Today we are commemorating Victory in Europe Day - VE Day.
What was Iceland's part in the war?
Obviously given the North Atlantic convoys and the movement of food, and the work of U Boats, Iceland had great strategic importance. One German naval officer apparently remarked, “Whoever has Iceland controls the entrances into and exits from the Atlantic.”
Iceland remained neutral officially. It was a sovereign kingdom of Denmark, ruled by King Christian X.
However, England invaded Iceland in May 1940 under 'Operation Fork' as the Germans had just taken control of Denmark and it was feared they would invade Iceland themselves.
Iceland’s occupation brought an incredible boost to the economy, which had been crippled by the Great Depression. To many Icelanders, WW2 is actually known as blessað stríðið – “the blessed war”. The foreign military’s presence created significant employment opportunities and dramatically upscaled Iceland’s infrastructure and technology. Finding only dirt roads and no airports, Allied troops built tarmacked roads and airports, including Iceland’s biggest and most important today – Keflavík International Airport. Iceland also sold large quantities of fish to Britain, in spite of Nazi-Germany’s embargo and the risk of U-boat attacks.
What was Iceland's part in the war?Obviously given the North Atlantic convoys and the movement of food, and the work of U Boats, Iceland had great strategic importance. One German naval officer apparently remarked, “Whoever has Iceland controls the entrances into and exits from the Atlantic.”
Iceland remained neutral officially. It was a sovereign kingdom of Denmark, ruled by King Christian X.
However, England invaded Iceland in May 1940 under 'Operation Fork' as the Germans had just taken control of Denmark and it was feared they would invade Iceland themselves.
Iceland’s occupation brought an incredible boost to the economy, which had been crippled by the Great Depression. To many Icelanders, WW2 is actually known as blessað stríðið – “the blessed war”. The foreign military’s presence created significant employment opportunities and dramatically upscaled Iceland’s infrastructure and technology. Finding only dirt roads and no airports, Allied troops built tarmacked roads and airports, including Iceland’s biggest and most important today – Keflavík International Airport. Iceland also sold large quantities of fish to Britain, in spite of Nazi-Germany’s embargo and the risk of U-boat attacks.
Source: https://www.history.co.uk/history-of-ww2/iceland-during-ww2-0
Some people of course had other views on the occupation.
Source:
Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland_in_World_War_II
Image source - Public Domain
https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll10/id/449
Update - thanks to Graham Smith for this Spectator piece
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/iceland-and-the-story-of-a-very-british-invasion
Some people of course had other views on the occupation.
Source:
Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland_in_World_War_II
Image source - Public Domain
https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p16062coll10/id/449
Update - thanks to Graham Smith for this Spectator piece
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/iceland-and-the-story-of-a-very-british-invasion
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