Unit V: Canada and the Second World War Lead- up to War -
The immediate cause of the Second World War was Germany’s invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, but the underlying causes of the war began years before.
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The underlying causes of the Second World War can be attributed to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Fascism, failure of the League of Nations & the policy of appeasement.
The League of Nations -
The League of Nations was founded in 1919 by the victors of the First World War.
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The League had many aims, including the improvement of world health & of living & working conditions.
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Its main purpose, however, was to help make the First World War truly, “the war to end all wars”, by bringing about permanent world peace.
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This peace would be maintained through collective security.
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Collective security meant that if one member was threatened with armed conflict, the others were committed to come to its aid- preferably by discussion & diplomacy rather than by the use of force.
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The League had little chance of success however.
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It had no power of its own, except the strength of its members.
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When President Woodrow Wilson was unable to persuade the United States to join the League, the organization was left without any real power.
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The American Congress opposed Article X because it would involve the United States in other nation’s wars.
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This article bound League members, “to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all members”.
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The powerful nations of Europe, including France & Britain, also gave little support to the League as they pursued their own place in world leadership.
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Canada had joined the League as a separate nation, independent of Great Britain.
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Canada’s support for the League was also weak.
The Treaty of Versailles -
The Treaty of Versailles officially ended hostilities between the Allies & the Central Powers at the end of the First World War in 1919.
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The peace terms were designed to weaken Germany so that it could not wage war again.
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The Allies also decided that Germany should make Reparation payments- payments for the damage that had been done.
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The Treaty demanded that Germany accept total blame for the war (war guilt clause), give up its weapons, ships & railroads, give back all the lands it had conquered, pay $33 million in damages & allow Allied troops to be stationed on its territory.
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The Treaty prompted resentment amongst the German people & induced grievances to which German chancellor/ Dictator Adolf Hitler would appeal.
The Rise of Fascism
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The National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi party) won the 1932 election in Germany, and early in 1933, the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, became chancellor of Germany.
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Hitler came to power based on a commitment to regain Germany’s honor lost in the Versailles Treaty & to gain Lebensraum (living space) for the German people.
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His plan was to expand outward until the world powers tried to stop him.
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Fascism is a political ideology originated by Benito Mussolini, who became the dictator of Italy in 1922.
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Fascism is characterized by a strong central government, usually headed by a dictator.
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The government completely controls political parties, industry & labor< cultural, religious & social activities, & other features of national life.
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All opposition is suppressed.
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Fascist regimes are also usually marked by extreme nationalism, militarism & the persecution of minorities & Communists.
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The Italian Fascist movement focused on creating a war machine capable of building a new Italian empire.
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The focus of Fascism in Germany was on Lebensraum ( living space) & anti- Semitismextreme prejudice & discrimination, in this case specifically, the hatred of Jews.
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Hitler & the Nazi party used the Jewish people as a scapegoat- people to blame the country’s problems on- blaming the country’s unstable economic situation on them.
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The Nuremberg Laws were passed in 1935, which stripped Jews of their German citizenship, their right to vote & removed them from many jobs.
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In 1938- 39 these laws were extended to the European countries that Nazi Germany occupied.
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Jews were forced to leave their homes & live in segregated areas of cities- ghettos.
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Then in 1941, Hitler & other Nazi leaders decided on the “final solution” to the “Jewish problem”- extermination.
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As part of the final solution Jews from German occupied Europe were rounded up & sent to concentration camps.
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Many of these camps were nothing more than death camps where Jews were killed in gas chambers or through other means.
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Although Hitler also targeted Communists, Slavs, Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals & the mentally challenged, Jews were the primary target.
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The attempt to destroy the Jewish race became known as the Holocaust.
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Also, Hitler appealed to German nationalism by pointing to the harsh treatment of Germany at Versailles & promising a new German empire, the Third Reich, which he said would last 1,000 years.
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He restored German pride & prestige by rebuilding the army in direct defiance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
Appeasement -
Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain, favored a policy of appeasement, which meant satisfying Hitler’s demands.
