White Terror
Encyclopedia
White Terror is the violence carried out by reactionary
(usually monarchist
or conservative
) groups as part of a counter-revolution
. In particular, during the 20th century, in several countries the term White Terror was applied to acts of violence against real or suspected socialists
and communists
.
as a symbol of the Bourbon monarchy
, as opposed to the red used by revolutionaries/republicans as in their Phrygian caps and red flag
.
The original White Terror took place in 1794, during the turbulent times surrounding the French Revolution
. It was organized by reactionary "Chouan
" royalist forces in the aftermath of the Reign of Terror
, and was targeted at the radical Jacobins
and anyone suspected of supporting them. Throughout France
, both real and suspected Jacobins were attacked and often murdered. Just like during the Reign of Terror, trials were held with little regard for due process. In other cases, gangs of youths who had aristocratic connections roamed the streets beating known Jacobins. These "bands of Jesus" dragged suspected revolutionaries from prisons and murdered them much as alleged royalists had been murdered during the September Massacres
of 1792.
Again, in 1815, following the return of King Louis XVIII of France
to power, people suspected of having ties with the governments of the French Revolution or of Napoleon
suffered arrest and execution. Marshal Brune
was killed in Avignon
, and General Jean-Pierre Ramel
was assassinated in Toulouse
. These actions struck fear in the population, dissuading Jacobin and Bonapartist electors (48,000 on 72,000 total permitted by the census suffrage) to vote for the ultras. Of 402 members, the first Chamber of the Restoration
was composed of 350 ultra-royalists; the king himself thus named it the Chambre introuvable
("the Unobtainable Chamber"). The Chamber voted oppressive laws, sentencing to death Marshal Ney
and general la Bédoyère
, while 250 people were given prison sentences and some others exiled (Joseph Fouché
, Lazare Carnot
, Cambacérès
).
(1923–1926). The Bulgarian Communist Party
was repressed and martial law
was declared. In 1925, after the Sofia
bomb attack aimed to assassinate Tsar Boris III
, the Communist Party was outlawed and persecution escalated, with many notable figures who had expressed Communist beliefs—for example, writer Geo Milev
—being repressed, and many killed without trial. An estimated 5000 people perished in the Tsankovite White Terror.
from 1927 to 1949 is associated with the Republic of China
, led by Chiang Kai-shek
and his nationalist party, the Kuomintang
.
The White Terror in mainland China began on April 12, 1927, when Chiang initiated a purge of Communists from the Shanghai
Kuomintang and began large-scale killings in the "Shanghai massacre of 1927
". The White Terror in China took millions of lives, most of them in rural areas, and nearly destroyed the Chinese Communist Party.
of 1918, the victorious White troops of Carl Gustaf Mannerheim
carried out terror against workers and suspected leftists. According to Finnish studies, some 80,000 people and their families were sent to concentration camps, where more than 11,783 died of disease or starvation. About 8500 people were executed. In Helsinki
, the White Guards made workers' wives and children walk in front of their troops as they recaptured the city street by street. In Lahti, in one day, some 200 women were shot with explosive bullets. In Viipuri, 600 Red Guards were lined up in three rows and machine gunned to death.
, Germany
tottered on the brink of chaos. In an attempt to suppress the revolution, militia
s formed out of demobilized World War I veterans. The Freikorps
, as they were called, were meant as a replacement for the Kaiser's Army, which had evaporated overnight due to desertion. The Freikorps was sent to suppress the revolution on the streets of Berlin
and later invaded the Bavarian Soviet Republic
. A large number of people were murdered in the subsequent terror. The number of workers who died in the repression of revolutionary developments in Germany from 1918 to 1921 was estimated at 15,000.
, carried out by irregular and semi-regular detachments in Hungary
in 1919-1920, after the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
in response to the Red Terror
. Most of them formally belonged to Miklós Horthy
's "National Army", but they were not under direct control, and disputed if Horthy had been known about their actions. Militias massacred approximately 600-2000 people, mostly communist Jews and alleged traitors.
