​​The bloodshed left by the 16th SS Panzer Division in the rear of the Gothic Line, a German and Italian defensive line, reached its peak on 12 August 1944. On that day, the entire 2nd Battalion of the 35th Regiment, accompanied by Italian guides, arrived at Sant Anna di Stazzema, a scattered group of houses inhabited by 400 people (farmers, shepherds, miners) but which had since been joined by a thousand displaced persons from the coastal area.

​In the hamlet of Vaccareccia, around 70 people were killed with hand grenades and machine-gun fire. A further 130 inhabitants of the hamlet of Il Pero and some displaced persons were massacred in the small square in front of the church. Numerous other killings took place in the surrounding localities: Franchi, Le Case, Colletti, Mulini al Colle, Mulini di Stazzema and Capezzano Monte.

​After the massacre, the German troops moved down towards Valdicastello, where they rounded up all the displaced persons (fourteen of whom were killed in Molino Rosso). They were transferred to Pietrasanta, and then sent to forced labour and deportation. Among them, 53 were killed on 19 August in Bardine San Terenzio. The total number of victims was over 500, mostly elderly people, women and children, all defenceless.

​The entire area has been incorporated into the National Peace Park, established by regional law in December 2000, centred around the 16th-century Church of Sant’Anna. This is the starting point of the Via Crucis, a paved path marked by fourteen bronze panels depicting the stages of Christ’s Passion and the events of the massacre.

​At the top of Col di Cava, in a panoramic position, stands the Ossuary Monument. Designed by the architect Tito Salvatori, it was inaugurated in 1948. It consists of a twelve-metre-high tower of exposed stone, supported by four arches, beneath which stands a sculpture depicting a young mother who fell under Nazi-Fascist fire, the work of Vincenzo Gasperetti. The base, designed as a large panoramic terrace, houses the remains of the unidentified victims. A plaque on the rear of the monument bears the names of the known fallen.​