Canada and World War II

The failure of appeasement was very disappointing…….

Waiting for Their CueThe Halifax Herald,

Bob Chambers

Drawing, cartoon

September 1, 1939,

20th century Ink on paper

Blitzkrieg!

September 1, 1939

German troops invade Poland

A Polish town lies in ruins following the German invasion of Poland, which began on September 1, 1939.

Britain and France declare war on Germany 3rd September, 1939

George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit Canada to rally support for Britain

Canada, now a more independent country, due to the Statute of Westminster, could now decide for herself whether or not to go to war…..most supported the idea, but the issue of conscription worried people – it could divide Canada again…

“So long as this government may be in power, no such measure shall be enacted.”

Canada Declares War

Canada declared war 10th September, 1939

…we were willing, but not prepared….

Mobilizing Canada’s Resources

• many volunteered to escape the Depression - $1.30/day• some still felt strong ties to Britain• national pride for Canadians • unprepared in general, armed forces needed building• still some racism, but things changed a little bit

Canadian troops off to war

• Over 58,000 volunteered

• Aboriginal people volunteered at a higher % than any other group

• African-Canadians were eventually accepted into the regular and officer corps

• The first troops sailed for Europe

December 10 1939

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan King hoped to practice a

policy of

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

Canada offered to run the BCATP – British instructors would train pilots from all the Commonwealth countries

King hoped we could avoid conscription this way

Training in Canada - BCATP

Total War

April 1940 – the end of the Phony War, CD Howe was made Minister of the Department of Munitions and Supplies

Canadians built ships, airplanes, military vehicles, tanks

• Crown Corporations were created to increase wartime industry

• farms increased production

• fuel, silk for parachutes, uranium –

this was TOTAL WAR – Canadians were willing to do anything to defeat the enemy

The War in Europe

• THE ALLIES: Britain, France, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.

• THE AXIS: Germany, Italy, (Japan 1940)

• For seven months after the fall of Poland, nothing much happened…

• This is known as the Phony War, or Sitzkrieg

The Phony War continued until April, 1940, when a renewed blitzkrieg attacked Denmark and Norway

May 10th, it continued, as the Wehrmacht (German army) attacked the Netherlands (Holland), Belgium, and finally began its invasion of France

Evacuation at Dunkirk

338,000 Allied soldiers were surrounded by the Germans

Between May 26 and 4th June, all kinds of ships/boats – military and civilian helped evacuate the soldiers – but all the weapons and equipment were lost

Dunkirk

Fall of France

22nd June, 1940 – France surrenders to Germany

Farewell

Members of the Connaught’s Own Rifles bidding farewell, New Westminster, BC, June 1940 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada).

The Battle of BritainBritain was next – Hitler’s “Operation Sealion”beginning July 10th, the German “Luftwaffe” (airforce) bombed harbours and shipping facilities, and later, aircraft factories and airstrips

In September, the Germans began bombing civilian targets for 55 nights in a row – London as well as other cities – this was known as the “Blitz”

In London many people used the London Underground. At first the Government was against this. Eventually they realized they could not prevent people from using them, and began to provide bunks, first aid clinics, chemical toilets and mobile canteens.  Elephant and Castle tube station during the Blitz

• because of their new radar system, the outnumbered RAF fought valiantly and were successful against the Germans

• their Spitfires and Hurricanes were very effective against the Germans

Hurricanes Spitfires

• the United States was very isolationist at the time and wanted to stay out of what many saw as a European war. Dr. Suess was very adamant that the United States needed to get involved because he felt that it was only a matter of time before Hitler turned his attention to the United States.

• So, how does Dr. Suess get his message across to his viewing public? First, he uses symbols. The trees that have been pecked down represent the countries of Europe that have already been conquered by Hitler. How does he let you know which countries they are? Quite simply, he labels each tree with the name of the country being conquered. Cartoonists will often use this technique where they will label items or people in their cartoons so that there is no confusion as to whom or what they are representing. The tree that the Hitler bird is still pecking away at is England. At the time of this cartoon, England was still under attack daily by bombers from the German Luftwaffe.

