Unit 4
World War II
World War II Comes to Canada
 On September 1, 1939, Germany , under the leadership of
Adolf Hitler, launched an all out attack on Poland. This had
come after years of German aggression throughout Europe
in the mid to late 1930's.
 Britain declared war against Germany on Sept. 3rd, 1939.
 Although not forced as in World War I, Canada did stand
with Britain and declared war on September 10, 1939.
Underlying Causes of WW2
 1)
The Treaty of Versailles ending WWI had been
extremely harsh on Germany and helped Hitler and
his Nazis party take control in the 1930s.
 2) The creation of new countries after the war led
to boundaries that caused tensions. Millions of
German-speaking people were now living in parts of
Poland, Czechoslovakia and Austria. Germany
wanted these regions back.
 3)
During the 1930’s dictators came to power in
Germany (Hitler) and Italy (Mussolini) increasing
the chances of war.
 4) Weakness of the League of Nations. World
organization set up after WWI to maintain peace and
security in the world.
 5) Appeasement: the policy of giving in to Hitler’s
demands in order to avoid conflict or war in Europe
during the 1930’s.
Why Appeasement?
 1) In the 1930's the slaughter of whole
generation of young men in WWI was still fresh in
the memories of most people.
 2) Canada and the rest of the world was
caught in the grip of the Great Depression.
Rearmament and war preparations would only make
matters worse.
 3) Hitler provided an obstacle to the spread of
communism from the Soviet Union.
Hitler’s Steps to War
 1) Hitler promised to restore Germany's greatness,
one of his first steps was to strengthen the army and
air force. Soon the weapons of war were pouring out
of factories.
 2) In March of 1936 Hitler broke the Treaty of
Versailles, which forbade German troops to be within
50 km of the Rhine (to keep them away from France)
and moved back into the Rhineland. This was
Hitler's test to see if Britain or France would act.
 3) Hitler wanted Germany and Austria to be united
(Anschluss). Being Austrian by birth he seized Austria in
March 1938.
 4) Next Hitler demanded part of Czechoslovakia known
as the Sudetenland( contained a large number of
Germans). France and Britain not wanting another war
met with Hitler in Munich, Germany.
 The Munich agreement gave Hitler the Sudetenland for
the German promise of no more demands for land. This
policy of giving into German demands was call
appeasement.
 Britain and France Appease Hitler!
 5) Six months later Germany invaded the rest
Czechoslovakia, once again Britain and France did
not act.
 6) Next Hitler signed an agreement with the Soviet
Union (his bitter enemy) promising not to fight each
other if war came and secretly dividing Poland
(Nazis/Soviet Pact).
 7) September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland,
Britain and France realize there is no way to appease
Hitler so they declare war on Germany.
 Rhineland
Hitler Attacks
 Within four weeks Germany defeats Poland and a period
of no fighting called the "Phony War" lasted until April,
1940 and then Germany overran Denmark, Norway,
Belgium and the Netherlands.
 next Germany invaded France in June and defeated it
within a matter of weeks using Blitzkrieg Warfare.
 English and French soldiers retreated to the seaport
town called Dunkirk. The British assembled every boat
that floated and evacuated 300,000 men/soldiers back to
England to continue the fight.
Four Basic elements of Fascism
 1)
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Extreme Nationalism – First Element
- fascist leaders demand unquestioning loyalty and
service to the nation.
2) Dictatorship -Second Element
- fascist leaders demand absolute obedience to their
wishes.
- citizens must swear loyalty to the leader of the
country who represents the entire power of the
nation.
 3)
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Military Strength & War – Third Element
- success in war is the only true test of a nations
greatness.
4) Economic Self-Sufficiency – Fourth Element
- the goal of fascist countries is to develop its
resources and depend as little as possible on
imports(self-sufficiency).
Nazis Rally 1938
Hitler Speech
Rise of Hitler
 In 1919 a disgruntled Adolf Hitler joined a small
political group that became knows as the Nazi Party.
 Within a short time Hitler became the party's leader
and it would reflect his views
 Hitler promised the German people he would get
back the land and prestige lost by Germany in WWI.
