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 explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

troops had on Icelandic women during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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 goes 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 the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, 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, n ...

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

British military The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...

invaded Iceland in 1940, people gathered on the streets to see the troops and the fact that many Icelandic women were captivated by them did not go unnoticed. Immediately discussions began over what effect this would have and minimal interaction with Allied troops was encouraged, but this proved to be difficult as many Icelanders had jobs which in some way led them to interact with the troops. 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 syste ...

, which published a report noting the prevalence of engaging with prostitutes among the 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 troops The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

returned to Iceland in 1951 as part of the

Iceland Defense Force The Iceland Defense Force ( is, Varnarlið Íslands; IDF) was a military command of the United States Armed Forces from 1951 to 2006. The IDF, created at the request of NATO, came into existence when the United States signed an agreement to prov ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. 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 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 facilitie ...

, 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 Euphemisms Iceland–United Kingdom relations Iceland–United States relations 1940 establishments in Europe 1945 disestablishments in Europe {{Iceland-stub

See also

References