CANADA AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR:
1939-1945
Chapter 6: Introduction
The Second World War ended any hope of stability that existed after the ten years of turbulence that was the Great Depression.
WW2 further changed the role of women and widened the rift between English and French Canadians. It also changed the role Canada
played in the world.
Canada’s participation as a sovereign nation enhanced our
international reputation, and set the stage for Canada to play an active role in the postwar world, and in organizations such as the United
6.1 Lead-up To War
Like WWI, the Second World War had both underlying causes and immediate causes.
The immediate cause was the invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, however the underlying causes of the ware began years before.
From ch. 3, we discussed the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that were imposed on Germany - they were harsh.
The hope was that it was deter future German aggression, instead what it did was give Hitler a political and propaganda platform with which he could win over the
German people.
Emerging nations after WWI in former German territory also led to problems. German speaking people now lived in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria - and Germany
The League of Nations
Founded in 1919, the League of Nations was formed by the victors of WWI, and its purpose was to bring about permanent world peace,
through collective security.
The League had little power, thus little chance of success. The U.S. congress opposed American involvement and America did not join.
Canadian Isolationism
Determined not to become involved in future European wars, Canada embarked on an international policy of isolationism, or
non-involvement in world affairs.
Canada was deeply alarmed by the potential requirements of being an active member of the League of Nations and introduced a
resolution from being bound to combat aggression unless they chose to do so - this further weakened the Leagues’ ability to prevent
The Manchurian Crisis
Sept. 1931: Japan invades the Chinese province of Manchuria, which had long been a source of conflict between Japan, China, and Russia.
For Japan, Manchuria was the first step to invading the Russian territory of Mongolia.
China appealed to the League of Nations for support. The League
condemned the attacks and Japan ultimately withdrew from the League.
The U.S., Britain, Canada, and other League members were not prepared to intervene, however they did hope that Japan would cease the aggression.
The Invasion of Abyssinia
In 1935 there was a border clash between Abyssinian troops and Italian forces from Italian Somaliland.
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, saw the conflict with the small African state as an opportunity to expand it’s powers and territories.
While pretending to follow due process and dealing with League officials Mussolini built his forces along its border. In October of 1935 he
launched a full scale attack against Abyssinia, the Italians with their tanks and aircraft, versus the Abyssinians with spears.
World-wide public opinion was opposed to Italy, the League boycotted
The Canadian Proposal
The League’s representative in Canada, Dr. W.A. Riddell, felt that the boycott needed to be more severe - he proposed that it be expanded to include oil, which Italy need to run it’s war machine
There was opposition in Canada, in particular amongst the Roman Catholic
Quebec which was sympathetic of Italy, home of the Catholic church and the pope.
Prime Minister King while willing to support the League in its decision
Failure of the League
By May of 1936, Abyssinia was annexed to Italy.
Mussolini named Italy’s king the new Emperor of Abyssinia.
Germany, who under Hitler left the league in 1933, was the first country to recognize (validate) the Italian conquest.
Formation of the Axis Powers
To protect its troops and interests in Manchuria, Japan signed an Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany in 1936.
In short they would co-operate against any threat of Communism from the Soviet Union.
In 1937 Italy joined the pact, forming the countries that would
6.2 Causes of the War
Non-Interventions and Appeasement on the Eve of War
The Manchurian crisis and Italian invasion of Abyssinia made it clear that international condemnation was not enough to stop aggression.
Between 1936-39 there were other events that proved that the League was not prepared to take action.
The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939,
and the Failure of Non-Intervention
In 1936, strikes and riots let to the fall of the Spanish monarchy.
A communist party was elected and a government modelled after the Soviet system in Russia is established.
The new government opposed the right-wing forces; the Catholic church and the wealthy who controlled the economy.
General Francisco Franco, who commanded the Spanish faces in
As with other conflicts of the time Canada, Britain and France maintained its non-intervention policy.
Germany and Italy however gave support to the forces led by Franco.
