so Spanish needs were unhelpful."

"From the German point of view, Vichy's active reaction to British and Free French attacks (Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir and Dakar) had been encouraging, so perhaps Spanish intervention was less vital. Also, in order to keep Vichy "on-side", the proposed territorial changes in Morocco became a potential embarrassment and were diluted. As a consequence of this, neither side would make sufficient compromises and after nine hours, the talks failed."

"In December, Hitler returned to the issue of Gibraltar. He attempted to force Franco's hand with a blunt request for the passage of German troops to attack Gibraltar. Franco refused, citing the danger that Britain still presented to Spanish colonies and choosing to wait until Britain "was on the point of collapse". Hitler got tougher and offered grain and military supplies as an inducement. By this time, however, Italian troops were being chased from Cyrenaica and the Royal Navy had continued to show its freedom of action in Italian waters. Britain was clearly not finished. Franco responded "that the fact has left the circumstances of October far behind" and "the Protocol then agreed must now be considered outmoded"."

"Thus ended diplomatic efforts to persuade Spain to join the war or to allow free passage to the Axis."

"Spain in World War II" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain_in_World_War_II