All German town population was expelled in 1945. Abandoned houses were inhabited by Czech settlers from inner Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia, by minorities from Volhynia and by refugees from the Greek civil war. The region of Staré Město lost its strategic military position as the former German territories in the northwest fell to Poland, therefore nearby woods could be exploited. The Communist regime nationalized farming and mining as well as manufacturing in 1948. Planned economy and new heterogeneous population, mostly without education, has made strong ongoing decay. New job opportunities were created in a paper industry. The town was occupied by Polish People’s Army troops in 1968, later replaced by Soviet Army forces. Small bases were established in the town's outskirts.