Iceland in World War II

At the beginning of World War II, Iceland was a sovereign kingdom in personal union with Denmark, with King Christian X as head of state. Iceland officially remained neutral throughout World War II. However, the British invaded Iceland on 10 May 1940.^[1] On 7 July 1941, the defence of Iceland was transferred from Britain to the United States,^[2] which was still a neutral country until five months later. On 17 June 1944, Iceland dissolved its union with Denmark and the Danish monarchy and declared itself a republic, which it remains to this day.^[2]

Casualties[edit]

Approximately 230 Icelanders died in World War II hostilities.^[12] Most were killed on cargo and fishing vessels sunk by German aircraft, U-boats, and mines.^[12]

Aftermath and legacy[edit]

The presence of British and American troops in Iceland had a lasting impact on the country. Engineering projects, initiated by the occupying forces – especially the building of Reykjavík Airport – brought employment to many Icelanders. This was the so-called Bretavinna or “Brit labour”. Also, the Icelanders had a source of revenue by exporting fish to the United Kingdom.

A number of British Pathe newsreels of the period featured news from Iceland, including visits by Lord Gort^[13] in 1940 and Winston Churchill in 1941 following the Atlantic Charter.^[14]

Atlantic Convoy was a 1942 American film about naval patrols set during the Battle of the Atlantic.

The only other film made in this time period, and about the war, was a musical called Iceland.^[15] Iceland was not filmed in nor particularly about Iceland.^[15] Many years later, a two-part documentary was released called the Occupation Years 1940-1945. This documentary examines how World War II affected Iceland and its population, using stock footage and interviews to assess the impact.^[15] The filmmakers had concern that World War II would not be a part of the memory of the country, and the conflict and its impacts on Iceland would soon be forgotten.^[15] The goal of the film then was to preserve the history of the war and the invasion and occupation of the British and Americans.^[15]

Operation Ikarus

British occupation of the Faroe Islands

Expansion operations and planning of the Axis Powers

Battle of the Atlantic

Bittner, D. F. The Lion and the White Falcon: Britain and Iceland in the World War II Era (Hamden: Archon Books, 1983).

Bittner, D. F. "A Final Appraisal of the British Occupation of Iceland, 1940–1942," The RUSI Journal 120 (1975), 45–53.

Deans, Philip W. "The uninvited guests: Britain’s military forces in Iceland, 1940–1942." (2012).

online

Fairchild, Byron (2000) [reissue from 1960]. . In Kent Roberts Greenfield (ed.). Command Decisions. United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 70-7. Archived from the original on 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2010-06-18.

"Decision to Land United States Forces in Iceland, 1941"

Hardarson, Sólrun B. Jensdóttir. "The 'Republic of Iceland' 1940–44: Anglo-American attitudes and influences." Journal of Contemporary History 9.4 (1974): 27–56.

in JSTOR

Miller, J. The North Atlantic Front: Orkney, Shetland, Faroe, and Iceland at War (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2003).

Col. Conrad H. Lanza (July 1946). Col. Devere Armstrong (ed.). (PDF). The Field Artillery Journal. 36 (7). The United States Field Artillery Association: 436.

"Perimeters in Paragraphs – Realities behind the power struggle"

Stacey, C P. (1955) Archived 2019-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, Queen's Printer, Ottawa (Downloadable PDF)