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He believed Hitler to be a reasonable man who would stick to the agreements he made.
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Canadian Prime Minister King also supported appeasement.
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He felt the treatment of Germany after the First World War had been too harsh & that Hitler was merely trying to ease some of the discontent caused by the Versailles Treaty.
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Fear of war, & a belief that Hitler’s appetite for land could be satisfied, led Neville Chamberlain to meet with Hitler in 1938.
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At a meeting in Munich, Germany, in September of that year, Chamberlain agreed to the German occupation of Sudetenland (the German- speaking part of Czechoslovakia) if Hitler agreed to leave the rest of that country free.
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Hitler also ordered troops into Austria in 1938 & successfully annexed Austria to Germany.
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Most people in Great Britain & Canada, who were desperately hoping to avoid another world war, supported the Munich Pact, but its success was short lived.
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Hitler soon signed a non- aggression treaty with the Soviet Union, removing the threat of war in the east & after invading the remainder of Czechoslovakia he invaded Poland on 1 September, 1939.
Canada’s Contribution Military Contribution -
On September 1, 1939, Hitler unleashed a massive air & land attack on Poland.
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Britain & France immediately declared war on Germany.
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Unlike the First World War, Canada was not directly bound by British actions & was not automatically at war.
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Many Canadians still felt strong ties to Britain however & many also felt that German aggression must be stopped.
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When the passenger ship Athenia, carrying more than 500 Canadians was sunk by German u- boats on 3, September, 1939, anti- German feeling reached a fever pitch.
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Prime Minister King announced Canada’s entry into the war on 10, September, 1939.
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The announcement was supported by all but one member of Parliament as well as leaders in Quebec, who supported entry into the war on King’s promise that conscription would never be enacted by the government.
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As the horrors of the First World War lingered in the minds of Canadians, few displayed excitement & few expected a short war.
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Few however realized that the new conflict would be even longer & more costly than the First World War.
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New Technological advancements, such as fighter & bomber aircraft as well as improved tanks, artillery & guns changed the nature of the Second World War.
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This made things much more dangerous for civilian populations & made the Second World War even more devastating than the First.
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In September 1939, Canada was ill- prepared to fight a war.
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The army totaled only 4,000 regular troops & 60, 000 part- time soldiers in the militia.
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The navy had about 3,000 sailors & the Royal Canadian Air Force had 4,000 members.
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Recruiting began quickly.
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In December 1939, the first Canadian troops reached Britain.
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Only a few Canadian troops were engaged in battle before 1942 as most were stationed in Britain, undergoing training & preparing to fight off the expected German invasion.
The Dieppe Raid
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Although the Allied command was unwilling to respond to Soviet demands for an all- out attack on the western front in Europe in 1942 they did respond with an attack on German fortifications at Dieppe, on the French coast.
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In the early morning on 19 August, 1942, a force of 6,000 soldiers, made up primarily of Canadian troops, supported by both the British & Americans, launched an attack on the beaches at Dieppe.
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Very little went right for the allies & of the 5,000 Canadians involved in the attack, 1400 were killed or wounded & nearly 2,000 were taken prisoner.
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More Canadians died in the few hours at Dieppe than on any other day of the war.
The Italian Campaign -
In 1943 Allied forces landed in Sicily & began the long march through Italy.
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The Canadian First Division landed with the Eighth British Army in the invasion of the Italian island of Sicily.
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They then moved into the peninsula of Italy.
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The Canadian forces pushed northward with little resistance until they arrived at Ortona on the Adriatic Sea.
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At Ortona, the German army took a stand & bloody fighting occurred throughout the month of December 1943.
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The German’s were finally driven back when the Canadians succeeded in breaking through the Adolf Hitler line, the last German defensive front before Rome.
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The Canadians continued north & smashed the last line of defense in northern Italy, the Gothic line, in the fall of 1944.
Operation Overlord: D- day, The Invasion of Normandy -
On 6 June, 1944, “operation overlord”, the great Allied invasion of German held Europe began.
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The plan was to use an aerial bombardment to knock out German tanks, gun batteries, & air bases.
