Between rumors and spies: the U-507 submarine attacks and the Axis foreigners under the eyes of the Sergipe press (1942-1945)

Abstract

Between August 16 and 17, 1942, on the coast between Sergipe and Bahia, the German submarine U-507 torpedoed the Brazilian merchant ships Baependy, Araraquara, Aníbal benévolo, Itagiba and Arará. This article analyzes how the “Axis foreign” were treated (Germans, Italians and Japanese) by the Sergipe press after the attacks of U-507. The analyzes were based on the four Sergipe newspapers of the period: Correio de Aracaju, Folha da Manhã, O Nordeste and Sergipe-Jornal. The text highlights the manifestations of revolt and persecution of foreigners and the frequent effort by the press to indicate the foreign as the main guilty for the tragedy in the Brazilian seas.