Ástandið ( Icelandic: "the condition" or "the situation") is a term used in Iceland to refer to the influence

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

troops had on Icelandic women during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At its peak the number of Allied soldiers equaled almost 50% of the native male population. Many of the foreign soldiers would court Icelandic women, and estimates of the number of local women who married foreign soldiers go into the hundreds. Such interaction between Icelandic women and foreign troops was not always well received, and the women involved were often accused of

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and betraying their home country. Children born from such unions are known in Icelandic as ''ástandsbörn'' ("children of the condition/situation"). During the British

invasion of Iceland The United Kingdom invaded Iceland on 10 May 1940, during World War II using its Royal Navy and Royal Marines forces. The operation, codenamed Operation Fork, occurred because the British government feared that Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland woul ...

in 1940, crowds of Icelanders gathered on the streets to watch the British servicemen, and it did not go unnoticed that many Icelandic women were attracted to them. Immediately discussions began over what effect this would have, and minimal interaction with the occupational forces was encouraged; but this proved to be difficult, as many Icelanders had jobs which in some way led them to have interactions with British and later American servicemen. A committee was formed at the behest of the

Icelandic government The politics of Iceland take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, while the prime minister of Iceland serves as the head of government in a multi-party system. ...

, which published a report noting the prevalence of engaging with Icelandic prostitutes among Allied troops. The Icelandic government tried unsuccessfully to reduce the Allied soldiers' encounters with Icelandic women, but with time the issue lapsed, as all Allied forces evacuated the island upon the conclusion of the war in 1945. American forces returned to Iceland in 1951 as part of the

Iceland Defense Force The Iceland Defense Force (; IDF) was a military sub-unified command of the United States Department of Defense. It existed from 1951 to 2006. It came into existence when the United States agreed to provide for the defense of Iceland, which has ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. In order to reassure the Icelandic government, all American troops were now restricted to the

Keflavík Air Base Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was a United States Navy air station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006 and its faci ...

, which remained operational until 2006, when the US briefly left, only to return in 2016.

References

20th century in Iceland Iceland in World War II Sexuality in Iceland Women in Iceland Military-related euphemisms Iceland–United Kingdom relations Iceland–United States relations 1940 establishments in Europe 1945 disestablishments in Europe Women in World War II {{Iceland-stub

See also

References