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Then the landing could occur along the 80 kilometers of Normandy beach.
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American forces assaulted the west end of the beach while British & Canadian troops landed in the east.
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A combined force of 15,000 Canadian & 9,000 British troops was assigned the target of Juno beach, which consisted of 8 kilometers of coastline.
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The plan was not a complete success.
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German gun positions were not knocked out by the bombing & were able to pour artillery fire on to the beaches where Allied forces were unprotected.
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Canadians suffered 1,074 casualties, including 359 dead, on D- day.
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The landing was completed, however, & the invasion was largely considered a success.
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The Allies had a foothold in Europe & began the long campaign to push back the German armies.
From D- day to the Liberation of the Netherlands -
After D- day, the Canadian troops distinguished themselves in a year of long, hard fighting against some of Hitler’s crack divisions.
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The Canadian Third Division was assigned the task of capturing Caen, France.
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Over 1,000 soldiers were killed achieving this objective.
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The Third Division continued to move inland to Falaise.
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The through the winter of 1944- 45, the division moved northward to clear German resistance out of parts such as Dieppe & Calais.
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In the Scheldt estuary, Canadian troops played a major role in freeing this important entrance to Europe from enemy forces.
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By March of 1945, Canadian forces had moved through Belgium & pushed German troops in the Netherlands back across the Rhine river.
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Allied victory came in May 1945.
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It was the Canadian command who accepted the surrender of the Nazi forces in the Netherlands.
Canadian Involvement around the World -
Although the majority of Canadian troops fought in Europe, Canadians also played a variety of other important roles in the war in other parts of the world.
The Defense of Hong Kong -
Canadians fought their first engagement of the Second World War defending the British island colony of Hong Kong.
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After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the British decided that a strong force in Hong Kong might deter Japan from attacking the island.
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Canada was asked to supply troops to support the British and Indian forces in Hong Kong.
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In October 1941, two barely trained battalions, the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers, sailed from Vancouver.
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The Canadian force totaled 1975 troops.
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With a force of only 14,000 British, Canadian & Indian soldiers, defending Hong Kong was an impossible task.
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Nevertheless, the vastly outnumbered Allied troops held out against the Japanese invaders from the 8th to the 22nd of December, when supplies & ammunition ran out.
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The Allies were forced to surrender.
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The cost of the defense of Hong Kong was high for the Canadian battalions, 290 were killed & another 500 wounded.
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The cost was to grow even higher, for the Canadian prisoners of war lived in terrible conditions.
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By the end of the war another 260 had died.
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Over one- quarter of the Canadians who has been sent to Hong Kong did not return home.
The War at Sea -
Canada’s commitment to the war was widespread.
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At the beginning of the war the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) consisted of 13 ships & about 3,000 sailors.
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By the end of the war, it had expanded to include 370 ships & almost 100,000 personnel.
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RCN activities ranged from submarine warfare in the North Atlantic to defense of the West Coast from a feared Japanese invasion.
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Germany attempted to cut off all supplies to Britain from Canada & the United States in the hopes of starving Britain into submissions.
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The British & Canadian navies became committed to ending the Germany submarine threat.
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In the first years of the war, German submarines, hunting in teams called “wolfpacks”, were highly successful in sinking slow moving merchant ships that were carrying essential supplies to Britain.
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These u- boats were active in domestic waters as well.
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In 1942, they sank the Caribou, a Nova- Scotia- Newfoundland passenger ferry, with the loss of 136 lives.
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The Germans quickly gained control of the Atlantic & were sinking ships faster than they could be built.
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The answer to the u- boat attacks was to send merchant ships in Convoy with Canadian warships.
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These convoys were met in the mid- Atlantic by British convoys that would escort the ships the rest of the way to Britain.
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In 1941, Newfoundland became the center of the Atlantic force & the Newfoundland Escort Force was founded.
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The RCN corvettes provided much of the protection in these convoys.
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Unfortunately, Canadian shipbuilders could not produce these corvettes fast enough as even larger “Wolfpacks” continued hunting in the waters off Newfoundland & across the Atlantic routes.
