WWII History Test

Question 1

What happened with Europe during the 1920s? What did they expect the Treaty of Versailles to do for them?

Answer 1

• Europe experienced change, insecurity, and frustration through the 1920s.
• They had expected the Treaty of Versailles to undo the chaos caused by WWI. Instead it created as many problems as it solved.

Question 2

What was the difference did wars affect how the countries were run and what was the problem?

Answer 2

• Prior to WWI many European countries were run by Princes, Kings, and emperors, but after the war democratic governments were established, but few people knew how to run a country in a democratic way, voters had difficulty judging the new politicians

Question 3

What did the depression in the 1930s cause worldwide?

Answer 3

The economic depression of the 1930’s caused social, economic and political problems in stable democracies like Canada, the US and Britain, but in unstable Europe the effects were disastrous.

Question 4

Why did the depression make fascism appeal to people?

Answer 4

• People wanted a way out of the hopelessness, the frustration, and the insecurity. They were ready to follow any leader who promised them better things.
• They wanted to be told that their country was great.
• They wanted to believe that their problems were someone else’s fault. They blamed
  foreigners, communists, democrats, and Jews.
• Facism appealed to people living in these conditions. Fascist leaders Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Francisco Franco rose to power in the midst of hopelessness, fear, poverty, and hatred.

Question 5

What are the characteristics of a fascist government in history?

Answer 5

• Powerful Nationalism
• Disdain for Human Rights
• Identifying enemies as scapegoats for problems
• Supremacy for the Military
• Male Dominated Society
• Controlled Mass Media
• Obsession for National Security
• Corporate Power is Protected
• Labour Power is Suppressed
• Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
• Obsession with Crime and Punishment
• Rampant Corruption
• Fraudulent Elections

Question 6

Who formed fascism in Itay and what was his goal?

Answer 6

• Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist Party. His goal was to fight communism. Squads of army veterans called “Blackshirts” broke up trade union meetings and communist rallies with clubs and fists.
• They claimed to be restoring order to the streets but they were actually waging a campaign of terror against their opponents.
• Many Italians sympathized and party membership grew quickly.

Question 7

What did the government do about Mussolini?

Answer 7

• Government officials did little to stop the attacks, for they were also scared of communism and thought the fascists were performing a public service.
• There was much poverty and unemployment in Italy after WWI. - – There was a general strike in 1922.
  Mussolini, who was elected to the Italian parliament in 1921, said that if the gov’t didn’t stop the strike the Fascists would. Fascists from all over Italy marched on Rome. In a panic, the King asked Mussolini to form a new government.
• After this, his party used intimidation and violence to rig elections.

Question 8

What did Mussolini do for Italy when he took complete control of the government?

Answer 8

• Finally in 1925, Mussolini abandoned all appearance of democracy and took complete control of the government. Even municipal politicians were replaced by officials appointed by the fascists. People who spoke out against the regime were harshly punished.
• Mussolini then set out to improve the Italian economy. Agricultural programs improved wheat harvests, and hydroelectric developments helped reduce unemployment.
• The railways were restructured and their efficiency was improved. The country’s automobile and aircraft industries expanded quickly.
• Many peoples’ lives were improved and Mussolini had support of most Italians, and was admired by many world leaders for his economic successes.

Question 9

Who created a communist government in Russia?

Answer 9

The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 created a communist government in Russia. Lenin meant to turn the Soviet Union into a classless society.

Question 10

Who took over Lenin and what did he do?

Answer 10

• Lenin died in 1924 before achieving many of his goals. So, Joseph Stalin came after Lenin and was far more brutal in his methods.
• He was a ruthless dictator. He used the army, the secret police, and labour camps called “gulags” against anyone who opposed his plans.
• Millions of Soviet Citizens died as he drove the Soviet Union towards greater power.

Question 11

What Francisco Franco do with the spanish government?

Answer 11

• In 1936, General Francisco Franco led a military revolt against the elected government of Spain. He wanted to stamp out communism.
• The Spanish Government was made up of many political groups, with the Communist Party being one.
• Franco got support from the army, rich landowners, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Falange (The Spanish Fascist Party).

Question 12

How did Mussolini and Hilter help Franco and what did the Spanish civil war cause?

Answer 12

• Hitler and Mussolini sent military and financial aid to Franco. Stalin sided with the government. The world looked the other way as Franco brutally destroyed Spain’s democratic government.
• The Civil War lasted three years and left a million dead. By 1939, another fascist was in power in Europe.

Question 13

Describe the effort that canadians in spain did in the civil war

Answer 13

• Although governments refused to intervene, many individuals disagreed with this policy.
• When the Republicans (government) appealed for help, about 40 000 people from countries such as Britain, the U.S. and Canada joined the international brigade.
• A Canadian battalion was formed in 1937, called the Mackenzie-­Papineau Battalion, after the leaders of the 1837 rebellion in Canada, its members were called the Mac­Paps.
• By the time the civil war ended in 1939, nearly 1700 Canadians had fought in Spain, and about one­-third of them had died.

Question 14

Explain Hilter’s childgood and experience in WWI

Answer 14

• Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889.
• After an unhappy childhood, he became a homeless drifter. At the outbreak of the First World War, Hitler eagerly joined the German army.
• When Germany surrendered in 1918, soldiers everywhere were happy because the war was over, but Hitler cried because Germany had been beaten. He swore revenge on the “socialists and Jewish traitors who stabbed Germany in the back”

Question 15

Why did German people have little experience with democracy?

Answer 15

During WWI, Germany had a monarchy, but after the war a democratic government was established. The German people had very little experience with democracy.

Question 16

Why were leaders ineffective at running Gemrnay and what struggles did they endure?

Answer 16

• Political parties were unable to establish solid voter support and the leaders were ineffective at running the country.
• The need to pay reparations kept the country struggling economically.
• This struggle was made worse by a period of hyperinflation in 1922. The value of the Deutschmark ­ German Money­ was reduced to nearly zero, and prices rose more than 100 times. As a result, many Germans failed to prosper even during the boom of the later 1920s.
• Poverty was widespread.
• When the depression started in 1929, the situation became even worse.

Question 17

What was teh Nazi Party and what struggles did they face and what book did Hilter write?

Answer 17

• Nazi Party: In 1919 Hilter joined the nationalist party called the German Workers Party
• In 1921 he became chairman and changed the name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party) and he created a personal army of stormtroopers called the SA (Brown Shirts) and adopted the Swastika as the party symbol.
• Hitler had 3000 followers and tried to seize power by using SA to kill government leaders at a beer hall. Beer Hall Putsch (revolt) He is arrested and serves 9 months of a five year sentence, where he writes his book Mein Kampf
• The Nazi Party is banned in 1923 but the ban is lifted in 1925

Question 18

What does Hilter write in Mein Kampf?

Answer 18

• Mein Kampf: In Mein Kampf, Hitler uses the main thesis of “the Jewish peril”, which speaks of an alleged Jewish conspiracy to gain world leadership.
• Hitler announces his hatred of what he believed to be the world’s twin evils: Communism and Judaism.
• In Mein Kampf Hitler openly states that the future of Germany “has to lie in the acquisition of land in the East at the expense of Russia.
• In his work, Hitler blamed Germany’s chief woes on the parliament of the Weimar Republic, the Jews, and Social Democrats, as well as Marxists. He announced that he wanted to completely destroy the parliamentary system, believing it in principle to be corrupt, as those who reach power are inherent opportunists.

Question 19

What territory did Hilter believe Gemrnay needed?

Answer 19

The new territory that Germany needed to obtain would properly nurture the “historic destiny” of the German people; this goal, which Hitler referred to as Lebensraum (living space), explains why Hitler aggressively expanded Germany eastward, specifically the invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland, before he launched his attack against Russia.

Question 20

Why did people blame the new democratic government in Germany during the depression?