 He promised the restore Germany to greatness.
 Hitler promised to tear up the hated Treaty of
Versailles which held Germany solely responsible for
the first World War, (War Guilt Clause).
 He pronounced that Aryans (Caucasians not of
Jewish descent, in particular, people of pure German
descent) were the Master Race. Aryans he felt
deserved to rule the world.
 Hitler’s anti communist views gained him support
from the wealthy and middle class of Germany.
 Hitler and the Nazi's gained control of Germany in
1933.
 Hitler's rise to power meant the end of democracy as
all Germans had to pledge allegiance to their new
DICTATOR
 -"der führer". The Leader.
As a Leader Hitler...
 outlawed all opposition political parties
 used a secret police force to control anyone who opposed him
– Gestapo. Gestapo Video
 strictly controlled the media (censorship)
 All organizations and groups had to join the Nazi party.
Teachers, workers, youth groups, etc.
 students were recruited to join the Hitler Youth Movement
(Brain-wash). Hitler Youth Video
 Priests who opposed him were thrown into jail
Anti-Semitism
 Anti-Semitism is obsessive hatred of Jews.
 Once in power Hitler began persecution of the Jews.
 Banned from govt. jobs, as well as teaching,
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broadcasting, newspapers, and entertainment.
Not allowed to marry non - Jews
Banned from many shops and public buildings
Finally before the war Hitler began rounding up
Jewish people and placing them in ghettos and
concentration camps.
Final Solution- The extermination of all Jews in
German controlled Europe.
Anti - Semitism in Canada.
The St. Louis
 The St. Louis was a steamship that contained over 900
Jewish refugees, which set sail from Hamburg, Germany in
May, 1939.
 None of the countries the St. Louis visited, including
Canada and the United States, opened their doors to the
Jews who were seeking refuge.
 The ship finally returned to Hamburg.
 When the Jewish refugees returned back to Germany, most
of them were sent to concentration camps. By the end of
the Second World War the majority of the Jews that were
on the St. Louis had died in the gas chambers and
crematoriums.
 This was a bleak chapter in Canadian History.
 St. Louis
Canadian Soldiers at the Beginning of the War
 In 1939, Canada was ill-prepared to fight a war. The
army totaled only 4000 regular troops and 60,000
part time soldiers in the militia.
 The navy had about 3000 sailors (13 ships) and the
air force had 4000 members
 See chart on page 233 for strength of Canadian Army
in 1945.
 Canadian Navy had 370 ships and 100,000
personnel by end of the war.
 At the end of the war almost 250,000 men and
women served in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Key Battles Involving Canada
 The Battle of Britain
 Defense of Hong Kong
 The Battle of Dieppe
 D-Day Invasion
 Invasion of Sicily
 Liberation of Holland
 Liberation of Aleutian Islands
 Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of Britain
 The summer of 1940 There were a number of air
raids on Britain by the German Air Force.
 The Germans had planned to destroy the RAF and
its airfields in Britain before they started their
planned invasion, Operation Sea Loin.
 The British Royal Air Force defended their
homeland by shooting down enemy aircrafts, and
like the Germans the British flew over Germany and
dropped bombs on their cities.
 Canada did not have a Air force that could be used to
help Britain defend their lands however, there were a
few individual Canadians who were trained in
Britain to fly aircrafts.
 These Canadians served in Britain's air force, known
as “The Royal Air Force” during the battle of Britain.
 These Canadians helped shoot down many German
aircraft during this battle.
 During the air battle, the Allied fighters fought off
wave after wave of German bomber attacks that was
intended to break the British morale before the
German invasion.
 The German’s aircrafts failed. Attacking the British
civilians only made the Allied Forces more
determined to fight.
 As the result of the failed attempts made by the
German air raids, the invasion never occurred.
 RAF defeated the Luftwaffe because of superior
aircraft ( Spitfire ), radar and the German’s switch to
night bombings to avoid heavy losses.
Defense of Hong Kong
 Hong Kong was a colony of the British , that was
located near Japan.
 Many British leaders believed that Hong Kong could
not be defended in the event of a Japanese attack.
