Reykjavík Grapevine - Jun 2023, Page 36

The Reykjavík Grapevine 7 / 23 36
WORDS Valur Gunnarsson
IMAGE Eugène Delacroix &
Art Bicnick
Iceland became a sovereign na-
tion on December 1, 1918. Although
still under the reign of King Christian
X of Denmark and Iceland, Iceland-
ers were now free to determine their
own future. But what form of future
would it be?
One model was to be found in the
United States, which by the end of
the First World War seemed to be
overtaking Europe in most fields.
Another source of inspiration was
the Soviet Union, which at the time
was in the process of shaping a very
different future. But was anyone
hoping for revolution?
BACK FROM THE USSR
Ólafur Friðriksson was editor of
Alþýðublaðið newspaper, but was
best known for leading a strike
that guaranteed sailors six hours
of sleep per calendar day, which
improved both safety and living
conditions aboard fishing vessels.
In the autumn of 1921, he returned
from Moscow where he had attend-
ed the 9th Congress of the Com-
munist Party of the Soviet Union. He
brought back books and pamphlets
on the finer points of class strug-
gle, as well as a boy named Nathan
Friedmann, whom he intended to
adopt. This came to a head when 15-
year-old Nathan was diagnosed with
glaucoma, an eye disease feared at
the time to be contagious.
The authorities decision to deport
him was seen as a political act by
Ólafur and other socialists, who
barricaded themselves in Ólafur’s
home on Suðurgata and beat back
the police. This took place on No-
vember 18 and for the next few days
it seemed anything could happen.
The police were no longer in charge
of the city and Ólafur’s men began
to arm themselves with whatever
they could find. A cache of weapons
was discovered in different places,
many probably having found their
way to Iceland during the recent
World War.
Ólafur sought prospective allies, but
the most powerful union in Iceland
declined to take his side out of fear
that the confrontation could lead to
bloodshed. Without their support,
Ólafur’s prospects of outmanoeu-
vring the authorities diminished.
Meanwhile, an army was being
raised. The government called
upon those it deemed loyal and a
force came into being consisting of
firemen, shop owners, office clerks,
the YMCA, sportsmen, boy scouts
and the rifle association. Some were
armed with Remington rifles. Had
this newly-created army met with re-
sistance it could very easily have led
to loss of life, even unintentionally.
That prospect was not lessened by
the fact that some in the rifle associ-
ation were already drunk.
A HOT WAR IN ICELAND
In the meantime, Ólafur had uni-
laterally decided to disarm. All the
weapons collected were locked in
the basement of one of his closest
associates, Hendrik Ottósson, who
lived on a neighbouring street. When
the police arrived on November 21
with their newly armed, dangerous
and not entirely sober deputies,
Ólafur and his men had few means
to defend themselves. The episode
became known as the White War,
referencing the war between reds
and whites ongoing in Russia at the
time. But what if the White War had
turned hot?
A revolution proper in 1921 Iceland
would have been unlikely, even when
the police were temporarily out of
action following the first fight. The
authorities were willing and able to
call on citizens to defend them. Had
that failed, the Danes would have
been called on for help — the Is-
lands Falk naval vessel was con-
veniently in Reykjavík harbour at the
time.
The Danes proved unwilling to assist
but would have changed their tune if
faced with an armed communist up-
rising in Reykjavík. Alternatively, the
British would eventually have been
summoned. The Colonial Secretary,
who at this time was one Winston
Churchill, would have been happy
to oblige as his calls to intervene in
the Russian revolution proper had
gone unheeded. Everyone knew that
Iceland was in the British sphere
of influence and a revolution in the
capitalist heartland was seen as a
necessary preliminary to one taking
place here. A Soviet Iceland would
remain out of reach. Nevertheless,
had shots been fired during those
fateful November days, everything
could have changed.
Even fisticuffs could have dire
consequences, as was almost to
be the case. Hendrik was hit in the
back of the head with a baton dur-
ing the second fight. The blow was
severe and a man named Kristinn,
described as “strong and agile,”
later knocked on the door of the
policeman responsible and want-
ed “to repay it with some interest.”
Fortunately, the policeman was not
at home and the matter was not pur-
sued further.
If a baton blow could spur acts of re-
venge, what would happen if some-
one had died? Revenge killings?
ENDLESS VIOLENCE?
The Icelandic revolutionaries of 1921
were pardoned after brief stints in
prison. This was a wiser course of
action than that pursued by the Eng-
lish after the Easter Rising in Ireland,
where summary executions led to
large parts of a previously taciturn
population siding with the rebels.
As for Nathan, he was deported to
Denmark and eventually sent to his
uncle in Alsace in France, where he
was reunited with his mother and
two brothers.
During a protest against a motion
to lower pay for public relief work
during the Great Depression in
1932, the police were again beaten
back. After this, they started arming
themselves. Weapons were ac-
quired from Spain in exchange for
fish, lessening chances of the police
being disabled by unarmed men, as
happened in 1921 and 1932.
Perhaps more active resistance
would have been offered to the
British occupation in 1940 if men
had become inundated to the use
of weapons during the class strug-
gle of the interwar years. This would
primarily have been carried out by
the communists who most fervently
opposed the occupation. This was
the time of the Nazi-Soviet pact, and
the British and the Germans were
equally seen as waging a capitalist
war that was no one else’s business.
This window would have been open
for just over a year – once the Ger-
mans invaded the Soviet Union in
1941, Icelandic communists took to
seeing the British and Americans as
allies in the global struggle against
fascism.
WAR AGAINST NATO
Iceland became a fully independent
republic on June 17, 1944, and soon
after embarked on a course that
would take it from one of the poorest
nations in Europe to one of the rich-
est in a matter of decades. But Cold
War divisions would soon set in. The
decision that previously neutral Ice-
land would join NATO in 1949 led to
riots. Police and their conservative
volunteers stormed protesters out-
side parliament, brandishing batons.
The protestors responded by tearing
up stones from the pavement out-
side parliament to use against them.
Teargas was used for the first time in
Icelandic history.
Iceland joined NATO in 1949 despite
the protests and the Americans
would return to their wartime base in
Keflavík two years later. With a U.S.
military presence, the possibility of
any sort of revolutionary takeover by
communists became impossible.
Even had the interwar era in Iceland
turned violent, we can assume that
history would largely revert to its
known course after the tumultuous
years of 1921 to 1949.
The Cold War ended and the Amer-
icans eventually left in 2006. Just
two years later, a massive economic
collapse would lead to even larger
protests than those of the depres-
sion era. Luckily, the violence of the
‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s didn’t repeat
itself, lest the “pots and pans revolu-
tion” would have been called some-
thing else entirely.
Are you enjoying Valur Gunnarsson’s
reimagining of historical events?
Then you’ll love his new book.
What If Vikings Had Conquered the
World? And Other Questions of Ice-
landic and Nordic History is out now
through Salka Publishing. Get your
copy at Shop.Grapevine.is
And check out the Grapevine’s Al-
ternative History Of Iceland podcast
for more hypothetical hijinks.
Alternate Reality What If There Had Been a Revolu-
tion in Iceland?
Another alternative history thought exercise to wrap your head around
The police were no longer in
charge of the city and Ólafur’s
men began to arm themselves
with whatever they could find.
Perhaps more active resist-
ance would have been offered
to the British occupation in
1940 if men had become inun-
dated to the use of weapons
during the class struggle of
the interwar years.