Around 5000-7000 civilians were killed here between September 1939 and January 1940 during the German occupation of Poland, mostly by local Germans, members of the Selbstschutz, as part of the wider Intelligenzaktion Pommern. Most of the victims were Polish inhabitants of Pomerania, including many Catholic priests, teachers, lawyers, doctors, local officials and business people. Some psychiatric hospital patients, Pomeranian Jews and even anti-Nazi Germans were also killed. Among the victims were 1680 psychiatric hospital patients from the nearby towns of Kucborowo (Konradstein) and Świecie.