{"product_id":"1958-humberto-delgado-historic-may-10-1958-letter-announcing-his-campaign-against-portugal-s-dictatorship-hitler-donitz-and-the-risk-of-death","title":"1958 HUMBERTO DELGADO—HISTORIC MAY 10, 1958 LETTER ANNOUNCING HIS CAMPAIGN AGAINST PORTUGAL’S DICTATORSHIP—HITLER, DÖNITZ AND THE RISK OF DEATH","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDELGADO, HUMBERTO\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (1906–1965). Portuguese Air Force general, founder of TAP Air Portugal, opposition presidential candidate, and martyr of the resistance to António de Oliveira Salazar’s Estado Novo dictatorship. Typed Letter Signed, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Humberto Delgado,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e one page on his personal aviation letterhead. Lisbon, May 10, 1958. Addressed to American publicist \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eH. Keith Thompson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Signed in Delgado’s characteristic purple ink.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn extraordinary political letter written on the opening day of Humberto Delgado’s historic presidential campaign—the exact date on which his electrifying promise to dismiss dictator António de Oliveira Salazar transformed him into Portugal’s “General without Fear.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDelgado opens:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“It starts today the campaign for the Presidency of the Republic on which I am a candidate, against the dictatorship which has governed my Country for the last 32 years.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn that same day, May 10, 1958, Delgado held a press conference at Lisbon’s Chave d’Ouro café. When asked what he would do with Salazar if elected, he made the declaration that became one of the most famous statements in modern Portuguese political history:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Obviamente, demito-o!”—“Obviously, I’ll dismiss him!”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the present letter, Delgado forthrightly compares Portugal’s authoritarian government with Nazi Germany:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“It is not a dictatorship as brutal as Hitler’s but anyway one which has only one party, Political Police, etc.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDelgado then acknowledges the extraordinary personal danger he faced by challenging Salazar:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Having taken such a decision I run definite risks, since anyone who has the nerves to declare himself against the dictator usually suffers severe consequences.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe passage is chillingly prophetic. Delgado’s campaign was subjected to government censorship, police intimidation, and electoral manipulation. The official results of the June 8 election awarded victory to Salazar’s candidate, Américo Tomás, but the result was widely regarded as fraudulent. Delgado was subsequently dismissed from military service and forced into exile.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSeven years after writing this letter, Delgado and his secretary were lured to the Spanish-Portuguese frontier by agents of the PIDE secret police. Both were murdered on February 13, 1965. After the restoration of democracy, Delgado was honored as a national hero and his remains were transferred to Portugal’s National Pantheon.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe balance of the letter responds to a question posed by H. Keith Thompson concerning \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGrand Admiral Karl Dönitz\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, commander of Nazi Germany’s navy and Hitler’s designated successor. Delgado discusses whether a military officer’s obligation to obey orders may be superseded by a higher duty to the nation:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Even the German Army, always so disciplined, have thought of liquidating Hitler, the maximum representative of power, putting Germany, their country, above everything else, even the Chancellor.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDelgado acknowledges that Thompson had advanced an argument supporting “complete obedience from an officer, even of an high rank post,” adding:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“…this may be the case of Admiral Doenitz.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe declines to offer a final judgment without further study, explaining that the opening of his presidential campaign was consuming all his attention.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe recipient, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHarold Keith Thompson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, styled himself a journalist and public-relations counsel but was also a prominent participant in postwar American far-right circles. Thompson maintained relationships with former Nazi military figures and campaigned for the release of Dönitz. This background explains his solicitation of Delgado’s opinion concerning military obedience and the imprisoned German admiral.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe letter is remarkable on several levels: it announces the beginning of Delgado’s campaign; openly brands Portugal a one-party police dictatorship; acknowledges the possibility of severe personal consequences; discusses the military duty to resist a dictator; names Hitler and Dönitz; and was written to one of America’s most controversial postwar political activists.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCondition:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Typed on Delgado’s personal Lisbon letterhead bearing his name and military aviation wings. General handling creases and wrinkling, light toning, several short marginal tears, minor edge wear, and small corner bends. No significant textual loss. Delgado’s sweeping purple-ink signature is bold, complete, and prominently placed beneath the closing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA museum-worthy document from one of the defining days in modern Portuguese history, written by the man whose courageous challenge shook the Salazar dictatorship and ultimately cost him his life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Signature Documents LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52766067687706,"sku":null,"price":1125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2221\/0931\/files\/IMG_2708.jpg?v=1788099601","url":"https:\/\/www.thearchiveauthority.com\/products\/1958-humberto-delgado-historic-may-10-1958-letter-announcing-his-campaign-against-portugal-s-dictatorship-hitler-donitz-and-the-risk-of-death","provider":"Signature Documents LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}