It’s not a game, and it’s anything but pleasant. If you are reading this you are probably intelligent enough to know and understand when it comes to talks of war, there really are no winners.

They leave countries in ashes, families forever torn and horrible pictures in one’s head which will never go away.

It doesn’t matter which side one is on. When it comes to war, you can bet innocent women, children and elders are going to be murdered. 

Not perished, murdered. This is something first and foremost we need to be clear on.

And all the while there remains a small number of very powerful people in suits who actually profit from something like that. Yes, war is indeed an economy and we should all very well know that by now.

If that’s not evil then maybe we will never know what is.

As the old saying goes: war is hell.

Now having said that and now that we are clear on a few things, it’s time to visit a little spot in history you may find interesting. Maybe even a little bit humorous.

We have to go back now to the early 1940’s in Europe, and need I remind you of what was going on in Europe during that time?

Obviously you should know and understand Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany just a few years prior had violated the Treaty of Versailles by annexing Austria, and soon thereafter invaded Poland from the west. This of course kickstarted what we now obviously know was the start of World War II.

As the war progressed, Germany by then held a firm and alarming grasp by occupying most of its neighboring countries during the course of that time.

Keep in mind now as we continue this discussion from here on out, this peculiar reporter will use paraphrasing for purposes of both humor as well as keeping things explained simply in a nutshell.

Among some of the few European nations not to have been darkened by the Third Reich’s evil shadow was Great Britain and Iceland. Yes of course there were others who did not experience Nazi occupation, but the main focus of this particular story has to do mainly with these two.

Now as you probably already know Great Britain was by this time firmly aligned with the Allied Powers, and Winston Churchill was determined to stand up to the vile aggression and genocidal ambitions of Adolf Hitler.

Iceland on the other hand during this time had chosen to remain neutral in regard to the war, and much to Churchill’s extreme frustration. 

It should be noted Iceland was a key logistical island checkpoint for essential shipping routes headed both to Canada and the United States at the time. As Churchill himself once put it if Germany took Iceland they would be, “pointing a gun directly at Great Britain, Canada and the United States.”

Because of this, Churchill and the Allies tried with great desperation to persuade Iceland to join them and their war against the Axis Powers. As Churchill saw it if Iceland did not join, it was only a matter of time before Hitler once again would violently take whatever he wished.

As the Iceland government would explain due to having such a small population, very little resources and virtually no military; “It would just be better if we stayed out of it and remained neutral.”

This did not sit well with Winston at all.

Assumingly with the approval of British Parliament, British military, and the Allies; Britain went ahead and authorized their own invasion of Iceland.

As heavily armed British Royal Navy ships approached the island they were greeted not by a military, but actually by local police.

The British Navy was told promptly by Icelandic police officers, “Excuse us? May we ask what you are doing? You are in violation of Iceland’s sovereignty.”

The Royal Navy politely responded, “Oh yeah, we know. Um, would you please ask these people to move so we can dock our ships and let our marines off?”

The local Icelandic police officers then responded with a sigh, “Yeah sure.”

Moving on, the British Royal Navy had one more item on their agenda as they proceeded to “invade” Iceland.

A German diplomat had been presently stationed in Iceland on the pretense of trying to convert as many Icelandic citizens as possible to the ideology of German National Socialism.

In other words he had been tasked with trying to talk as many people in Iceland as he could to become Nazis.

Only four fell for it, much to his own frustration. Not four thousand, not four hundred. Just four.

Apparently the people of Iceland just weren’t interested in those kind of beliefs.

Any who, the British Royal Navy after having safely docked their ships proceeded to head straight to the office of this German diplomat. After all he was an official enemy of the Allies, and as per policy he would need to be apprehended and held as a POW until the end of the war.

The local Iceland police politely showed the British officers the way to the German gentleman’s office where they courteously knocked on the door and told him, “This is the British military sir, open up. You are under arrest.”

Taken aback by the presence of British officers, the lone Nazi in Iceland hollered, “You can’t do that! You’re in violation of their sovereignty! Iceland is neutral!”

Shocked at his narcissistic hypocrisy, one British soldier barked, “Oh yeah!? Just like Denmark was neutral!? Just like Norway was neutral!? That didn’t stop you did it!?”

The British officers promptly broke down the door of the German ambassador where he was swiftly arrested, and indeed held as a POW until the end of the war. Presumably he would eventually make his way back home to Germany sometime during the 1950’s.

Despite the vulgar hatred and violence of Nazi Germany, despite the repulsive mass murder of over 11 million people, despite two extremely powerful detonations nearly destroying an entire Pacific country, Iceland to this day has quite the story to share.

Despite it all, Iceland fell victim to perhaps the most peaceful invasion in the history of the world. Not a shot fired, not one injury, not one death.

Just the arrest of one arrogant Nazi with a big mouth.