Answer 20

• In 1926, he declares himself Fuhrer (leader) of the Nazi Party and creates the SS to control the party (black shirts)
• 1928, The Nazi Party runs in the election, wins 12 seats in the Reichstag (670 seats)
• They are now a very small party but are in the elected assembly.
• The Depression hit Germany hard. By the 1930’s, Germany’s economy was in ruins.
• Unemployment rose from 1.4 million in 1929, to 3.1 million in 1930, and finally to 6 million in 1932.
• Many other people had only part time work. Millions of Germans were without food.
• Many Germans blamed the new democratic government for the economic hardships.

Question 21

What did Hilter blame on for the depression?

Answer 21

• Hitler promised a strong government. Hitler gave the Germans targets to blame for all their problems. His favourite scapegoats were communists and Jews.
• The Nazis preached “racial purity” They claimed that Germans were the “master race”. Jews, Slavs, Blacks, Asians, and other minorities were to be regarded as “impure aliens.”
• Hitler blamed Germany’s troubles on the Treaty of Versailles.
  The treaty demanded that Germany pay for WWI with money and goods. As a result, life was difficult for Germans during the 1920s.
• With the treaty’s controversial war guilt clause, they were forced to accept full responsibility for causing the First World War. One day Hitler tore the treaty to shreds before cheering crowds.

Question 22

Explain the battle between the communist party and nazi party in Gemrnay

Answer 22

• 1930: Another election is held and the Nazi Party wins 107 seats (is now the second largest party in the government next to the social democrats)
• The Communist Party was also gaining support in Germany.
  1932. Hitler runs for President against existing President Paul von Hindenburg (loses election 13 million votes to 19 million.
• Nazi Party gains more seats in the Reichstag, no party has a majority, no party wants to form a coalition with another party.
• The Reichstag is dissolved, new elections are held. There was still no clear majority, but the Nazi party won the most seats.
• Communists and Nazis both want power, won’t share it. Hindenburg fears the Communist party more than the Nazi Party.
• The Nazi Party now had 1 million members, Hitler had a 400,000 man army.
• The Nazi Party and the Communist Party are fighting in the streets of Germany.
• The brownshirts “stormtroopers” broke up Communist Party meetings, attacked the homes of businesses of Jews and struck terror into the hearts of other “traitors” (anyone who did not view the world as they did)

Question 23

Why was the government in choas and economy failing and what happened with Hilter through this?

Answer 23

• 1933: January 30, Hindenburg makes Hitler Chancellor of Germany to appease the Nazis and end chaos.
• Hitler’s reign of Terror begins.
  February, the Communists burn down the Reichstag. Hitler outlawed the Communist Party due to the fire.
• Reichstag passes the Enabling Act, giving Hitler special powers to deal with “enemies of Germany”. As soon as he was granted these powers he abolished the Parliament giving Hitler dictatorial power.

Question 24

What did Hilter do once in power of Germany and government?

Answer 24

• Hitler abolishes elections, trades unions, and all other political parties.
• Once in power Hitler delivered on many of his promises. Germans were put back to work. New roads and bridges were built all over the country. Guns, tanks, warships and planes ­ all forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles ­started to pour from German factories. Young men flocked to the army and, in 1936, rode the new tanks down the new highways, across the new bridges and into the Rhineland.
• Under the treaty of Versailles, this part of Germany was to be demilitarized.

Question 25

What was Hilter ready to challenge and did the allies to anything?

Answer 25

Hitler was prepared to challenge the terms of the treaty. The Allies protested mildly, but did nothing to stop Hitler.

Question 26

What was the Night of the Long Knives?

Answer 26

• 1934: Hitler purges his own party, by sending the SS to kill any members of the Nazi Party who he sees as a threat.(Night of the Long Knives)
• The Gestapo (secret police) is also used to kill Hitler’s opponents.
  President Hindenburg dies and Hitler assumes the title of President.
• Hitler, the Fuhrer of the Third Reich, was now in full control of Germany.

Question 27

Explain the Reichs

Answer 27

First Reich
- Holy Roman Empire (which included Germany and Italy)
Second Reich
- German Empire of WWI
Third Reich
- The Empire Hitler envisioned creating during his rule. He said it would last for a thousand years.

Question 28

What were the Hilter Youth?

Answer 28

• December 1, 1936 ­ decree of Hitler: “All of the German youth in the Reich are organized within the Hitler Youth. The German youth, besides being reared within the family and schools, shall be educated physically, intellectually and morally in the sport of National Socialism….through the Hitler Youth”
• There were separate youth groups for boys and girls.
• The boys were being prepared for military service, while the girls were being prepared for motherhood.

Question 29

What did the boys have to do in the Hilter Youth group?

Answer 29

• Boys started as Pimpf (apprentice) in the German Young People. Each is given a performance book to record progress and ideological growth.
• Tests in athletics, camping, and Nazified history are given. You can then graduate to the next level.
• Jungvolk ­ oath had to be sworn: “In the presence of the blood banner, which represents our Fuhrer, I swear to devote all my energies and my strength to the saviour of our country Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so help me God”
• Age 14: Joined the Hitler Youth, included military training
• Age 18: Labour service and the Army.

Question 30

What girls have to do in the Hilter Youth group?

Answer 30

• Girls, at the age of 10, joined the Jungmadelbund (League of Young Girls) and at the age of 14 transferred to the Bund Deutscher Madel (League of German Girls).
• Girls had to be able to run 60 metres in 14 seconds, throw a ball 12 metres, complete a 2 hour march, swim 100 metres and know how to make a bed.

Question 31

What did the Hilter Youth group seem to the entire world?

Answer 31

To the outside world, the Hitler Youth seemed to personify German discipline. In fact, this image was far from accurate.

Question 32

Why did they make a law of obligatory attendance for the Hilter Youth group?

Answer 32

• School teachers complained that boys and girls were so tired from attending evening meetings of the Hitler Youth, that they could barely stay awake the next day at school.
• Also by 1938, attendance at Hitler Youth meetings was so poor ­ barely 25% that the authorities decided to tighten up attendance with the 1939 law making attendance compulsory.

Question 33

What did Hilter believe about the races of northern Europe? What did he think about the jews?

Answer 33

• Hitler believed in the “purity” of what he called the “Aryan” races of northern Europe.
• He believed Jews were an inferior race.

Question 34

What did the Nazis do about the Jewish community?

Answer 34

• At first the Nazis took small steps against the Jewish community. They banned displays of modern art and performances of modern music, claiming that these art forms had been influenced by Jews. They also banned any music or art that was made by a Jewish artist.
• School textbooks were changed to portray Jews as evil, so the youngest Germans would be exposed to this racist message.

Question 35

What were the Nurembery laws?

Answer 35

• The situation got much worse for the Jewish population in 1935, when the Nuremberg Laws came into effect.
  The Jewish people could no longer:
  ­- attend a university
• teach in any school or university
• marry a person who was not of Jewish faith
• hold a government job (civil service)
• be the author of a book
• be a lawyer or a doctor
• vote or hold public office

Question 36

What was the Kristallnacht: Night of the Broken Glass?

Answer 36

• In November 1938, the Nazis launched a violent attack on German Jews. Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues(places of worship) were attacked all over Germany.
• Individuals and families were terrorized as Nazi­led mobs beat them up at will, many were killed and arrested for fighting back.
• Afterwards, the Nazis forced the Jewish people to clean up the mess and pay for its disposal.

Question 37

Explain the japan invades manchuria. Also, how did the League of Nations react?

Answer 37

• In 1931, the Japanese army attacked the northern Chinese province of Manchuria. In 1937 they launched a full invasion of the rest of China. The League of Nations was not prepared to act.
• Asia seemed so far away. All the League did to support China was to refuse to recognize the new government in Manchuria.
• In defiance, Japan simply withdrew from the League. Japan set out to conquer the rest of China and to build its empire in the Pacific.
• In a sense, by 1937, the Second World War had already begun in Asia.

Question 38

What is the League of Nations?

Answer 38

The League of Nations was formed to prevent a repetition of the First World War, but within two decades this effort failed. Economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation (particularly in Germany) eventually contributed to World War II.
DOES NOT EXIST NOW, IT IS UNITED NATIONS

Question 39

Why and what did Mussolini do to take people’s minds of the depression?