Some historians trace White Terror to 28 October 1917, when Moscow cadets captured revolutionary soldiers of the 56th Reserve Regiment, ordered them to line up ostensibly to check the Alexander II monument, and then proceeded to open fire with machine guns and rifles on unarmed people. More than 300 people were killed.
, the "White Terror" describes the suppression of political dissidents under the martial law
period from May 19, 1949 to July 15, 1987, following Kuomintang's acquisition of Taiwan and retreat there. It resulted in part from 228 Incident
(also known as "228 massacre") in Taiwan in 1947. It included repression of democrats, communists and Taiwan independence supporters.
, there were a series of reprisal killings carried out by South Korea
n security forces against suspected communists. The most infamous incident of this type occurred during the Jeju Uprising that took place on Jeju island. In recent years, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
of South Korea revealed many massacres which have been blamed on communist forces/sympathizers. The worst tragedy was Bodo League massacre
. There were various other massacres that also took place, such as the Mungyeong massacre
, Geochang massacre
, Sancheong and Hamyang massacre and Ganghwa massacre
. The governmental research into such incidents began in 2005.
members, plus numerous Derg supporters, and soon provoked a government counteraction - the Red Terror
. In comparison to other White Terrors, the EPRP are not reactionary or anti-communist.
In the central square in Volgograd there is a "Square of Fallen Fighters", created 1920, where the remains of 55 victims of the white terror are buried. A monument was established in 1957, in black and red granite, inscribed with: "To the freedom fighters of Red Tsaritsyn. Buried here are the heroic defenders of Red Tsaritsyn brutally tortured by White Guard butchers in 1919."
A monument to victims of White Terror in Vyborg was made in 1961 near the Leningrad highway. It is dedicated to the victims of 600 prisoners shot by machine gun by the White Guards on the ramparts of the city.
The "In Memory of Victims of White Terror" monument in Voronezh is located in a park near the regional Nikitinskaia libraries. The monument was unveiled in 1920 on the site of public executions in 1919 by the troops of Mamantov.
In Sevastopol
on the 15th Bastion Street of December 1920, there is a "Communard Cemetery and victims of white terror". The cemetery is named in honor of the members of the Communist underground, murdered by Whites in 1919-20.
In the city of Slavgorad in Altai, there is a monument for the participants of the Chernodolsky Uprising and their families who fell victim to the white terror of Ataman Annekov.
Taiwan
ese composer Tyzen Hsiao
wrote his 2001 Ilha Formosa: Requiem for Formosa's Martyrs
in memory of that island's victims of anti-communist persecution.
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
(usually monarchist
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
or conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
) groups as part of a counter-revolution
Counterrevolutionary
A counter-revolutionary is anyone who opposes a revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it, in full or in part...
. In particular, during the 20th century, in several countries the term White Terror was applied to acts of violence against real or suspected socialists
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
Historical origin: the French Revolution
The name derives from the traditional use of the colour whiteWhite
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
as a symbol of the Bourbon monarchy
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, as opposed to the red used by revolutionaries/republicans as in their Phrygian caps and red flag
Red flag
In politics, a red flag is a symbol of Socialism, or Communism, or sometimes left-wing politics in general. It has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution. Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it became a symbol of communism as a result of its...
.
The original White Terror took place in 1794, during the turbulent times surrounding the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. It was organized by reactionary "Chouan
Chouannerie
The Chouannerie was a royalist uprising in twelve of the western departements of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the French Revolution, the First French Republic, and even, with its headquarters in London rather than France, for a time, under the Empire...
" royalist forces in the aftermath of the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
, and was targeted at the radical Jacobins
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
and anyone suspected of supporting them. Throughout France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, both real and suspected Jacobins were attacked and often murdered. Just like during the Reign of Terror, trials were held with little regard for due process. In other cases, gangs of youths who had aristocratic connections roamed the streets beating known Jacobins. These "bands of Jesus" dragged suspected revolutionaries from prisons and murdered them much as alleged royalists had been murdered during the September Massacres
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
of 1792.
