Paper short abstract:

Expulsion of subjects, which led to concentration camps in Portugal, suggests the participation in the Great War. Places were selected for natural and historical reasons. Reasons behind the choice of overseas camps, their meaning and consequences in the communities are analysed.

Paper long abstract:

The expulsion of subject enemies from the country suggests the participation of Portugal in the Great War. This attitude stems from the declaration of war by Germany to Portugal in 1916. Therefore Afonso Costa decides on the expulsion of all subject enemies, who should be taken to a place designated by the Portuguese government. This led to the existence of transition and concentration camps in Portugal. The sites should have great capacity and should be highly surveyed and safe. In addition to the fort of Peniche, Angra do Heroísmo, São Miguel, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea and India were selected sites, both for natural and historical reasons. In this paper we try to understand the reasons behind the choice of overseas camps, their meaning and the consequences of these procedures in the communities. Moreover we analyse which were the true motivations of Afonso Costa in the publication of several Decree-Law of expulsion. Based on the analysis of documents such as "Bilhetes de Identidade e Registo de Alemães que foram obrigados a sahir do paiz" and news in the daily newspaper "O Comércio do Porto", we produce a brief but concise study on German residents in Porto sent to the concentration camp in Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira Island, in Azores, Portugal.