Answer 39

• After some initial success, Mussolini’s economic program was not working in Italy.
• To take people’s minds off the problems of the Depression, Mussolini chose to go to war.
• He wanted to rebuild the Roman Empire. He saw himself as Italy’s “Duce” , a leader greater than Julius Caesar.

Question 40

Explain the battle between ethiopia and italy

Answer 40

• All through the summer of 1935, Italian troops gathered on the borders of the ancient African kingdom of Ethiopia. In October, they attacked.
• The Ethiopians fought bravely, but spears and old guns were no match for modern machine guns, planes, tanks, and poison gas.
• The aim of invading Ethiopia was to boost Italian national prestige,

Question 41

What is the early sign of appeasement that happened with Italy and Ethiopia?

Answer 41

• Early sign of appeasement: Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, appealed to the League of Nations. The League members agreed that Italy was wrong. They said they would cut off Italy’s oil supplies. “Oil means war!” replied Mussolini. The League backed down. They did impose sanctions on Italy and there was no international support for the Italians, except from Hitler.
• In any case, it was more worried about Hitler’s march into the Rhineland. Would France declare war? France, at the urging of Britain, decided it would not.

Question 42

Why did the league have no power and what did Hilter and Mussolini think about this?

Answer 42

With the failure of the League to stop them, Hitler and Mussolini realized they served each other well. They had kept the league from acting against either of them.

Question 43

What is the Anti-Comintern Pact?

Answer 43

• In 1936, with the military rulers in Japan, they formed the Rome­-Tokyo­-Berlin Axis. They made the Anti­-Comintern Pact. Under this pact, they agreed to support one another against the communist Soviet Union.
• Now Hitler had allies. He was ready to gamble that the leaders of Europe would agree to anything to avoid war.

Question 44

What was Hilter’s vision of the future?

Answer 44

In Hitler’s vision of the future, Germans everywhere would be united.

Question 45

What did Hilter announce about Austria and what happened about it?

Answer 45

• On March 12, 1938, he announced that Austria, which was mostly German speaking, was to be part of Germany (Annexed Austria).
• There were many people in Austria who supported this and Austria had no way of defending itself against the rebuilt German army.
• Devoted to remaining independent, Austria’s Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg tried to hold a referendum for a vote on the issue.
• Although Schuschnigg expected Austria to vote in favour of maintaining autonomy, a well planned coup d’état by the Austrian Nazi Party of Austria’s state institutions in Vienna took place on 11 March, prior to the referendum, which they canceled.
• They transferred power to Germany, and the German army entered Austria. The Nazis held a plebiscite within the following month, asking the people to ratify their control. They claimed to have received 99.73% of the vote in favor.

Question 46

What was the beginning of the policy of appeasement with Autria?

Answer 46

• Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany and Austria were not permitted to unite, but none of the leaders of Britain, France, or the United States was in a position to, or had the desire to start a war with Germany.
• And there were arguments that Austria was mostly German speaking and that it really should be part of Germany anyway.
• This was the beginning of the policy of appeasement.
• The allied leaders were hoping that if they just gave Hitler what he wanted he would be satisfied and they could avoid war.

Question 47

Definition of Annex

Answer 47

to incorporate (territory) into the domain of a city, country, or state

Question 48

What did Hilter claim about Germans in Czech?

Answer 48

• Hitler’s expansion of Germany’s living space was not nearly complete.
• The rich industrialized Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia was home to 3 million German­speaking Czechs.
• Hitler claimed that they were oppressed and the victims of violence. There is a belief that Hitler had attacks on the German Speaking Czechs carried out in order to prove his argument.
• The brave Czechs were ready to fight Hitler, but France and Britain were not willing to help them.

Question 49

How did Britian appease Hilter with Sudetenland and what did this cause?

Answer 49

• British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Premier Daladier of France met with Hitler in Munich and agreed to allow Germany to have the Sudetenland.
• They believed this would save the world from war.
• The Czechs were not consulted in the decision and were furious about being sold out by their allies, but were helpless to resist.

Question 50

What was the Munich agreement and what did Chruchill say about this agreement? What happened after the agreement?

Answer 50

• Munich Agreement: This was called the Munich Agreement. Chamberlain said that the Munich agreement meant “Peace in our Time” but some disagreed. Winston Churchill, who would soon be Prime Minister called the agreement “appeasement” or giving in to the demands of a political enemy. He argued Hitler should be stopped now, at all costs.
• Though Hitler had promised at Munich that he would make no more demands for territory, he soon broke that pledge. Six Months later in March 1939,
• Germany occupied all of Czechoslovakia.

Question 51

Why did Gemrnay want t make a deal with the Soviet Union?

Answer 51

• Hitler wanted to invade Poland but knew that if they did The Soviet Union would see this as a threat, and the Soviets also wanted the Polish territory for themselves.
• So a deal needed to be worked out with the Soviets first.

Question 52

What economic agreement did the Soviets and Germany make?

Answer 52

• The Soviets wanted an economic agreement first. It was signed on Aug 19, 1939.
• The Soviet Union agreed to provide food and raw materials to Germany, in exchange for finished German products such as machinery.

Question 53

What was teh NonAgressionAct?

Answer 53

• On August 23, 1939, four days after the economic agreement was signed and a little over a week before the beginning of World War II, Ribbentrop and Molotov signed the Nazi­Soviet Non­Aggression Pact. (The pact is also referred to as the German­Soviet Non­Aggression Pact and the Ribbentrop­Molotov Pact.)
• Publicly, this agreement stated that the two countries ­ Germany and the Soviet Union ­would not attack each other.
• If there were ever a problem between the two countries, it was to be handled amicably.
• The pact was supposed to last for ten years; it lasted for less than two.
• What was meant by the terms of the pact was that if Germany attacked Poland, then the Soviet Union would not come to its aid.
• Thus, if Germany went to war against the West (especially France and Great Britain) over Poland, the Soviets were guaranteeing that they would not enter the war; thus not open a second front for Germany.

Question 54

What was one of the meain reasons that Hilter believes made Germany lose WWI? From this, what did the pact assure?

Answer 54

Hitler believed one of the main reasons why Germany lost the first world War was because they were fighting a war on two fronts (the east and the west). This pact assured Hitler that he would only have to fight a war on one front.

Question 55

What addition did the Soviets add to the NonAgression Agreement?

Answer 55

In addition to this agreement, Ribbentrop and Molotov added a secret protocol onto the pact ­ a secret addendum whose existence was denied by the Soviets until 1989.

Question 56

What was the secret protocol?

Answer 56

• The secret protocol held an agreement between the Nazis and Soviets that greatly affected Eastern Europe.
• For the Soviets for agreeing to not join the possible future war, Germany was giving the Soviets the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania).
• Poland was also to be divided between the two ­ along the Narew, Vistula, and San rivers.

Question 57

What did the secret protocol make France and Britain realize?

Answer 57

• It was at this time that the leaders of France and Britain realized they could no longer trust Hitler and Britain guaranteed the defense of Poland. They said that if Hitler invaded Poland, Britain would declare war on Germany.
• This would mark the end of appeasement, but Britain and France were not in a position to defend Poland at the time.

Question 58

What did the invasion of Czech make clear?

Answer 58

The invasion of Czechoslovakia made it clear that appeasement would not stop Adolf Hitler’s expansion plans.

Question 59

What did Hilter do after his NonAgression pact?

Answer 59

• After Hitler had his Non­Aggression pact with the Soviet Union he was ready to attack Poland.
• However he first demanded that the Polish Corridor, awarded to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles be handed back to Germany. Poland refused.
• At this point, the British and French governments realized that they must draw a line, and they promised to support Poland if Hitler attacked.
• On August 31st, German agents pretending to be Polish officers staged assaults at the German border to make it look as if Poland were attacking Germany.
• Hitler had his excuse and the next day he ordered German forces to invade.

Question 60

What was the Blitzkrieg?

