In 1940, Iceland became the second Nordic country to decriminalize homosexuality. The law that had criminalized it, however, was rarely enforced, and reports suggest that only four men were convicted under it.

Belgium was under German occupation during World War II and thus Paragraph 175 was in effect.

During the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II homosexuality was criminalized by Paragraph 175.

While no law specifically prohibits consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, individuals engaging in public displays of consensual same-sex sexual conduct, such as kissing, were sometimes subject to prosecution under public indecency provisions in the 1940 Penal Code, which were rarely applied to opposite-sex couples. A local NGO reported authorities rarely took steps to investigate, prosecute, or punish officials who committed abuses against LGBTQI+ persons, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. Identifying as LGBTQI+ remained a cultural taboo. LGBTQI+ individuals were subjected to harassment, stigmatization, and violence, including "corrective" rape. Some religious leaders, radio broadcasts, and political organizations played a key role in supporting discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals.

Lithuania was absorbed by the USSR in 1940. Criminalization of sodomy already existed under number 154-a by imprisonment of 3 to 5 years in the Soviet Criminal Code.

Same-sex sexual activity between males in Soviet Estonia was illegal and punishable under paragraph 118 of the penal code

In 1926, the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs legalized sex reassignment surgery. Estonia would be incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940.

In 1926, the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs legalized sex reassignment surgery. Latvia would be incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940.