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In November 1942, the Germans scored a huge success, sinking 15 ships of a 42- ship convoy & damaging others.
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Despite the German victory however, the tide began to turn in the Allies favor.
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The British provided more destroyers, a larger class of escort ship) to protect the convoys.
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In order to better protect the convoys improvements were made.
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The training that escort crews received was improved & the small corvettes were refitted with better anti- submarine weapons, which improved the escort protection for the convoys.
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More ships were also added to the escort fleet & the crews were given time to rest & recuperate in between missions.
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Finally, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was provided with long- range bombers that could cover the convoys until they reached British airspace.
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By 1944- 45 the “Wolfpacks” were far less effective.
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They suffered heavy damage from depth charges dropped by Allied ships & bombs dropped from Allied planes.
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The importance of the RCN’s role in keeping shipping routes open cannot be understated.
The War in the Air -
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) began the war as a small force of 4,000 in 1939 but grew quickly.
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By the end of the war, almost 250,000 men & women served in the RCAF.
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Also, individual Canadians served in Britain’s air force, the Royal Air Force (RAF), during the battle of Britain.
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Approximately 86,000 Canadians passed through the British Commonwealth Training Plan & many pilots remained in the RAF for the duration of the war.
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As late as 1944, six out of every 10 Canadian pilots served in the RAF rather than the RCAF.
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The largest Canadian involvement was in bomber command.
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Germany had angered the Allies by bombing British cities during the Battle of Britain as well as during frequent bombing raids thereafter.
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The Allies responded in kind, bombing German cities in relentless day & night attacks.
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Although the official position emphasized that military targets were the primary objective, the truth was that the bombing inflicted terrible civilian damage.
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More than 1 million German civilians were either killed or wounded.
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Canadian fighter pilots helped protect/ escort bombers on their way to targets deep inside German territory.
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Canadian bombers helped support the invasion of Europe & also engaged in bombing German cities toward the end of the war.
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The Canadian bomber group became known for both its accuracy & its low casualty rate.
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Ferry Command
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Britain, Canada & the United States co- operated to fly nearly 10,000 airplanes from North America to Britain.
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Gander & Goose Bay were developed as the jumping- off points for the dangerous nonstop trans- Atlantic flights.
Women at War An Expanding Role for Women
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Canadian women had played a valuable role as nurses & teachers in the South African War & a much broader role in the First World War.
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In the Second World War, their role expanded even further.
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At the beginning of the war many women volunteered for military service but authorities were slow to accept them.
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By 1941- 42 however women’s branches of the army, air force & navy were created for the first time in Canadian history.
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Between 1941 & 1945, more than 46,000 women served overseas in a variety of traditional & non- traditional military roles, such as cooks, nurses, mechanics, welders & radio operators.
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Some women were assigned to coastal defense & some even flew planes across the Atlantic in Ferry Command.
Black & Aboriginal Canadians -
Black & Aboriginal soldiers served in all the major campaigns of the war.
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When the war broke out, there was some prejudice against black Canadians in recruiting practices.
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As the war progressed, however, blacks Canadians were accepted into all branches of the armed forces.
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They served both in the ranks & as officers.
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The atmosphere was positive enough that some black Americans volunteered to fight in the Canadian rather than in the American Armed Forces.
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Because Aboriginals were not considered citizens of Canada, many Aboriginal volunteers had to get permission from the Department of Indian Affairs to enlist.
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In order to gain this permission, however, Aboriginal peoples had to give up their status as registered Indians.
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This meant that in order to serve Canada, they had to give up their Native identity.
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Nevertheless, more than 3,000 Aboriginal soldiers fought in the Canadian Army.
Social, Political & Economic Issues on the Home Front Support for the War Effort Canadian Women on the Home Front -
The Need for a larger labor force increased as factories began to operate seven days a week, with 12 hour days being the norm.
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As men left vital jobs to go off to war, there was a dramatic increase in the number of women in the workforce.
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In 1942, the federal government established the National Selective Service (NSS) to recruit as many women as possible for wartime work.
