WW2

• World War II


  1 September 1939 - 2 September 1945
• NZ was involved for all but 3 of those days (2176 days - only Britain and Australia fought for as long)
• Zones of conflict


  • Europe (allies fought against axis powers of Germany and Italy)
  • Pacific (NZ and USA fought against Japan)
  • Egypt (El Alamein)
  • Greece
• The Treaty of Versailles (1919 between France, Uk, USA, USSR) and the billions of dollars of reparations that Germany was forced to pay back after World War 1 (Germany forced to give up land to France)


  Crippled them financially, worsened by the Great Depression of 1929-1939
• Adolf Hitler emerged, promising to restore not only Germany's economy, but their prestige on the world stage
• Part of Hitler's rhetoric was his anti-Jewish stance
• Germany invaded Poland in 1939


  Britain and France could stand by no longer and war was declared
• Contrary to World War 1 where we acted as a member of the Commonwealth, New Zealand itself declared war on Germany independently (unlike Australia, which held that the King's declaration, as in 1914, extended to all his Dominions)
• Driving factor for NZ's involvement

  Concern closer to home was Japan, which was growing stronger and looking to expand
• New Zealand, which still didn't have much military strength, was relying on Britain to help economically as well as militarily - if Japan chose to attack
• For this reason


  It seemed in the best interests of New Zealand for Britain to be successful in the war in Europe
• Impact on the home front

  Considerable, gave rise to New Zealanders' developing sense of identity, greatly increased their confidence in their role in the world, particularly in defending the pacific and defending our own shores
• Participation in major conflicts ( Battle of Britain, conflicts in Crete and El Alamein)


  • Established the 2NZEF as a heroic and elite fighting force
• Declaring war on Germany and Italy


  Firmly established NZ as our own nation, independent of Britain
• Alliance with the USA


  We formed a close alliance with the USA
• US troops deployed in NZ

  • Brought with them goods such as donuts, waffles, nightclubs, hot dogs, hamburgers. 1500 women married US soldiers.
• Māori Battalion


  • Famous in the war for their bravery, bought Māori further in to mainstream NZ, high casualty rate
• What were the consequences for NZ and NZers?

  • 11,928 dead

  • Approximately 10% of our population were involved in some capacity

  • NZ had the highest number of dead (per million people) in the entire War

  There was a huge impact on the homefront on households and industries:

  • Many homes protected themselves against potential Japanese invasion with blackout windows/dressings

  • 50% of incomes went toward the war effort

  • Rationing of food (via food stamps)

  • US troops were housed by a large number of households
• Similar to World War 1, the contributions of the 2NZEF, and the 140,000 men and women who fought alongside Australia (the ANZACs) and Britain are commemorated annually on April 25th as part of the ANZAC Day memorial
• Rituals and icons used to remember the sacrifices and those who fought (and died) to defend our nation


  • Dawn parade
  • Last Post (and ode)
  • Poppy
• Battle emplacements - such as those at North Head in Devonport, and on Rangitoto and Waiheke islands - are lasting testaments to the real threat of Japanese invasion and the lengths we took on the home front to defend our shores
• Around 140,000 New Zealanders - men and women - served in the war
• Because New Zealand had no territorial force, the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force was created (104,000 soldiers)
• New Zealand's participation in the war

  1. Served in the Royal Air Force (RAF)

  2. 2nd Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) acted as minesweepers in the English Channel defending against a potential German landing
• 2NZEF fought in


  1. Crete in 1940 defending the Greek island against an Italian invasion

  2. El Alamein in Egypt in 1942 against German invasion

  3. Defending the pacific (alongside the USA) in 1942 and 1943, particularly liberating the Solomon Islands from Japanese control and preventing an invasion of New Caledonia