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Cause – and Effect
The economic crisis in the 1930’s spawned some very powerful dictators that believed in totalitarianism, which put the state above all else. Hitler was very imperialistic; he took over the Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, and then invaded Poland. The League of Nations took no action because it had no military support to enforce its hand. This lack of power was one of the deciding factors in the beginning of the war. -
Canada’s Response – the Threat of War
Canada did its best to keep uninvolved during the events arising through the 1930’s outside the country. King didn’t want to become involved because Canada was just starting to recover from the depression. He knew what the Nazis were doing but he did his best to keep with his policy of isolationism. This changed Canada’s perspective towards Jewish refugees fleeing the conflicts of Europe. -
War – The Beginning
September 8th, 1939, parliament was brought together to decide if Canada should join the war. They voted in favour of war but not by conscription, giving Canadians the choice to join. The BCATP trained over one hundred thirty thousand pilots and was a major contributor to the Canadian war effort. Total war enabled Canada’s economy to grow, creating jobs in preparing for the war by manufacturing supplies. -
Axis Advance I – The Expansion
The German army was too strong for the unprepared allies. On May 26th, three hundred forty thousand allied soldiers were evacuated back to Britain from Dunkirk. In a matter of weeks the Axis powers took over Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and finally France. Hitler then set his sights on Britain and destroying the RAF. But he was not successful because of Britain’s advanced radar system and well trained air force. -
War in the Pacific – Japanese Expansion
Like most of the world, Japan’s economy was suffering prior to WWII and came to imperialistic expansion as its solution. Japan’s military began occupying other nation’s colonies and planned to neutralize the threat of the U.S. retaliating by devastating their navy in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. Immediately following Pearl Harbour, the Japanese attacked Hong Kong. Seventeen thousand Canadians were taken prisoner in the eighteen days before Hong Kong fell on December 25, 41’, Black -
Axis Advance II – The Waterways
Once France had fallen, Hitler set his goal on the two access routes to the Mediterranean, the strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal. If in control of these waterways they would have access to Africa’s rich resources. This didn’t end well for Hitler; in 1942 the allied forces took over North Africa and could now focus on Sicily. -
Canada’s Contributions – Emerging of a Nation
Throughout the war, the U.S. and Canada were Britain’s lifeline and the Germans intended to starve Britain into submission by cutting it. For a few years the Germans devastated North American cargo ships but after three years the British cracked their naval code. With the Canadian invention of the Corvette, the allies could now track and defend themselves from the U-boats. During the Second World War 215 00Canadians enlisted in the RCAF, as fighter pilots and bombers. -
The Tide Turns – The Beginning of the End
In an attempt to test the waters, and take some of the strain off of the U.S.S.R., the allies launched a small raid on the French port of Dieppe. This raid was a disaster in which everything that could go wrong did, and the loss of life was high. This raid was followed closely by the Italian Campaign, which was much more successful. Canadians proved themselves once again by taking Sicily and eventually the German occupied Ortona. -
D-Day – The Invasion
Its code name was ‘Operation Overlord’ and it was the biggest allied invasion of the war. Juno beach was the Canadian section of the Normandy invasion and these fourteen thousand Canadians moved nine kilometers inland by the end of the day. Five months later the Canadians cleared the Scheldt River of enemy troops and another five months after that, joined allied force in driving the Germans back over the Rhine River and out of the Netherland. Germany surrendered to the allies on May 7, 45’. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki – The Bomb
With the Japanese declaration that they in no way intended on ending the fight, it was clear to the allies that something drastic had to be done in order to end the war and the U.S. had just such a weapon to do so. After a couple years of working on the top secret ‘Manhattan Project’, the U.S. had created the atomic bomb. The first bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. The Japanese did not surrender until the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th. -
The War at Home – The West
During the Second World War, many factories were dedicated to producing strictly war materials. Women began to work as welders, drillers, and machine operators; these women were given the nickname ‘Rosie the Riveter’. These factories had huge output and supplied the military. Now that people finally had more of an income, the government increased income taxes to produce higher revenue. Rations were made and wages were frozen to prevent inflation. -
Change in Canada – A New Economy
The Canadian government started controlling wages so that striking could no longer be effective and in 1944 Canadians gained the right to join a union. The wartime government had been involved in most Canadian’s lives and they wanted that to continue. King had promised no conscription in Canada so he created the National Resources Act, giving him access to the nations resources. -
War Crimes – The Master Race
Through the 1930’s on to the end of the war, people around the world committed atrocities against their fellow man. The most well-known and highly controversial of these was the Holocaust, where Hitler and his most highly ranked Nazi officials orchestrated the extermination of the Jews and other “undesirables”. They were branded, taken from their homes, starved in concentration camps, and burned alive. Less well known was the hardships people were put through by the Japanese.
