The University of Porto in the path of European Science: innovations, exchanges and resistances during World War II

A worldwide reconfiguration of Science was boosted by II World War. In spite of its neutrality, Portugal has been involved in the advances and obstacles of the creation and transmission of knowledge. This essay takes the University of Porto as a case study and showcases the diversity of paths and efforts deployed towards the assertion of corporate identity and internationalization process: academic exchanges, conferences and events, research units, scientific publishing, etc. All these elements are within a political and ideological framework that defines the Portuguese dictatorial regime, which has created some resistances for innovation of the University and Science in mid-20th century.

by major Nations at war, throughout setting up and funding of research programs, seeking superiority to defend their territory and society against the enemy… However, due to the war's global dimension, the international networks of Science ceased to feel the constraints imposed and were forced to make various reconfigurations for its continuity. Universities, institutes and laboratories sought to tackle a whole new context and international order: escape from eminent personalities, review of financial budgets, political coercion on its activities or restriction to personal and institutional exchanges abroad.
Once again in a Europe stage of major clashes, for better or for worse, belligerence would interfere in academic and scientific ways.
The Estado Novo 1 in Portugal (1933Portugal ( -1974, despite having declared its position of neutrality, was able in different areas to handle this diplomatic position in favor of the national cause. The friendly political and scientific relationships with the Axis and Allies forces, forged into an ambiguity of a non-intervention defined by António de Oliveira Salazar 2 , could contribute to new directions of a scientific modernization as many Portuguese believed. The focus on a new emphasis on the phenomenon of internationalization of national Science and University, narrowing the Iberian peripheral isolation, might fight its cultural and technological backwardness and a closer approximation to international standards.
If we were not dealing with an autocratic regime, in which the political and ideological reasons assumed a decisive weight in many such claims of academic and scientific communities. The complex system of management of Portuguese Science between many departments subordinate to the central Government -Ministério da Educação Nacional, Junta Nacional de Educação, Instituto para a Alta Cultura and universities -established some barriers to scientific research and cultural relations by deciding evaluation and financing for individual and institutional projects. College professors and scientists were submitted to official surveillance, while applying for their integration and recognition in global programs and research networks, protecting the Estado Novo against the dangers of democratic and communist principles.
Taking University of Porto (U.Porto) as a case study, the single university in the north of the country, it is intended to draw a picture about the status and functioning of science and its relationship with the European scenario of [1939][1940][1941][1942][1943][1944][1945]. In a diachronic and summarized vision of its role and contribution, with some parallels to the situation in Portugal, the analysis on three major fields -innovations, exchanges and resistances -offers some relevant and unique outcomes concerning the development and internationalization, as well as political interference, of the academic and scientific process in war times.

I. Science in the Estado Novo: an international bet?
The promotion and internationalization of science in Portugal, in the mid-20th century, held a number of peculiarities that went back to the 1.ª República (1910República ( -1926. The momentum of expansion and modernization of the Portuguese University had been marked by the establishment of new institutions in Lisbon and Oporto 3 , creating competition to secular educational monopoly of Coimbra, and many reforms to the improvement of the education system. New curricula, increase of the teaching staff, scholarships abroad or installation of scientific institutes and laboratories, amongst others; were some of the proposals implemented with the aim of struggle the scientific and cultural national delay, without reaching their full potential due to the constant shortages of budgetary funds. Since this republican period Science and University were linked together, sometimes in a hegemonic synergy, with this last one emerging as a privileged space for intellectual and pedagogical renewal, within a centralizing spirit of the state in their management and financing. At the same time, it was also influenced by the Spanish model of the Junta para Ampliación de Estudios y Investigaciones Sientíficas (1907-1939, with the foundation of the Associação Portuguesa para o Progresso das Ciências (1917Ciências ( -c.1974) and the cooperation between the two countries into events like the "Congressos Luso-Espanhol para o Progresso das Ciências", whose first edition took place in 1921 at the U. Porto.