 However a few felt that if they reinforced the base at
Hong Kong it would provide moral support for the
Chinese and as a deterrent to invasion by the
Japanese.
 On 8 December 1941, a day after the Japanese Air
Force had attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl
Harbour, the Japanese launched an attack on Hong
Kong.
 After a long debate, Churchill ( Prime Minster of
Britain ) decided to ask Canada to provide the troops
needed to help protect Hong Kong.
 Canada offered two battalions: Quebec's Royal Rifles
and the Winnipeg Grenadiers.
 These two units were the first Canadian ground
units to see action in the Second World War.
 On December 11 the Winnipeg Grenadiers
exchanged gunfire with the enemy and became the
first Canadian Army unit to engage in combat in the
Second World War.
 Neither unit had battle experience. Each unit served
only on guard duty, the Grenadiers in Jamaica and
the Royal Rifles in Newfoundland.
 Also they had not received all the training required
for front-line troops.
 It was intended that the two Canadian Units would
have time to complete their training in Hong Kong.
 Between December 8-24, 1941 the Japanese forces
attacked Hong Kong.
 On Christmas Day, with no air force, no navy, and heavy
casualties, the British commander surrendered. This
included the Canadian forces sent over to help.
 Around 300 Canadian soldiers were killed in the battle.
 The rest were sent to prisoner-of- war (POW) camps,
where another 260 died, as a result of illnesses, and
harsh conditions.
The Battle of Dieppe
 August 19, 1942 the Allies conducted a cross-channel raid on
Dieppe.
 The raiding group was made up of 6000 soldiers, mainly from
Canadian Second Division and a few support troops from
Britain and America.
 The original plan was to conduct the raid under the cloak of
darkness, and the bombers were suppose to have the German
fortification destroyed.
 However, there were delays and as a result the Allies landings
happened in the daylight, and the bombers were also delayed
in destroying the German guns .
The landing during daylight alerted the German forces of
the coming raid and the beach that was fortified with
barbed wire and guarded by artillery emplacements
immediately began firing.
 This raid cost Canadians more soldiers lives than in any
other day during the war.
 The raid itself had no real affect on the German
Defenses.
 Dieppe Raid: Success or Failure?
 Failure- 1400 were killed or wounded and nearly
2000 were captured out of 5000 Canadians.
 Failed to break German defenses and capture
Dieppe.
 Success - It had satisfied the Soviet Union’s demands
for diverting German attention from the Eastern
Front and opening a second front.
 The allies gained valuable experience for an invasion
that would come in 1944(D-Day).
D-Day Invasion
June 6, 1944
 Code name - Operation Overlord
 Also referred to as the Invasion of Normandy
 The planning began as early as 1942.
 The Allied Forces studied the Battle of Dieppe when
making their plans.
 After months of research the Allies chose the beaches
located at Normandy for their invasion.
 They chose this area because it was not heavily defended
and the beaches was suitable for landing huge armies and
equipment.
 It was no secret what the Allied Forces were
planning to do however, the location of the attack
was kept a secret.
 There were five sections of the beach that the Allied
Forces landed on. These sections of the beach were
given code names Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword and
Juno.
 The Canadian troops landed in the east section of
the beach code name Juno.
 A force of 15000 Canadians and 9000 British
troops, landed on Juno, June 6, 1944.
 One major factor that helped in the invasion was the
Allied Forces decision to start their invasion during
heavy seas.
 This took the German Army off guard because The
German commanders, along with the German
soldiers thought it was impossible to land during
these harsh conditions.
 The invasion was considered largely a success and
the Allies had a foothold in Europe and began to
push the German armies back.
 Canada suffered 1074 casualties , including 359 dead
on D-Day
Invasion of Sicily:
1943
 The Allied troops began to regain control of areas
that was taken by the Germans and Italian troops in
North Africa.
 In July of 1943 Allied forces landed on the Italian
island of Sicily and began the long march through
Italy.
 The Canadian First Division with the Eight British
Army invaded the island of Sicily
 The two Allies moved onto the peninsula of Italy
 The groups moved northward with very little
resistance, until they reached Ortona. This is where
the German forces made their stand.
