On the 8th September 1943 Atina and the valley of the Ponte Melfa and Mollarino was invaded by the Baden-Württemberg 305ª Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht commanded by General Friedrich Wilhelm Hauck. By Christmas 1943 the 305th division was replaced by the 5th Gebirgjägers Division, from Bavaria and Austria, which specialized in mountain warfare. The division was first commanded by the Austrian General Julius Ringel, and then by the end of February 1944 by General Max Gunther Schrank. These soldiers could be easily identified by the edelweiss insignia which was worn on their sleeves and on their caps.
In the Val di Comino there was also a company of SS Feldgendarmerie, a specialized body of the German military organization, specifically engaged in the search and raid of valid men to be employed in the construction of fortifications. By mid-November their headquarters was located in the area of Villa Latina.
The local people were fearful of how the German occupation would affect their lives. During the next few days Allied planes were spotted flying over the valley, which were carrying out aerial reconnaissance missions.
The German commander requisitioned the Palazzo of Alfonso Visocchi in Piazza Garibaldi and set up an important communications centre. The hospital, bank, school building, town hall and the barracks of the Carabinieri were also requisitioned for German use. All the wine cellars in the area, including that of the Winery of the Visocchi Brothers, were raided and emptied by the Germans who delighted in consuming their contents. The drunken soldiers were seen staggering around the streets in the night and until the early hours of the morning, firing pistol shots and throwing hand grenades to terrorize the local population.
On 10 October 1943 the Germans began to dismantle the rich machinery of the Visocchi Paper Mill; its machinery, over 4 thousand quintals of paper, abundant stocks of raw materials and metals were transported to Germany. The Cartiera was completely stripped and ransacked in just eight days, in the presence of the workers who had been employed there for many years. Inside the Cartiera the Germans organized a factory for the production of time bombs: they consisted of concrete balls of a suitable diameter containing explosives, which were then transported by truck to the front of San Biagio Saracinisco, along the narrow road of the Vandra, and then with the mules taken up on top of Mount Cavallo. From there they rolled the bombs, which then exploded against the enemy positions in an attempt to stem the advance of the Allies.
Atina occupied a strategic military position as it controlled the road linking the Val di Comino to Cassino. It was also an important supply route to the German front line, and was used to bring in fresh reinforcements of troops, provisions, materials, equipment and ammunition. Generally this was carried out during the dark of night.
Many of the local men were rounded up daily and forced to labour for the Germans at gunpoint. This work involved loading and unloading goods and ammunition, chopping down trees, transporting building materials and constructing roads and field fortifications.
During the occupation of Atina all personal radios were confiscated. The Germans committed several acts of violence and other atrocities. The soldiers regularly raided people’s homes at gun point and took any valuables, food supplies and building materials. Often they would come to seize animals from the local farmers and country folk, such as the locally bred Casertana pigs. If any of the owners offered any resistance this could often have serious consequences. Several unarmed civilians were shot during such incidents and there were also other senseless random shootings and acts of violence by the Germans. The peasants tried to hide their animals in caves. Others decided to kill their animals prematurely, before they had been fully fattened up for slaughter. When there were no more pigs the Germans hunted for cattle, sheep, goats and poultry. Thus within just a few months of German occupation, Atina’s rich animal husbandry was destroyed.