Germany saw it as an opportunity to test their new airforce, and to see how willing the allies were to enforce the terms of the Treaty of
Versailles.
After 3 years of war, Franco defeated the government and became a dictator much like Mussolini and Hitler.
Lebensraum
In 1932 the Nationals Socialist German Workers’ Party (the Nazi party) was elected to power and in 1933 Adolf Hitler, became chancellor of Germany.
Hitler gained power by promising to regain Germany’s honour lost in the Versailles Treaty and to gain Levensraum (living space)
The plan was to expand outward until world powers tried to stop him.
Hitler first demanded Anschluss which meant the unification of Austria, then took the Saar Valley on the French border.
Germany continued to re-arm in defiance of the treaty and then moved troops towards the oil and coal rich Rhineland.
Appeasement and the Munich Pact
Neville Chamberlain, PM of Great Britain and Canada’s PM Mackenzie King favoured appeasement, feeling that WWI had been too harsh to
Germany and that Hitler’s appetite for land could be satisfied.
Chamberlain met with Hitler in 1938, in Munich Germany, and agreed
to the German occupation of Sudetenland (a German-Speaking part of Czechoslovakia) if Hitler agreed to leave the rest of the country free.
Chamberlain claimed to have brought “peace to our time,” however he would later be strongly criticized as being weak because of
Shortly after Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, and by March of 1939 Germany invaded the remainder of
Czechoslovakia.
On Sept. 1, 1939, Hitler sent troops into Poland in an attack called a Blitzkrieg, or “Lightening War.”
Fascism and Anti-Semitism
The focus of fascism in Germany was on Lebensraum and anti-semitism - hatred of the Jews.
In his book Mien Kamph, Hitler needed a scapegoat for Germany’s severe economic troubles after the war and during the Great
Depression.
Once in power Hitler began to exercise totalitarian rule & anti-Semitism became a state policy.
First there was a propaganda and censorship campaign against Jewish writers and artists.
Then the Nuremberg Laws took away their voting rights and removed them from most jobs.
After 1938-9, Nazis extend these laws/policies to their occupied territories.
Jews were forced to leave their homes for segregated areas of cities - ghettos.
By 1941, Nazi leaders decided on the “final solution” to the “Jewish problem” - extermination.
Jews were then sent to concentration camps - Jews were killed in gas chambers or by other means.
Not only were Jews in these camps - Communists, Slavs, Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals, and the mentally challenged were also
murdered.
Fascism in Canada
The fascism movement found some support in Canada; Nazi ideology found supporters in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where there were
large German-speaking populations.
The Catholic church in Quebec saw Nazi’s and fascism as a safeguard against godless Communists.
Others were attracted by anti-Semitism.
Jews in Canada were unofficially kept out of may professions and the civil service.
And there were sometimes violent attacks against Jews.
6.3 The War in Europe
Sept. 1, 1939, Hitler launches a massive air and land attack on Poland.
Britain and France immediately declare war on Germany.
Canada was not obliged to join automatically as in WWI, as the Statute of Westminster now allowed for Canada to make its own decisions in
international affairs.
Many still felt ties to Britain, many felt German aggression had to be stopped. When the passenger ship Athenia was sunk on Sept. 3,
Many expected that Canada would declare war on Germany.
On Sept. 10, 1939, Prime Minister King announced Canada’s entry into the war, which was supported by all but one of the members of Parliament.
Canada now turned from ten years of unemployment to the grim business of war.
Memories of the sacrifices of WWI were still strong among many
Canadians, and there was little enthusiasm for the war ahead, and
A New Kind of War
Like WWI, technological developments changed the nature of war.
Armies in trenches would not face across from one another as in WWI.
Technology, specifically in airplanes expanded the battlefield to include all of an enemy’s territory.
Long range bombers, faster tanks, and motorized forces created a war of movement.
New weapons such as bazookas, and improved weapons, such as machine guns, made killing quicker and more accurate in land
battles.
