With the invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War, the German Wehrmacht occupied the city on September 10, 1939. It was incorporated into Reichsgau Wartheland as a part of the district or county ("kreis") of Wreschen. The Germans carried out mass arrests of local Poles, who were afterwards imprisoned in the local prison, and soon murdered in large massacres in nearby forests in October and November 1939. Poles were also subjected to mass expulsions, however the Polish resistance movement remained active throughout the war. The synagogue was destroyed in 1940 and a camp for French POWs operated in the area. Additionally, from April 1941 to 1943 a forced labor camp for Jews operated in the vicinity of the town. Following the arrival of the Red Army and the end of the war the town was made part of the People's Republic of Poland.