longer in doubt. Many Paraguayans believed Germany was no more of a threat to Paraguay's sovereignty than the United States. Much to the displeasure of the United States and Britain, Morínigo refused to act against German economic and diplomatic interests until the very end of the war. German agents had successfully converted many Paraguayans to the Axis cause. South America's first Nazi Party branch had been founded in Paraguay in 1931. German immigrant schools, churches, hospitals, farmers' cooperatives, youth groups, and charitable societies became active Axis backers. All of those organizations prominently displayed swastikas and portraits of Adolf Hitler. Morínigo's regime was pro-Axis. Large numbers of Paraguayan military officers and government officials were openly sympathetic to the Axis. Among these officials was the national police chief, who named his son Adolfo Hirohito after the best-known Axis leaders. By 1941, the official newspaper El País had adopted an overtly pro-German stance. At the same time, the government strictly controlled pro-Allied labor unions. Police cadets wore swastikas and Italian insignia on their uniforms. The December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's declaration of war against the United States gave the United States the leverage it needed, however, to force Morínigo to commit himself publicly to the Allied cause. Morínigo officially severed diplomatic relations with the Axis countries in 1942, although he did not declare war against Germany until February 1945. Nonetheless, Morínigo continued to maintain close relations with the heavily German-influenced Argentine military throughout the war and provided a haven for Axis spies and agents. The outbreak of World War II eased Morínigo's task of ruling Paraguay while keeping the army happy, because it stimulated demand for Paraguayan export products, such as meat, hides, and cotton, and boosted the country's export earnings. More important, United States policy toward Latin America at this time made Paraguay eligible for major economic assistance. Paraguay received American financial help which was used for improving roads and other infrastructure projects. Postwar liberalization Pressure from the US for democratization swept South America after the war. On June 9, 1946, Morínigo dismissed Colonel Benitez Vera, the right-wing head of the army, and crushed a short uprising by Vera's supporters. He then created a civilian coalition government formed by Colorado Party members and leftist febreristas, followers of former dictator Rafael Franco and allowed some political freedoms, going so far as legalizing the Paraguayan Communist Party. Despite all this,