Following the joint German-Soviet invasion of Poland, which started World War II in September 1939, the town was occupied by Germany until 1945. The war resulted in the death of 2,000 residents, including 90 percent of its Jewish residents, and the destruction of over 75% of the town. During the war Szczekociny was a major center of anti-German resistance. In the summer of 1944, as part of Operation Tempest, local Home Army units tried to capture Szczekociny, destroying bridges over the Pilica and the Zebrowka rivers.