The sacred place in Neamț dedicated to the martyr heroes of World War II

 14,000 Romanian, German, and Russian soldiers perished during World War II, in the fierce battles fought to stop the Soviet offensive in June 1944, from Târgu Neamț – Nemțișor Ridge – Groși – Boroaia.

The pit in the mountain, where the massacre of those dark days took place with so many human losses, is known as the “Devil’s Pit.”

For two weeks, the dead were lifted and brought to the cemeteries of Neamț Monastery, the church of Vânători-Neamț, and the cemetery of Lunca village. When these filled up, the decision was made to dig a mass grave in the oak clearing in front of today’s Cărbuna Hermitage. Dozens of carts pulled by horses and oxen descended in those days to remove the bodies. People wore gauze masks soaked in formalin or alcohol, while horses and oxen refused to pull the carts into the valley heavy with stench. Thousands of human bodies were taken out and laid in deep trenches, marked with wooden crosses, while others were never lifted at all. Nowhere else in the country had so many fallen soldiers remained unburied. Barbed wire obstacles were placed on the paths leading to the area.

Thus, here in Neamț, on the front line where the terrible battles took place – on both sides of Nemțișor Hill and Căprăriei–Oglinzi–Slatina, and in the valley suggestively named “Devil’s Pit” – thousands of soldiers from military units across the country rest eternally, covered by the leaves of the trees, carried by winds and rains. By autumn 1944, the front had moved past Moldavia region, but the forest was still soaked in the heavy stench over an area of 10 square kilometers.

 During both World Wars, Neamț Monastery became the largest monastic and military cemetery.

In the monastery’s cemetery, there is a stone altar with a wooden cross, over which the tricolor flag predominates. Through the care of Hieromonk Casian Gafencu, in 1945, the names of 152 officers and other heroes were inscribed on two stone plaques.

 The Heroes’ Monument at Nemțișor was erected in 2013 at the request of Archimandrite Father IUSTIN PÂRVU – “the Saint of Neamț” – with the blessing of His Eminence TEOFAN, Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina. The road to the monument is lined with 14 crosses, recalling the stations of the Savior.

The works on this Monument dedicated to the heroes were completed in 2016, through the sustained efforts of Mr. LUCA Neculai, president of the “In the Neamț Mountains” Association, within a project in partnership with Vânători-Neamț Town Hall and the Neamț County Council. On May 21, 2016, the monument was consecrated by His Eminence TEOFAN, Metropolitan of Moldavia and Bukovina.

Designed as a fortress at the gates of the Târgu Neamț depression, the line of bunkers from World War II stretches from north of Băile Oglinzi across Buburuz, the Târgu Neamț–Fălticeni road, the Ursului–Davidescu brook, descends the communal pasture, crosses the Răucești–Târgu Neamț road, goes down to Oprea’s sheepfold, crosses the Târgu Neamț–Pașcani road, over the Ozana River, and reaches the Blebea–Boiștea forest.

The presence of bunkers, as well as trenches, is tangible evidence of how the battles were organized and fought in the Târgu Neamț area. Marius Irimia, an employee of Vânători Natural Park, is the one who has seen all the bunkers, researched and photographed them, and gathered them into a presentation entitled “World War II in the Land of the Bison.”