Again, in 1815, following the return of King Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
to power, people suspected of having ties with the governments of the French Revolution or of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
suffered arrest and execution. Marshal Brune
Guillaume Marie Anne Brune
Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, 1st Comte Brune was a French soldier and political figure who rose to Marshal of France....
was killed in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, and General Jean-Pierre Ramel
Jean-Pierre Ramel
Jean-Pierre Ramel was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the First French Empire. Following the defeat of Napoleon I, he was assassinated by royalists in Toulouse during the Second White Terror...
was assassinated in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
. These actions struck fear in the population, dissuading Jacobin and Bonapartist electors (48,000 on 72,000 total permitted by the census suffrage) to vote for the ultras. Of 402 members, the first Chamber of the Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
was composed of 350 ultra-royalists; the king himself thus named it the Chambre introuvable
Chambre introuvable
La Chambre introuvable was the first Chamber of Deputies elected after the Second Bourbon Restoration in 1815. It was dominated by Ultra-royalists who completely refused to accept the results of the French Revolution...
("the Unobtainable Chamber"). The Chamber voted oppressive laws, sentencing to death Marshal Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
and general la Bédoyère
Charles de la Bédoyère
Charles Angélique François Huchet, Comte de la Bédoyère was a French General during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I who was executed in 1815....
, while 250 people were given prison sentences and some others exiled (Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. In English texts his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.-Youth:Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes...
, Lazare Carnot
Lazare Carnot
Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot , the Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars, was a French politician, engineer, and mathematician.-Education and early life:...
, Cambacérès
Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès
Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, 1st Duke of Parma was a French lawyer and statesman during the French Revolution and the First Empire, best remembered as the author of the Napoleonic code, which still forms the basis of French civil law.-Early career:Cambacérès was born in Montpellier, into a...
).
Bulgaria
The White Terror in Bulgaria occurred during the right-wing government of Aleksandar TsankovAleksandar Tsankov
Aleksander Tsolov Tsankov was a leading Bulgarian right wing politician between the two World Wars.-Biography:...
(1923–1926). The Bulgarian Communist Party
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party was the communist and Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when the country ceased to be a communist state...
was repressed and martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
was declared. In 1925, after the Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
bomb attack aimed to assassinate Tsar Boris III
Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III the Unifier, Tsar of Bulgaria , originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver , son of Ferdinand I, came to the throne in 1918 upon the abdication of his father, following the defeat of the Kingdom of Bulgaria during World War I...
, the Communist Party was outlawed and persecution escalated, with many notable figures who had expressed Communist beliefs—for example, writer Geo Milev
Geo Milev
Geo Milev , born Georgi Milev Kasabov , was a Bulgarian poet.-Life:Geo Milev studied in Sofia and later in Leipzig where he was introduced to German Expressionism. His university thesis was on Richard Dehmel. Beginning in 1916 he fought in the World War I, where he was severely injured...
—being repressed, and many killed without trial. An estimated 5000 people perished in the Tsankovite White Terror.
China
The White Terror in mainland ChinaMainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
from 1927 to 1949 is associated with the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, led by Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
and his nationalist party, the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
.
The White Terror in mainland China began on April 12, 1927, when Chiang initiated a purge of Communists from the Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
Kuomintang and began large-scale killings in the "Shanghai massacre of 1927
Shanghai massacre of 1927
The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang...
". The White Terror in China took millions of lives, most of them in rural areas, and nearly destroyed the Chinese Communist Party.
