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Water powers: the Second World War and the mobilization of hydroelectricity in Canada, the United States, and Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2020

Julie Cohn ,
Matthew Evenden  and
Marc Landry
Julie Cohn
Affiliation:
Center for Public History, University of Houston, 3623 Cullen Blvd, Room 320, Houston, TX 77204-3007, USA E-mail: cohnconnor@gmail.com
Matthew Evenden*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z2 E-mail: matthew.evenden@ubc.ca
Marc Landry
Affiliation:
Department of History & Philosophy, University of New Orleans, Liberal Arts Building, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA E-mail: mdlandr1@uno.edu
*
*Corresponding author. Email: matthew.evenden@ubc.ca
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Abstract

Comparing three of the major hydroelectric power-producing countries during the war – Canada, the United States, and Germany – this article considers the implications of expanding hydroelectricity for war production and strategy, and how wartime decisions structured the longer-term evolution of large technological systems. Despite different starting points, all three countries pursued similar strategies in attempting to mobilize hydroelectricity for the war effort. The different access to and use of hydro in these states produced a vital economic and ultimately military advantage or disadvantage. The global dimensions of hydroelectric development during the war, moreover, demonstrate that this conflict was a turning point in the history of electrification.

Keywords

CanadaenergyGermanyhydroelectricitySecond World WarUnited States
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Global History , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 123 - 147
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Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2020

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Footnotes

†

We would like to thank colleagues in the American Society for Environmental History who first listened to our separate papers and encouraged us to team up. Eric Leinberger prepared the maps and graphs with his usual skill and artistry. Thanks to the library staff at the Bonneville Power Administration for assistance with wartime poster images. We would also like to thank the reviewers, including David Massell, and the JGH editors for their suggestions and questions. Matthew Evenden wishes to acknowledge the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Faculty of Arts, University of British Columbia.

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