Answer 60

• On September 1st, 1939, the German army drove over the borders into Poland, using a new, very effective style of warfare called “Blitzkrieg” (Lightning War) and was a tactic based on speed and surprise and needed a military force to be based around light tank units supported by planes and infantry (foot soldiers).
• Blitzkrieg was based on speed, co­ordination and movement.
• It was designed to hit hard and move on instantly. Its aim was to create panic amongst the civilian population.
• A civil population on the move can be absolute havoc for a defending army trying to get its forces to the war front.
• Doubt, confusion and rumour were sure to paralyse both the government and the defending military.
• Once a strategic target had been selected, Stuka dive bombers were sent in to ‘soften up’ the enemy, destroying all rail lines, communication centres and major rail links.
• This was done as the German tanks were approaching and the planes withdrew only at the last minute so that the enemy did not have time to recover their senses when the tanks attacked supported by infantry.
• The Poles fought with bravery and honour, but they were unable to mount a serious defense against the German army in the west and the Soviet army from the east.

Question 61

What happened after the invasion in Poland?

Answer 61

• Seeing the disaster which was taking place in Poland, Britain and then France declared war on Germany on September 3rd 1939, two days after the invasion.
• However they were not mobilized and ready for war, so they were unable to assist Poland in any real sense.
• Canada declared war on Germany on September 10, 1939.

Question 62

What was the phoney war?

Answer 62

After war was declared in September 1939, eight months passed before any major fighting occurred in France. This period of inactivity was known as the ‘Phoney War’ in Britain and the Sitzkreig’ (‘Sitting War’) in Germany. The British Air Forces in France consisted of two separate formations.

Question 63

Explain what happened during the Phoney War?

Answer 63

• After the defeat of Poland, came a lull or break in the fighting.
• Some people called this the “Phoney War”.
• Other countries had declared war on Germany, but the Germans were the only ones fighting.
• It was a time of careful preparation before the bloody struggles to come.
• While the Allies scrambled to mobilize their armed forces, Germany moved its forces to invade other countries.
• In the spring of 1940 they conquered Denmark in 1 day, Norway in 2 days.
• The Netherlands was defeated in 5 days; Belgium took 18 and then came the invasion of the supposedly mighty France.

Question 64

What was the Manstein Plan?

Answer 64

• In 1939, a group of senior German Army officers, including Erich von Manstein and Franz Halder, devised a plan to inflict a major defeat on the French Army in northern France.
• The Manstein Plan, as it became known, included an attack through southern Belgium that avoided the Maginot Line.
• The ultimate objective was to reach the Channel coast and to force the French government to surrender.

Question 65

Explain the Mainstein Plan and what occured

Answer 65

• 10th May, when the Luftwaffe(German Air Force) bombed Dutch and Belgian airfields and the German Army captured Moerdijk and Rotterdam.
• Fedor von Bock and the 9th Panzer Division (tanks), using its Blitzkrieg strategy, advanced quickly into the Netherlands.
• Belgium was also invaded and the French 7th Army moved forward to help support the Dutch and Belgian forces.

Invasion of France:

• The German army went through the heavily wooded and semi- mountainous area of the Ardennes, an area north of the Maginot Line.
• The French army had prepared for a long, drawn out war like WWI.
  They had built concrete defenses along the Maginot Line, the border of Germany and France. But the Germans just went around the line through Belgium.
• The French military had wrongly believed that the Ardennes was impassable to tanks. Seven panzer divisions reached the Meuse River at Dinant on 12th May and the following day the French government was forced to abandon Paris.
• The invasion of France brought an end to the Phoney War.

Question 66

What brought the end of the Phoney War?

Answer 66

The invasion of France by Germany

Question 67

Why did British forces have to retreat to Dunkirk?

Answer 67

• Thousands of British troops had rushed across the English Channel to help defend France.
• However, during the rapid German advance British forces became trapped and had to retreat to the seaport town of Dunkirk on the French coast.

Question 68

What was Operation Dynamo?

Answer 68

• They needed to be rescued by the navy but Britain had few ships to spare, instead, English fishers, weekend sailors and ferry captains took their boats across the channel in what was called Operation Dynamo to rescue the British and French troops.
• Between 27th May and 4th June, 1940, a total of 693 ships brought back 338,226 people (10 times what the government had hoped to save) back to Britain.
• Of these 140,000 were members of the French Army.
• All heavy equipment was abandoned and left in France.
• The Germans had not been able to get to Dunkirk in time to prevent this heroic rescue.

Question 69

What happened to the French army after its invasion?

Answer 69

The French Army tried to hold the line along the Somme and the Aisne. Now clearly outnumbered, the troops were forced to withdraw to the Loire.

Question 70

What did the president decide after the french invasion? What did this cause?

Answer 70

• President Albert Lebrun, appointed Henri­Philippe Petain as France’s new premier.
• He immediately began negotiations with Adolf Hitler and on 22nd June signed an armistice with Germany. The terms of the agreement divided France into occupied and unoccupied zones, with a rigid demarcation line between the two.
• The Germans would directly control three fifths of the country, an area that included northern and western France and the entire Atlantic coast.
• The remaining section of the country would be administered by the French government at Vichy under Marshal Henri­Philippe Petain.
• Other provisions of the armistice included the surrender of all Jews living in France to the Germans.
• The French Army was disbanded except for a force of 100,000 men to maintain domestic order.
  The 1.5 million French soldiers captured by the Germans were to remain prisoners of war.
• The French government also agreed to stop members of its armed forces from leaving the country and instructed its citizens not to fight against the Germans.
• Finally, France had to pay the occupation costs of the German troops.

Question 71

What was operation Sea Lion?

Answer 71

• The British navy and air force controlled the 50 km of water ­- The English Channel ­- separating Britain from Europe.
• Hitler’s plan for the Invasion of Britain was called “Operation Sea Lion”. Germany however, needed to control the skies over the Channel before its invasion fleet could sail.

Question 72

What did Hilter know about the British Air force and so what did he do about it?

Answer 72

• He knew that the British Air Force would destroy his invasion fleet as it crossed the channel.
• The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) set out to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF).
• On 10 July 1940, wave after wave of German Messerschmitts and Heinkels streamed across the channel.
• They spread out over Britain to their bombing targets:­ radar stations, air fields and ports and factories
• When the Battle of Britain started, the Luftwaffe, with about 2500 planes, was vastly superior to the RAF, which had only 1200 Aircraft.
• The RAF was also short of trained pilots and experienced air and ground crews.

Question 73

What is RAF and Luftwaffe?

Answer 73

The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) set out to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Question 74

What advantages did Britain have in the battle of Britain?

Answer 74

• But the British had several advantages. One was superior radar, which helped RAF fighter planes track and shoot down Luftwaffe bombers before they could reach their targets.
• Another advantage was that Canada and other Allied countries were sending pilots, radar personnel, replacement aircraft, and other supplies as quickly as possible.
• More than 100 Canadian pilots flew in fighter operations during the Battle of Britain, and 200 more flew bombing raids. Even more served as ground crew.

Question 75

Why was Britain slowly losing the battle of Britain?

Answer 75

By late August the Germans had lost more than 600 aircraft and the RAF only 260, but the RAF was rapidly losing badly needed fighters and experienced pilots and its effectiveness was further hampered by the bombing damage done to its radar stations.

Question 76

What strategic mistake did Hitler make in the battle of Britain?

Answer 76

• During the planning and conduct of the battle, German intelligence failures included a lack of information on appropriate bombing targets, little useful information about British radar or the British air defence system, and a tendency to underestimate the strength of the RAF .

Question 77

What did Britain do to Berlin during the battle of Britain?

Answer 77

• In August, the British decided to go on the offensive and made a surprise bombing raid on Berlin.
• The commander of the German air force, Herman Goering, was furious because he had promised Germans that no Allied plane would ever bomb a German city.

Question 78

What was the Blitz?

