During World War II, the world was divided into three major factions: Axis Powers, Allies, and Neutral Powers. Needless to say, the Axis powers and the Allies are naturally a situation of no end, and they will not give up until one side falls. In addition, neutral countries scrupulously abide by their duties, only to seek their own acres and three points of peace, and once someone invades without authorization, they will concentrate their firepower to destroy it, as is the case in Switzerland. However, in addition to Switzerland's armed neutrality, there is also a martial arts master who is good at "playing tai chi", the Spanish leader Franco.
Spain is indeed a bit interesting, and the leader of Spain in World War II, Franco, was an extremely intelligent figure, and although he came to power with strong support from Germany, he was still a pragmatist. Franco realized that if Spain entered the war, it was bound to become the forefront of the European battlefield, and Spain would definitely suffer a huge disaster, and after thinking about it, Franco decided not to be an enemy of any country in the Western world.
In addition, since Spain was located at the throat of the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Britain would have to make peace with Spain if it wanted to keep Gibraltar. For the Axis powers, severing Britain's supply ties with its colonies also required Spain's strength. Therefore, Spain was drawn in by the forces of both sides in World War II. In March 1940, Britain signed a short-term trade agreement with Franco for a period of six months: Britain supplied oil products and fertilizers to Spain, while Spain supplied Britain with ore, oranges and lemons, after which the two sides renewed the contract indefinitely until the end of the war.
At the same time, Hitler also issued an invitation to Franco to join the war, Franco first made a certain "unreasonable" request, after which he refused, he naturally promised in 1939, in a secret agreement with Germany, that Spain would not only help Germany import beef and grain from South America, but also provide it with mineral resources such as zinc, lead, mercury, and tungsten sand. In addition, Spain signed a three-year food cooperation program with Italy, promising to provide the necessary food.
On top of that, Franco also secretly formed a "Blue Division" to help Germany attack the Soviet Union. However, the Blue Division was nominally helping Germany fight, but in fact it was going to the Soviet-German battlefield to grab the spoils of war, and although the Blue Division fought bravely and fought several hard battles with the Soviet Union, it suffered little losses. However, after the Battle of Stalingrad, Franco saw the situation clearly, and he declared that Spain had returned to "neutrality" and recalled the Blue Division to remain neutral until the end of World War II.
Spain's existence is tricky, and whichever side it turns to is definitely not a good thing for the other. With his excellent "Tai Chi" means, Franco not only saved Spain from the persecution of the war, but also made a fierce profit, which is really worthy of being a "Tai Chi master".