Finland
After the Finnish Civil WarFinnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...
of 1918, the victorious White troops of Carl Gustaf Mannerheim
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim was the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War, Commander-in-Chief of Finland's Defence Forces during World War II, Marshal of Finland, and a Finnish statesman. He was Regent of Finland and the sixth President of Finland...
carried out terror against workers and suspected leftists. According to Finnish studies, some 80,000 people and their families were sent to concentration camps, where more than 11,783 died of disease or starvation. About 8500 people were executed. In Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, the White Guards made workers' wives and children walk in front of their troops as they recaptured the city street by street. In Lahti, in one day, some 200 women were shot with explosive bullets. In Viipuri, 600 Red Guards were lined up in three rows and machine gunned to death.
Germany
In the aftermath of the World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
tottered on the brink of chaos. In an attempt to suppress the revolution, militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
s formed out of demobilized World War I veterans. The Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
, as they were called, were meant as a replacement for the Kaiser's Army, which had evaporated overnight due to desertion. The Freikorps was sent to suppress the revolution on the streets of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and later invaded the Bavarian Soviet Republic
Bavarian Soviet Republic
The Bavarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Munich Soviet Republic was, as part of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the short-lived attempt to establish a socialist state in form of a council republic in the Free State of Bavaria. It sought independence from the also recently proclaimed...
. A large number of people were murdered in the subsequent terror. The number of workers who died in the repression of revolutionary developments in Germany from 1918 to 1921 was estimated at 15,000.
Greece
During 1945-1946, right-wing gangs killed about 1,190 pro-communist and left-wing civilians, and tortured many others. Entire villages that helped the partisans were attacked by those gangs.Hungary
One of the first such White Terrors outside Russia was the Hungarian White TerrorWhite Terror (Hungary)
The White Terror in Hungary was a two-year period of repressive violence by counter-revolutionary soldiers, with the intent of crushing any vestige of Hungary’s brief Communist revolution. Many of its victims were Jewish.-Background:...
, carried out by irregular and semi-regular detachments in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
in 1919-1920, after the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
in response to the Red Terror
Red Terror
The Red Terror in Soviet Russia was the campaign of mass arrests and executions conducted by the Bolshevik government. In Soviet historiography, the Red Terror is described as having been officially announced on September 2, 1918 by Yakov Sverdlov and ended about October 1918...
. Most of them formally belonged to Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
's "National Army", but they were not under direct control, and disputed if Horthy had been known about their actions. Militias massacred approximately 600-2000 people, mostly communist Jews and alleged traitors.
Russia
The White Armies, foreign forces, and other opponents of the Soviet Government carried out mass violence against the population, tortured and shot people suspected of being associated with the soviets, destroyed villages, and tormented Red Army prisoners. After each town was captured, there was a protracted massacre of suspected opponents. Historians emphasize the fact the White terror was premeditated and systematic, as orders for terror came from high officials in the White movement, as well as legislative actions of the White regimes.Some historians trace White Terror to 28 October 1917, when Moscow cadets captured revolutionary soldiers of the 56th Reserve Regiment, ordered them to line up ostensibly to check the Alexander II monument, and then proceeded to open fire with machine guns and rifles on unarmed people. More than 300 people were killed.
Taiwan
In TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, the "White Terror" describes the suppression of political dissidents under the martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
period from May 19, 1949 to July 15, 1987, following Kuomintang's acquisition of Taiwan and retreat there. It resulted in part from 228 Incident
228 Incident
The 228 Incident, also known as the 228 Massacre, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang government. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more...
(also known as "228 massacre") in Taiwan in 1947. It included repression of democrats, communists and Taiwan independence supporters.
South Korea
Before and during the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, there were a series of reprisal killings carried out by South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n security forces against suspected communists. The most infamous incident of this type occurred during the Jeju Uprising that took place on Jeju island. In recent years, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Korea)
South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission , established on December 1, 2005, is a governmental body responsible for investigating incidents in Korean history which occurred starting from Japan's rule of Korea in 1910 up until the end of Authoritarian Rule in Korea with the election of...
of South Korea revealed many massacres which have been blamed on communist forces/sympathizers. The worst tragedy was Bodo League massacre
Bodo League massacre
The Bodo League massacre was a massacre of alleged communists and suspected sympathizers that occurred in the summer of 1950 during the Korean War. Estimates of the death toll vary. According to Prof. Kim Dong-Choon, Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, at least 100,000 people...
