On the memorable date of 8 September 1943 Italy signed the Armistice and the government headed by Badoglio surrendered to the Allies. In retaliation the German army occupied the entire Nation to stop Anglo-American troops climbing from the south. The German military strategy marked the Gustav Line from the mouth of Sangro River, in Abruzzo, to the mouth of Garigliano River in Campania, splitting Italy into two parts. Montenerodomo had been the theatre of war since 4 October 1943 when nazifascists occupied the town, with their raids, oppression, deportations and violence of any kind as well as massacre of innocents and even children.

The mines destroyed many of the humble dwellings, the houses of the wealthy families Croce and De Thomasis as well as the farmhouses in the hamlets, forcing the population to shelter in the woods suffering from cold and hunger. 2nd February 1944, Candlemas, was a bloody and mourning day as the Germans caught 12 citizens in Casale hamlet and slaughtered them along the street to the town. A second dreadful day was on 25 March 1944, when a pregnant woman and her 3, 7 and 10 year old children were slaughtered in a cattleshed in Vallone Cupo hamlet. Only two days before, on 23 March, 11 more victims had been made.

For its 55 civilian victims of the nazi savagery, its 17 soldiers killed or missing in war and for its 7 months of resistance against the nazifascist occupation, Montenerodomo was assigned the War Cross for Military Value on 20 June 1976 “for its patriotic activity and the huge sacrifice culminated with the destruction of the entire area. Fiercely reacting to the barbaric arrogance of the oppressor, the town offered a substantial contribution of blood, fighters, sacrifice and value to the cause of the freedom of the Homeland”.

[Credits | Text: Ottavio Di Renzo De Laurentis | Translation: Mirella Rapa | Voice and music: Studio Qreate | Photo: Laura Di Biase]