<P> Neither side of the conflict acknowledged the exclusion zone, and in December, British warships and the German ship Admiral Graf Spee fought the Battle of the River Plate in the zone . This prompted a joint protest from several Latin American nations to both sides . (Admiral Graf Spee took refuge in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, claiming sanctuary in a neutral port, but was later ordered out .) In early 1942, President Baldomir broke off diplomatic relations with the Axis Powers . On 15 February 1945, near the end of the war, Uruguay dropped its neutrality and joined the Allies . </P> <P> Vatican City, the smallest autonomous country in the world at 0.44 km (0.16 sq mi), remained unoccupied throughout the war and its small military did not engage in combat . Though Pope Pius XII allegedly supported resistance efforts in secret, issued public statements against racism, and attempted to broker peace before the outbreak of total war, as Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli he signed the very first treaty negotiated by Nazi Germany when it came to power in 1933, the Reichskonkordat, on behalf of Pope Pius XI - a treaty that remains in force up until today . The Vatican City was also bound by the Lateran Treaty with Italy, requiring the Vatican and the Holy See to remain political neutral, which Pius XII successfully sought to maintain throughout the war . </P> <P> After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Italy, Germany, and Japan, and after implementing (with help from the United States) defenses on the oil wells (there was information that Germany had plans to invade the South American continent from Venezuela and seize its oil production) produced vast oil supplies for the Allies . It maintained a relative neutrality until the last years of war, when it finally declared war on Germany and the rest of the Axis countries . </P> <P> The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, which occupied the northern portion of modern Yemen, followed an isolationist foreign policy under King Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed - Din . It formed an alliance with Italy in 1936, and yet it remained neutral for the duration of the war . The southern portion of modern Yemen, known as the Aden Protectorate, was under British control . </P>

Which of these countries was not an axis nation during world war ii