 It was here that the French - Canadian Unit “Royal
Twenty-Second Regiment” also known as the
Vandoos drove back the German Army.
 The Canadian Forces continued on and confronted
the Adolf Hitler Line which was the last German
defense before Rome.
 Once they defeated that line they continued on to
break the last line of the German defenses in
Northern Italy, the Gothic Line, in the fall of 1944
Liberation of Holland
1945
 This is also known as Liberation of the Netherlands
 Liberation of Holland, was helped by American,
British and the Canadian troops.
 The First Canadian Army spent a year fighting
against some of Hitler’s crack divisions, on the north
end of the Allied line.
 The Canadian Third Division lost over 1000 soldiers
when they captured Caen, France.
 The division moved inland to Falaise and through
the winter they moved northward to clear German
resistance out of the ports of Dieppe and Calais.
 The Dutch had suffered through an extremely harsh
winter, short of food and fuel.
 But once the Allied forces took control, the relief
supplies were quickly funneled into the area.
 The Canadians were welcomed enthusiastically by
Holland. The liberation forged a deep and longlasting bonds of friendship between the Dutch and
Canadian peoples.
Liberation of Aleutian Islands
 The Aleutians Islands is a long, sweeping curve of
land that reaches for more than a thousand miles
westward from the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula.
 The Islands provided a natural avenue of approach
between the United States and Japan.
 The Allied forces agreed in order to reduce the
Japanese hold on the Pacific ocean they had to take
back the Aleutians.
 The Japanese army found out that the allied forces
was going to attack the islands. Not prepared to do
battle, the Japanese decided to leave the islands
before the Allied forces arrived.
 The North Pacific Area had returned to the complete
control of the United States Army.
Battle of the Atlantic
1939-1945
 This battle took place in the Atlantic waters between
Newfoundland and Britain.
 The German Navy used U-boats to cut off Britain’s
supplies from Canada and the United States.
 The British government took control of all the
merchant ships and their crews, creating the
Merchant Navy.
 These ships were instructed to sail in convoys. These
convoys were escorted by Canadian warships called
Corvettes.
 In 1941, Newfoundland became the centre of the
Atlantic force and the Newfoundland Escort Force
was founded.
 The German U-boats were very successful between
1939 - 1942.
 The Germans used a tactic called the “WOLF-
PACK”, where a group of U-Boats gather together
and attack the convoy. The escort vessels were
unable to cope with these types of attacks.
 Another problem that faced the convoys was the section
in the Atlantic ocean where the aircrafts were unable to
cover. The U-boats were able to attack the convoy
without fear of being viewed from the air. This section of
ocean was called the “Black Pit”.
 1943 - 1945 The Allies began to overtake the German U-
boats.
 The Canada and the United States began launching more
boats than the German U-boats could sink.
 The Germans could not replace the ships / u- boats that
they had lost.
 The Canadians and the United States introduced the
Hunter-Killer group of ships.
 These ships would sail with the convoys, and it’s main
objective was to seek and destroy U-boats.
 It was during this time that many of the RCAF were
fitted with radars and searchlights. These aircraft would
fly over the Atlantic Ocean during the night to find and
destroy German U-boats.
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
 December 1939, Canada signed an agreement with
the British to help train pilots and crews from
around the Commonwealth.
 The Allied forces chose Canada as a place of training
because it was far away from the combat zones in
Europe.
 The Royal Canadian Air Force started the war with a force of
4000 members.
 By the end of the war, more than 131, 000 air personnel were
trained at 231 sites across Canada.
 Canadian bomber groups became known for both its accuracy
and its low casualty rate.
 George “Buzz” Beurling, was a ace pilot from Canada. He shot
down 27 enemy planes in 14 days while under the RAF. He
later shot down another three enemy planes when he
transferred to the RCAF.
Japanese Canadians During World War II
 Japanese Canadians suffered a great deal during the
Second World War.
 This was largely because of the attack on Pearl
Harbor in 1941.
 Many Canadians who were not of Japanese descent
feared that an attack on Canada’s West Coast was
possible.
 Anti-Japanese feelings grew quickly in Canada.
 Even without any type of evidence, 38 Japanese Canadians
were arrested for being spies.
