Images from the Footprint of Mussolini

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Ante Pavelić (1889 - 1946)

Pavelić became leader of fascist Croatia after it gained independence from former Yugoslavia. He had already established ultra-nationalist and extremely violent Ustache Movement which immediately begun purge Bosnia from its Serbian population. Their tactics were so brutal that even many Italian fascists called them total nuthead. Mussolini too didn't like Pavelić but he saw him being more fit as leader of the country than someone else. Pavelić too favored Catholics on office and practise ultra-Catholic politics. He too purged his regime from several people whom he didn't want and felt threat to his power. Pavelić was too accused from antisemitism but there is not clear evidence if the was or not.

Downfall of Pavelić came in 1946. In 1946 Communists won Serbian Civil War and managed create socialist state. This caused serious crisis in Balkans which almost led to third global conflict only in 30 years. Despite not having permission of Italians strongly anti-Serbian Pavelić begun war against Serbia. Him had clear goal to kill every Serbian, annex the country and settle the place with Catholic Croats. Italians weren't really happy about that. Despite that fascist regimes hated communist Serbia they didn't want WW3. And Bulgaria was too angry about Croatian attacks against Orthodox churches and was worried about its status as local great power. Finally Italians with some opponents of Pavelić decided that him had go. So Pavelić was quickly removed from his office and executed. His regime was rapidly and violently purged and new fascist regime soon withdraw from Serbia and adopted more moderate politics.
 
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An iconic photo from the Israeli Embassy Siege that occurred on February 23rd 1985, on the 15th anniversary of the Second February Revolution that brought about the fall of the Soviet Union.

On the afternoon of February 23rd ten armed gunmen would storm the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C, all of these gunmen were member of the long underground and meager remains of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), which was banned by the Patton Administration in the 1950s but had evaded total destruction by the Federal Government for decades despite the best efforts of the FBI. Lead by the CPUSA's General-Secretary Gus Hall, the CPUSA gunmen would take the 26 people in the embassy at the time (including embassy staff, several visitors, and a police officer who had been guarding the embassy) hostage and secure the building before first responders arrived after reports of multiple gunshots.

Once they were surrounded, General-Secretary Hall would issue his demands to the FBI hostage negotiator. In his list of demands would be the instant exoneration of Mikhail Suslov and other defendants of the Trier Trials, the release of all "political prisoners" that have been arrested for being CPUSA members since the party's banning (including the release of former CPUSA Vice President and close friend of Hall John Bachtell who remains imprisoned as of 2020), withdrawing diplomatic recognition from Israel, and safe passage to Korea. The United States government, needless to say, swiftly refuses their demands. After three days while the entire world was watching, the deaths of four hostages made the FBI realize that they had to act.

On February 27th, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) prepared to raid the Embassy to takedown the CPUSA militants and rescuing the hostages. Formed in August of 1983, the Israeli Embassy Siege was the first real test for the HRT and they would pass with flying colors. At around 11:30 PM EST, two HRT teams were ordered to begin their simultaneous assaults with one team focusing on the hostages while the other went straight for Hall. Despite dogged resistance, the CPUSA was no match for the HRT agents with the remaining hostages extracted and Gus Hall's death being confirmed by 12:07 AM.

The HRT would be propelled to the national and international spotlight following the Siege with the event itself becoming a memorable historical event for the 1980s, the Siege being replicated and recreated in multiple forms of media. With Gus Hall's death meanwhile, the CPUSA would come to an unremarkable end following a renewed hunt by the FBI and CIA, with the former political party confirmed extinct by 1991.
 
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o6RQfHU.jpg

An iconic photo from the Israeli Embassy Siege that occurred on February 23rd 1985, on the 15th anniversary of the Second February Revolution that brought about the fall of the Soviet Union.

On the afternoon of February 23rd ten armed gunmen would storm the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C, all of these gunmen were member of the long underground and meager remains of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), which was banned by the Patton Administration in the 1950s but had evaded total destruction by the Federal Government for decades despite the best efforts of the FBI. Lead by the CPUSA's General-Secretary Gus Hall, the CPUSA gunmen would take the 26 people in the embassy at the time (including embassy staff, several visitors, and a police officer who had been guarding the embassy) hostage and secure the building before first responders arrived after reports of multiple gunshots.

Once they were surrounded, General-Secretary Hall would issue his demands to the FBI hostage negotiator. In his list of demands would be the instant exoneration of Mikhail Suslov and other defendants of the Trier Trials, the release of all "political prisoners" that have been arrested for being CPUSA members since the party's banning (including the release of former CPUSA Vice President and close friend of Hall John Bachtell who remains imprisoned as of 2020), withdrawing diplomatic recognition from Israel, and safe passage to Korea. The United States government, needless to say, swiftly refuses their demands. After three days while the entire world was watching, the deaths of four hostages made the FBI realize that they had to act.