Answer 78

• The Germans decided to aggressively “Blitz” for 57 consecutive nights, taking British cities in revenge, mainly London.
• The Germans hoped to paralyze the British government and demoralize the people by heavy bombing.
• Night after night, and eventually day after day, wave upon wave of bombers attacked London and other important cities.
• The Nazis called it a war of terror.
• It was designed to destroy the people’s will to resist.
  Though thousands were killed (43 000), and much of London was reduced to rubble, the British refused to give up.
• Londoners moved into air raid shelters and subway stations or out of the city.
• Each day they set about repairing homes, reopening stores, carrying on.
• British resistance grew stronger, not weaker.
• Despite the damage, the Blitz gave the struggling RAF a chance to recover, regroup, rebuild and gather reinforcements.
• On September 15, German planes almost blackened the skies, but the RAF was ready for them. When the day was over, the Luftwaffe was decidedly beaten. Hitler put on hold operation sea lion and his invasion of Britain.
• The Battle of Britain was won by a few hundred pilots. They included 100 Canadians as well as Britons, Poles, Australians, New Zealanders, and South Africans.
• “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” - Winston Churchill

Question 79

What is the spitfire?

Answer 79

• Though they were outnumbered by the Germans, the British Spitfire was arguably the best interceptor fighter in the world and proved deadly against the German bombers.
• German fighter cover was only partially available since the German fighter aircraft were operating at the limit of their flying range over England.

Question 80

The battle of britain summary

Answer 80

The Battle of Britain was a major air campaign fought largely over southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940. After the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and the Fall of France, Germany planned to gain air superiority in preparation for an invasion of Great Britain.

Question 81

What was the battle of the atlantic?

Answer 81

• With much of Europe in German hands, Britain relied on supplies and reinforcements from Canada.
• But the German navy was determined to cut this lifeline, and its U­boats hunted Allied ships crossing the North Atlantic Ocean.
• The contest became known as the Battle of the Atlantic and it was the longest battle of the war.

Question 82

How long did the battle of the Atlantic run?

Answer 82

Running from 1939 right until the defeat of Germany and was at its height from mid 1940 until the end of 1943.

Question 83

What happened during the battle of the Atlantic?

Answer 83

• The Allies tried to protect cargo ships by organizing convoys guarded by naval vessels.
• For the first half of the voyage from Canada, the convoys were protected by Canadian ships and planes.
• In mid­Atlantic, British forces took over escort duties.
• The United States was officially neutral at this point, but they were loaning Britain money and supplies.
  German U­Boats patrolled the Atlantic against the British blockade of Europe and in an effort to stop supplies from America from ever reaching Britain.
• U Boats operated in groups of 10 called “wolf packs.”
• The German navy carried out submarine warfare to cut off Britain’s imports and military supplies.
• In the beginning, the U­boats had the upper hand.
• In July 1942, for example, U­boats sank 143 Allied cargo ships.
• In mid 1943, the tide began to turn in favour of the Allies. Crews were better trained and more experienced, and submarine­ tracking tactics and technology improved. The navy and air force had also grown and were able to protect more convoys more effectively.
• In 1939, the Canadian navy consisted of 13 ships and 13 000 members. By the war’s end, Canada boasted the fourth largest navy in the world, with 375 ships and 110 000 members.

Question 84

What was the importance of the battle of the Atlantic?

Answer 84

The Battle of the Atlantic was the struggle between the Allied and German forces for control of the Atlantic Ocean. The Allies needed to keep the vital flow of men and supplies going between North America and Europe, where they could be used in the fighting, while the Germans wanted to cut these supply lines. The flow of war materials into Great Britain via the Atlantic was the lifeline of the Allied war effort against Germany, and Germany nearly severed it. Though the Battle of the Atlantic was not witness to spectacular fleet engagements like those fought in the Pacific, it was nonetheless of supreme strategic importance.

Question 85

What did Hilter do after his failure to defeat Britain?

Answer 85

• After his failure to defeat Britain, Hitler turned his attention to the east and the Soviet Union.
• He wanted to seize control of the U.S.S.R. to get access to her rich natural resources, particularly oil.
• Hitler had a non­aggression pact with the Soviets but he had broken many promises in the past and this was not going to stop him now.
• The plans for an invasion of the Soviet Union began in 1940 and were modified over time.

Question 86

What was Operation Barbarossa?

Answer 86

Hitler’s plan to attack the Soviet Union was designed to topple the Russians quickly, as the Germans badly underestimated Stalin’s military. The initial surprise attack of June 1941 pushed the Red Army back, but Stalin’s forces recovered and put up bitter resistance.

Question 87

Explain what happened during Operation Barbarossa

Answer 87

• The main German thrusts were conducted along historical invasion routes. Army Group North was to march through the Baltics into northern Russia, and either take or destroy the city of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg).
• Army Group Center would advance to Smolensk and then Moscow, marching through what is now Belarus and the west central regions of Russia proper.
• Army Group South was to strike the heavily populated and agricultural heartland of Ukraine, taking Kiev before continuing eastward over the steppes of the southern USSR to the Volga with the aim of controlling the oil­rich Caucasus.
• On June 22, 1941 more than 3 million Axis troops attacked the Soviet border.
• This officially ended the Nazi­Soviet Pact and Russia joined the Allies in their fight against Germany.
• Hitler was certain that this would be a quick and decisive invasion.
• By Day 17 of the attack, 300,000 Russians had been captured, 2,500 tanks, 1,400 artillery guns and 250 aircraft captured or destroyed.
• This was only in the territory attacked by Army Group Centre.
• The Germans had conquered Ukraine and occupied Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).
• To any military observer, the Russian Army was on the verge of a total collapse and Moscow seemed destined to fall.

Question 88

What were Hilter’s mistakes during operation barbarossa?

Answer 88

• Hitler ordered more troops to go north and others to go south which turned out to be a time delaying mistake from his primary objectives.
• The delay was such that the impact of the winter occurred before the Germans had reached the objectives set by Hitler.
• Very few in the German Army were equipped to cope with the cold and the army, so used to advancing, found itself very much affected by the freezing temperatures.
• A war of movement as seen so much in June/July 1941 became an attack blighted by freezing weather that would hinder any army let alone one so ill prepared for such weather conditions.
• Hitler assumed that his army would defeat the Soviets before the onset of winter, and therefore did not train or equip his troops for a Russian winter.
• Russia is so large that the Soviet forces continued to retreat, which lengthened the German supply lines, they were therefore now cold and lacking in food and other supplies.

Question 89

What was the scorched earth policy?

Answer 89

Russia’s scorched earth policy was a military strategy in which the Russians would destroy their own land and resources while retreating, making them unavailable to enemy armies. By destroying their own agriculture, industry and infrastructure, they ensured that enemy forces would not be able to make use of them.

• As the Soviets retreated they burned all the crops, as well as buildings and destroyed infrastructure.
• They did so to not leave anything behind for the Germans to use.
  This further hindered the Germans with their lack of supplies.
• By December 5th, the German forces had been stopped in their tracks and on December 6th, the Soviets launched a counter attack.
  For the next two years the Soviet and German armies fought some of the fiercest and deadliest battles in history.
• Slowly, the Soviets began to force German troops to retreat.

Question 90

What were the 3 neutrality acts that government the official policy of neutrality for united states?

Answer 90

• 1935: prohibited export of “arms, ammunition, & implements of war” to foreign, warring nations
• 1937: warring nations could get any item except arms
• 1939: lifted arms embargo, putting all trade with warring nations under terms of “cash­&­carry”, any item could be sold as long as it was immediately paid for

Question 91

What was the lend-lease policy?

Answer 91

• United States would provide a country with supplies needed to fight Germany
• the country would NOT have to pay the United States back immediately
• United States contracted Lend­Lease agreements with 30+ countries, worth $50B
  program was designed to allow America to indirectly help defeat Germany

Question 92

How did US and Britain repsond to japan building their empire in the pacific through invading Korea and China?

Answer 92

• Relations b/n Japan and Western nations had reached a breaking point.
• Japan had begun to build its empire in the Pacific, having invaded Korea and China.
• In response the U.S. and Britain put economic sanctions on Japan and by July 1941, the United States had ceased Oil exports to Japan.
• The U.S. had stationed a naval fleet in Hawaii in case of war in the Pacific
• Britain wanted to help. but could not spare the troops. Canada helped by sending soldiers to Hong Kong.

Question 93

What did Japan do secretly when US and Japan was trying to sign a peace treaty?