 In 1942 the government decided to remove Canadians who
were of Japanese descent from the Coast line of British
Columbia.
 Many of the Japanese Canadians were taken to abandoned
mining towns in the interior of British Columbia, farms
located in Ontario and the Prairies. They kept there until the
end of the Second World War.
 When the Japanese Canadians were removed from
their homes, they were not allowed to take any of
their personal possessions.
 In a lot of cases the men in the families were sent to
another location while the rest of the family was sent
elsewhere.
 Most of the Japanese-Canadians businesses and
homes were seized, and often without compensation.
 Not all Japanese Canadians were allowed to return
to their homes when the War ended in 1945. Most of
them were required to remain east of the Rockies.
 They also lost their right to vote until 1949.
 The Canadian Government did not apologize or try
to compensate for their treatment of the Japanese
Canadians until 1988, almost 40 years later.
Canada Supports the War Effort
 By 1944 the Canadian Government had spent almost
40% of Canada’s Gross National Product (GNP), on
the war effort.
 The money used to cover this expenditure came
from Canadian taxes, war bond sales, and gold
payments from Britain for its purchases of war
supplies.
 The Canadian public helped in supporting the war effort by
 Purchasing war bonds, also known as Victory bonds. The
money from these bonds was used to help pay for the war
effort.
 These bonds are similar to Canada Saving bonds sold today.
It encouraged Canadian Citizens to save their money.
 Goods such as food was being rationed in Canada during the
war. The Canadian government encourage Canadian civilians
to grow their own crops. These gardens were also known as
Victory Gardens.
Conscription Issue
 The French and the English Canadians were divided
during World War I on how much they should
participate in the war.
 Prime Minister King did not want this division
between French - English Canadians to happen
again, so in 1939, Prime Minister King, made the
promise not to introduce conscription for overseas
service.
 In 1940, the King’s government passed the National
Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA)
 This act included conscription for home defense
only. Young men would be called to participate in 30
days of training. Later on this training increased to
four months.
 In 1942, the need of Allied reinforcements grew
 King held a vote, better known as Plebiscite, asking
the Canadian people to release him from his election
promise of not conscripting for service overseas.
 79% of the English Canadians voted yes while 85% of
the French Canadians voted no. This vote showed
that there was a serious division between French and
English Canadians.
 Many English Canadians wanted to do everything
they could to help out the Mother Country. The
French Canadians however felt that Canada was
doing enough.
 This was the same problem faced by Canadians and
its government during the First World War.
 In 1944 the King government went against the
election promise and authorized the army to order
16,000 of the home defense soldiers to the
battlefields.
Role of Women during World War II
 In 1941-42, the first time in Canadian history, there
was an official women’s branches of army, air force
and navy created.
 Some women were assigned to coastal defenses and
some were assigned to fly planes across the Atlantic
in Ferry Command.
 In 1942 the Federal government established the
National Selective Service (NSS) to recruit as many
women as possible for wartime work.
The Lend - Lease Act
 Transfer of American war materials to Britain and its
allies in return for deferred payments.
 Britain and its Allied forces could now purchase
more military supplies because they did not have to
pay for them up front.
Newfoundland
 Britain allowed the United States to construct military
bases in Newfoundland, Bermuda and the British West
Indies on 99 year leaseholds in exchange for fifty
American destroyers and other military supplies.
 Newfoundland was an excellent location for North
American protection.
 RCAF - Torbay and Goose Bay
 Argentia Naval Base (US)
 The Ernest Harmon Air Force Base –Stephenville (US)
The End of the War
 The war ended on May 8th,1945 for most Canadians.
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The Human Cost of the War:
Canadian Army
22917 dead
Canadian Navy
2024 dead
Canadian Air Force 17101 dead
Total fatalies
42042
 Financial Cost:
 Debt
$18 billion
$10 billion
Changes in Canada After the War
 Women’s role in society continued to change in terms of
rights and attitudes.
 Unions became stronger and won the right to organize
and bargain collectively.
 Canadians wanted and accepted a greater role in their
lives by the Federal Government.
 Canada became a greater player in International Affairs