Countering the Red Menace: Anticommunist Diplomacy and the Transformation of German-Brazilian relations 1933-1938

Abstract

The present dissertation discusses the origins and development of anticommunist cooperation between the Brazilian government under Getúlio Vargas and the Third Reich. The analysis identifies that this cooperation underwent three distinct phases between the years 1933 and 1938. The initial phase, covering 1933 and 1934, was marked by the independent implementation of anticommunist policies, with Brazilian authorities drawing inspiration from the Third Reich for the conception of their own authoritarian project. The second phase, spanning 1935 to 1937, represents the peak of anticommunist collaboration between the two regimes, catalyzed by the communist uprisings in Brazil in November 1935. During this period, anticommunism became part of the bilateral diplomatic agenda, leading to cooperation in counterintelligence operations, law enforcement coordination, and the formulation and distribution of anticommunist propaganda. The third phase, from 1937 to 1942, saw the decline of the German-Brazilian anticommunist partnership, eventually leading the former allies to fight on opposite sides during World War II.