Answer 93

• The U.S. and Japan were trying to sign a peace treaty. Secretly, Japan was planning an attack because they wanted the West’s colonies and natural resources and Japan knew that the US would eventually declare war on them if they kept invading colonies of European countries in the Pacific, so Pearl Harbor was a preemptive strike.
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned a surprise attack using fighter planes launched from Japanese aircraft carriers.

Question 94

Explain the attack of Japan on US and what did it cause

Answer 94

• Dec. 7, 1941 – the attack began… Japan had not declared war (it was late) and the U.S. was caught off guard.
• After 2 hrs. the U.S. fleet was destroyed and 1000s were killed…
  hundreds of Japanese bombers & fighters attacked naval base Pearl Harbor

RESULTS:
- 2,400 Americans dead
- nearly 200 aircraft destroyed
- all but 8 battleships were sunk/damaged

• December 8 US declares war on Japan
• December 11 Germany & Italy declare war on US
• The US was the richest nation in the world and could invest enormous amounts of $$$ and pop. to the war effort. (The US became the “Arsenal of Democracy”) – Japan had awoken the “sleeping giant”

Question 95

What did Japan do a few hours after Pearl Harbor?

Answer 95

• A few hrs. After Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded Hong Kong, a British colony.
• Every Canadian soldier there was killed or taken prisoner. The battle was considered a “death trap”:

1. More than 50 000 Japanese soldiers were stationed 50 km from Hong Kong
2. The Japanese were well equipped and experienced
3. Plans for the Japanese attack had been drafted 1 yr. earlier-code name was Hana­Saku —”flowers in bloom”
4. Canadian troops were insufficiently trained ­ 30% of them had not even fired a gun
5. Can & Br. troops did not total more than 14 000, including nurses and civilian volunteers.

• On Dec. 8, 1941, Japan launched its attack on Hong Kong. Their air force destroyed docks, military barracks, airplanes etc.
• Dec. 19, 1941­ Japanese soldiers attacked. Canadians were outnumbered 10 to 1.
• 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.

Question 96

What does P.O.W camps stand for?

Answer 96

prisoner of war camps

Question 97

What happened to the canadian prisoners of the Japanese?

Answer 97

• Canadian prisoners were brutalized and starved. They stayed in crowded barracks and were used as slave labour, building landing strips and shipyards, etc.
• Served a single serving of plain rice 3 times a day. Many fell ill from exhaustion, malnutrition, pneumonia, or cholera.
• Red Cross medicine was sent to the camps but was stolen and sold on the black market.
• Death rates in Japanese P.O.W. camps were 6 times higher than in German camps.

Question 98

What was happening in 1941 of the war?

Answer 98

• By 1941, nearly all of Europe was under German or Italian control. British and Australian troops were desperately fighting Germans and Italians in North Africa.
• On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union.
• In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British positions in the Pacific and swiftly captured the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore and Sumatra.
• By the fall of 1941, the Soviet Union was bearing almost the full weight of the German attack.

Question 99

What did Stalin urge his western allies to do for Russia relief?

Answer 99

• Stalin urged his western allies to open a second front. If they attacked German held France, the Soviets might get some relief.
• The British knew they weren’t ready but everyone was upset about the fall of Hong Kong.
• The American’s wanted action and Canadian soldiers were restless.
• They had been sitting around waiting in Britain for three years.
• A large raid would satisfy the Soviets, Americans and Canadians, it would also test German coastal defenses.

Question 100

What was the battle at dieppe?

Answer 100

An attack against the germans at french port of dieppe

The tanks were trapped on the beach and the infantry was largely prevented from entering the town by obstacles and German fire. After less than six hours, mounting casualties forced a retreat. Within ten hours, 3,623 of the 6,086 men who landed had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner.

Question 101

Explain the battle of dieppe

Answer 101

• On the morning of August 19, 1942, nearly 5000 Canadian soldiers, 1000 British and some American and French soldiers crouched in landing crafts off the heavily fortified French port of Dieppe.
• They intended to seize the town, destroy the port facilities and airport, take prisoners and return to England. The key to victory was surprise.
• The Germans were ready and waiting.
• They spotted the enemy ships during the night. Some allied ships had gone off course and arrived late. The raid did not start till daylight, the element of surprise was lost.
• The Canadians found themselves on a boulder beach in front of a town that was fortified with cannons, barbed wire, tanks, traps and mines.
• Many landing craft were blown right out of the water. One regiment had 96 percent casualties. Only a few soldiers ever reached the town.
• When the smoke cleared, 900 men were dead. Nearly 2000 were taken prisoner.

Question 102

What mistakes occured at the battle of dieppe?

Answer 102

1) It was foolish to attack a fortified beach in broad daylight
2) The enemy should have been weakened by aerial and naval bombardment before landing.

Question 103

What did the failure at dieppe teach the allies?

Answer 103

The Dieppe raid taught the Allies that much stronger military forces were required to break through the German coastal defences. As well, a much higher proportion of military forces should be held in reserve until the progress of the initial assault was known. The D­Day invasion date was now moved from 1943 to 1944.

Question 104

What was the war plan in Canada?

Answer 104

The Canadian government drew up a war plan. It included what was most important to Canadians and areas where Canada could make the greatest contribution to the Allied war effort.

Question 105

What was included in the war plan?

Answer 105

• The defence and security of Canada
  ­- the production of food supplies for Britain
  ­- the production of weapons and ammunition for Allied forces
  ­- the training of Allied pilots
  ­- development of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
• ­development of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)
• ­development of the Canadian Army
• ­development of the Merchant Marine to transport troops and war materials.

Question 106

What was the wartime prices and trade board and why was it needed?

Answer 106

The Wartime Prices and Trade Board is a former Canadian government agency, established on September 3, 1939, by the Mackenzie King government, under the authority of the War Measures Act, in the Department of Labour responsible for price controls and inflation control.
It was an effort to control the economy

Question 107

Explain the production of the weapons of war in Canada

Answer 107

• Under C.D. Howe, the minister of Munitions and Supply, war products poured from Canadian factories
• One Thousand ships, 15 000 aircraft, 700 000 trucks, countless guns, bombs, and bullets were produced.

Question 108

What did Canada wartime board do to prevent profiteering?

Answer 108

In order to prevent profiteering the Board limited prices to “cost plus 10%”. Even with these controls, the government paid close to 65 million dollars a week for war supplies.

Question 109

Why did the federal government heavily borrow by selling victory bonds?

Answer 109

It helped finance the war

Question 110

What did Canada do to people’s wages?

Answer 110

People’s wages were also frozen. After the depression people needed a break, so wages were allowed to rise for the first year of the war, but were frozen in October 1941 and allowed only modest increases.

Question 111

What were ration books used for in Canada?

Answer 111

• In 1942, all Canadians received a ration book.
• When they bought sugar, butter, meat, tea or coffee, they had to hand over coupons from their book.
• When their coupons ran out they couldn’t buy any rationed items ­ except on the black market. If they were caught buying in the black market there were stiff fines.
• Gas was rationed. Canadians could fill up once a month.
• Anything Canadians could spare went to the war effort. The butter and cheese they didn’t eat went to Britain, where rationing was much more severe.
• The steel that had once made washing machines, now made bombers.
• Even the 5 cent nickel changed, it was made of zinc instead, nickel was needed for armour coating on tanks.
• Families kept Victory gardens and saved metals, rags, papers, rubber, and glass. Bacon fat and bones were saved for explosives. Local clubs canvassed door to door to get donations.

Question 112

How did the children in Canada put up a war effort?

Answer 112

• Children collected paper, metal, rags, rubber and bones. They saved string and the foil from cigarette and candy wrappers.
• Contests were held to see who could make the biggest ball of aluminum foil.
• All of these items could be recycled into war materials.
• Students knitted during lunch hour, making socks, and scarves for soldiers. They wrote letters to lonely prisoners of war.
• Children planted Victory gardens in school baseball diamonds to produce food for the war.
• Teenagers were let off school to help bring in the harvest.

Question 113

What did Canadian volunteers do in the war?