The same paradigm was preserved by the Ditadura Militar 4 (1926)(1927)(1928)(1929)(1930)(1931)(1932)(1933), with the creation of the Junta de Educação Nacional (1929)(1930)(1931)(1932)(1933)(1934)(1935)(1936) for the promotion of science, culture and arts in Portugal. Through scholarships in the country and/or across borders, grants for laboratories and scientific publications, prop up academic missions and scientific conferences or the establishment of research centers which sponsor the researches of the academic community. Nevertheless, the meddling of this dictatorial regime at this panorama, privileging certain personal calls and projects and scientific areas considered capital to economic growth.
In 1936, the political control was accentuated within the corporatist logic of the Estado Novo, when this public body had lost its legal and administrative autonomy, according to the reform of the Ministério da Educação Nacional by minister Carneiro Pacheco. As a result it was replaced by Instituto para a Alta Cultura (until 1952), aggregate as 7th section of the new Junta Nacional de Educação (till 1977), who took over as technical and advisory body the new guidelines for scientific research policies and cultural relations 5 . In practice retained the same primordial objectives of its predecessor with the same limitations in terms of financial capacity. Although the network of studies centers (research units), connected with the universities of Coimbra, Lisbon, Oporto and Technical of Lisbon, has expanded considerably.
In correlation, the cultural and scientific exchanges between Portuguese universities and abroad met a revival to new horizons, beyond traditional and strong contacts with Spanish, Brazilian, English and French institutions, as new cultural and scientific treaties were signed with other countries. For example with The Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (Germany) or The Rockefeller Foundation (U.S.A.), that granted scholarships to Portuguese students and researchers for pursuing international studies and funds to institutes and studies centers 6 .
The validation of the policy of neutrality during World War II by the Estado Novo, despite having raised a greater political control on these external relationships, allowed the continuity of scientific collaboration with many of the countries that have turned into belligerents. The new international dynamics had its effects on the management of the Instituto para a Alta Cultura, with a new steering committee elected in 1942, which included 5 The Instituto de Alta Cultura  who succeeded him recover part of that management autonomy, but always struggling against the limited recourse finance entered in state budgets. See ROLLO, Maria Fernanda; QUEIROZ, Maria Inês; BRANDÃO, Tiago; SALGUEIRO, Ângela -Ciência, Cultura e Língua em Portugal no século XX: da Junta de Educação Nacional ao Instituto Camões, See SCHWARZ, Reinhard -Os Alemães em Portugal (1933Portugal ( -1945 Amândio Tavares, professor of Medicine in U.Porto, as vice-president for Scientific Research 7 .
Until the extinction of the Junta de Educação Nacional in 1936, the sum of annual budget for the scholarships abroad were highlighted in the totality of costs -about 4.500.000$00 thousand escudos (approximately 22.601,76€) in a total of close to 6.900.00$00 escudos (around 34.417,46€) -apparently a strong investment on the internationalization process of portuguese Science and University. This figure was probably a result of the difference between the national currency and the foreign exchange rates, forcing a greater investment in that segment, more than triple given to national scholarships and grants to studies centers and scientific publishing.
The trend seems to have maintained in the first two years of Instituto para a Alta Cultura, subscribing then the beginning of the collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation and a new service for inventory of scientific literature, until the outbreak of II World War.
From this moment, the general budget was gradually reduced, in the transition from 1939 to 1940 and during the three years following, the financial cut represented approximately 300.000$00 escudos less (1.500€). Only after the global conflict this numbers would suffer an increase, finally overcoming the barrier of 2.000.000$00 escudos each year (around 10.000€) 8 .
An exclusive regard to scholarships perspective shows that the decrease concerning researchers abroad has not withdrawn its supremacy to those who stayed in Portugal, only lost in 1941 by a small discrepancy of barely 5.000$00 escudos (250€). But these last ones were slowing starting to grow up during this interlude, some of which were granted to foreign students and researchers in Portuguese Universities, strengthening the scientific and technical teaching of a new generation. The paradox was that, tricked by the analysis of figure  The reasons can be directly charged to the II World War context and consequent changes of diplomatic policies in Europe nations -international insecurity, economic and financial crisis, currency's devaluation and limitations to academic and scientific relationships -that forced the return of many of our international studentships and a new orientation in the granting of this kind of support. Interestingly, the direction of the Instituto para a Alta Cultura, at its meeting on September 6, 1939, even suggested the temporary suspension of such funding. This proposal was refused by the minister of Education, arguing the neutrality of Estado Novo and the eventual openness from foreign institutions to host those candidates 9 .
