One would scarcely expect to find references to Latin America in collections of documents dealing primarily with the Japanese surrender and the China tangle at the end of World War II. Still, the small role played by Latin America in world politics at large during the war is once again indicated by the paucity of references in the proceedings and other papers emanating from the first three summit conferences after Pearl Harbor. One finds an occasional reference to the defense of, say, Brazil or the French and Dutch West Indies, but little more.
At one point an ironic glimmer shines through from the dear, dead days, as we find President Roosevelt holding forth to Winston Churchill at the “Arcadia” Conference on the virtues of the Good Neighbor Policy: “‘Europe should follow our example, and thus all the countries of the Old World would enjoy a happy life, based on mutual respect, without discrimination between large and small nations,’ said the President in an earnest tone of conviction” (p. 120). Ah me.
