The monument preserves the memory of a tragedy which struck the village Strmec in the second World War.

On 10th October 1943 the German punitive expedition took revenge for a German officer killed by the partisans.

The Germans shot 16 men and completely burnt down and destroyed the village;
the women and children had to flee to their relatives and acquaintances.

At the times of the Allied Administration from 1945 – 1947, a fairly large number of houses were renewed, but the village Strmec was mostly abandoned and today is a typical holiday settlement.