Transcript Canada’s Involvement During World War Two

World War II
Canada’s Role
Introduction
• Canada’s population was 11.5 million in 1939
• One in Ten Canadians would serve in the
military during World War Two
• Millions more Canadians contributed to the
war effort on the home front
Major Grievances After WWI
• Reparations
– The Treaty of Versailles mandated that
Germany owed $33 billion to Britain and
France which it could not pay.
• Territorial losses
– There was a desire by Germany, Italy, and the USSR to
regain lost territory resulting from the Treaty of Versailles.
• Economic Collapse
– The economies of Europe were devastated by the war.
The Great Depression only made things worse. It led the
people of Germany and Italy to begin to support radical
groups.
Franco and Mussolini
• Mussolini invaded
Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in
1935.
• The League of Nations
wanted to impose
sanctions but King said
“no!”
• The Spanish Civil War
erupted in 1936-39.
Canada’s policy was not
to stand up to either one
of these Fascist dictators
(Franco, Mussolini)
Benito Mussolini and
his fascists black shirts
took power in 1922
Franciso Franco
Norman Bethune
• Dr. Norman Bethune
did get involved in
the Spanish Civil War
to “stop the fascists
of Franco”.
• He aided the
Communists in this
war and would later
become famous for
inventing blood
transfusions.
• He later got involved
in China during WW2
Famous Canadian Doctor, Dr. Norman
Bethune did get involved
Who was Time Magazine “Man
of the Year” for 1938?
Canada’s Initial Role
• Canadian Prime
Minister MacKenzie
King was
“Isolationist”.
• He didn’t want
Canada to get
involved in the wars
of Europe during the
late 1930s
• Adolf Hitler brought the Nazi
party into power slowly and
democratically by 1933
• March 1939: Hitler took over Czechoslovakia
• August 23, 1939: Nazi-Soviet NonAggression Pact Signed
• September 1, 1939: Germany invades
Poland
– Britain and France deliver an ultimatum
• September 3, 1939: Great Britain and France
declare war on Germany
• September 10, 1939: Canada joins the war
1939
Germany invades Poland
• German tanks rolled across the Polish border
early on September 1, 1939.
• At 9:00 am on September 3rd, Britain's
ambassador to Germany delivered an
ultimatum stating that if hostilities did not stop
by 11 am, a state of war would exist between
Great Britain and Germany.
• Germany did not respond and at 11:15 on the
morning of September 3, 1939 Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain went on the radio to
announce to the British people that they were
at war with Germany.
German Troops march into
Warsaw, Poland
The Blitz over Poland 1939
Canada Enters the War in Germany
• For the first time Canada had the ability to
decide for themselves whether they would
enter the war or not.
• King called a special session of parliament to
“decide” Canada’s position in response to
Britain’s declaration of war.
• King’s proclamation was easily passed
through the House of Commons. George VI
signed it on September 10, 1939 … Canada
was officially at war with Germany one week
after Britain.
The House of Commons on September 7, 1939, the first day of the special
session in which Canada's Parliament decided to declare war on Germany.
The Axis and the Allies
The Allies
• Great Britain
(Australia, New
Zealand, and South
Africa too)
• France
• Canada
• China
• Russia
• The United States
(After 1941)
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
American President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
And Russian President Joseph Stalin
The Axis and the Allies
The Axis Powers:
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan
Italian Leader Mussolini with
German leader Adolf Hitler
Emperor Hirohito of Japan
British Commonwealth Air
Training Plan
• The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
was set up by the British Air Ministry, following
an agreement signed by participating countries
in December 1939.
• It provided 50,000 trained aircrew a year, for as
long as it was necessary.
• The United Kingdom was not an ideal location
for air training
– Due to the closeness of the front
– Canada had fuel, wide open spaces suitable for
navigation, industrial facilities for the production of
trainer aircraft, parts and supplies
– There was a lack of any real threat from German or
Japanese fighter planes in Canadian airspace
• Over 167,000 students, including 50,000 pilots,
trained in Canada under the program from May
1940 to March 1945.
– 131,553 of the graduates were Canadians.
• At the peak of the plan’s operation, 94 schools
were operating in 231 sites across Canada.
• Prime Minister King supported this plan as a
way of keeping large numbers of Canadians at
home and avoiding the need to raise large
numbers of forces, which would have lead to
conscription.
At War!
• In 1940, within the first
four weeks of action,
Hitler’s modern army
crushed Polish defenses.
Next Germany overran
Denmark, Norway,
Belgium, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands.
Soon, Hitler turned his
attention to France.
Blitzkrieg Attack (Lightening)
Evacuation of Dunkirk
• German forces had advanced across Europe and
trapped the British forces in a tiny area around the
French port of Dunkirk.
• British forces found themselves stranded without
shelter or supplies. So they launched Operation
Dynamo to evacuate the troops.
– Vice Admiral Ramsay organized as many ships (tug
boats, barges, lifeboats and navy destroyers) to evacuate
the troops.
– 850 vessels took place in the evacuation, 235 boats were
sunk.
• 68,000 troops were lost, but 1/3 of a million men
were evacuated.