Answer 113

• Canadians volunteered to be air raid wardens. They patrolled the coasts to guard against an invasion that never came.
• They studied aircraft to serve as “spotters” in a bombing raid. They build public air raid shelters.
• Wealthy Canadians worked for the government for a dollar a year. The war drew Canadians together in a spirit of unity.

Question 114

What was censorship

Answer 114

• Citizens, the military and the government were all concerned that sensitive information might fall into enemy hands.
• So the military censored letters to and from the front.
• Telegrams sent by war reporters were also censored. And the media, including newspapers, radio broadcasts, and movies were all screened by government officials and by media companies themselves.
• Nothing was communicated that was not approved by the censorship board.

Question 115

How did Canada use propaganda?

Answer 115

• Wartime information campaigns primarily attempted to convince Canadians that the war was necessary.
• A common approach was to appeal to people’s emotions. In propaganda, the crucial goal was not truth but persuasion.
• Without people’s support, the war effort could fail.

Question 116

How did canadian women contribute to the war?

Answer 116

• Canadian women were eager to defend their country.
• Initially, Canadian leaders saw little room for women in the war effort. As more and more men left for the battlefront, through, the roles women could play became more obvious
• Industrial strength was the key to success in the war, and Canada had vast resources. Canadian women turned raw materials into tanks, planes, and ships.
• Over one million women were working in the Canadian industry in 1943.

Question 117

What changed for women as they started working?

Answer 117

• Daycare centres were set up in many plants.
• Productions rose as workers donated free time to produce another tank or bomber. Men were often outnumbered. They sometimes had to endure female wolf whistles, just as women previously had endured male taunts.

Question 118

What did women do it rural Canada?

Answer 118

• In rural Canada, women took over the farming jobs vacated by men who went overseas.
• The food supply at home and abroad had to be maintained. Women handled the added responsibilities to assist in the overall war effort.
• Women volunteered to visit wounded soldiers. They sent packages to prisoners of war. They made dressings for the wounded.
• The family garbage shrank as housewives saved paper, scraps, fat, and bones for recycling.

Question 119

What was society trying to keep women out of instead of factories?

Answer 119

Society had initially wanted to keep women out of the factories. Now it was determined to keep them out of the armed forces.

Question 120

What volunteer units did women form when they couldn’t register with the armed forces?

Answer 120

When women couldn’t register with the armed forces, they set up their own volunteer units such as the CATS (Canadian Auxiliary Territorial Service), which provided technical and first aid training to women.

Question 121

What did women eventually work as in the armed forces?

Answer 121

• By 1941, the armed forces were in desperate need of recruits. Women were finally allowed to enlist.
• Eventually, Canada had 45 000 service women.
• They served in a wide variety of non combat roles, such as radar operators, truck and ambulance drivers, nurses, secretaries, and mechanics.
• Some of these women often found themselves in the heat of battle. They were bombed, shelled, and torpedoed. Some were made prisoners of war.

Question 122

What did women gain from working in the armed forces?

Answer 122

• Now, women have gained freedom and self- respect. They knew the satisfaction of earning their own money.
• They also knew the unfairness of getting less pay than a man for doing the same work
• As a result of their work, pants became fashionable.

Question 123

What happened to women after the war?

Answer 123

• After the war, many women returned to more traditional roles. For the young couples who had postponed marriage and babies during the war, peace meant that it was time to start a family.
• It was not until the 1960s and the 1970s that women returned to the gains they had made during wartime.

Question 124

What was Operation Overlord?

Answer 124

• By the spring of 1944, almost five years after the war started, the Allies were ready to launch their long awaited invasion of Europe.
• Code named “Operation Overlord”, the invasion involved close to one million British, American and Canadian troops steaming across the English Channel to storm the beaches of France.

Question 125

How did the Allies make sure that their plan of attacking the beaches of France were secret from the germans?

Answer 125

• The Allies were determined to keep their plans a secret.
• They wanted to convince the Germans that their intended target was Pas de Calais, just 50 kilometers from the English coast.
• This would make sense to the Germans because it was the most narrow section of the channel
• The real invasion was to take place at Normandy to the south. To disguise the location of the attack, in the months leading up to the invasion the Allies launched a preliminary bombing campaign up and down the French coast.
• They also built a phantom army, which consisted of fake planes, landing craft and tanks stationed in Kent.
• To the German reconnaissance planes it all looked real.
  The British also knew that the Germans would try to find out more, so double agents planted stories and documents with known German spies. US General Patton was supposedly commander of the non-existent force.
• Pretend radio transmissions were broadcast, just as if a large army were busy being organized.
• The hoax was successful beyond the Allies’ wildest hopes.
  German forces were concentrated in the Pas­de­Calais.
• The deception continued during and after D­Day.

Question 126

What did the Germans think about the Allies invasion?

Answer 126

• The Germans thought the Normandy landings were a diversion, and kept back reserves of tanks and troops in the Calais area ­ to counter what they thought would be the “real” invasion.
• By the time they realized, it was too late. The Normandy bridgehead had been secured, and Allied troops were fighting their way across northern France

Question 127

Explain the invasion at Normandy

Answer 127

• Shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944 the D- Day invasion began. First paratroopers dropped in behind enemy lines to capture and secure strategic roads and bridges.
• Then 2000 bombers began pounding German defenses in preparation for thousands of Allied troops to storm the beaches of Normandy.
• Sailing under the cover of darkness, Allied troops prepared to break down the walls of the German fortress of Europe.
• American troops landed at Omaha and Utah beach.
• British soldiers landed at Gold and Sword beaches.
• Over 15000 Canadians landed at Juno Beach.
• On Juno Beach the Canadians met severe German opposition
• After capturing many towns they advanced inland which secured a stronghold for the allied invasion
  Canadian Navy provided 109 vessels, 10,000 sailors as help to the 7,000 Allied vessels
  Canadian minesweepers helped clearing the English Channel for the invasion
• Allied paratroopers, including 450 Canadians, landed behind the German coastal defences.Separated they captured a German headquarters, destroyed a key bridge, and seized a crossroads.
• The Canadian forces were the only allied force to achieve its goal on the first day.
• They had learned the lessons of Dieppe well.
• By the end of the first week, over 300 000 Allied soldiers had landed safely on the beaches of Normandy.
• With the battle now raging on three fronts, east, west and south, the Germans retreated.
• Yet they would continue to put up fierce resistance for another year before the Allies could claim victory.

Question 128

What was the battle of the Scheldt?

Answer 128

• Antwerp, in Belgium had been liberated in early September, but this key supply point on the Scheldt river was inland from the coast, and the Germans still controlled the mouth of the river, near the border between Belgium and the Netherlands.
• The First Canadian army was given the difficult task of clearing them out. The battle involved bitter fighting that finally ended in a Canadian victory in late November 1944.
• This victory cleared the way for the final Allied advance into Germany.

Question 129

Explain the liberation of the Netherlands.

Answer 129

• On February 8, 1945, 175 000 Canadians, the largest Canadian assault force in history, joined the Rhine offensive.
• The Canadian forces successfully drove the Germans out of the Netherlands and chased them into northern Germany.
• As they liberated the Dutch towns, the Canadians discovered people on the verge of starvation.
• As Canadian forces freed the Netherlands and marched into Northern Germany, the other Allies converged on Berlin.
• Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945 as Soviet Forces entered the city.
• Things moved quickly over the next few days. On May 5, a ceasefire was declared. On May 7, the German forces surrendered unconditionally, Allied leaders declared May 8 VE Day, Victory in Europe Day. The War in Europe was over.

Question 130

What was VE day?

Answer 130

Victory in europe day where the war in eruope was over

Question 131

When did wwII start and end?

Answer 131

September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945
Started with Hitler’s invasion of Poland and ended with the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945.

Question 132

What happened by 1945 with the United States and what decisions had to be made?

Answer 132

• By 1945. The United States and her allies had reclaimed many of the territories that Japan conquered and a decision had to be made whether or not to invade Japan to end the war.
• The war had been long and many millions had died, an invasion of Japan would be incredibly difficult and could cost many more American lives.