Another detail that must be taken into account in this internationalization is the inevitable political connotations that could be nourished by these Portuguese citizens, especially by the impact it might have on the external image of the regime, with a advise for choosing preferably nations with stronger diplomatic relations or also neutrals. If not in countries with economies more equal to the national standards, which would allow to better control the values to pay during those stays, that validates a European preponderance among grantees abroad. Countries like France, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Italy, in the gap of 1929-1950, were the only ones who receive more than half a hundred of candidates selected for this scientific exchange 10 Portugal,p. 19. 11 There are some reported cases of a clearly favoritism and external influences during the course of that process of selection in this kind of scientific research projects, as many others that were refused once their curators didn't offered entire guarantees of respect to official intellectual and political guidelines. See, for example, FIOLHAIS, Carlos -A Ciência em Portugal. 12  Until the early 1950s, this local university framework has become entrenched in its original design, which contributed to a certain subordinate role facing Lisbon and Coimbra 14 .
Therefore, the main attraction of the U.Porto near the student community were the areas of Engineering, in competition to Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa, as well as Pharmacy, the exclusive national college granting bachelor's and doctoral degrees. But, in order to offer some intellectual culture to students in a wide formation of the missing Social Sciences and Humanities, an original compromise solution was found.
The signing of cultural agreements with the consulates in the city and its cultural  Universidade do Porto (1934-1947. 16 The first explicit "Acordo Cultural" (Cultural Agreement) ratified by the Estado Novo was with United Kingdom (1954), followed up by Belgium (1955), Federal Republic of Germany (1965( ), Brazil (1966 and France and Spain (1970). See MATOS, Vera -Portugal e Itália: relações diplomáticas , p. 85. World War, they too were used for propaganda with nationalist intents, promoting sympathies regarding the war effort, in a disguised outline before the U.Porto rectory. Generally, some movies and public events that took place and had a political-ideological connotation, like the symbolic visit of British ambassador Sir Ronald Campbell, on June 4, 1942, to an exposition about United Kingdom living and resistance under the Blitz.  , professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the U.Porto, whose scientific research was most focused in pharmacology studies. 20 Américo Pires de Lima (1886Lima ( -1966, professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the U.Porto, with scientific works covers fields like Botany, Anthropology, Medicine, Prophylaxis and History, among others. 21 Manuel Joaquim Ferreira (1890-1963, professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the U.Porto within the Botany studies section. 22 Ruy Luís Gomes (1905-1984, professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the U.Porto and outcast for political reasons in 1947, became famous for his research in Mathematics, Theoretical Physics and Astronomy. Later he was elected as dean of U. Porto (1974Porto ( -1975. 23 António Augusto Esteves Mendes Corrêa , professor at the Faculty of Sciences of the U.Porto, former Geography professor at the 1 st Faculty of Arts. He was one of the best-known Portuguese scientists abroad thanks to his scientific research in Anthropology and was appointed head of the Escola Superior Colonial of Lisbon (1946)(1947)(1948)(1949)(1950)(1951)(1952)(1953)(1954)(1955)(1956)(1957)(1958)(1959).
The exception had been the Faculty of Engineering, although its professor Antão de Almeida Garrett launched here the first Urbanization course in the country, in January 1945.
Finally, it is mandatory to mention the first women who received a PhD degree at U.Porto, a signal of a shy openness of the national mentality of that time, after the groundbreaking example of Lisbon a few years earlier 24   We can check this when examining the profile in a universe of 63 authors identified, the great majority is associated with U.Porto, mainly male (61 -96,83%) and coming from its 30 This bibliometric analysis draft was arranged according to the "Fields of Science and Technology (FOS) -Classification in the Frascati Manual", with a particular distition among the most representative scientific areas. On the counting of total number of articles published was taken into account its reference in each annual volume, including some that had been divided into several parts along these years. faculties: Science (29 -46,03%) and Medicine (4 -6,35) inside a national perspective.  In the allocation by major scientific areas, the Biological Sciences were predominant (Histology, Bacteriology, Mycology and Botany, 50 -65,79%) comparing to Chemistry (Analytical and Food, 14 -18,42%), Humanities (History of Science, Philosophy and Biographies, 7 -9,21%) and Medical and Health Sciences (Pharmacology, 5 -6,58%).

