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Andri Jónsson 'Sister Nations in Distress' Andri Jónsson Icelandic Press Reactions to the Soviet and German Invasions in Scandinavia 1939-1940 Masteroppgave i History Masteroppgave Trondheim, mai 2015 'Sister Nations in Distress' 'Sister NTNU Faculty of Humanities Faculty Department of Historical Studies Department of Historical Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet teknisk-naturvitenskapelige Norges ‘Sister Nations in Distress’ Icelandic Press Reactions to the Soviet and German Invasions in Scandinavia 1939-1940 Andri Jónsson Master’s thesis in History Department of Historical Studies NTNU Trondheim 2015 Sister Nations in Distress – “Frændþjóðir í neyð”, April 1940: And from the fire and destruction by the shells, and the oppression of the dominators, shall our sister nations rise, free and sovereign. And it will be their own inner civilization, which will carry them forward to that fortune. And it is the sympathy and help of the free peoples all over the world – direct and indirect – which gives them the strength and endurance to await that hour, unbroken, undefeated.(a) Hallgrímur Jónasson. “Frændþjóðir í neyð”. Alþýðublaðið. 24.04.1940, p. 3. Cover image: Halldór Pétursson. [No title]. Vikan. 2:42 (1939), p. 1. Foreword The contemporaries in 1939-1940 are not the only ones guilty of finding the incredible black- and-white tales of heroes and villains during the Soviet Invasion of Finland fascinating. I for one have harboured such a fascination for a long time. My professional interest for the conflict in Finland began in the spring of 2012, during my undergraduate studies at the University of Iceland. In my BA thesis there, I laid the groundwork for this study, with an overview look into the Icelandic reactions to the invasion and an archival research into the Icelandic Finland Relief as well as portraying the four Icelandic volunteers who went to Finland. What struck me then was the apparent heat of the Winter War discourse in the Icelandic press and I imagined that the anger and the judgements which characterised both the non-communist and the communist press regarding that particular subject must be a manifest of something in Icelandic society. Reading through the newspapers discussions around April 9, 1940, when the Germans invaded Denmark and Norway, I was, again, struck by the apparent ‘ease’ observable in the initial news stories. Thus, this study began with a hypothesis in mind. I set out to see if the heated reactions to the invasion of Finland in Iceland were based on anti-communism and Russophobia rather than sympathy and brotherhood with Finland. Over the course of this work, I came to change the focus of the research, although this basic observation; the difference of the two cases – the fervour of the Finnish case and the ease of the Norwegian case, has remained in the back of my head. I want to give my thanks to Rakel, both for her support reading through this paper and for taking care of our two young children for the last few hectic days before the paper was finished. Trondheim May 2015 Andri Jónsson i ii Contents Foreword .................................................................................................................................... i Contents .................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter I - Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Subject and Problem ......................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Method and Operation ............................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Disposition ................................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Sources ............................................................................................................................. 8 1.3.1 Introduction to the Primary Sources .......................................................................... 8 1.3.2 The Source Value of the Icelandic Press ................................................................... 9 1.4 Secondary Literature and Historiography ...................................................................... 11 1.4.1 The History of Iceland in the Second World War.................................................... 11 1.4.2 The History of the Icelandic Far-left ....................................................................... 14 Chapter II – Finland, Norway and Iceland 1939-1940 ....................................................... 17 2.1 The Soviet Invasion of Finland 1939-1940 .................................................................... 18 2.1.1 Motivation and Aims ............................................................................................... 19 2.1.2 The Campaign ......................................................................................................... 20 2.2 The German Invasion of Norway 1940 .......................................................................... 22 2.2.1 Motivation and Aims ............................................................................................... 23 2.2.2 The Campaign ......................................................................................................... 24 2.3 The Icelandic Political Environment in 1939 ................................................................. 25 2.3.1 The National Government ....................................................................................... 25 2.3.2 The Socialist Party................................................................................................... 27 2.4 Iceland during the Phoney War ...................................................................................... 28 2.4.1 The Non-communist Press and the World War ....................................................... 29 2.4.2 Political and Popular Reactions to the Invasions of Scandinavia ........................... 31 2.4.3 The Socialist Party and the Invasions in Scandinavia ............................................. 35 2.5 Epilogue ......................................................................................................................... 37 Chapter III – The Invasion of Finland in the Icelandic Non-Communist Press .............. 39 3.1 Domestic Anti-Communism ........................................................................................... 39 3.1.1 “The Kuusinens” and the Drop of the Mask ............................................................ 40 3.1.2 Call for Excommunication ...................................................................................... 44 3.2 Portrayals of Winter War Belligerents ............................................................................ 46 3.2.1 The Red Army: Forces of Violence: ........................................................................ 46 iii 3.2.2 Finland: The “Hero-Nation”:................................................................................... 49 3.3 The Frontier Metaphors ................................................................................................. 51 3.3.1 The Military Frontier .............................................................................................. 51 3.3.2 The Civilisation Frontier ......................................................................................... 54 3.4 Chronology and Newspaper Titles ................................................................................. 56 Chapter IV – The Invasion of Norway in the Icelandic Non-Communist Press .............. 59 4.1 Dangerous Times ............................................................................................................ 59 4.1.1 Between Hope and Fear: ......................................................................................... 60 4.1.2 Quisling and the Treason ......................................................................................... 62 4.1.3 ‘Kuusinens’ and ‘Quislings’ .................................................................................... 64 4.2 Two Approaches towards Nazi-Germany ....................................................................... 66 4.2.1 The Neutral Approach ............................................................................................. 67 4.2.2 The Anti-German Approach .................................................................................... 70 4.2.3 In to the Allied Camp .............................................................................................. 72 4.3 The Most Innocent Victims ............................................................................................ 74 4.3.1 Victimisation ........................................................................................................... 74 4.3.2 Glorification ............................................................................................................ 77 4.4 Chronology and Newspaper Titles ................................................................................. 79 Chapter V – Comparison and Discussion ............................................................................ 81 5.1 Direct Comparison ........................................................................................................