Foot soldiers still fought battles, however their importance in the conduct of war decreased as the role of military technology
increased.
The use of fast moving military forces required the development of sophisticated communications systems. In the late 1930’s Britain
Radar helped British and Canadian pilots win the battle of Britain against the German Air Force.
Cryptologists developed secret codes to send and receive
commands, and they also worked to break codes of the enemy,
Canadian Soldiers and
the Beginning of the War
Canada was ill-prepared to fight a war, our army totalled 4000 regular troops and 60,000 part-time soldiers in the militia. The navy had
3000 sailors, and the RCAF had 4000 members. Recruiting began quickly.
Canadian troops began to arrive in Britain by Dec. 1939 - the bad weather of the winter of 1940 resulted in a period of uneasy activity on Germany’s western front - often called the ‘Phoney War,’ as very little happened during this time.
By June 1940 Germany had attached Norway, Denmark, Holland,
Belgium,Luxembourg, and then all the way into France pushing French and British forces to the beaches of Dunkirk.
A flotilla of every available British vessel, including small civilian craft was able to evacuate and save 350,000 solders, unfortunately most of their equipment had
to be left behind. A few weeks later France surrendered.
In 1941 German forces attacked Greece & Yugoslavia and made gains into North Africa and into the Baltic States.
In June 1942, German broke the Nazi-Soviet pact of 1939 and sent 1,000,000 soldiers, tanks, and aircraft into the USSR.
Only a few Canadian forces saw combat before 1942, most were in Britain, training and preparing for a German invasion.
The Dieppe Raid
In 1942, the Allied Command was unwilling to help the Soviets with an all-out attack into Europe. However in August 1942, 6000 soldiers made up of Canadian, British, and
American troops launched an attack on the beaches at Dieppe
Things went wrong. The nighttime landing was pushed back, and now they were landing in daylight, bombers which were to provide support against machine guns were also delayed.
Fortified barbed wire, guarded by artillery emplacements immediately began firing on the landing force. The troops that made it inland soon were driven back.
Of the 5000 Canadians, 1400 were killed or wounded, and 2000 were taken prisoner. More Canadians died at Dieppe than on any other day of the war.
The Italian Campaign
In early 1941 German and Italian troops invade Egypt and North Africa - by the end of 1942 allied forces had regained the territory and now planned the invasion of Italy, which began in July of 1943.
The Canadian First Division landed with the Eight British Army. They pushed north and saw little resistance until Ortana, on the Adriatic Sea.
At Ortona, the German army took a stand and fight took place through Dec. 1943. The German’s were finally pushed back - a French-Canadian unit -
the Royal Twenty-second Regiment (the Vandoos) - distinguished itself.
Operation Overlord:
D-day, the Invasion of Normandy
June 6, 1944, “Operation Overlord,” the great Allied invasion of German held Europe began.
American, British, and Canadian troops were to land along 80 km of Normandy Beach in France.
A combined Canadian (15,0000) and British (9000) troops were
The plan was not a complete success.
Gun positions were not knocked out by bombing and Canadians suffered 1074 casualties, 359 dead.
The landing however, was an overall success and the allies now had a
From D-day to the
Liberation of the Netherlands
After D-Day, Canadian forces continued to push back German forces, fighting some of Germany’s crack divisions.
Canadians captured Caen, France, moved on to Malaise, and by the winter of 1944-5 they were capturing the ports of Dieppe and Calias.
Canadian troops played a major role in clearing the entrance to Europe, by March of 1945, Canadians forces moved through Belgium, and pushed
German troops in the Netherlands back across the Rhine river.
6.4 Canadian Involvement Around The World
The Defence of Hong Kong
Canada’s first engagement of WW2 was defending the British island colony of Hong Kong.
On Dec. 7, 1941 Japan entered the war with the attack on the
American naval base in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, while simultaneously attacking a number of other strategic sites, including Hong Kong.
The 14,000 Canadian, British, and Indian forces were vastly
outnumbered. By Dec 22, allied forces were forced to surrender.
