War on the Home Front

War on the Home Front

Life During WW2Life 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 well-equipped and experienced

• Plans for the Japanese attack had been drafted 1 yr. earlier-code 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.

RationingPeople 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 MiracleBefore 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 Miracle1942: 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 ... AgainUsed 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 ... AgainPM 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 anti-conscription

Conscription ... AgainPressure 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 ... Again1942: 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 ... Again1944: 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 ... AgainKing 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 RoleServing 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 RolePlayed 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 RoleWomen 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 RoleSalaries 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