• Hitler (Germany) is represented by the small evil looking bird. Dr. Suess gives him the Hitler mustache and places a swastika on his side so that there can be no confusion as to who the bird represents. To accentuate the evil nature of the bird, Dr. Suess gives him a malevolent expression on his face.

• The United States (and their citizens) is represented by the bird on the nest. We can tell that the bird represents America because the hat it wears has the stars and stripes (representative of America) on it. Here is where the brunt of Dr. Suess’ criticism is directed. He felt that more people should be advocating for American intervention in the war instead of turning their backs on the problem. The United Sates is represented by this very contented looking bird sitting with his back to the Hitler bird. If you look very closely, you can see that the bird is twiddling his thumbs, a classic symbol of someone wasting their time and doing nothing. Finally, Dr. Suess sums up public sentiment in America with what is spoken by the United States bird, “Ho Hum! When he’s finished pecking down that last tree he’ll quite likely be tired.” Here, Dr. Suess is mocking the attitude held by many in the United States at the time that Germany was not a threat to them and that they should simply ignore the problem and not worry themselves with the war in Europe. Clearly, Dr. Suess felt differently.

• As you can see, if you study the symbols, labels and text in a political cartoon, you can understand the message that the cartoonist is trying to get across. Political cartoonists are often a reflection of public opinion. Their use in the study of history and current events (which eventually become history) is a valid tool for understanding how the public felt at the time.

Winston Churchill

• Allied and Canadian pilots joined British ones in fighting the Luftwaffe

• In May 1941, Hitler gave up temporarily – he had other things he needed to do

• for the first time, Germany had lost

The War SpreadsThe War Spreadsnow, Hitler looked to the east- to his ally Russia, in “Operation Barbarossa”

Hitler was concerned that the USSR might take too much land in Eastern Europe, and he badly needed:

• wheat from the Ukraine

• oil from the Caucasus Mountains

• Soviet Russia was surprised and unprepared• 22nd June, 1941 – the Germans attacked, (3 million soldiers), sure of a quick victory

at first, as they retreated, the Russians drew the Germans deep into their territory – Stalin also announced a "scorched earth policy” to deny the Germans "a single engine, or a single railway truck, and not a pound of bread nor a pint of oil."

By autumn, the Germans were within sight of Moscow and Leningrad

• Hitler had failed to properly equip his troops for the bitter Russian winter – does this remind you of anyone?

• the Germans attempted to take Stalingrad, but, again faced with winter conditions, were forced to surrender in early 1943

• the Soviets gradually retook their land, and advanced into eastern Europe

The War in the Pacific As a member

of the Axis powers, Japan had not been involved in Europe, but had taken large parts of China in 1933 (Manchukuo)

Japan needed resources such as rubber, tin, and oil

Tora! Tora! Tora!

7th December, 1941 – Japan bombs Pearl Harbour – destroying half the fleet

USS Arizona

Japanese “Zero”

• The US declared war on Japan

• Germany and Italy- Japan’s allies – declared war on the US

• Japan continued to invade Southeast Asia

Anti-Japanese sentiment in the U.S. peaked during World War II. The government subsidized the production of propaganda posters using racial stereotypes. Shown here Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo of the Axis alliance

"I fear all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with terrible resolve" . Even though the words may not have been uttered by Yamamoto, it did seem to capture his feelings about the attack. He is on record as saying, in the previous year, that "I can run wild for six months … after that, I have no expectation of success." (Yamamoto)

"Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful." The Allied victory in this war and the subsequent U.S. emergence as a dominant world power have shaped international politics ever since. (Churchill)

American Propaganda

Japanese Propaganda

Hong Kong

Christmas Day 1941 – 1975 Canadians either killed or taken prisoner

Phillipines 7th December 1941

many died as a result of poor treatment in prisoner of war camps

Canada’s Role in Europe

The Soviets, exhausted from fighting Germany on the Eastern Front, needed the Allies to open up a western front – thus forcing it to fight on two fronts

The Dieppe RaidOperation Jubilee

Canadians before the raid

• Attack on Festung Europa – Fortress Europe – Aug 1942

•trial run

•Test new techniques, equipment

•Reconnaissance for future mission

•Canadians were anxious to take part

After the Dieppe raid

• said to have been a “trial run”, the Dieppe raid was a disaster

• it was to test the men and equipment, as well as to serve as “reconnaissance”

• Dieppe was occupied by the Germans• Canadian troops were landed in daylight instead of pre-

dawn darkness – they were easy targets for the Germans• communication was awful – they sent more troops ashore,

thinking things were going well• tanks would not work on the pebble beach – the raid was a

failure• in 9 hours – 907 Canadian soldiers were killed• 586 wounded• 1874 taken as prisoners of war• it is still a debatable point as to whether it was worth it – of

course the authorities claimed to have learned from the “mistake”, but who knows?

