During the invasion of Poland, which started World War II, on September 16, 1939, the Germans murdered 15 Polish farmers in Bocheń. 12 Polish farmers from Bocheń and nearby Guźnia were also murdered that day by Wehrmacht troops near the Rydwan lake, south of Bocheń and Guźnia (see also "Nazi crimes against the Polish nation"). During the German occupation of Poland the village was an important center of Polish resistance, and even underground Polish press was issued there.