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Canadian History XI
START OF WWII, WHY CANADA ENTERED
THE WAR? CONTRIBUTIONS
Start of WWII
 Because of widespread unrest, the period between
WWI and WWII has often been called the “long
armistice”
Blitzkrieg
 German new method of fighting was the
blitzkrieg (lightning war).
 It was a sudden, swift, overpowering attack
that used airplanes to bomb cities and to
machine gun soldiers and civilians.
 Blitzkrieg tactics made Germany successful
because they caught other nations off guard .
 Within a week, they conquered Poland.
 Poland was divided between Germany and
the Soviet Union.
 Hitler’s army advances on Denmark (1 day),
Norway (2 days), the Netherlands (5 days),
Belgium (18 days), and Luxembourg.
Clip on the Blitzkrieg
Germany Defeats France
 1930-34 France was building the Maginot
Line in the eastern border.
 France’s line of defense
 Germany bypassed the Maginot Line from
the north while Italy invaded southern
France.
 Nazi forces would occupy most of France
 Germany controlled France’s resources and
factories
 Some French leaders left for England and
created “Free French” government.
 After this Canada became Britain’s main ally.
Entering the War
 Canada entered the war in September 10th 1939
 Seven days after Britain and France declared war on
Germany
 So why do you think Canada entered WWII?
Alliances
 Two blocks: the Axis and the Allies.
 The three major Axis powers were, Germany, Italy, and
Japan.
 Among the Allied powers, the "Big Three" were the United
Kingdom, from September 1939, the Soviet Union, from
June 1941, and the United States, from December 1941.
 The British Commonwealth, Poland, France, Belgium,
China, Norway, and the Netherlands were also counted to
the Allied.
Home Front
 By 1945, Canada had become
one of the world’s foremost
industrial nations.
 Government sold Victory
Bonds and increased income
taxes to help pay for the war.
 These paid for 2/3rd of the cost
of the war.
Home Front
 Canadian government avoided inflation by, controlling wage
and price controls

(government restrictions placed on wages paid to workers and
prices charged for goods and services.)
 They were given rations books.
 Children collected paper, metal, rags, rubber and bones. All
these things could be recycled into war materials.


Gasoline and food was rationed.
The use of metal and rubber was restricted.
 They had contests to see who could make the biggest ball out
of aluminum foil.
 Women made up the workforce.
Home Front: Women
 Women in War
Nurses,
 flying airplanes,
 driving vehicles,
 running communication equipment and performing
administrative support work
 Women were recruited for all branches (45000 enlist)

Women during WWII
 Women were increasingly occupying more and
more jobs that were traditionally done by men.

Social change
 Jobs that women occupied:
 In the home
 In the field (maintaining crop and livestock)
 Factories



Producing aircraft
Ammunition
Weapons
 Women worked long hours and could earn as
much as 40 shillings (£2.00) a week.


Good wage in the 1940s
Less than male wages for the same job.
Canadian Enlistment
Women
Men
ARMY
21 624
AIR FORCE
17 018
Army
730 625
RCAF
249 624
NAVY
6 781
4 518
RCN
106 522
MEDICAL
SERVICES
TOTAL
1 086 771
DOCTORS
58
Diversity in the War
 Canadian Battalions were no longer
segregated during WWII.
 Natives had to get permission of the
Dept. of Indian Affairs, as they were
not citizens.
 They had to give up their status as
registered Indians
Canadian Services: Army, Navy & Air force
 Three Canadian Services:
 The
Army
 The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)
 The Royal Canadian Air Force
(RCAF)
 In 1939 Canada’s navy, and air force
was the 4th largest in the world.
Canadian Navy and Merchant Marine
 Naval Service of Canada founded in
1910


It was given royal sanction in 1911.
RCN was placed under the Department of
National Defense in 1923.
 During WWII the RCN had 11 combat
vessels, 145 officers and 1,674 men.


From there the RCN expanded significantly
Gained responsibility for the entire Northwest
Atlantic
 By the end of the war, the RCN had become
the 4th largest allied navy in the world.
Canadian Air Force
 The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Agreement,
October 10, 1939
 RCAF Training Plan – trained men throughout the
Commonwealth

(200 sites across Canada)
 Canada "airdrome of democracy."
 Significance of BCATP: furnished air training fields,
uniform system of training and laid the basis for the
pooling of Commonwealth air power.
 The Lancaster Bomber was the largest four-engine plane
flown by the RCAF.

During the war 7,374 were made and many of them in Canada.
Propaganda
 Since Canada was physically and
psychologically unprepared for WWII
 Inadequate military preparations were
matched by a psychological reticence.
 Aware of the situation in Europe, Canadians
hoped that the crisis could be averted.
 How could the Canadian Government gain the
support of the it people for WWII?
Propaganda
 Wartime Information Board (WIB),
undertook an extensive propaganda
campaign "to dampen cynicism" to gain
support.
 Posters were an essential element in this
program, because they were relatively
inexpensive to produce; they could be
created, printed and distributed quickly ;
and they had sustained exposure.
Analysis of the Propaganda Tactics
 Poster artists stated that, successful posters made this shorthand
graphic through "vigorous composition, eloquent color, an
unambiguous theme [and] impassioned execution," and in that
way they communicated complex, highly emotional messages "in
the blink of an eye."
 The powerful messages they transmitted tend to be instantly
internalized rather than analyzed. Because of this, the posters
had a strikingly immediate impact on people‘s values, attitudes
and aspirations.