Saga - 2020, Qupperneq 77

hafnaði valdbeitingu í stjórnmálabaráttunni og starfaði í samræmi
við gildandi lög og reglur eins og lýðræðissinnaðir jafnaðarmanna-
flokkar í Evrópu. Afleiðingin var sú að ágreiningur innan flokksins
jókst til muna en Ólafur og liðsmenn hans litu svo á að flokksforyst-
an hefði brugðist á úrslitastundu. Ágreiningur um baráttuaðferðir
og beiskja út í forystuna leiddi til þess að Ólafur og stuðningsmenn
hans stofnuðu hóp innan flokksins sem nefndist Áhugalið alþýðu.
Stofnun liðsins markaði þáttaskil í sögu íslenskra stjórnmála en líta
verður á það sem fyrsta vísi að skipulögðum flokki kommúnista hér
á landi.
Abstract
skafti ingimarsson
THE BOy WHO CAME FROM RUSSIA
In late October 1921, Ólafur Friðriksson — one of the leaders of the Icelandic
labour movement — returned to Iceland from Russia, where he had attended the
Third Congress of the Communist International, Comintern. Travelling with him
from Moscow was Nathan Friedmann, a 15-year-old orphaned Jewish boy from
Switzerland. A few days after they arrived in Reykjavik, Nathan was diagnosed
with a contagious eye disease known as tracoma. The Icelandic authorities de -
cided to deport the boy, citing health regulations. This provoked a dispute
between the government and Ólafur, who was adamant that the decision was
politically motivated. On 18 November that year, a fight broke out between the
police and Ólafur’s supporters in Suðurgata, when the authorities tried to enforce
the decision of the government. The police were defeated. On 23 November, the
authorities mobilised a 400-strong civil guard — the White Force — arrested
Ólafur and his supporters and sent Nathan to Denmark a few days later.
This article argues that this case demonstrated that the era of class politics had
arrived in Iceland. While it is argued that Ólafur played a leading role in the dis-
pute, the government’s part in the conflict is also emphasised and the effect on
Icelandic-Danish relations analysed. It is maintained that fear of disease, suspicion
towards foreigners and opposition to radical political movements played an
important part in the escalation of the situation and that the case as a whole
demonstrated the relative weakness of State power in Icelandic society. The dis-
pute is placed within the broader context of the Russian revolution, in general,
and the history of the Icelandic communist movement, in particular.
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