Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.08.2017, Síða 10

While Europe was gripped in the
bloodiest war in history, WWII, the
Icelandic nation was being rede-
fined through its recent independ-
ence from Denmark. On June 17,
1944, Sveinn Björnsson took office
as the first President of the newly
established republic of Iceland dur-
ing a festive gathering of
some thirty thousand
people at Þingvellir
National Monu-
ment. Sveinn had
been a popular
Member of Parlia-
ment and would
remain a popular
President until
his death in of-
fice eight years
later. At the
same time that
he took office
though, his eldest
son, Björn Sv. Björns-
son, was serving diligently
in the Nazi Party’s hor-
rific organisation, the
SS. In fact, Björn was
heading up the Nazi
propaganda machine in Denmark,
the country from which his father was
declaring Iceland’s independence.
Björn first joined the SS in October
1941 and enjoyed a successful career with
the organisation, reaching the rank of SS
Untersturmführer, or second lieutenant.
Before taking up the position of Propa-
ganda Chief, Björn had served on the
Eastern Front as a war correspondent.
From the horrors of the front lines, Björn
regularly broadcasted updates on the war
to Iceland. Only one recording has sur-
vived to this day, a 1942 broadcast from
the Caucasus, in which he interviews two
supposed cossack farmers about the evils
of the Soviet Union. It was played for Ice-
landic audiences in order to portray Nazi
Germany not as an aggressor, but as a sav-
iour of people from the evil Bolsheviks.
The Murder
Symphony
The best source for tracking
Björn’s SS career is the book
‘Íslenskir Nasistar,’ by the
brothers Illugi and Hrafn
Jökulsson, which docu-
ments the many Iceland-
ers who joined the fight for
Nazi Germany. In the chap-
ter about Björn they recount
the time when he served as
director of the Danish radio,
where he produced a simple
programme of propaganda
news and culture segments.
One of these was the ‘Mur-
der Symphony,’ which is
described in the book as
expressing “evil and sad-
ism” beyond anything else
played during those years.
The first week of May
1945, Danish partisans took
control of Denmark and
arrested or killed all re-
maining SS troops in the
country. Björn was taken
captive, and that was when
Icelandic authorities stepped in. Until
then, his career had been a public secret
in Iceland that wasn’t spoken of
openly, but now a telegram ar-
rived in Denmark from Ice-
land, marked “Secret.” It
stated that the first lady
Georgía Hoff-Hansen,
Björn’s mother, would be
coming to Denmark for
a completely “private visit
to her children and family.”
During the winter of 1946,
Björn was suddenly and unex-
pectedly released from custody. The
news angered the Danish public, still
furious that Iceland seceded from their
nation during such harsh times of war.
It is unclear why Björn was released,
but it is known that his mother Georgía
had been pleading with both the royal
couple and authorities in Denmark to
release her son. It could, therefore, be
said that his mom had bailed him out
of trouble. Björn left Denmark for Swe-
den where he kept a low profile, fearing
that the Swedish authorities were after
him, and later he was smuggled back to
Iceland on an incognito fishing vessel.
The rift between Denmark
and Iceland
Björn’s position of power within the SS
in Denmark and his subsequent release
without trial, caused great consternation
to the Danish public and press, which felt
that Iceland had abandoned them during
their weakest point, when they were oc-
cupied by Germany. In 1946, the Icelandic
newspaper Þjóðviljinn published a trans-
lation from the Danish paper Informa-
tion, in which the bad feeling towards
Icelanders in Denmark was explained.
Among the most impor-
tant reasons was Björn’s
case, and the paper quite
erroneously and absurd-
ly, but tellingly, recount-
ed how a mob of flower
waving people greeted
Björn upon his return
to Iceland. Despite this,
very little was written
about Björn in the Ice-
landic press. There was,
however, one man who
didn’t shy away from
the topic—the Nobel
Laureate Halldór Lax-
ness, who in 1946 wrote:
“The Danish papers
never tire of mention-
ing one of the worst
Icelandic men who ever
existed. A man who al-
lowed German fascists
to drive him into all
sorts of vile acts against
the Danish people, while
wearing a uniform only
worn by members of a
specific murder club …
When the papers men-
tion his father they can’t help but bring
his son into the picture, usually in a
nasty way, often adding the
suffix: ‘ham med S.S. sön-
nen’ (he with the SS son).”.
Until his dying day,
Björn maintained that
he had applied for the
German military, but
had been assigned to
the SS. However, fol-
lowing his death his ap-
plication form was dug
up from German archives. He
had indeed sought to join the SS, even
writing,“I certify that I am of pure Ary-
an stock. Heil Hitler!” Following many
of his Nazi compatriots, Björn later left
Iceland for Argentina where he unsuc-
cessfully went into manufacturing and
producing washing lines. He later re-
turned to Iceland where he worked as a
tourguide, often for German visitors.
ANALYSIS
Words:
Elías Þórsson
Photo:
Archival
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In this issue’s Blast From The Past,
we pay homage to Iceland’s first
hamburger joint, Tommaborgari,
founded by the forefather of Ice-
landic hamburger culture, Tómas
Andrés Tómmasson, a.k.a. Ice-
land’s O.G. burger man.
Tommi was born and raised
in the old Vesturbær neighbor-
hood. He learned to cook at Hótel
Loftleiðir in 1967, but the real mag-
ic began when he left for America.
“I was studying at Florida Inter-
national University when two very
important men taught me how to
cook a hamburger. One of them
was a professor at the university,”
says Tommi. “That hamburger is
what stands out the most from my
days at university.”
Tommi returned to Iceland with
a precious recipe, the likes of
which were previously unknown to
a nation whose diet consisted of
sheep’s heads and bull’s testicles.
(Yum.) In 1981, Tommi opened Tom-
maborgari, Iceland’s first burger
joint. And thus, the Icelandic ham-
burger revolution was launched,
with six Tommaborgari restaurants
opening across the land.
Unfortunately, this historical
burger joint no longer graces Rey-
kjavík’s streets. But despair not,
for in 2004, Tommi brought back
an Empire Strikes Back-level sequel
to his original burger joint, called
Hamborgarabúlla Tómasar. Ham-
borgarabúllan has since expanded
into an international sensation,
with restaurants kicking ass all
over Iceland, as well as in Copen-
hagen, London, and Berlin.
So, what’s for lunch?
Zoe Vala Sands
10 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2017
BLAST FROM THE PAST
“The Danish pa-
pers never tire
of mentioning
one of the worst
Icelandic men
who ever ex-
isted. A man who
allowed Ger-
man fascists to
drive him into all
sorts of vile acts
against the Dan-
ish people, while
wearing a uni-
form only worn
by members of a
specific murder
club.”
The Story That Could
Never Be Told
Iceland’s First Son, The SS officer
The Burger
Invasion
Father of burger culture, Tommi,
and his stepson Elías
Top: Björn first joined the SS in October 1941 and enjoyed a successful
career with the organisation, reaching the rank of SS Untersturmführer,
or second lieutenant. Bottom left: Illustration from his autobiography,
"Sagan sem mátti aldrei segja". Bottom right: SBB in later years.
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