Lisbon

War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939–1945

De: Neill Lochery

Narrado por: Robin Sachs

Throughout the Second World War, Lisbon was at the very center of the world’s attention and was the only European city in which both the Allies and the Axis powers openly operated. Portugal was frantically trying to hold on to its self-proclaimed wartime neutrality but in reality was increasingly caught in the middle of the economic, and naval, wars between the Allies and the Nazis. The story is not, however, a conventional tale of World War II in that barely a shot was fired or a bomb dropped. Instead, it is a gripping tale of intrigue, betrayal, opportunism, and double-dealing, all of which took place in the Cidade da Luz and along its idyllic Atlantic coastline. It is the story of how a relatively poor European country not only survived the war physically intact but came out of it in 1945 much wealthier than it had been when war broke out in 1939. Portugal’s emergence as a prosperous European Union nation would be financed in part, it turns out, by a cache of Nazi gold.

During the war, Lisbon was a temporary home to much of Europe’s exiled royalty, over one million refugees seeking passage to the US, and to a host of spies, secret police, captains of industry, bankers, prominent Jews, writers and artists, escaped POWs, and black marketeers. An operations officer writing in 1944 described the daily scene at Lisbon’s airport as being like the movie Casablanca - times twenty.

In this riveting narrative, renowned historian Neill Lochery draws on his relationships with high-level Portuguese contacts, records recently uncovered from Portuguese secret police and banking archives, and other unpublished documents to offer a revelatory portrait of the war’s backstage.

©2011 Neill Lochery (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“As interested as history readers may be in the spying, the economic war over tungsten and Allied demands for an Azores base dominate this history. A productive archival sleuth, Lochery makes original contributions to the literature of neutrality in WWII." ( Booklist)

great book

What did you love best about Lisbon?

book is easy to listen to. very interesting in its narrative. It portrayed Mr Salazar in a very interesting light, certainly an immensely smart man that dealt with both warring sides with great diplomacy and tact and was able to keep Portugal safe. He describes in a very entertainng way the intricacies of the relationships taking place during the war,

Wolfram?

I won’t give away any other details on the book, but to begin, I had never heard of Wolfram. Where have I been? 🤷🏻‍♂️ I had to stop the book and look it up. At first I thought the narrator was saying “wolfem.” Not so! He was saying, “Wolfram.”
For those in the same sad state of ignorance as me, “Wolfram” is “Tungsten.” For everyone else, please move on to the next review. According to the bottomless source if irrefutable facts, “The Internet,” the word “Tungsten” is used primarily in the US and Great Britain.

Aside from having no idea what wolfram was, I thought it was an interesting book with good narration, with the Portuguese supply of “wolfram” during WWII to both the Nazis and the British being a point of contention.

There does not seem to be much out there on recent Portuguese history, so this was a good find. The book is about way more than wolfram, so give it a go!

Little known

I am a World War fan and thought I knew all about the first and second World Wars, that is until I read (heard) Lisbon. The story was fascinating. Portugal was lucky to escape the horrors of the 2nd world War, but could well have been entrapped into it. Its refusal to accept the fleeing Jews was indeed very sad and may have left a stigma on the nation. However a very good listen.

Not That Much Happened

This was short enough book that I made it to the end but the spies were bureaucrats and the spats were financial and diplomatic. I was hoping for more on MI6 personalities at least.

great story but the writing could be better

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The writer presented this too much like what I remember history books I read in school. Although the story is great and compelling, it could have been written much better

What did you like best about this story?

learning the story and role of Lisbon during the war; we had visited it this fall

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If they could learn from Casablanca [good intro but couldn't sustain it]

Excellent telling of unknown history

The history of Portugal has fee sources in English. This fills a gap of a fascinating period in world history. Lisbon served as a”neutral” haven for spies and diplomats along with fleeing refugees and war profiteers. Who knew? I didn’t but now I do. Well recommended.

WRONG TITLE NOT ABOUT LISBON

I got this book included in my subscription, if I had paid for it I would have sued under false description. The book opens likening it the story of Casablanca, it is not, it contains little of intrigue or glamor. It is a biography of an evil anti semetic Nazi sympathizing dictator, written by someone who viewed him through rose tinted glasses.

INTERESTING

This book is about politics and money to be made during a war and in this case WWII.
I started listening and eventually finishing the book hoping that it would be more about rescuing Jewish refugees.
I had read that Portugal was a safe haven for the Jews escaping the Nazis.
An interesting fact, not mentioned in this book, but I had read it elsewhere.
I am a lover of classical music.
Claude Frank was a Jewish pianist. When he was in his early teens his family tried to escape Hitler, via Portugal.
While in Lisbon, awaiting transport to the USA a Beethoven piano recital was scheduled for an official function. The pianist, who was designated to play, canceled. Claude was asked to fill in. He did and was a tremendous success.
The family eventually got passage on a ship to the USA, with a stop over in Cuba, where he and fellow Jews where put in a camp, awaiting papers to enter the USA. They were the lucky ones.
Claude Frank became a virtuoso.
I am lucky to have the few CDs available of his performances.
This whole story has nothing to do with the review of this book, but it is interesting and I was hoping that the author had addressed some “escape” stories.
I gave it 4 stars for the effort of all involved, JK

Mostly about Antonio Salazar

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I listened to this book and wonder whether I would have finished it if I'd been reading it on the page. Lisbon was the Casablanca of the famous movie, the place where spies and diplomats and bankers all met to do their wartime business in a neutral capital. This is first and foremost the story of Salazar, the dictator who ruled Portugal for 36 years. His greatest achievement was to keep Portugal neutral through the war which meant he traded with both the British and the Germans.

Sheds light on an under-represented segment of WW2

Never heard anything about Portugal’s involvement during WW2, interesting to see what was happening there.