Transcript World War 2 – Things I Know

Before WWII
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During the Great Depression, Hitler promised
to create jobs and rebuild Germany. Hitler
won the election, but he did not receive a
majority.
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In January 1933, Hitler was established as
Chancellor. He immediately dissolved
Parliament and called a new election. Hitler
purposely started a fire in the German
parliament building and blamed the
Communists. He declared a State of
Emergency to fight the “Communist terrorists”,
but in reality, he gained greater control of the
government.
He enacted the Enabling Act that gave Hitler
power to make new laws. One of his actions
was to ban other political parties.
Before WWII
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Using his secret police (Gestapo and SS), Hitler killed
his political foes.
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On 2 August 1934, the German President died. Hitler
combine the roles of President and Chancellor. Hitler
was the Fuhrer.
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Hitler required the army to take an oath of loyalty to
him…not the country.
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Hitler made German a police state.
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In 1934, he was invited to invade Austria.
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In 1936, Germany, Japan and Italy signed a military
pact. Later, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria joined.
This is the Axis Powers.
Hitler began a program of suppression of Jews. On 9
November 1938, Jews throughout Germany were
attacked and their businesses ransacked. This is
called the “Night of Broken Glass.” This is the start of
Hitler’s Final Solution
Before WWII
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Hitler invaded the Sudentenland of
Czechoslovakia in 1938 under the guise
many people in the region wanted to be part
of Germany. Britain and France agreed to
the takeover in an act of appeasement.
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In 1938, Hitler is made Time magazine’s
“Man of the Year.”
In August 1939, Germany signs a NonAggression Pact with the Soviet Union. The
two nations agreed not to fight each other
and divide Poland.
In September 1939, Hitler demanded land
given to Poland under the WWI Treaty of
Versailles be returned to Germany. Poland
refused and Germany invaded Poland.
WWII begins
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In September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland.
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On 3 September 1939, Great Britain
declared war on Germany
To demonstrate its independence on
foreign policy decision making, Canada
delayed its decision for one week. Canada
declared war on Germany on 10
September 1939.
As in WWI, the war was strongly supported
in English-Canada, but opposed in FrenchCanada.
Conscription Crisis
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Prime Minister Mackenzie King promised
not to use conscription to force people to
join the army.
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In 1940, King introduced conscription for
home service only (i.e., non-fighting
roles).
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In 1942, Canada needed more soldiers.
King asked voters to let him use
conscription. French-Canada felt
betrayed. King said, “Conscription is
necessary, but not necessarily
conscription.”
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French-Canada voted overwhelmingly
against conscription, while English-Canada
supported it. Although enacted,
conscription was not used.
Major Canadian Battles
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In April 1940, Hitler invaded France. May 1940, the
British and French troops were trapped at Dunkirk.
Over 300,000 soldiers were evacuated, but military
equipment was abandoned. France surrendered.
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In the Battle of Britain from July to October 1940,
German planes bombed England. Supported by
Canada, the Royal Air Force fought dog-fights with
the German planes. Eventually, the German attacks
stopped.
In December 1941, a small group of Canadians
fought to defend Hong Kong from the much larger
attacking Japanese army. The hand-to-hand fighting
lasted 17 days. On 25 December 1941, the
Canadians surrendered. Nearly 300 Canadians had
been killed in the fighting. The survivors were sent
to Japanese prison camps, and used as slave labour,
267 Canadians died.
Major Canadian Battles
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The Dieppe Raid occurred on 19 August 1942.
Over 5 000 participated. It was suicide. The
Canadians attacked a highly fortified beach. In
about four hours, 900 Canadians were dead,
over 1 000 wounded and 1 900 captured.
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The Battle of the Atlantic was between German
submarines and the Canadian navy. Canada was
delivering supplies to England, and the navy
protected the supply ships
On 10 July 1943, Canadian forces attacked
Sicily, and on 3 September 1943, Italy was
invaded. Fighting was house-to-house, and the
most famous battle was Ortona. In June 1944,
Rome was captured and Italy surrendered.
Major Canadian Battles
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D-Day (Normandy Invasion) was 6 June
1944. 300 000 Canadians were part of a
nearly 3 million strong attacking force.
Canada attacked Juno Beach. Although
heavily defended, Canadians won the beach
and advanced in-land.
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The Liberation of Europe took nearly one
year. Each month, 1 000 Canadians were
killed. Canadians liberated Holland, and
immediately, they began feeding the
starving Dutch people
On 7 May 1945, Germany surrendered.
This is called Victory in Europe Day (VE
Day).