Canadians at SeaIn 1939 the Canadian navy was short of

equipment and men

Britain relied on food and military supplies from Canada and the US, but merchant ships were being sunk by “wolf packs”

• Germany tried to starve Britain by cutting off shipping routes• convoys were used for protection

Canadian “Corvettes” were built to help

• The Battle of the Atlantic was tough – lots of ships sunk• u-boats even made it into the Gulf of St. Lawrence• things improved as the Allies cracked German naval codes• long-range Liberator bombers helped out the convoys

“the only thing that ever really frightened me was the u-boat peril”

~ Winston Churchill

Canadian Frigate in the North Atlantic

Depth charges explode astern a frigate in the North Atlantic, January 1944 (courtesy Library and Archives)

• By May 1942, the British cracked the German naval code, allowing the Allies to track German u-boats

• More Allied ships were being built than sunk

• Liberator bombers protected much of the convoy route

• Canada’s navy grew to over 100,000 sailors

• The Royal Canadian Navy is credited with having provided over half the escorts across the Atlantic

Canadians in the Air

RCAF – The Royal Canadian Air Force – established 1924

Casualty rates were high – 10,000 bomber crew lostRCAF created a women’s auxiliary division to support the war effort – but women were not allowed to be in combat

Canadians took part in bombing raids all over Europe, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, as well as the night bombings over Germany, designed to destroy German industry.Britain and Canada attacked at night, the US by day

Hamburg

Wesel

Canada took part in night

raids on Hamburg

Cologne

“ There were forty-three of us graduated, forty-three of us went to England. There were only three survivors”

~BCATP graduate

• Women joined the RCAF

• Clerks, cooks, hospital assistants, drivers, telephone operators, welders, instrument mechanics, engine mechanics

• Women pilots were later allowed to deliver planes to Britain, but were never allowed to engage in combat

The Tide Turns

• The Americans had joined• things began to improve in the Atlantic

and the Pacific• by 1943 the Allies had reclaimed North

Africa and could once again focus on Europe

• January 1943 – the Soviets surrounded 250,000 German soldiers at Stalingrad – many see this as the TURNING POINT in the war

The Invasion of Italy• British PM wanted to recapture Europe through the “soft underbelly” of Europe – Italy and Sicily• 10th July, 1943, Canadians took part in the successful capture of Sicilythen they moved to mainland Italy, and fought in horrible weather and conditions• Canadians fought for a month at Ortona, and finally the Germans withdrew

Sicily, 1943Royal Canadian Artillery firing at enemy positions, Sicily, 1943 (photo by J. Smith, courtesy DND/Library and Archives Canada/PA-151748).

Ortona

Ortona

• At Ortona, after a month fighting, 1372 soldiers were lost

• Rome fell 4th June, 1944, but fighting continued until the spring of 1945

D-Day and LiberationOPERATION OVERLORD

• June 6th 1944 biggest Allied invasion of the war • full-scale invasion of Europe• 5 landing points – Sword – Juno – Gold – Omaha – Utah• first – paratroopers and air attacks•Allied troops under the command of General Eisenhower

• June 6th 1944, 30,000 Canadian soldiers landed at Juno beach in Normandy

• Allied troops were helped by massive air and naval support

• Plans had been kept secret

• The Germans were not expecting an attack, due to poor weather

• 359 Canadians died, 715 wounded

Normandy

6th June 1944

Normandy LandingTroops of Nova Scotian Highlanders and Highland Light Infantry going ashore from LCI 299 (left) at Bernières-sur-mer, Normandy, 6 June 1944 (photo by G. Milne, courtesy Library and Archives Canada).

attacks on the beaches – Canadians landed at Juno beach

Within a few weeks, the Allies had landed a million troops

Battle for Falaise After a series of fierce battles, Canadians finally seized Falaise on 16 August 1944 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada).