The War at Sea
At the beginning of WW2 the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) had 13 ships and 3000 sailors, by the end of the war it had 370 ships and almost 100,000 personnel.
RCN activities ranged from submarine warfare in the North Atlantic, to the defence of the West Coast from a feared Japanese invasion.
The war in the Atlantic was fought over shipping lanes, as German
Canadian warships (and later American ones) would escort merchant vessels to Britain.
Newfoundland became the centre of the Atlantic Force and the Newfoundland Escort Force was founded.
In 1942, a wolfpack was hunting off the waters of Newfoundland and scored a huge success sinking15 ships of a 42 ship convoy.
Despite this German victory (among others), the tide began to
War in the Air
In 1939, the Royal Canadian Air Force had 4000 members, by wars end nearly 250,000 served in the RCAF.
The RCAF fought in, but was not limited to the Battle of Britain.
Canada’s largest air involvement was in the Bomber Command,
under Air Chief Marshall Sir Arthur Harris of the RAF (Royal Air Force).
The Allies responded by bombing
German cities in relentless day and night attacks.
Officially military targets were the primary objective, the truth was that the
bombings inflicted terrible civilian damage.
More than 1 million German civilians were killed or wounded.
Casualties among the Canadian Bomber Command was higher than any other
Another important venture in the air war was the Ferry command.
Britain Canada, and the U.S. co-operated to fly nearly 10,000 airplanes from North America to Britain.
Newfoundland play a key role. Air bases in Gander and Goose Bay were developed as jumping-off points for the trans-Atlantic flights.
While over 500 pilots died in the Ferry Command, the success of the program was unquestionable in terms of both deliveries and space
6.5 Women at War
An Expanding Role For Women
In the South African War and in WWI women played a valuable role.
In WW2 their role expanded even more.
in 1941-2, the Canadian military created official women’s branches of army, air force, and navy.
Canadian Women
on the Home Front
As men left for war, there was a dramatic increase in the number of women in the work force (as in WWI - as well factories were
expected to run 7 days a week for 12 hours a day)
The federal governments’ National Selective Service (NSS) worked to recruit as many women as possible for wartime work.
Quebec & Ontario even provided daycare for some mothers so that they could work, and the federal government provided tax breaks for women.
The More Things Change, the More
They Stay the Same
Women in WW2 challenged traditional attitudes about the roles women play in society.
While women now worked at home and in the military, they were still paid less money than men for the same work.
Women developed a new outlook on work and a new view of what roles women should play in society.
When the war ended however, governments removed the limited supports that they put in place, and the women’s branches were quickly disbanded.
6.6 The War at Home
Canadians who remained at home played important roles in the war effort.
The unemployment of the Depression disappeared as men and
War Effort Production
Canadians, industry, and resources were focused on maintaining the flow of weapons and supplies to Britain.
Factories created bombs and ammunition, shipyards and aircraft
factories expanded operations, and the automotive industry produced bren-gun carriers and armoured cars.
The federal government played a key role in coordinating the war effort.
Munitions, airplanes, uniforms, synthetic rubber, and other essential war products were under control of 28 Crown corporations.
The federal Wartime Prices and Trade Board regulated costs and
prices and imposed rationing on products such as gas, coffee, tea, butter, jam, milk, sugar, meat, and liquor.
Few parts of the Canadian economy and consumer lives were not affected by government control.
Money to cover the expenses came from taxes, war bond sales, along with loans and gold payments from Britain.
The Land-Lease Act of 1941 and the Hyde Park Declaration further strengthened the reliance on the United States for trade.
Propaganda
The government launched a propaganda campaign to encourage Canadians at home to support the war effort..
The NFB (National Film Board) turned out hundreds of documentaries and short film design to help the war effort.
The Conscription Crisis
Prime Minister King did not want the division between
French-Speaking and English-French-Speaking Canada that existed during WWI.
In 1939, he had made an election promise that he would not use conscription for overseas service.
