After the German invasion of Poland, which sparked World War II in September 1939, 19 Polish craftsmen and farmers were murdered by the Germans on the slope of the "Góra Wysoka" hill in two mass executions on October 21 and November 21. Nowadays there is a memorial at the site. Local Poles were also murdered by the Germans in other places, for instance, the principal of the interwar Polish school, Franciszek Karowski, was murdered in Paterek in October 1939. The town was annexed into the "Regierungsbezirk Bromberg" of the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia and governed by the Nazi Gauleiter Albert Forster. During the occupation of Poland the administration changed the name of the town to "Weißeck" (1942–1945). The German occupation ended in January 1945 and the town was restored to Poland.