• it had been kept secret from the Germans

• the weather had been bad – in fact D-Day had been delayed – but then it improved a bit

• it took 11 months to liberate – through France, Belgium, Holland and on to Germany, and the casualties grew

• the Russians were advancing on Germany from the East

• in September, Canadians marched through Dieppe

Canadians were specifically given the task of liberating Holland

Germany surrendered 7th May, 194530th April, Hitler had committed suicide with Eva Braun rather than turn himself in to the Allies

V-E Day Celebrations

V-E (Victory in Europe) Day was celebrated all across Canada, as in Ottawa shown here on 8 May 1945 (courtesy Library and Archives Canada).

The Holocaust Discovered

There were camps in many places in Europe

• There were camps in many places in Europe• by 1941, the anti-Semitic and racist views of Hitler and the

Nazis had graduated to the “FINAL SOLUTION”• Concentration camps became death camps – some of the

most famous were Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Treblinka, Dachau, and Buchenwald

• scientists experimented in many ways – but particularly to find the fastest and most efficient ways to kill

• Jews were transported by train to the camps• the weak, elderly and the young were sent immediately to

the “showers”, where Zyklon-B canisters were released into the showers

• others were put to work until they became ill or too weak to work

• by 1945, over 6 million Jews, Roma, Slavs and other “inferiors” had been murdered in the Holocaust

Allied troops watch a passing cart laden with corpses intended for burial leave the compound of the Dachau concentration camp. Allied authorities required local farmers to drive their loaded carts through the town of Dachau as an education for the inhabitants.

Japan Surrenders• Japan’s army in 1945 remained strong, but

the navy and air force had weakened• after conquering much of the Pacific area, it

became difficult to defend• industrial Japan had need the resources of

other areas, and had admired Hitler’s successes in Europe

• The Japanese, however, would not give up, but vowed to fight to the last man…

kamikaze attacks continued – suicide pilots, driven to gain honour – like the divine winds of the 13th century, when Japan was saved from Mongol attack by a typhoon, or divine wind

Kamikaze damage

• May/June 1942, the Americans won the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway

• Atoll-hopping tactics proved successful

• 1944, the Americans sank much of the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, but jungle fighting would continue for over a year

MacArthur returns to the Philippines

…attacking at dawn…1943

Iwo Jima, February 1945

..the Japanese still vowed to “fight to the last person…”

So…… because of

the “Manhattan project”, the Americans decided to drop an atomic bomb on Japan.

Col. Paul W. Tibbets, pilot of the B-29 Superfortress ENOLA GAY, waves from the cockpit just before taking off from Tinian Island to drop the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima. The 9,000 lb. bomb was dropped from 31,600 feet and detonated at 8:15 a.m., August 6, 1945, about 1,900 feet above the center of Hiroshima. A blinding light, tremendous explosion and dark gray cloud enveloped the city, followed by a rising mushroom shaped cloud. The Japanese estimated 72,000 were killed and 70,000 out of 76,000 buildings in the city were destroyed.

Nagasaki August 9th 1945

The Japanese surrendered.

World War Two was over.

• The Japanese had demonstrated near-fanatical resistance, fighting to almost the last man on Pacific islands, committing mass suicide on Saipan and unleashing kamikaze attacks at Okinawa. Fire bombing had killed 100,000 in Tokyo with no discernible political effect. Only the atomic bomb could jolt Japan's leadership to surrender.

• With only two bombs ready (and a third on the way by late August 1945) it was too risky to "waste" one in a demonstration over an unpopulated area.

• An invasion of Japan would have caused casualties on both sides that could easily have exceeded the toll at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

• The two targeted cities would have been firebombed anyway. • Immediate use of the bomb convinced the world of its horror and

prevented future use when nuclear stockpiles were far larger. • The bomb's use impressed the Soviet Union and halted the war

quickly enough that the USSR did not demand joint occupation of Japan.

