When "Neutral" America Occupied "Neutral" Iceland During WWII

On this episode of Our American Stories, Iceland's strategic location made it difficult to remain neutral during World War II. Here’s the History Guy with the story. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American People.
And to search for the Our American Stories podcast, go
to the iHeartRadio app, to Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcasts. Up next, the story comes to us
from a man who's simply known as the History Guy.

(00:33):
His videos are watched by hundreds of thousands of people
of all ages on YouTube. The History Guy is also
a regular contributor for us here at Our American Stories.
Iceland's strategic location made it difficult to remain neutral during
the events of World War II. Here's the History Guy
with the story.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic of approximately
one hundred three thousand square kilometers. Its population of about
three hundred and fifty thousand people today makes it the
most sparsely populated nation in Europe, and in nineteen forty
its population was just one third that number. Iceland had
gained independence from Denmark in nineteen eighteen through the Danish
Icelandic Act of Union. In the act, as two states

(01:20):
had formed a personal union, meaning that Iceland recognized the
King of Denmark, but Iceland gained full control of state affairs.
Iceland controlled its internal business and declared neutrality, but shared
defense in foreign affairs as well as the monarch. Most
of the nation's population was engaged in farming or fishing,
and they had a small coast guard no standing army.
Its position was, however, strategic, sitting in the North Atlantic

(01:42):
be a perfect location for air and naval bases to
either protect or to interdict trade between Europe and the
United States. At the outbreak of the Second World War,
Britain imposed export controls on icelandic exports to Germany as
part of its blockade, further depressing Iceland's economy, which had
been hit hard during the Great Depression. Britain, however, offered

(02:03):
Iceland assistance and sought to make them an ally and
a belligerent that would allow Britain to not only operate
bases from Iceland, but also to prepare a defense against
any German attempt to take the island. But Iceland refused,
instead choosing as dead Denmark to remain neutral, dissollowing visits
by military vessels at aircraft of the belligerents. Germany invaded
Denmark Keple ninth nineteen forty as a prelude to their

(02:25):
invasion of Norway. Outmatched, the Danish armed forces were only
able to resist for a brief battle. The German ground
campaign lasted only six hours, and the Danish government capitulated
for fear that resistance would cause the Germans to bomb
the capital of Copenhagen. The invasion demonstrated that Hitler did
not feel the need to respect neutrality. Despite the conquest
of Norway, Denmark continued to affirm both their independence and

(02:47):
their neutrality. This put Great Britain in an awkward position,
as they were now considering invading Iceland in order to
prevent Germany from doing the same. The fear was not unfounded.
After the conquest of Denmark and Norway, German Admiral Eric
Raider had presented a plan to invade Iceland called Operation Icarus.
Just as concerning to the British, the German presence in

(03:09):
Iceland had increased during the nineteen thirties. The German diplomatic
delegation had grown, and trade between the nations had increased.
Given the lack of a strong defense force, it was
even conceivable that the Germans, already in Iceland might be
enough to stage at coup in April, Britain occupied the
Faroe Islands, a small group of islands halfway between Norway
and Iceland that were a county of Denmark, under the

(03:30):
pretense of protecting the islands from German invasion. The government
in the Faroe Islands protested, but acquiesced to the British
occupation under the agreement that the British would not interfere
with their internal affairs. Indi end, Britain didn't need to
fear a German invasion of Iceland. While Germany determined that
it might be possible to take the island, they also
determined that they couldn't defend it against the Royal Navy,

(03:50):
and so that any garrison there would be cut off.
At the time, Hitler was still placing his hopes in
a negotiated peace with Great Britain, but unaware of Germany's plans,
written decided to occupy Iceland. Churchill was even concerned that
further negotiations with Iceland could call the Germans to act,
and so on May sixth, the War Cabinet approved an expedition.

(04:11):
The operation had to be prepared quickly, so the unit involved,
the Second Royal Marines, did not have adequate time to prepare,
and many of the troops were not conditioned for sea travel.
Traveling in cramped conditions aboard the cruisers HMS Berwick and Glasgow,
accompanied by the stayers HMIS Fearless in fortune, many of
the marines became seasick and one of the new recruitees
committed suicide. The British plan, code named Operation Fork, called

(04:35):
for surprise, but confused orders meant that a supermarine Walrus
float plane launched by HMUs Berwick, the scout for German submarines,
flew over the capital of Reikievik, alerting the Icelandic government.
They dispassed their small force of police officers with orders
to tell the British that they were in violation of
Icelandic neutrality. The vanguard of the British force, four hundred

(04:55):
marines aboard HMS Fearless, arrived at the port. The situation
could have been tense, even though the I Sceltic force
was greatly outnumbered. However, there was no confrontation. The British
consul asked the Icelandic police to hold back the crowd
so that the Marines could disembark, and they complied. The
British moved quickly to capture the Germans that they knew
were on the island. The German consul complained that Iceland
was in neutral state and was promptly informed that Denmark

(05:18):
and Norway had been neutral states as well. Iceland protested
and officially maintained a position of neutality. Howevered, the de
facto cooperated with the British occupiers, who promised favorable business agreements,
not interference in Icelandic affairs, and the withdrawal of all
forces at the end of the war, as well as
to pay compensation for any damages. In addition, the British
agreed to hire no more than two thy two hundred

(05:40):
Icelandic civilians so as not to disrupt the island's farming
and fishing industries. The island was occupied by British and
Canadian forces, but with troops needed elsewhere, Britain asked the
United States to take over the occupation in June nineteen
forty one. The change required the agreement of the Icelandic
Parliament and occurred six months before Pearl Harbor, and so
the US, still a neutral nation occupied neutral Iceland. Iceland

(06:04):
actually supported the shift as England survival in the war
was not guaranteed at that point, and they feared an
English defeat would result in a German occupation. The US
and Britain built bases in Iceland that were used for
air and naval patrols that helped to defend the crucial
line of supply between America and Canada in Britain and
the Soviet Union. It was during the occupation in May
nineteen forty four that Iceland held a referendum that allowed

(06:27):
the dissolution of the Union with Denmark and the adoption
of a new constitution. Allied forces vacated Iceland in nineteen
forty seven, but US forces were back in nineteen fifty
one to occupy a base after Iceland joined the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization. The occupation of Iceland during the Second
World War is still controversial among Icelanders. The United States

(06:48):
in Britain built things like roads, bridges, ports, hospitals, and airports,
and because there was so much economic development due to
the war, some Icelanders referred to the war as the
Blessed War, but others begrut the insult to the nation's sovereignty,
as well as the impacts some culture that came to
an island where at some times the occupying forces represented
fully a quarter of the population.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hengler and especial thanks as always
to the History Guy the story of Iceland and it's
American occupation during World War II. Here on our American Stories.
Here are in our American Stories, we bring you inspiring

(07:33):
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