 As Adolf Hitler's occupation swept across Europe, neutral Portugal became one of Europe's last escape routes.Portugal was able to maintain its neutrality until 1944, when a military agreement was signed to give the United States permission to establish a military base in Santa Maria in Azores and thus its status changed to non-belligerent in favor of the Allies.At the outbreak of World War II, Portugal was ruled by António de Oliveira Salazar, the man who in 1933 had founded the "Estado Novo" ("New State"), the corporatist authoritarian government that ruled Portugal until 1974.