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At first the NSS recruited only un- married women between the ages of 20 & 24.
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By 1943 however all women were being encouraged to do their “patriotic duty”.
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Quebec & Ontario provided daycare for some mothers so that they could work & the federal government provided some tax breaks for women.
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Young women from cities & small towns left to work in factories while others poured into industrial centers.
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By 1944, the number of women in the work force had grown to over 1 million.
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Women also played an important role in working side by side with the men who had remained on farms to produce food for the war effort.
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Their contribution was evident as Canada shipped 90 million bushels of wheat to Europe in 1942 alone.
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As in the First World War, women volunteers operated service clubs & canteens for military personnel, wrapped parcels for prisoners of war & knit socks & sweaters for troops overseas.
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They also raised money for victory bonds, which helped finance the cost of war & ran homes & farms.
War Effort Production -
During the Second World War Canadian people, industry & resources were focused on maintaining the flow of weapons & supplies to Britain.
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Canadian factories created bombs & bullets, while shipyards & aircraft factories expanded their operations.
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In 1942, the automotive industry also converted to the war effort.
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The production of sleek luxury cars & family sedans was replaced by the production of bren- gun carriers & armored cars.
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The federal government played a key role in co- coordinating war production & planning the total war effort.
The War Measures Act -
The King government revived the War Measures Act of 1914, which gave it enormous powers over the people & industries of Canada.
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For example, C.D. Howe, minister of the Department of Munitions & Supply, had wide powers to plan & direct the allocation of resources & the production of necessary goods.
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There were 28 Crown corporations producing munitions, airplanes, uniforms, synthetic rubber & various other essential war products.
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The government had the power to assign workers to jobs in these industries as the need arose.
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Certain products were rationed during the war & strikes & lockouts were replaced with compulsory arbitration.
Propaganda -
The federal government also launched a propaganda campaign to encourage Canadians at home to support the war effort.
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The National Film Board (NFB) was particularly important to the government’s efforts.
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The NFB turned out hundreds of documentaries & short films designed to encourage Canadians to participate in the war effort.
The Treatment of Minority Groups Japanese Canadians -
A group that suffered significantly in Canada during the Second World War was the Japanese Canadians.
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After Japan attacked Pearl harbor in 1941, Canadians feared an attack on Canada’s West Coast, either by naval shelling or an actual invasion.
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Anti- Japanese feeling grew quickly.
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It was especially strong on the west coast where the danger seemed greatest & where there was a long history of anti- Asian discrimination.
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Some people feared that Japanese Canadians would help the invaders, although there was scanty evidence to cast doubt upon the loyalty of Japanese Canadians to Canada.
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The fear of espionage (spying) within the country led to the arrest, with no legal basis, of 38 Japanese Canadians as subversives, or spies.
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At first, the federal government resisted calls to intern Japanese Canadians.
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In February 1942, however, the government announced that all people of Japanese ancestry living within 62 kilometers of the coast of British Columbia would be moved inland.
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It did not matter how long people had lived in Canada or whether they were Canadian citizens.
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Approximately 16,000 of the 21,000 evacuated Japanese Canadians were Canadian citizens by birth or by choice.
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Japanese Canadian businesses & homes were seized with little or no restitution & people were sent to internment camps.
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Some were sent to abandoned mining towns in the interior of B.C. or sent to the prairies or Ontario to work as farm laborers.
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They were not allowed to take many possessions with them & fathers were often separated from the remainder of their families.
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Finally, Japanese Canadians continued to be denied the right to vote until 1949.
Other Minority Groups -
Although Japanese Canadians received the harshest treatment during the Second World War in Canada several other groups were subjected to discrimination.
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Jehovah Witness- Resented by the Roman Catholic church, Quebec.
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In order to maintain the support of the Roman Catholic Church & Quebec King outlawed the organization & seized its meeting halls & property.
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Other religious groups that were subjected to prejudice & discrimination were the Hutterites, Mennonites & Doukhobors, who had immigrated to Canada to avoid involvement in warfare.
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These groups practiced pacifism during the war & often met with hostility from other Canadians.
