Benito Mussolini January 1945 by Madeleine Mollier, a few months before he was captured and executed by Italian anti-fascist partisans, he stated flatly: "Seven years ago, I was an interesting person. Now, I am little more than a corpse." He continued: On 25 April 1945, allied troops were advancing into northern Italy, and the collapse of the Salò Republic was imminent. Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci set out for Switzerland, intending to board a plane and escape to Spain. Two days later on 27 April, they were stopped near the village of Dongo (Lake Como) by communist partisans Valerio and Bellini
Evacuation of civilians from the Channel Islands in 1940 lived very different lives which were hard to talk about. Those who had been evacuated were told that it was tougher in the islands. Alderney residents were not allowed to return to their island until December 1945. The islands ended the war with a debt of £9,000,000, which the UK Government hoped would be repaid. This was roughly the total value of every house in the Channel Islands and included the evacuation accounts. A generous gift from the UK government of £3,300,000 was used to recompense islanders who had suffered losses and the cost of maintaining the evacuees, estimated at