On the Eve of War CHC2D WW 2 PART 1 CH. 9

Case Study: Germany After WW 1 The Treaty of Versailles  seen by Germans as being unfair (e.g., War Guilt Clause, $5 billion reparations) Economic Problems: Inflation – lifetime’s savings valueless in weeks

Case Study: Germany After WW 1 Depression & Unemployment – 6 million unemployed Political Instability – Communists, Social Democrats, Nazis bitterly opposed Communists & Nazis had street battles No party could win a majority

Hitler Comes to Power Nazi Party beliefs 1. Gov’t run by army & wealthy 2. Industry privately owned 3. Powerful military 4. Democratic gov’t outlawed 5. Jews / foreigners restricted rights Nuremberg Military Rally

Hitler Comes to Power Promised to bring back Germany lost in WW 1 Germans were a master race of people that deserved to rule the world Jews were a “deadly poison” & “vermin” wrote Hitler in his book “Mein Kampf” 1933 Hitler gains control of German Parliament

Hitler Comes to Power Hitler becomes a dictator outlawing all other political parties Opposition is rounded up by Gestapo (secret police)  prison, concentration camps Newspapers, radio, books, schools, churches  controlled by Nazis  totalitarian state Gestapo Symbols

Hitler’s Anti-Semitism Jew banned from all gov’t jobs, teaching, banking, broadcasting, newspapers, entertainment, many shops, public buildings 1935 – Nuremberg Laws  German Jews lost citizenship & civil rights  marriages illegal between Jews & non-Jews Illegal Marriage Jews forbidden at athletic club

Hitler’s Anti-Semitism almost impossible to earn a living  Jews fled Germany (e.g., Albert Einstein) Kristallnacht 1938 (Night of Broken Glass) – 20,000 Jews arrested & 7000 shops looted after Germany embassy official shot by a Jew

Canada’s Response 800,000 Jews tried to escape Nazi Germany between 1933 – 1939 USA  240,000, Britain  85,000, Canada  4000 Canada  British & American farm immigrants NOT urban Jews creating more unemployment

St. Louis Incident Ocean liner St. Louis  907 Jews fleeing Nazis in June 1939 arrived near Halifax Refused entry even though 3000 Sudeten German refugees accepted earlier in 1939 Jews not considered good settlers SS St. Louis

Why Canada Slept Canada unprepared for war in 1939  Why? Memories of WW 1 losses Pacifism – opposed to war & violence Great Depression – over a million on relief Munich Agreement Sept Appeasement

Why Canada Slept Isolationism – small, insignificant “fire-proof house” far away from European problems Political Leadership – PM King  avoid split in Cdn unity & protect Cdn independence Appeasement – Hitler “no serious danger”

Canada Declares War Sept 3, 1939 Britain declares war on Germany after it’s invasion of Poland Sept 10, 1939 Canada declares war  first time Canada declared war by itself No celebrations like start of WW 1

Canadian Preparations 1939 – 10,000 soldiers, 14 tanks, 50 planes 3 weeks  58,000 volunteers enlisted 3 meals + $1.30 / day, clothing, shelter better than being unemployed War Measures Act – sweeping gov’t power

At War Sept 1939 Germany quickly crushed Poland with blitzkrieg (lightning warfare) using tanks and dive bombers May 1940 German blitzkrieg defeats Netherlands, Belgium & France in 6 weeks Miracle of Dunkirk saved 300,000 soldiers Canadian forces & supplies save Britain