On February 27th, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) prepared to raid the Embassy to takedown the CPUSA militants and rescuing the hostages. Formed in August of 1983, the Israeli Embassy Siege was the first real test for the HRT and they would pass with flying colors. At around 11:30 PM EST, two HRT teams were ordered to begin their simultaneous assaults with one team focusing on the hostages while the other went straight for Hall. Despite desperate firefights, the CPUSA was no match for the HRT officers with the remaining hostages exacted and Gus Hall's death being confirmed by 12:07 AM.

The HRT would be propelled to the national and international spotlight following the Siege with the event itself becoming a memorable historical event for the 1980s, the Siege being replicated and recreated in multiple forms of media. With Gus Hall's death meanwhile, the CPUSA would come to an unremarkable end following a renewed hunt by the FBI and CIA, with the former political party confirmed extinct by 1991.
This makes me wonder what Angela Davis and Assata Shakur would be doing in the universe, similar fates?
 
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Italian general Giovanni Messe inspecting his troops in Murau, Austria during the Italian liberation of the country.​

Messe was regarded as one of Italy’s top military commanders during the Second World War alongside Italo Balbo & Rodolfo Graziani. During the war, Messe gained a reputation for his expertise in armoured warfare and his studying of German blitzkrieg tactics in the early days of the war helped the Italian invasion of Austria immensely. Messe’s 4th Army, which was fully mechanised and motorised, captured several eastern Austrian towns and cities and liberated the Mauthausen concentration camp just as Vienna was declared secure by Graziani. Famously, or infamously depending on who you ask, when Messe found out about the camp and toured it himself he ordered the captured SS guards to dig mass graves for all those who perished at Mauthausen outside the western perimeter of the camp as well as ordering his soldiers to pillage the city of Mauthausen for food stuff to give to the survivors as they didn’t have enough rations for both the prisoners and themselves.

Later on the general had all the SS marched to the other side of camp’s perimeter, after hours of digging and burying the guards were exhausted but Messe ordered them to dig another set of mass graves anyway...after which he ordered his troops to kill the SS either by bullet or bayonet with not a single guard left alive.
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Messe’s subordinates inform the general of the location of the Mauthausen concentration camp on a map provided to them by underground Austrofascist resistance fighters in 1944 (top). Prisoners of Mauthausen cheer as soldiers of the Italian 4th Army arrive in the camp after disarming the guards (bottom).​
 
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Belgrade, capital of Serbia

Belgrade, like whole Serbia has not even yet on this day fully recovered from disastrous wars of 1940's. Despite several reconstruction projects funded by western nations in 1980's and 1990's even Belgrade is reconstructed only just partially. Many pre-WW2 buildings were totally destroyed duing Third Balkans War and these are not built again. But some other cities of Serbia are even worse condition and some villages are still in 2020 totally ruined and abandoned.
 
Italian artwork of the Third Balkan War and the Second World War:

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Members of the 1° Reggimento San Marco (1st San Marco Regiment), the Regia Marina’s amphibious assault force aka the Italian marines, storm off their ship during the Sino-Italian seizure of the Japanese colony of Takasago-koku (later the South Chinese/Chinese maritime province of Formosa/Taiwan) in 1945.

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Italian forces fighting against the collapsing Royal Yugoslav Army during the Italo-Hungarian-Bulgarian invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the early 1940's.

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A unit of the Regio Esercito’s famed mountain infantry, the Alpini, defend a mountain pass in the Italian alps from advancing German forces.​
 
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Rafe color photo from Hitler's funeral on April 22, 1944, only just one week after Hitler's assassination. Hitler's funeral was massive event despite war. Hitler's casket was placed to Reich Chancellery in Berlin. After Battle of Berlin American troops cremated the casket and Hitler's body and scattered ashes to Spree River.
 
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Erwin Rommel (1891 - 1976)

Rommel was one of major leaders on Operation Valkyrie and Wehrmacht Mutiny on Spring 1944. He led Free German Army which helped Allies fight Wehrmact loyalists and SS-Waffen during last months of Third Reich. After the war Rommel got light sentence from his war crimes. Later he anyway helped to form Reichwehr to new Germany. During Chinese War he was one of major commanders of UN forces. He too helped Israel during First Arabian War. After Chinese War Rommel retired from active service but still worked as advisor of Reichwehr and helped to educate new officers. In 1962 he published his memoirs. Rommel died in 1976. As only former Wehrmacht high-ranked officer he got state funeral.
 
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Mussolini during his first visit to Israel in 1949.
The dictator would visit the country several more times during his lifetime, each time being greeted by large crowds. Although in recent decades his figure has come under increased scrutiny and criticism, he remains very popular within the population.
 
