Province of Upper Silesia
After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, the town hosted schools and training grounds for both the "SS" and the "SA" paramilitary forces, becoming the honorary centre of the Nazi Party in the Prussian Province of Upper Silesia. The town's synagogue was burned down in 1938, the same year as Kristallnacht. During World War II, the Germans operated three forced labour subcamps (E247, E376, E766) of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in the town. After the Vistula–Oder Offensive, on 18 March 1945, Red Army troops began a siege of the city, which was resisted by the 18th SS Panzergrenadier Division (Tank grenadiers) and the 371st Wehrmacht division. The siege ended on March 24, and the Soviet forces occupied the town. Approximately 40 percent of the town was destroyed in the siege or by Red Army troopers plundering in the first weeks of the occupation.