European theatre of World War II major German forces in the west were encircled and trapped in the Ruhr. On April 27, 1945, as Allied forces closed in on Milan, Mussolini was captured by Italian Partisans. He was trying to flee Italy to Switzerland and was traveling with a German anti-air battalion. On April 28, Mussolini and several of the other Fascists captured with him were taken to Dongo and executed by firing squad. The bodies were then taken to Milan and unceremoniously strung up in front of a filling station. Hitler, learning of Mussolini's death, realized that the end had finally come. He remained in
Byelorussia in World War II passing out of Belarus, the Soviet Fronts name "Byelorussian" kept their name until the end of the war, and were to distinguish themselves in the battles in Poland and Germany in 1944 and 1945. In the Soviet Union the end of World War II in Europe is considered to be 9 May, when the surrender took effect Moscow time. This date is celebrated as a national holiday, Victory Day, or "День Победы" in Belarus, Russia and some other post-Soviet countries. Byelorussia in World War II Byelorussia (also known as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic), known today as Belarus was a