The tide turned and

the war ended

Conscription 1942 and 1944

When war was declared many people first thought about

conscription and the danger it posed

At the outset of war Prime Minister Mackenzie King promised that

there would be no conscription

The NRMA allowed for conscription for home defense but this was
insufficient and King holds a plebiscite (1942)

Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary

Watch how close Mackenzie King came to losing control over the
government because of conscription and how he was able to
navigate both the crisis and the war effort

A Rip in the Fabric 39:27

The Diligent Tailor - 1:29:39

Why conscription?

The Allied situation in the spring of 1942 was grim.

The Germans had penetrated deep into Russia

The British in North Africa had been forced back into

Egypt

The Allies had been kept out of Western Europe since the
Allied forces had been pushed across the English
Channel in the escape from Dunkirk.

The Allies faced the real possibility of defeat

Why was it so dire?

For one reason, the Red Army was ineffective http://

www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin/videos/stalins-purges

British forces were close to defeat everywhere in 1942. The

American economy was a peacetime economy, apparently
unprepared for the colossal demands of total war. The Soviet
system was all but shattered in 1941, two-thirds of its heavy
industrial capacity captured and its vast air and tank armies
destroyed. This was a war, Ribbentrop ruefully concluded, that
'Germany could have won'.

Richard Overy, http://

www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/how_the_allies_won_01.shtml

So, how did the Allies win?

The

success of the Red Army

Armies

were reorganized, communication and

intelligence improved and Stalin put Marshal Zhukov
in charge of the army

The

vast supply of American armaments

Success

of the Allied air power (bombing)

So, how did the Allies win?

The success of the Red Army

The vast supply of American armaments

Roosevelt

introduced the Lend Lease program

Lend

Lease provided military aid to any country whose

defense was vital to the security of the United States (1Bn
to USSR no interest and no payments until 5 years after
wars end)

Success of the Allied air power (bombing)

So, how did the Allies win?

The success of the Red Army

The vast supply of American armaments

Success of the Allied air power (bombing)

Diverted

the German air force, affected German Armament

production, strained German resources, eased path for
armies

Normandy Invasion

Battle of the Atlantic mostly won, Allies advancing through Italy,

Soviets pushing back German troops

Remember
From

the successful Normandy

landings the Allies push west liberating
France, Belgium and the Netherlands
before advancing into Germany

It

took 11 months of hard fighting in

difficult conditions

Battle of the Scheldt

Important
Germans

for opening supply lines

had flooded the area

Battle of the Rhineland

Canadians were given

the task of liberating
the Netherlands

The campaign to
liberate Holland began
in September of 1944,
after the D-Day
landings and campaign
to liberate France.

Eventually after more gruelling fighting....

Victory in Europe

May 8 1945 was VE day (Victory in Europe) and came after the
Allies and Soviets forced German surrender

The Soviet Red Army took Berlin and it was Zhukov that accepted
Germanys surrender

However, this was not the end to WWII as Japan was willing to
fight to the last until...

Remember

Engaged in aggressive empire building and was hungry for raw

materials

Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere (1940-1945)

Tide began to run in the Pacific in 1943

Victory in Japan

The Allies had delivered Japan an ultimatum to surrender

on July 28, 1945. When this was ignored, the US dropped
two atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and
Nagasaki on August 9.

The Allies celebrated victory over Japan on August 15,

1945, Japanese administration did not officially surrender
with a signed document until September 2, 1945.

Both dates are known as VJ Day.

In war, morality is a luxury and some rules of engagement can

prove impractical

Consider the use of atomic weapons, carpet bombing, bombing

civilians to break a nations spirit, etc.

The Holocaust

How was it possible for a modern nation to carry out the

systematic murder of a people simply because they were Jews?

How was it possible for a people to almost be destroyed?

How was it possible for the world to stand by without halting

this destruction?

Take two pages each to read and then share within your groups
to help you answer these questions. What questions are you left
with?

What do we do with Auschwitz?

Read the article and discuss in your groups what are the merits of
each side of the argument and what do you think should be
done?