Why the bomb was needed or justified:

• Japan was ready to call it quits anyway. More than 60 of its cities had been destroyed by conventional bombing, the home islands were being blockaded by the American Navy, and the Soviet Union entered the war by attacking Japanese troops in Manchuria.

• American refusal to modify its "unconditional surrender" demand to allow the Japanese to keep their emperor needlessly prolonged Japan's resistance.

• A demonstration explosion over Tokyo harbor would have convinced Japan's leaders to quit without killing many people.

• Even if Hiroshima was necessary, the U.S. did not give enough time for word to filter out of its devastation before bombing Nagasaki.

• The bomb was used partly to justify the $2 billion spent on its development.

• The two cities were of limited military value. Civilians outnumbered troops in Hiroshima five or six to one.

• Japanese lives were sacrificed simply for power politics between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

• Conventional firebombing would have caused as much significant damage without making the U.S. the first nation to use nuclear weapons.

Why the bomb was not needed, or unjustified:

Gen. Douglas MacArthur signs as Supreme Allied Commander during formal surrender ceremonies on the USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay. September 2, 1945.

The War at Home

• Total war involved everyone• Soon, there was a labour shortage• Factory production was up• Women filled in again – as welders,

machine operators, drillers, etc.• They became known as “Rosie the

Riveter”

• Single women were in demand for factories

• Married women found work, though, as well, and some factories put in daycares

• Many moved to industrial cities

• Many women were housed in dormitories

This Canadian World War II poster shows a soldier with a machine gun, a worker with a rivet gun, and a woman with a hoe to encourage workers on the home front.

Japanese Internment• when Japan entered the war, many in British Columbia

feared Canada might be attacked• after Pearl Harbor and Hong Kong, communities “blacked

out” at night• some became suspicious of Japanese-Canadians – these

attitudes were fueled by racism and gossip• in 1941, there were 23, 000 Japanese Canadians in BC• neither the government nor the RCMP considered them a

threat – IT WAS THE PEOPLE who pressured the government

• under the War Measures Act, Japanese-Canadians were “invited” to relocate to the interior to live in internment camps

• soon, it became compulsory

• some families became separated, so they had the option of going to Alberta or Manitoba to work on farms

• in 1943, Japanese property was sold off – and the proceeds of the sales went to the government – the people lost everything- homes, fishing boats, shops, cars etc.

• after the war, they had two options: return to war-ravaged Japan, or settle east of the Rockies

• in 1988, the federal government formally apologized, and offered $21,000 to each surviving victim of relocation, and offered to restore Canadian citizenship to those who had lost it by moving back to Japan

Canada’s Wartime Economy• People had more

money, but there was less to buy

• King wanted to avoid inflation, and post-war debt

• The purchase of war bonds was encouraged

• Income tax was increased, to pay for the war

• Inflation, however, did occur, so the wartime Prices and Trade Board froze wages and prices

• Food rationing was introduced

Social Change

• Unions were limited by wage and price controls

• Demand for labour, however, worked in the unions’ favour

• Strikes in NS, BC, and Alberta forced the government to allow workers to join unions and force employers to recognize the unions

• The success of the CCF caused the liberals to look at change in government

• In 1940, unemployment insurance was introduced

• The Family Allowance program was introduced in 1945 to help support child maintenance

• Canada’s policy of “cradle to grave” had begun

Conscription• The government introduced the

National Resources Mobilization Act• It granted special powers to defeat the

enemy• It allowed for conscription, but only for

home defense• Under pressure from the

Conservatives, King held a plebiscite

• In all provinces, except Québec, voters said YES to conscription

• an amendment to the NRMA allowed for overseas conscription

• King’s response…”not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary” did not fool Quebecers

• By 1944, there was a shortage of trained infantry• Of 12,000 conscripts, only 2463 reached the

battlefront• Once again, Canada was left divided

What the War Meant to Canada

• Canada contributed greatly with military and economic support

• It became known as the “arsenal of democracy”• The economy boomed – from aluminum to paper to oil• The gross domestic product (GDP) rose dramatically• Agriculture was overtaken by industry• Canadian industrial cities would later attract immigartion

that would contribute to a multicultural society• Canada had become a modern industrial nation.• World War II became a defining event in the development

of Canada's identity