 With the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Brandenburg-Pomerania, already since 1618 ruled in personal union with Ducal Prussia (Kingdom since 1701), also legally merged into Prussia and the different German confederacies and empires of which it formed part since.Near the end of the World War II, in February 1945, despite the approaching front, the German authorities did not allow for the evacuation of the town's population.It was not until March 4 that the order to evacuate was issued, the day after the German army left the town, leaving the defenseless civilian population at the mercy of the approaching Soviet Army.