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Black Canadians were discriminated against.
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Until 1942 the government ignored employers’ restrictions on hiring Blacks.
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After protests from Black university students & a campaign by the press & the Canadian Jewish Congress, this practiced ended.
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Prejudice was also evident with regard to refugees.
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In the late 1930’s Britain had specifically asked Canada to accept Jewish Germans & Austrians attempting to flee Nazism.
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Canada made it difficult for Jewish refugees to enter Canada before the war.
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Even as news of concentration & death camps began to reach Canada, there was no initial change in government policy or in the attitudes of the immigrant branch.
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Many of the few immigrants who managed to gain access to Canada were placed in internment camps during the war.
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Also, the Communist part was outlawed in Canada during the Second World War as well as Canada’s Nazi party.
The Conscription Crisis
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When the Second World War started, Prime Minister King was determined that the war would not divide French & English Canadians as the First World War had done.
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In 1939, he made an election promise that he would not introduce conscription for overseas service.
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The following year, King’s government passed the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA), which included conscription for home defense only.
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Young men were called up for 30 days of training.
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Later, the terms were extended to four months & then in April 1941, for the duration of the war.
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There was a clear separation between the regular volunteer army & the NRMA soldiers or “zombies” as they came to be called (after the living dead in Hollywood horror films).
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French Canadians, prepared to defend their Canadian homeland, made up about 37 percent of the NRMA forces.
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Francophone's also made up 19 percent of volunteers for the regular army (compared to 12 percent in the First World War).
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In 1942, in the face of growing casualties overseas, the need for reinforcements grew.
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King held a plebiscite, a vote, asking Canadians to release him from his promise of not conscripting for service overseas.
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Many Quebeckers saw this request as a betrayal
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The Plebiscite results mirrored the attitudes of the 1917 conscription crisis.
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The majority of Canadians (64 %) generally supported the idea of compulsory overseas military service.
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However, 79 % of English Canadians voted yes, while 85 % of French Canadians voted no.
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Once again, there were serious divisions between French & English in Canada.
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King surveyed the reaction to the Plebiscite results & decided on a cautious approach.
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His government passed legislation allowing for overseas deployment of conscripts, but only if it became essential.
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To the dismay of some of his cabinet, he would not immediately send NRMA troops overseas.
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By 1944, Allied victories were beginning to turn the tide of war, & Canadian soldiers were playing a key role in the liberation of France & the rest of Europe.
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Yet the victories were hard won & Canadian casualties mounted.
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The Minister of National Defense visited the battlefields in September 1944 & told King that conscripts must be sent.
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Fearful of political defeat & national division, King desperately tried to find another option.
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In early November, he replaced the Minister.
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King ordered the new Minister to find the necessary overseas volunteers from among the 68,000 NRMA home defense troops.
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Unfortunately, the Minister failed.
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Finally, late in 1944, King’s government authorized the army to order 16,000 of the home defense soldiers to the battlefields.
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This decision sparked protests, sometimes violent, across Canada.
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Wartime censorship, however, kept the news of these protests from most Canadians.
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NRMA soldiers rebelled against their officers in Terrace, British Columbia & London, Ontario.
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In Drummond, Quebec, a riot involving 2,000 civilians took place.
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In the end, overseas conscription was a failure.
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About 13,000 conscripts were sent overseas but only 2,400 reached the front lines.
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Despite unhappiness with the Plebiscite & the decision to send troops overseas, the reaction in French Canada was not as serious as many had feared.
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One reason was that the leading French Canadian in King’s cabinet, Louis St. Laurent, supported the government’s decision.
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However, Maurice Duplesis won the Quebec provincial election in 1944 largely on the conscription issue.
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Interestingly, in the federal election of 1945, however, the Liberals won 125 seats, almost one- half of them in Quebec.
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Canada emerged from the Second World War far more united than it had from the First World War.
Paying for the War -
The war had cost Canada $18 billion dollars & created a debt of more than $10 billion dollars.
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Yet new industries had developed during the war, making Canada an important industrial nation.
