On March 3, 2002, following the massacre of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, Palestinian civilians sentenced to death in summary trials are carried away from the line. The remaining Palestinians stand before a wall, awaiting screening and interrogation.

 　　On March 3, 2002, following the massacre of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, Palestinian civilians sentenced to death in summary trials are carried away from the line. The remaining Palestinians stand before a wall, awaiting screening and interrogation.

　　As if they were about to be shot, Nidal Abdallah (17) was detained. “They told everyone to come out of their homes. They said all men between the ages of 16 and 45 had to come out. Then they made us all sit on the ground.” They were subsequently divided into two groups, and Abdallah and about 150 others were detained overnight. During that time, “they would occasionally call someone outside, beat them a little, and then whip them mercilessly—slapping them in the face.” Al-Nazar Maternity Hospital in Ramallah was in the midst of Israeli military shelling. There were many wounded people around the hospital, but medical staff could not reach them.

　　Zionist murders must not be publicized. On March 31, the Israeli military announced that “Ramallah has been designated a closed military zone” and expelled European human rights activists and journalists from the town. So that Israeli soldiers could freely kill large numbers of people. The Israeli military also expelled journalists from the bureaus of foreign news agencies, including Reuters, and seized those offices. They had to completely shut down the media in order to massacre Palestinian civilians at will. The Foreign Press Association (FPA) issued a statement protesting the Israeli military’s orders. “The media has the right to report on this major incident. We demand transparency regarding these operations in the Palestinian autonomous area.”

In April 1945, Mussolini and his mistress were captured while attempting to flee to neutral Switzerland and were executed by Italian partisans.

   In April 1945, Mussolini and his mistress were captured while attempting to flee to neutral Switzerland and were executed by Italian partisans. Although the Italian partisans hoped to liberate large swathes of Italy from German control, in reality they achieved success only in carrying out small-scale operations. In the spring of 1945, guerrilla activity resumed in Italy, but the only tangible achievement of the Italian Resistance was the execution of Mussolini and his mistress as they attempted to flee to Switzerland in April 1945.

   In contrast, in Italy, although partisans who began operations after the surrender sided with the Allies, they were unable to establish liberated zones. Their attempts were easily suppressed by German forces between September and October 1944, and in November 1944, General Alexander, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, broadcast a call to the partisans to cease large-scale operations.

  From a military standpoint, the resistance against German forces in Yugoslavia was of greater significance. Resistance to the Nazis triggered a military coup on March 27, 1941, leading to the overthrow of Prince Paul, the regent of Yugoslavia, just two days after he had brought the country into the Axis alliance. In response, Germany invaded on April 6 with the support of Italian forces.

    The challenges of organizing resistance within the ethnic melting pot that was Yugoslavia, combined with the German army’s ruthless reprisals, appear to have been the primary factors that led the Chetniks, under Mihailović’s command, to refrain from taking action against the German forces and instead wait for a future opportunity to reestablish Serbian dominance in the postwar situation. Mihailović, who had likely already adopted this strategy by the fall of 1941, was increasingly forced into full cooperation with the Italian and German armies due to the rise of the rival communist guerrilla movement.

A terrifying toll: The civil war claimed 8 million lives, with most victims succumbing to starvation and epidemics.

   The civil war following the Russian Revolution of October 1917 claimed a staggering 8 million lives. Famine and disease claimed even more lives. In addition to combat deaths, the forced requisitions associated with the Bolsheviks’ “War Communism” policy devastated rural areas and triggered an unprecedented famine. Deteriorating sanitary conditions allowed epidemics such as typhus to rage, claiming some 8 million lives. This tragedy represented the ultimate humanitarian crisis brought about by the clash of radical ideologies and the collapse of social infrastructure.

   The advent of the Russian October Revolution also marked the beginning of a horrific civil war. The Bolsheviks, who had been a tiny minority, clashed with Kerensky’s supporters and their former allies from the early days of the February Revolution. In particular, they came into violent conflict with the White Army, which was supported by the Allied Powers—fearing the spread of Bolshevism to their own countries—as they reorganized. Against Admiral Kolchak’s forces along the Volga, General Yudenich threatening Petrograd, and Denikin, who had seized control of the Don River and Ukraine before laying siege to Tula, Trotsky organized a disciplined army supported by powerful partisan units. Neither side showed mercy. Allied forces landed: the French in Odessa, and the Japanese and American forces in Vladivostok. Even in Moscow itself, it took six days to secure control.

  Trotsky’s Red Army, having appointed a large number of former Imperial Army officers and introduced conscription, saw its ranks swell from 150,000 in 1918 to 3 million by 1920. On July 16, 1918, the imperial family was massacred in Yekaterinburg. The White Army was virtually insignificant in the civil war, despite receiving support from the Allies. Lenin prophesied to the White Guards defending the Kremlin: “Did you think the path of revolution was strewn with roses? No, revolution is no game. That path is covered with thorns and brambles. Clinging to the ground with our claws and teeth, we must march toward communism. Only then can we overcome these trials.”