In L11—A3, you learned that in early 1939, Adolf Hitler broke his promise and took over the rest of western Czechoslovakia and appeasement had failed.

In this activity, you will learn about how the Second World War began.

On September 1, 1939, Hitler’s armies invaded Poland. Many thousands of tanks and 1.5 million soldiers attacked on the land while German airplanes bombed Polish cities. The Polish army was no match for the well-equipped and highly trained German military. Poland surrendered to the invaders within four weeks.

The conflict that began with Hitler expanded to include most other nations. The world divided into two groups. Germany, Italy, Japan, and some other smaller nations, formed the Axis. Great Britain and the nations that supported her were referred to as the Allies.

World War II continued until 1945. Japan was the last nation to surrender after the United States of America dropped atomic bombs on two of its cities.

Canada Declares War

Under the terms of the Statute of Westminster, Canada could act independently on the world scene. This meant that when Britain declared war on Germany, Canada was not automatically at war. The decision on whether to go to war was totally ours to make. Parliament met in a special session, and on September 10, 1939, Canada's government declared war against Germany.

There were several reasons that Canada declared war:

• Canada was a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations and felt a strong allegiance to Great Britain.

•  Seventy-five percent of English-Canadians were from British background, and they supported Britain.

• Most Canadians felt Hitler was a threat to much of the world, and they believed he must be stopped.

• Many Canadians thought Hitler and Germany went against everything Canada stood for.

At first, Canada did not intend to get involved to the same extent as she had been in World War I. In 1940, Germany took over France and Canada realized that Britain was in trouble and needed more help, so the war effort was increased. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour in December, 1942, and the United States entered the war, Canada joined with Great Britain in declaring war on Japan.

 Once again, Canadian forces were recognized for their outstanding efforts, and today, many people in countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands think of the Canadians as those who saved their countries.