Second world war
1938 - 1945CPG – 59: prison camp for Allied soldiers and Jews
In the period between the two wars, the Camp was first closed, then it was used as a store for military material. In 1935 the State decided to sell half to the Municipal Recreational Club which made it into a sports field, still functioning today. The capacity of the Camp therefore fell to 2000 prisoners. In 1940, with the entry of Italy into the war, it was reopened and some parts of it were restored to bring it back to its original function as a detention camp. In 1941 the first prisoners began to arrive, first Greeks, and then Allied soldiers. Their number grew gradually until it reached almost the maximum capacity of the Camp.
After the armistice of 8 September 1943, in the confusion of those days, all the prisoners of the Camp, after opening a hole in the perimeter wall, escaped dispersing into the Tenna Valley, without besides being stopped by the guards. They headed towards the Sybillines in the attempt to walk towards the south of Italy to meet up again with their army, receiving a welcome and solidarity from the common people, above all peasants, who hid them and offered them a refuge to cope with the winter. In Servigliano after a few days the Camp ended up under the control of the German army, which began a round-up operation looking for escaped prisoners and Jews who lived in the area. The Jews arrested remained in the Camp until May 1944, when with a convoy they were transported to the Fossoli Camp and from there to Auschwitz.
