Transcript War on the Home Front

War on the Home Front
Life During WW2
Total War
By 1942, Canada was committed to a
policy of “total war”: all industries,
materials, and people were put to work
for the war effort.
The war affected everyone in Canada
The Battle of Hong Kong
•
On Dec. 8, 1941, Japan
launched its attack on
Hong Kong.
•
Their air force destroyed
docks, military barracks,
airplanes etc.
•
Churchill had asked
Canada to send troops
to help
HONG KONG
•
Every Canadian soldier
in HK was killed or taken
prisoner.
•
The battle was
considered a "death
trap”
•
Dec. 19, 1941- Japanese
soldiers attacked.
Canadians were
outnumbered 10 to 1.
HONG KONG-Why did they Fail?
•
More than 50 000 Japanese
soldiers were stationed 50 km
from Hong Kong
•
The Japanese were wellequipped and experienced
•
Plans for the Japanese attack
had been drafted 1 yr. earliercode name was Hana-Saku
—"flowers in bloom”
•
Canadian troops were
insufficiently trained - 30% of
them had not even fired a gun
•
Can & Br. troops did not total
more than 14 000, including
nurses and civilian volunteers.
RESULTS
•
By Christmas 1941, Hong Kong surrendered after only
17 days.
•
286 Canadians died and another 266 would die in
Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) camps.
Rationing
People were encouraged not to hoard
food and to stretch their supplies as far
as they would go
Some goods became scarce because they
were needed for the war
Ration Cards became necessary for
buying gasoline, butter, sugar, meat,
tea, and coffee
Rationing - Luxury Items
Rubber tires, tubes, antifreeze
Liquor
Silk stockings
Whatever They Could
•
People tried to “do their bit”
Bacon fat and bones were saved to provide glycerine for
explosives and glue for aircraft
People stopped buying new aluminum pots, pans, or
stoves so that more airplanes could be built
Children became scrap gatherers: scrap metal, rags,
paper, rubber, foil, and wire coat hangers
Propaganda Posters urged the whole family to help win
the war
Propaganda
•
One woman recalled how the newspapers were always
urging readers to “do their bit” for the war effort:
“The newspapers, they were just propaganda sheets. My
goodness, on the front pages, war, war, war, and in the insides,
how to cook cheaper, how to do Victory Gardens, why we should
have car pools, buy Victory Bonds and tell our friends they were
traitors if they didn’t load up on them too...
“You remember those Sunday sections. They were jammed with
war stuff. How to cook cabbage, make cabbage rolls, and then
drink cabbage juice. Did they think we didn’t know that stuff, like
how to make a dollar do the price of ten? You’d think the idiots in
their big offices in Toronto and Ottawa didn’t know about the
Depression we just went through - ten years of nothing.”
The Economic Miracle
Before the war, Canada was mainly a supplier
of raw materials such as fish, wheat, and metal
ores.
During the war, Canada became an industrial
power: munitions factories turned out bombs,
shells, and bullets for small arms; shipyards
worked full blast building cargo ships, trawlers,
mine sweepers, and landing craft.
Shipbuilding became the second largest
employer in the country
The Economic Miracle
1942: the gov’t turned all automobile plants
over to the production of war vehicles
half of the vehicles used by British in the N.
African campaign were stamped “Made in
Canada”
Nazi General Rommel gave orders to his
troops to capture CDN-made jeeps
because they did not get stuck in the sand
as the German ones did
The Economic Miracle
With the commitment to total war, the
gov’t took control over many aspects of
the economy: it froze prices, wages,
and rents to keep the cost of living
down
the gov’t was afraid that with the high
demand for scarce goods, prices
might skyrocket
Victory Bonds ... Again
Used in WW1 and now again in WW2
To raise money for the war
Successful! A large amount of money
was raised for the war effort: people
had jobs, and the economy was
booming (they could afford to buy)
Conscription ... Again
PM King was determined that conscription
would NOT separate CAN as it had done in
the previous war
At the beginning of WW2, King had promised
that no one would be forced to fight overseas
This was said to ease concerns of French
CDNs who had always been anticonscription
Conscription ... Again
Pressure increased from Allied armies: Hitler kept
scoring major victories against the Allies -- they needed
more soldiers!
English CDNs: wanted compulsory military service (e.g.,
conscription)
Britain had this since the beginning of WW2
When the US entered the war, they also came with
conscription
Many CDNs whose relatives were fighting overseas
resented the fact that there was no conscription
Conscription ... Again
1942: King decided to hold a plebiscite: all
citizens have a direct vote on an issue of major
national importance
CDNs were asked if they were in favour of
releasing the gov’t from its pledge to have no
conscription (would CDNs let the gov’t off the
hook?)
9 out of 10 provinces: 80% - YES!
Québec: 72% - NO!
Conscription ... Again
English CDNs: pleased
French CDNs: upset
King? “Not necessarily conscription, but
conscription if necessary.”
Conscription ... Again
1944: yet further increased pressure for conscription
(Soldiers who had been wounded 2 or 3 times were
being sent back to the front lines - desperate shortage)
King spoke with Québec premier (Louis St. Laurent):
together agreed on 16 000 conscripted troops
Some rioting in Québec City and Montréal (not nearly
as violent as it had been in 1917)
KING HAD WON A VICTORY IN UNITY! CDNs of both
sides were pleased with this result!
Conscription ... Again
King had avoided disaster!
he tried to prevent conscription
he listened to French CDNs’ opinions
he did his actual best to avoid it
French CDNs respected his efforts and
the need for conscription
Women’s Wartime Role
Serving as nurses and in factories back home, just like
in WW1; BUT...
They became an active part of the armed forces for the
FIRST time - Women pushed to be accepted into official
military service
1941: CDN army, air force, and navy each created a
women’s division: Canadian Women’s Army Corps, the
Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, and the
Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service
By the end of the war: 50 000 uniformed women, 4500
women in medical services
Women’s Wartime Role
Women were not sent into the front
lines, but they did essential work behind
the lines: radio operators, mechanics,
welders, armourers, workers in armed
force headquarters, nurses, etc.
Women’s Wartime Role
Played a vital role in war industries at
home:
1939: 638 000 women in workforce
1944: 1 077 000 women in workforce
It became patriotic for all women (not
only unmarried women) to “fight Hitler at
home”
Women’s Wartime Role
Women in overalls and a bandanna became a
national symbol of service to Canada
Jobs that were traditionally done by men were
now done effectively by women
Ontario and Québec even established child care
centres for women working in war industries
Married women were temporarily allowed to earn
more money without their husbands having to
pay higher income tax
Women’s Wartime Role
Salaries for women rose significantly (often
more than double what they had been earning
before the war)
Many other women contributed as volunteers:
packed parcels for prisoners of war, knitted
sweaters/socks for soldiers, served coffee and
sandwiches for soldiers in uniform (on leave or
training)
This helped to expand women’s traditional role