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
Dutch annexation of German territory after World War II Dutch annexation of German territory after World War II At the end of World War II, plans were made in the Netherlands to annex German territory as compensation for the damages caused by the war. In October 1945, the Dutch state asked Germany for 25 billion guilders in reparations. In February 1945 it had already been established at the Yalta Conference that reparations would not be given in monetary form. The plan which was worked out in most detail was the one made by , and hence became known as the Bakker-Schut Plan. In its most ambitious form, this plan