News and Historical Context:

German reprisals during World War II
At 5:00 a.m. on June 30, 1944, a German unit entered the town, blocked the access roads, and began rounding up men by knocking on every door. A significant number of citizens were captured, while the youngest and the oldest were released. Among the remaining group, a count was made to select 10 men, with the surplus being sent away. The 10 men were gathered near an embankment at the edge of the road and executed without knowing the reason.

An explanatory notice, posted on the door of a nearby house, is now lost, but according to the memory of some witnesses of the time, it read roughly as follows:
“On the night of… (the exact date is uncertain) a German truck was fired upon… (it is not remembered if the notice mentioned the death of German soldiers). Therefore, this morning at 6:00 a.m., ten irresponsible citizens have been executed. The executed will remain at the disposal of the German Authority for 24 hours as a warning and example to the population.”

It was followed by an illegible signature. Locally, there are two main interpretations:

• It was a reprisal in response to significant partisan activity in the area, with the acknowledgment of at least one German soldier killed (the terrible equation: 1 to 10).
• It was a terror tactic to control the population, and the notice may have been a staged message, as the Germans were preparing to resist the Allied troops in Filottrano, which later led to the famous “battle.”