viðnámið

viðnámið is an Icelandic term that translates to "the resistance" in English. It is most commonly associated with the Icelandic resistance movement during the German occupation of Iceland in World War II. Following the British invasion in 1940 and the subsequent handover of occupation to the United States in 1941, a segment of the Icelandic population harbored anti-occupation sentiments.

While Iceland was officially neutral at the outset of the war, the presence of foreign troops and the disruption of traditional trade routes significantly impacted the nation. The resistance movement was not a unified or overtly violent organization in the same vein as resistance efforts in other occupied European countries. Instead, it manifested in various forms, including passive resistance, the dissemination of anti-occupation propaganda, and the formation of underground networks.

Key figures and groups within the resistance are not widely documented due to the clandestine nature of their activities and the relatively short period of significant foreign military presence. The primary goals of viðnámið were to assert Icelandic sovereignty, maintain national identity, and ultimately see the withdrawal of foreign forces. The movement's effectiveness and scale are subjects of historical debate, with some scholars emphasizing its symbolic importance and others its limited practical impact on the occupation itself. The end of the war and the subsequent withdrawal of Allied troops marked the dissolution of the resistance movement.