Question 133

What the Albert Einstein warn the US about Germany and what was the US response?

Answer 133

• In 1939, a German­Jewish scientist named Albert Einstein warned the United States that Germany was developing a bomb capable of mass destruction.
• In response, President Roosevelt formed the Manhattan Project­ a group of American, Canadian and other Allied scientists in a top secret race to produce the world’s first atomic bomb.
• In July 1945, the atomic age was born when the Americans successfully tested the first weapon of mass destruction in the New Mexico Desert.

Question 134

What did President Harry Truman decide to use for Japan’s surrender?

Answer 134

As a result, new President Harry Truman (who became President after the Death of Roosevelt) decided to use the atomic bomb to force Japan’s surrender.

Question 135

What were the other reasons that the US decided to drop the bomb?

Answer 135

­- The Soviet Union had entered the Pacific war, and it looked like the Soviets might reach Japan first.

• America wanted to liberate and occupy Japan before the Soviets did. (The Americans would let Japan be their own country after the war, the Soviets wanted to conquer it)
  Billions of dollars worth of military equipment would be lost in an invasion
  ­
• the development of the bomb cost over 2 billion dollars
  ­U.S. airplanes were already dropping
• hundreds of fire bombs on Japan each day, destroying Japanese cities
  On July 27, 1945, the Allies had sent the following message to Japan: “If you do not surrender, you will be destroyed” The Japanese made no reply

Question 136

Who flew over the Japanese city of Hiroshima with the atomic bomb?

Answer 136

Enola Gay

Question 137

What was the plane with the single bomb nicknamed?

Answer 137

Little boy

Question 138

Explain the explosion of the atomic bomb

Answer 138

• Hanging from a small parachute, the bomb drifted over the city.
• It exploded with a burning white flash “brighter than a thousand suns.” Shock waves destroyed buildings, Fireballs burned through the streets. Pieces of the city tore through the air. Finally, a huge mushroom shaped cloud billowed over the city.
• People who looked up at the sound of the explosion had their bodies melt from the heat of the blast. Skin turned black and flesh was ripped from bones.
• By the end of the day, 173 000 people were dead or dying. Those who died at once were lucky.
• Many more suffered slow, painful deaths from radiation poisoning.
• Decades later deformed babies were still being born to the survivors of the bombing.
• The United States again demanded that the Japanese surrender. There was no reply.
• Three days later, the same horror was repeated at Nagasaki. Eighty Thousand more people were killed in a nuclear inferno.
• Japan surrendered unconditionally on August 15 1945, VJ Day (Victory over Japan) Day

Question 139

What was the problem with conscription in Canada?

Answer 139

Prime Minister Mackenzie King did not want to split the country on the issue of conscription, such as what happened during WWI. When the majority of English Canada supported conscription and the vast majority of French Canadians were against it.

Question 140

What happened when parliament approved conscription for Home Defense?

Answer 140

• Parliament approved conscription for “Home Defense”. Men who were drafted into this army were often jeered at and called “zombies” by those who thought that every young man should want to fight overseas.
• In October 1939, Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis called an election fearing that the federal government wanted to take power away from Quebec. He is also fearful of conscription Ottawa supports the Liberal party in Quebec and promises no overseas conscription. The Liberals win the election.

Question 141

Explain the process of allowing conscription in Canada

Answer 141

• 1940: PM King calls a federal election and promises no overseas conscription. He wins a majority.
  In 1942 however, King asked the country to be released from his promise. There were currently enough men waiting in England to fight, but he wanted to be ready for anything.
• The government organized a vote, and 65% of Canadians voted to let the government decide the issue of conscription.
• In Ontario, Manitoba and B.C., 80% voted in favour of conscription. In Quebec, 72 percent were against. The country was once again split along language lines

Question 142

When did Canada use conscription in WWII?

Answer 142

• The situation was avoided for two years but after the invasion of France (D­Day) and the Italian Campaign losses were high and volunteers decreased Reluctantly in November of 1944, King ordered 16,000 soldiers in Home Defense to go to Europe.
• Eventually most French Canadians supported Kings decision
  Fortunately the war ends soon after and only 2,500 of the conscripts fought
• Canadian unity is strained but not broken

Question 143

What were war brides?

Answer 143

• War brides were women who met and married Canadian soldiers while they were stationed overseas.
• About 48000 European women, British, French, Italian, Belgian, Dutch and German came to Canada as war brides, bringing about 20 000 young children with them.
• The war brides had to make many adjustments to fit into Canadian society. Some knew English or French, but many did not. They had to learn a new language, and many were city women who had to adjust to rural life of the late 1940s

Question 144

Explain immigration in Canada after WWII.

Answer 144

• Millions of people were left homeless as a result of the war, some were refugees fleeing persecution, the European economy was in shambles and jobs were scarce.
• Canada attracted many of these now homeless people.
• Canada had a restrictive immigration policy, but C.D. Howe who became Canada’s minister of reconstruction recognized the demand for labour in Canada’s growing manufacturing industry.
• The government had brought in a new Immigration Act, and between 1947 and 1953, more than 186 000 European refugees came to Canada

Question 145

What ended WWII?

Answer 145

After the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, and the Second World War came to an end.

Question 146

Explain Jewish immigrattion in Canada after WWII

Answer 146

• At the end of the war 250 000 Jewish Holocaust survivors found refuge in temporary shelters in Germany, Austria, and Italy.
• Their search for a new permanent home was difficult, because many countries would still not accept Jews.
• Of the 65 000 refugees Canada admitted between 1945 and 1948, about 8000 were Jewish.
• The Canadian Jewish community pleaded with the government to let in Jewish refugees and the government permitted 1000 Jewish war orphans to immigrate to Canada provided the Jewish community sponsored them.
• When the new immigration act was made law in 1952, the number of Jewish immigrants increased. As many as 40 000 Jewish Holocaust survivors eventually settled in Canada.

Question 147

How did the Canadian government and women help returning soldiers?

Answer 147

• The Canadian government wanted to help returning soldiers adjust to post war life.
• Soldiers received funds on their return, as well as any savings from Victory Bonds they might have purchased.
• The government provided rehabilitation programs for the wounded. It
  also offered free tuition for college or university, as well as technical and business training.
• And loans were made available for veterans wanting to buy a farm or start a business.
• Women however were encouraged to leave their jobs so that men could have them.
• Women without the support of a husband were often placed in a difficult financial position.

Question 148

Explain the baby boom after WWII

Answer 148

• The war prevented many Canadians from having children. But when the war ended this changed.
• Thousands of young men returned home, and now there was plenty of time to spend with friends, go on dates, get married, set up a home and start a family.
• As a result young people started having lots of kids and this led to the “Baby Boom”
• Along with immigration, this pushed Canada’s population from 13.5 million in 1949 to 17.5 million in 1959, a jump of 30 percent in only 10 years.

Question 149

Why was Canada’s economy growing after WWII

Answer 149

New young families started purchasing cars and homes as never before. They wanted everything they had not been able to acquire during the war, such as washing machines, prepared baby food, and furniture.

Question 150

What government infrastructure was created after WWII

Answer 150

Canada was the second largest country in the world and had some of the most difficult terrain for construction. The Trans­Canada highway Act of 1950 spurred the construction of the world’s longest road.

Question 151

Why did Canada build the St.Lawrence Seaway after WWII?

Answer 151

• In 1951, the government of Canada wanted to build a waterway that would give ocean going ships access to the heart of the continent via the Great lakes.
• It would take 6 years to build and $470 million.
• The Construction stretch between Montreal and Lake Ontario is recognized as one of the great civil engineering feats in history.
• After the war, Canada’s oil, gas, minerals, lumber, wheat, fish and manufactured products were all in demand.
• The revenues rolled in, and the government spent the money on more major projects to keep people employed and strengthen the economy.

Question 152

What is fascism?

Answer 152

Fascism comes from the Latin fascio, meaning “bundle, or political group.” In fascism, the people are looked at as a bundle — one body that must be controlled by the government with absolute force. There’s no option to vote, no chance to impeach a leader, and no freedom to stand up against the governing body.