The home front

The home front

• 1.
  The Home Front
• 2.
  Conscription•King had cometo power opposing conscription in WWI•Held a plebiscite asking Canadiansto decide on conscription•English Canada voted YES, Quebec voted NO•"Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription” -King•It was implemented at the end of the war, but no conscripts saw action in Europe - for home defense only.
• 3.
  Conscientious Objectors andPacifists Were against war on spiritual and moral basis and 10,700 Canadians fell into this category during WWIIIncluded Mennonites, Dukhobors & Quakers who had come to Canada to escape conflict
• 4.
  Supported non-violent waysto bring change and end conflict
• 5.
  Contribute to thewar effort by :
• 6.
  Buying Victory bonds
• 7.
  Farming or forestry
• 8.
  Serving in medicaland dental corpsWhite feathers were a symbol of cowardice and given to menwho chose not to serve by women in their community.
• 9.
  Economic and SocialConditions•Rationing (ration books)•Very high employment – not enough workers•Many women filled men's jobs - state funded daycare•Wage and price controls•Federal spending very high•Income taxes increased•Victory bonds
• 10.
  Women in WWIIPlayeda major role in army - 45 000 in active duty (non-combatants)Served as drivers, cooks, clerks, messengers, laundresses, ferrying aircraftPaid only 2/3 wage
• 11.
  Not welcomed inthe military - discrimination from permanent officers46 died
• 12.
  Weapons manufacturingCamp XCampX was a paramilitary and commando training center located between Whitby and Oshawa, Ontario where Allied spies trainedSpies helped organize the resistance movements in EuropeHelped sabotage Nazi supply lines and railwaysFed Germans false informationin preparation for D-Day
• 13.
  Racism at HomeOfficialand unofficial racism against “enemy aliens" - German and Italian Canadians•Japanese internment camps•March 1942 all Japanese were moved to the interior •Property confiscated•Families separated•Men paid 25 cents a day•Given nothing back after the war•More than 6000 were sent to Japan•Government issued official apology in 1988 and gave each internee still living $21 000.
• 15.
  S.S. St. LouisJune 1939The ship was carrying nearly 1000 Jewish Refugeesseeking asylum from persecution in Nazi GermanyTurned away from Cuba
• 16.
  Turned away fromthe USA group of academics and clergy tried to persuadethe Canadian government to accept them but failedThe Captain managed to gain acceptance for some of the refugees in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and the NetherlandsThe refugees were eventually captured. Less than half of theformer S.S. St. Louis passengerssurvived the war