Still much to discover about Lisbon's role in WWII, says UK historian

There is still much to tell about Portugal’s role during World War II, says noted British historian Antony Beevor, whose father served London as a spy in Lisbon during the conflict, provoking the ire of Portuguese dictator António Oliveira Salazar.

Antony Beevor, whose latest book, “D Day: The Battle for Normandy”, was released in a Portuguese translation earlier this month, told the Lusa News Agency this week that his curiosity about Portugal’s role - especially the part played by his father - was hobbled by John Beevor’s silence and the fact that few documents remained from his organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

“Much material was destroyed after the war, many of SOE’s archives, and others were saved”, the historian said in a London interview.