Axis anti-partisan operations in World War II
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Axis forces were involved in counter-insurgency operations against the various resistance movements during World War II.
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During the Second World War, resistance movements that bore any resemblance to irregular warfare were frequently dealt with by the occupying forces under the auspices of anti-partisan warfare, particularly in territories occupied by Nazi forces. In many cases, the Nazis euphemistically used the term "anti-partisan operations" to obfuscate ethnic cleansing and ideological warfare operations against perceived enemies; this included Jews, Communist officials (so-called Jewish Bolsheviks), Red Army stragglers, and others. This was especially the case on the Eastern Front, where anti-partisan operations often resulted in the massacres of innocent civilians. While the worst atrocities in terms of scale occurred in the Eastern theater of the war, the Nazis employed "anti-partisan" tactics in Western Europe as well.