Iceland (Hitler is an American---Version 1)

Iceland is a neutral democracy in the North Atlantic. The territory of the Republic includes the autonomous territory of Greenland, which has been self-governing since 1960.

History to 1938
Iceland was first settled by Norse settlers who in 930 formed a government called the Commonwealth ruled by an annual meeting called the Althing. In the eleventh century, the Kingdom of Norway convinced the Icelanders to convert to Christianity. In 1262 the island became a Norwegian vassal; sovereignty passed to Denmark in the 1300s. Throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, Denmark exerted more and more direct control over Iceland. The Althing was abolished in 1800, but by then a new nationalist movement began pressuring Denmark to restore self-government to the island. The Althing was re-established and gradually assumed more power. Iceland's independence as a Kingdom was granted in 1918.

Medieval Norse settlements in Greenland were abandoned by the 1400s, when Thule-Inuit people became dominant on the island. However, the kings of Norway and later Denmark continued to claim Greenland; Denmark established a new colony in 1721. The Greenlandic language, an East Inuit language, was standardized in the 19th century. In 1911 Denmark divided Greenland into two districts and set up a local assembly in each; however, Greenland continued to have no real self-government.

Outbreak of war
At the onset of the Second World War, Greenland was a colony of Denmark, while Iceland was an independent Kingdom with King Christian X of Denmark as head of state.

The German Reich invaded and occupied Denmark in a lightning-fast Blitzkrieg campaign in June of 1938. German and British vessels began patrolling the waters around Greenland and Iceland immediately. Both islands realized that they were in a highly strategic position in the transatlantic war that the USA had recently declared against Germany and Britain. They sought to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Iceland staunchly declared its neutrality, while local officials on Greenland took the pragmatic approach and sought aid from the USA.

During these months, the so-called "Phoney War," the two sides jockeyed for position in the North Atlantic, each hoping to invade the other. Britain violated Iceland's neutrality almost as soon as it was declared, invading Reykjavik in July and forcing a concession for an air/sea base from the Althing. For its part, the US wasted no time in beginning a base of its own on Greenland, Thule, and equipping local units to fire at German and British patrols.

At the same time that Britain launched its invasion of the US, it also began heavily bombing the Americans stationed at Thule. The base was undermanned, most resources having been dedicated to defending the homeland, and it quickly was rendered inoperable by the bombs. In December, British troops landed at Godthåb and secured the Danish officials' capitulation, completing the "North Atlantic Corridor" from Britain to Canada so coveted by strategists in London. For the remainder of the North American campaign, the route from Britain to Labrodor via the Faeroes, Iceland, and Greenland remained crucial to the British war effort.

The Atlantic War and the beginning of the Republic
During the British occupation, the Althing authorized a referendum on whether to cast off the Danish monarch as head of state, given the apparent end of Denmark as an independent state. The people of Iceland voted to establish the Republic, ending Iceland's brief period as an independent kingdom. Christian X, in exile, at first protested but sent his congratulations when it passed.

After American forces captured Ottowa in July 1942, Greenland and Iceland were once again a major front. Several major naval engagements occurred off their coasts. The US recaptured Thule in late November 1942 and quickly began increasing the base's strength. The base repulsed several British and German counterattacks. In January the American military designated Thule as the takeoff point for the anticipated atomic strike against Britain. A B-29 Superfortress bomber took off from the base on March 6 and dropped its payload on London, drastically changing the nature of the war.

In late March, Britain passed its control over the base in Iceland to Germany, which used it to stage its own nuclear attack agaisnt Washington. At the war's end, Iceland remained independent but was de facto occupied by Germany, though it suffered almost daily American attacks. Greenland remained divided: the center of power was the American base at Thule, but Godthåb remained under nominal British control.

Munich
Both Iceland and Greenland were major points of contention during the Munich negotions of 1943. Germany felt that it should get both islands, as both were dependencies of European countries it had conquered. The German position was to treat Iceland and Greenland similar to the French colonies in Africa.

The US argued that Iceland had been a separate country and had only been linked to Denmark through the monarch - and Iceland had severed even that connection in 1941. At US insistence, Icelandic diplomats were invited to Munich as representatives of a sovereign nation. Early in the negotiations, Germany agreed to respect Icelandic independence as a concession for keeping its conquests in Europe.

Meanwhile, the US wanted very much to annex Greenland along with so many other islands near North America. But Britain and Germany were much more reluctant to allow the US to take Greenland, since it provided so convenient a striking platform against Europe.

As a compromise, the US agreed to abandon its base and its claims on Greenland if Germany would abandon its bases in Iceland. Iceland was therefore designated a neutral nation. It received Greenland as a colony in return for amending its constitution to include a statement of permanent neutrality.

Postwar Iceland
The Cold War was difficult for Iceland, caught between the major superpowers, all of whom constantly sought to violate its neutrality in subtle ways. Iceland has been at the forefront of the Neutrality Movement, a coalition of small states that officially renounced alliances with any of the Superpowers. The Buenos Aires Declaration of 1956 was the seminal document in the movement, which has been joined by many nations around the world, and which helped inspire the more closely-knit Caribbean League, which adheres to more or less the same principles, albeit with a more noticeably leftist feel.

Greenlanders soon began to seek greater autonomy. The Althing granted Greenland home rule in 1960. It remains a part of the Republic and is covered by its constitution, but most decisions for its internal governance are made by the local parliament at Godthåb.