Professors, assistants, researchers and students working in its establishments -
Basically, these were areas that matched with their own school curricula and faculty work from all 25 authors enrolled in the publication (12 -48%): Américo Pires de Lima, Manuel Augusto Pinto, Armando Laroze Rocha, Joaquim José Nunes de Oliveira, Violeta Castelo-Branco da Cunha, Artur Marques de Carvalho, Joaquim José Nunes de Oliveira, Abel da Silva Pereira, etc. 31 Abel de Lima Salazar (1889Salazar ( -1946, professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the U.Porto and internationally recognized for his scientific research's in Histology, Embryology and Cytology. 32 Adelaide Augusta Fernandes Estrada , principal collaborator of Abel Salazar's research projects during several years, she was never granted with a position to become a professor at U.Porto due to her role in political and civic opposition movements. The process of recognition of academic qualifications and degrees abroad was was restricted to many bureaucracies: equivalence of diplomas by the Conselho Permanente da Acção Educativa of Junta Nacional de Educação, ultimate ratification by Ministério da Educação Nacional. Numerous students and fellows went to international universities and laboratories to carry out curricular and research programs, only then returning to Portugal to present PhD thesis for defense in a public exam near their alma mater. Some even with doctoral dissertation approval would apply to a new exam at national universities to hasten its equivalence.
To the same extent, the studies centers of Instituto para a Alta Cultura didn't had a real freedom of action or scientific management, subordinated to public financing and annual reviews, as the U.Porto would soon realize. The Centro de Estudos Microscópicos had an ephemeral existence of only five years, despite the strong projection achieved by its laboratory chief and head researcher. Abel Salazar, who

V. Conclusion
Despite the general constraints during II World War, the case study of the U.Porto as a paradigm of the History of Science in Portugal allows assessing elements such as innovation and exchanges at universities had been enhanced. The connections with other academic and scientific institutions in Europe and worldwide provided an update and modernization to learning models and scientific research, able to overcome some of the national points stagnation and backwardness that have been announced, mainly with a local international projection in scientific domains such as Pathologic Anatomy, Medical Surgery, Anthropology, Cytology and Histology.
The phenomenon of internationalization was duly seconded by the Instituto para a Alta Cultura, main organization for the promotion of cultural and scientific relations, and conquered in some in some of its lines: international scholarships academic exchanges, research centers sponsor, events and conferences, scientific publishing, etc. Thus ensuring a relative prestige to Portuguese University and Science abroad, that consolidated the national presence of professors and scientists in global scientific research networks in post war era.
In correlation, the diversity of knowledge and pedagogical innovations had some impact in this academia then. Many of its members in addition to strengthen institutional cooperation and in contact with emerging theories and empirical perspectives, also seek to implement it in classrooms, laboratories and research units to development The U.Porto hosted "Salas de Cultura Estrangeira" official ceremonies, scientific and cultural meetings or the international reputation of its professor, studies centers and scientific publishing. Additionally, it faced challenges posed by the Government in this particular context that sometimes were not entirely fair to its identity and structure, as many innovation projects and researchers have been cut off for not offering guarantees towards the desirable political and civic "submission".
As Ruy Luís Gomes would later say, those were the reasons for Portugal have lost a golden opportunity to eventually welcome some of the emblematic names in European "brain drain" phenomenon at the time. The bureaucratic obstacles raised by Estado Novo led many fugitives' scientists on giving up their intentions to settle here, aware of the lack of financial and material support to proceed with their researches or the difficulties to being integrated in teaching and research positions in universities. Who knows if the presence of these leading figures and their scientific and technological inputs could have taken Portugal to a higher level in Science and Culture of the 20th century?!