. There were various other massacres that also took place, such as the Mungyeong massacre
Mungyeong massacre
The Mungyeong massacre was a massacre conducted by 2nd and 3rdplatoon, 7th company, 3rd battalion, 25th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division of the South Korean Army on 24 December 1949 of 86 to 88 unarmed citizens in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang district of South Korea, all of whom were...
, Geochang massacre
Geochang massacre
The Geochang massacre was a massacre conducted by the third battalion of the 9th regiment of the 11th Division of the South Korean Army between 9 February 1951 and 11 February 1951 of 719 unarmed citizens in Geochang, South Gyeongsang district of South Korea. The victims included 385 children. The...
, Sancheong and Hamyang massacre and Ganghwa massacre
Ganghwa massacre
The Ganghwa massacre was a massacre conducted by the South Korean forces, South Korean Police forces and pro-South Korean militiamen, between 6 January 1951 and 9 January 1951, of 212 to 1,300 unarmed citizens in Ganghwa county of Incheon metropolitan city in South Korea, all of whom were...
. The governmental research into such incidents began in 2005.
Spain
During and after the civil war in Spain the Nationalist side executed an estimated 200,000 people.Ethiopia
In February 1977, the EPRP, a communist group, initiated terrorist attacks - known as the White Terror - against Derg members and their supporters (another communist group). This violence immediately claimed at least eight DergDerg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
members, plus numerous Derg supporters, and soon provoked a government counteraction - the Red Terror
Red Terror (Ethiopia)
The Ethiopian Red Terror, or Qey Shibir , was a violent political campaign in Ethiopia that most visibly took place once Communist Mengistu Haile Mariam achieved control of the Derg, the military junta, 3 February 1977...
. In comparison to other White Terrors, the EPRP are not reactionary or anti-communist.
Memorials to victims of White Terror
In Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and elsewhere, there are a significant number of monuments dedicated to victims of White Terror. Most monuments were planced on the mass graves of the terror.In the central square in Volgograd there is a "Square of Fallen Fighters", created 1920, where the remains of 55 victims of the white terror are buried. A monument was established in 1957, in black and red granite, inscribed with: "To the freedom fighters of Red Tsaritsyn. Buried here are the heroic defenders of Red Tsaritsyn brutally tortured by White Guard butchers in 1919."
A monument to victims of White Terror in Vyborg was made in 1961 near the Leningrad highway. It is dedicated to the victims of 600 prisoners shot by machine gun by the White Guards on the ramparts of the city.
The "In Memory of Victims of White Terror" monument in Voronezh is located in a park near the regional Nikitinskaia libraries. The monument was unveiled in 1920 on the site of public executions in 1919 by the troops of Mamantov.
In Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
on the 15th Bastion Street of December 1920, there is a "Communard Cemetery and victims of white terror". The cemetery is named in honor of the members of the Communist underground, murdered by Whites in 1919-20.
In the city of Slavgorad in Altai, there is a monument for the participants of the Chernodolsky Uprising and their families who fell victim to the white terror of Ataman Annekov.
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese composer Tyzen Hsiao
Tyzen Hsiao
Tyzen Hsiao is a Taiwanese composer of the neo-Romantic school. Many of his vocal works set poems written in Taiwanese, the mother tongue of the majority of the island's residents. His compositions stand as a musical manifestation of the Taiwanese literature movement that revitalized the island's...
wrote his 2001 Ilha Formosa: Requiem for Formosa's Martyrs
Ilha Formosa: Requiem for Formosa's Martyrs
Ilha Formosa: Requiem for Formosa's Martyrs ' is a composition for solo soprano, solo baritone, chorus and orchestra composed by Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao...
in memory of that island's victims of anti-communist persecution.