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Indoors of alcohol store in Moscow. Russia has one of strictest alcohol legistature in Euroipe and there is too one of highest alcohol taxes of the world. Russia has practised very tight alcohol politicy since 1970's and it hasn't changed much by this day. There was some proposals for alcohol prohibition but such plans were abandoned when politicians didn't believe that it would work out any better than in other countries where such things has tried. Due tight legistature and expensive alcohol products it is not unusual that many people who live near of borders of neighboring countries go buy cheaper alcohol from neighbors.

Despite that Russians are not really fans of these alcohol legistatures it has notably improved general health of the people and life expency is close of level of other European countries. It is really rare that someone would go to streets when is drunken. Police would arrest such person quickly and there is really heavy fines for public drunkness.
 
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Memorial for nuking of Warsaw in Polish capital city.

Nuclear boming of the city destroyed much of Warsaw center in 1948. Communist regime didn't bother reconstruct the site and just built some cheap apartments there. When communism fell in 1972 government begun reconstruct the site. Memorial site was finished on 40th anniversary of nuking, in 15th February, 1988.
 
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Picture from the 1990 intervention into the Transkei Bantustan. The United Nations mission was considered a major failure due to the fact that white Aid Workers would be attacked by the long-victimized populace, and any food or water brought would be siezed by local warlords and gangs to be used as leverage. The death of Hideo Tanaka, a Japanese Doctor, at the hands of an angry mob would force the majority of the United Nations forces to withdraw, leaving only Black members, a mixture of American and Native Africans to do what little they could. They would pull out in 1991, bringing with them about 300 refugees who would be resettled in Rhobabwe.
 
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German kids getting food on British occupation zone in Berlin on December 1944.

Due war and blockade Germany had serious shortage of food and Allies had give much of food aid to Germans. Situation anyway became quiet better in West Germany but on Soviet occupation zone and later East Germany (Democratic Republic of Germany) situation was pretty bad until 1950's.
 
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Russian ice hockey team in 2019

Altough Soviet Union put much effort to their national ice hockey team, post-Soviet Russia hasn't been so intrested about ice hockey and due lack of good sponsors level of the sport has declined notably since 1970's. Altough Russia has always maanged get to world championship contents of ice hockey it hasn't been even close of world championship. Due weak level of national team several prominent players have moved to other countries. So it is not very unusual that several Canadian, American, Swedish, Finnish and Czechoslovakian ice hockey players have Russian names.
 
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Ion Antonescu was dictator of Romania during WW2. Under his leadership Romania allied with Germany and joined to Barbarossa. His Iron Guard was very infamous from its violent attacks on Jews and Antonescu's Legionaire Government passed several antisemtic laws. When Roman Alliance officially joined to the war on December 1943 and Bulgaria captured Dobruja and Ploesti oil fields king Michael I organised coup and Antonescu and his government was ousted and arrested in 22 January, 1944. Iron Guard was dissolved and Romania switched side and declared war to Gemrany and Hungary. Later Antonescu and several members of his government was put on trial. Antonescu was sentenced to death and was hanged on 22nd January 1945, exactly one year after his deposition.

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Constantin Sănătescu was one of most notable Romanian generals during WW2. He helped king Michael I organise coup against Antonescu and Iron Guard on January 1944. Sănătescu fromed intermin government which declared war to Germany and Hungary, repealed anti-semitic legistature and freed political prisoners. It too organised first free election in many years. Under the government was too passed new constitution which helped to make Romania stable democracy and designed the country as neutralnation, which Sănătescu never agreed but him had just accept the thing. His government stepped down on February 1945 after election.
 
Some stills from German movie "Operation Valkyrie" (2007). The movie tells about assassination of Hitler, botched coup attempt and Wehrmacth mutiny. The movie won Oscar on category "Best Foreign Movie".

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Hitler (Bruno Ganz) reading some papers just before he begins rant about Jews and moments before bomb is explosed.

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Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen) taking news about Hitler's assassination.

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Reich judge Roland Freisler (André Hennicke) during Masnstein's trial.

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Erwin Rommel (Ulrich Tukur) after he realises that Operation Valkyrhie hasn't gone quiet that way as planned.
 
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Some stills from German movie "Operation Valkyrie" (2007). The movie tells about assassination of Hitler, botched coup attempt and Wehrmacth mutiny. The movie won Oscar on category "Best Foreign Movie".

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Hitler (Bruno Ganz) reading some papers just before he begins rant about Jews and moments before bomb is explosed.

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Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen) taking news about Hitler's assassination.

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Reich judge Roland Freisler (André Hennicke) during Masnstein's trial.

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Edwin Rommel (Ulrich Tukur) after he realises that Operation Valkyrhie hasn't gone quiet that way as planned.
The middle two pictures aren't working for me.
 
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