Wartime Government Policies and Military Strategies

Wartime Government Policies

• Wartime Prices and Trade Board: Created to control prices and inflation in Canada during wartime, given the power to limit inflation, protecting consumers.
• National Resources Mobilization Act: Law passed to improve war planning for Canada's military efforts both overseas and domestically. Showcased government commitment to intensifying the war effort.
• Japanese Internment Camps (BC): Housing units for Japanese Canadians, often near abandoned mines or new government towns. Driven by racial discrimination and prejudice against Asians.
• Conscription Crisis (WW2): Political and military crisis resulting from mandatory military service, deeply dividing Canada and threatening political leaders.
• League of Nations (1920-1946): First intergovernmental organization aiming for international cooperation and peace. Created a new era of multilateralism.

Military Technology & Strategies

• SONAR: Sound navigating system used in WWII to locate submarines. Modern applications include nautical charting and shipwreck searches.
• RADAR: Electric system employing radio waves to detect objects; provides information on distance, position, size, shape, direction, and speed. Widely used today in air defense, marine radars, and more.
• Synthetic Rubber: Substance stronger than natural rubber used to improve aircraft windows, radar performance, and tank waterproofing. Modern uses in tires, building materials, and flooring.
• Medical Technology: Penicillin, antibiotics, and plastic surgery contributed to a 95% recovery rate for wounded Allied soldiers; advancements in technology are still happening and the virtual care industry has emerged.
• Enigma: German coding machine used in WWII to encrypt radio messages. Now rarely used.
• U-boats: German submarines intended to sink Allied merchant ships to disrupt their war efforts. Their attacks were pivotal in drawing the US into the war.

International Conflicts and Events of WW2 and Before

• MS St. Louis: German luxury liner carrying Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939. Illustrates the anti-Semitic exclusion policies towards Jewish people.
• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: Nazis confined Jews to ghettos with inadequate resources, leading to widespread starvation. The uprising saw thousands die in the Warsaw Ghetto which was a cramped area with horrible conditions with the ghetto being only 2.4% of Warsaw’s size.
• Kristallnacht (November 9-10, 1938): Coordinated attacks against Jewish communities in Nazi Germany and Austria, with synagogues being burned and an ordered 'pogrom'.
• Final Solution: Nazi plan to exterminate Europe's Jewish population (1941-1945), leading to the murder of ~6 million people in 21 countries. The plan was developed after Hitler became Chancellor on January 30, 1933.
• Auschwitz: Network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps during WWII. Located in Oświęcim, Poland, composed of Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Auschwitz III-Monowitz, and 45 satellite camps. Around 1.1 million prisoners are believed to have died at Auschwitz. The majority, 90%, were Jewish.
• Nuremberg Laws: Deprived Jews of citizenship and civil rights in Germany. Restricted Jewish interactions with non-Jews and limited social and economic opportunities. Jews could not marry non-Jews or hire Aryan women as maids and were also banned from public schools and owning land by 1936.

Explore key government policies in Canada during wartime, including the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, National Resources Mobilization Act, and the Impact of Japanese Internment Camps. Additionally, delve into military technologies and strategies like SONAR and the role of League of Nations in global peace efforts.