Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.08.2012, Qupperneq 26

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2012
T he streets of Reykjavík were not bombed and destroyed like those in capitals across Europe and many Icelanders in fact found themselves better off. They sold fish to the Brit-
ish and took advantage of the British job opportuni-
ties, known as ‘Bretavinna,’ (or “Brit work”). People
moved to Reykjavík from all corners of the island
to do this work, which included various construc-
tion projects for the army. World War II is generally
seen as the beginning of modernity in Iceland, and
for many years after, it was referred to as “Blessað
stríðið, (roughly translated: “The Good Old War”).
Memories were to be different here than on the
continent.
Nevertheless the occupation left a different kind
of scar. No sooner had the British landed than Mor-
gunblaðið proclaimed that both locals and soldiers
alike were horrified at how fiercely young Icelandic
women turned their attentions to the charms of
these foreigners. It was a serious worry for the men
running Iceland that “the guests,” as they were
called, would damage the morality of the nation’s
youth.
Before the invasion, Reykjavík was a small town
of no more than 40,000, almost half under the age
of 20. Within two years, the Americans took over
from the British, and the demographics of Reykja-
vík changed radically. Roughly that number of sol-
diers had come to be stationed here too: a standing
army of young, fit, well-dressed, virile men. The
prevalence of Icelandic women falling for these
men became known as, and has passed into Ice-
landic history as, “ástandið,” or “the situation.” And
this has been a staple in Icelandic writing from that
first Morgunblaðið article to the present day.

Situation comedy

The first considerable work of fiction written
about the occupation emerged already in 1943 and
was called ‘Verndarenglarnir’ (“The Guardian An-
gels”) written by Jóhannes úr Kötlum, best known
for his children’s poetry. Jóhannes depicts the oc-
cupation itself in comic terms. When the troops
arrive, town drunks procure brennivín to stiffen
their resolve and then march down to the harbour
to throw the invaders back into the sea, only to be
arrested by local police before getting there.
He offers a panorama of Icelandic society
through a single family: the old-school patriotic
father, the older brother who becomes a fishery
owner and one of the richest men on the island, the
younger brother who is, like the author, a poet and
a socialist, the sister unflatteringly known as “Miss
Butterfly,” and the mother who tries to hold every-
thing together. There is also another brother who
moves to Canada, goes from there to fight in the
Spanish Civil War, and returns home crazed and
blind in one eye, believing himself to be Odin the
All-Father.
Jóhannes records the impression that the oc-
cupying forces leave on all his protagonists. The
communist poet protests the imperialist’s war, the
capitalist quietly replaces his portraits of Hitler
with pictures of good King George and does busi-
ness with the British, while the aging father of both
weeps for the fate of the nation. The two groups
most enthusiastic about the occupation are pre-teen
boys who have never seen soldiers before and sud-
denly see their toys coming to life, and girls who
have arrived at puberty. The description of the latter
is worth repeating:
It was also their wishing day.
Feature | History
Continues over
Love In
The Time
Of War
1939
Germany invades Poland on Septem-
ber 1. Britain and France declare war
two days later. World War II begins.
The Soviet Union attacks Finland in
late November.
1940
On April 9, Germany occupies Den-
mark and invades Norway. That same
night, Iceland’s Parliament votes in
favour of all royal authority as well as
control over foreign affairs and territo-
rial waters to be transferred to Iceland.
Debate ensues over declaration of
formal independence. Britain occupies
the Faroe Islands three days later and
offers protection to Iceland. This is
refused.

On May 10, the same day as Ger-
many’s invasion of France and the Low
Countries begins, British troops land
in Reykjavík. The Icelandic govern-
ment formally protests, but in a radio
address that evening, Prime Minister
Hermann Jónasson asks the popula-
tion to treat them as guests.
The British troops eventually number
25,000. The unemployment of the
depression era disappears as people
move to the city to work for the army.

One of the construction projects is the
Reykjavík airfield, still in use today for
domestic flights.
1941
In April, three Icelandic socialists,
including MP Einar Olgeirsson, are
deported to prison in Britain for sug-
gesting to British soldiers that they
go on strike. This is the most serious
clash between occupying and local
authorities yet.
In May, the German battleship Bis-
marck sinks the British ship Hood off
coast of the Westfjords. The thunder
of guns can be heard all the way to
Reykjavík.
Timeline: Iceland vs. The Army
Aside from the bombing of the oil tanker El Grillo, whose hulk can still be found lying at the bottom of
Seyðisfjörður, Iceland largely escaped the ravages of World War II. Even when a foreign army launched
a large-scale invasion on May 10, 1940, there was limited material destruction. After advancing British
troops damaged the door of the state telephone company, Prime Minister Hermann Jónsson exhorted
the public to treat the foreign soldiers as guests, and the British agreed to pay for the broken door.
Words by
Valur Gunnars
son
Photos by
Ljósmyndasaf
n Reykjavíkur
Iceland
1942