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Abstract
þór wh i t ehead
“THe CIRCUMSTANCeS“ AND THe AUTHORITIeS
The War over Icelandic Women, 1940–1941
Nothing caused more friction between Icelanders and the allied forces during the
Second World War than the relations of local women with members of the
military, specially referred to in Iceland as the Circumstances, or the momentary
situation. Flamed by nationalism, many Icelanders believed these relations were
a threat to their society, morality and culture. The government at the beginning of
this period consisted of the three largest political parties and officially supported
the line that individuals should avoid any relations with foreign troops. Not only
were women who associated with military men condemned by most of the media,
but many people called them whores. As Icelanders numbered only around
120,000, they also easily overestimated the threat from an allied presence which
in 1943 peaked at about 50,000 troops.
In 1941, the Reykjavík Chief of Police and Hermann Jónasson, who was both
the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, appointed a former head nurse,
Jóhanna knudsen, to investigate the morality of Reykjavík women. Their
objective was to fuel public opposition to relationships between women and the
soldiers, thereby pressuring members of parliament and other ministers to act.
Himself a member of the centre-left Progressive Party, the Prime Minister seemed
to doubt the willingness of the conservative Independence Party and the Labour
Party to take legislative action.
Jóhanna knudsen’s investigations involved the most extensive prying into
people’s private lives in the whole of Icelandic police history. She registered in this
instance the names of over 500 women allegedly engaging in relations with
troops, and included various data on their personal lives. Since her methods were
characterised by her unique interpretation of morality, an intense nationalism and
a tendency to view most relations between Icelandic women and the troops in a
sexual context, the extent of depravity and prostitution was wildly overstated,
including cases of teenagers.
Prime Minister Hermann Jónasson appointed a „Morality Committee“ in
1941 which consisted of three young academics, all males. Their mandate was to
investigate problems arising from these relations and to propose remedies. Their
report amounted to little more than Jóhanna knudsen’s own conclusions, as the
Minister had undoubtedly envisioned. Furthermore, the young, inexperienced
Chief of Police accused an additional 2,000 women of immoral contacts with
members of the military. This was an absurd allegation, as it implied that almost
every third woman aged 15 to 35 was involved sexually with allied troops.
Ironically, the troops had been complaining and continued to complain about the
aloofness maintained by the vast majority of Icelandic women. Indeed, Jóhanna
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