Holocaust and Genocide
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The Holocaust was the systematic killing of
European Jews and other undesirables by
Hitler and the Nazi. From 1933 to 1945,
over 6 million Jews plus many homosexuals,
gypsies, Poles, Russians and mentally unfit
persons were killed. In total, 11 million
people were exterminated. In Europe, 63%
of the Jewish population was killed. In
Poland, 91% of the Jewish population was
killed. Today, very few Jews live in Poland.
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Holocaust is Hebrew for sacrifice by burning
with fire. Genocide is the systematic
extermination of a nationality or a group.
Hitler called the Holocaust “The Final
Solution”
Holocaust and Genocide
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The Holocaust had four stages: (1)
Stripping of rights and dehumanization, (2)
Separation, (3) Concentration and (4)
Extermination.
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In 1935, Stage 1 and Stage were
implemented when Hitler enacted the
Nuremberg Laws. These laws forced Jews
to carry ID cards, forced Jews to wear
identifying arm bands, removed Jews from
government jobs and allowed synagogues
to be closed.
Stage 3 Concentration occurred when
Hitler forced Jews to live in ghettos. The
ghettos were overcrowded and dirty.
Disease was rampant and food was in
short supply. The most crowded ghetto
was in Warsaw, Poland. It held 500 000
people in less than 5 km2 area.
Holocaust and Genocide
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Stage 4 Extermination was the last stage.
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Slave labour was “annihilation by work.”
Many Jews were moved into concentration camps.
In the camps, possessions were confiscated,
heads shaved, families separated, conditions
filthy, quarters cramped and food limited.
Inhuman medical experiments were performed on
many people, especially twins.
Mobile killing units (Einsatzaruppen) shot Jews
Some concentration camps became Death
Factories of Mass Extermination. Prisoners were
gassed with Zyklon B gas and burned. At the
infamous Auschwitz death camp, 8 000 people
were killed per day.
Internment of Japanese-Canadians
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In 1935, nearly 23 000 of Japanese descent lived
in Canada. Nearly 75% were born in Canada
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In 1942, Japan bombed Pearl Harbour.
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After the attack, the Canadian Government
ordered all males of Japanese descent to move to
internment camps in central British Columbia.
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Soon afterwards, Japanese-Canadians were denied
their basic citizenship rights, issued special
clothing, stripped of belongings including homes,
relocated to camps and forced into slave labour.
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In the camps, families were separated.
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Living conditions were appalling. People lived in
tents (…including the winter), grew their own
food and shared beds.
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After the war, Japanese-Canadians were forced to
leave Canada or move to Eastern Canada.
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In 1988 …43 years after WWII, Canadian Prime
Minister Brian Mulroney formally apologized for
the racist treatment.
Atomic Bomb
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The first atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Hiroshima was
largely a civilian-industrial site. Nearly 80 000
people were killed by the initial blast. Another
140 000 people died within one year of
radiation poisoning.
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The second atomic bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. Nagasaki was
military-industrial-civilian target. In the blast,
40 000+ people were killed. Another 70 000
people died within one year.
Japan surrendered unconditionally on 14
August 1945. WWII was over.
Atomic Bomb
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Dropping the atomic bomb has always been
questioned. The reasons for its use included:
• USA did not advise Japan of the destructive
capacity of the atomic bomb before dropping
it.
• Japan was militarily in retreat
• Japan was blockaded by the American navy.
Japan could not supply its army.
• Russia was about to declare war on Japan
• USA wanted revenge for the bombing of Pearl
Harbour
• USA wanted to end the war quickly
• USA projected (…falsely…) that 500 000
more American lives would be lost if an
invasion was needed
• USA demanded Japan unconditionally, but
USA did not mention its atomic bomb in its
demands. Japan refused the demand because
it feared loss of its god-like Emperor.
After WWII
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Employment – During the war, there was no
unemployment. The post-war period was a
time of economic expansion
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United Nations United Nations (UN) –
Formed in 1945, the UN was established to
ensure world peace. Canada removed its
isolationism policy and became an active
UN member as a Middle Power
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights –
Declared in 1948, the Universal Declaration
establishes the basic rights of every person.
Rights include freedom from persecution,
right to shelter and life and freedom of
thought. The Declaration is not legally
binding.
After WWII
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Role of Women – Elsie MacGill was appointed to
manage the building of the Hawker Hurricane. The
words “first woman” is synonymous with MacGill
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Social Programs and returning soldiers – Many
government-led social programs were introduced
including Family Allowance and Employment Insurance.
Veterans were provided support including free
university tuition, health care and housing.
Income Tax -- The temporary tax was used to fund the
war efforts. It was not removed and still exists today
Refugees – After the Holocaust, Canada became a
more active defender of human rights and adopted a
more “open door” policy towards refugees. NOTE: The
policy was still very discriminatory
Spies – A Soviet spy ring was discovered in Canada,
USA and Great Britain when a Soviet embassy worked
defected. This is called the Goushenko Affair.