In 1942, with growing casualties overseas led King to hold a vote or
plebiscite, asking to release him from his election promise.
The vote passed with 64%, however 79% of English Canadians voted yes, while 85% of French Canadians voted no - once again there were serious division between French and English in Canada.
King proceeded cautiously - he did not immediately sent conscripts overseas.
By 1944 Allied victories began to turn the tides of the war, while casualties were still mounting
Late in 1944 King finally ordered 16,000 conscripted troops to the battlefields - this led to protests and riots.
6.7 Wartime Restrictions and Excesses
Restrictions and excesses were not limited to rationing. Groups would also be targeted.
Japanese Canadians were the largest group to suffer from wartime hysteria and harsh treatment. As well the government required over 100,000 Canadians to register as enemy aliens.
650 were interned in camps - Ottawa set up 25 internment camps
where these aliens, and almost 1800 others who had been declared dangerous to the state, were detained.
At the home front there was outright discrimination against Blacks
until 1942 - restrictions on hiring Blacks were still in place. Protests from black university students and the Canadian Jewish Congress ended this practice.
Civil rights were encouraged, as Black & White Canadians were able to serve together.
By war’s end, there were committees to fight racial intolerance.
WW2 also served to give new determination among Native peoples, especially those who had served overseas.
Like Black Canadians, they believed that if they were wiling to fight and die for their country, they should also share the rights of all
The war gave rise to a wider demand for civil rights. Some
Canadians came to realize that WW2 was in many ways a racial war.
They began to feel ashamed about denying entry to Jews fleeing the Nazi’s, the increased degradation of Aboriginal peoples, about the
Treatment of Japanese Canadians
After the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour in 1941, anti-Japanese feeling grew quickly. It was especially strong on the west coast where fear of a
Japanese invasion seemed great, and a long history of anti-Asian discrimination.
In Feb. 1942, the government announced that all people of Japanese
ancestry living within 62 km of the coast of B.C. would be moved inland.
About 16,000 of the 21,000 evacuated Japanese Canadians were citizens by birth or by choice. Many were taken to abandoned mining towns or to the interior of B.C.
6.8 The Legacy of War
The war ended for most Canadians on May 8, 1945 when the last German troops surrendered. Fighting in Japan continued until Aug. 14, 1945.
The War in Japan ended when the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 130,000 Japanese.
By the end of the war about one in ten Canadians served in the Armed Forces.
Grim Statistics
By wars end it had cost Canada $18 billion and it created a debt of more than $10 billion.
As many as 55,000,000 died worldwide in battle, camps, and in their communities.
The USSR alone lost 15,000,000 civilians.
Bombing raids killed 550,000 Germans, about 60,000 British civilians.
Six million Jews had been murdered.
The economies of whole nations were destroyed.
At the Dawn of a New Age
At war’s end the government eliminated the women’s branches of service.
Women were expected to go back to the home, or to traditional jobs.
However, seeds had been sown for a new wave in the struggle for
women’s rights.
Similarly contributions of Blacks, Aboriginals, and other minorities
advanced the cause of civil rights.
The importance of war work gave unions a strong hand, and they could no longer be ignored or stamped out.
By 1944 the growth of unions led to them being guaranteed the right to organize, and to collective bargaining. As well companies were required to recognize unions and fair labour practices.
As well many Canadians’ view about the role of the federal government changed - the planning role taken by the government would potentially be worth continuing.
Canadians wanted public ownership of industries, they wanted a
national medical insurance system, unemployment insurance, family allowances, and so on.
A New Age in International Affairs
Europe was no longer the centre of international power. The U.S., with it’s nuclear weapons was the strongest power in the West. In the East the
U.S.S.R. was soon to develop it’s own nuclear weapons - friction between the two would lead to the Cold War.
Canada’s relationship with the U.S. was growing stronger and Canada
would become involved in a new body for international peace - The United Nations (UN).
Canada emerged from the war as a middle power, and was able to play a valuable role as a middle power.
