By Robert Brehl
May 7, 2020
Robert Brehl
May 8 marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, V-E Day.
That triumphant moment, especially seen now during this COVID-19 crisis, should inspire us as a benchmark of resolve, endurance and sacrifice. The Allies defeated tyranny and freed Europe of “the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule,” as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously once declared.
While Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union were the “Big Three” of the Grand Alliance, Canada’s role was significant for a country of only 11 million, less than one-third our current population. And we were in it from the start; two years ahead of the Americans and the Russians.
And Canada’s efforts involved virtually the whole country, whether by serving in the military or by serving on the home front in industry and agriculture. More than one million Canadians were in uniform — and 45,000 gave their lives while another 55,000 were wounded, according to the Veterans Affairs Canada website.
“From Murmansk to the Mediterranean, Canada’s navy — and merchant marine — played an enormous but often unsung role in delivering personnel and supplies to key strategic areas,” says Anthony Wilson-Smith, president and CEO of Historica Canada, a charitable organization dedicated to enhancing awareness of Canadian history.
“We often overlook the fact that by the end of the war, we had the third largest navy in the world, after the U.S. and Great Britain, with more than 95,000 members and 434 commissioned vessels.”
As our lives are impacted by the pandemic, it’s easy to forget the Second World War went on for almost six years in Europe from Sept. 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945.
The following are little-known facts about Canada’s contribution over those six long years.
It was Canadian forces who led the liberation of the Netherlands, and Canada even provided sanctuary for the Dutch royal family when their country was under Nazi occupation.
At war’s end, the Dutch royal family sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada as a thank you and the Dutch still send 10,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa every year. The Canadian Tulip Festival, the world’s largest, is held each May, even this year, thanks in part to the Dutch royal family’s gifts.
There are now fewer than 33,000 living Canadian Second World War veterans; at the average age of 95. Our COVID-19 sacrifices seem pale by comparison to theirs.
(Brehl is a writer and author of many books.)
Robert Brehl