The turmoil of World War II brought combinations of Soviet, then German, and finally Soviet re-occupation, numerous name changes and an eventual closing of the university in 1943. After re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944, the University reopened and eventually reformed into Kaunas Polytechnic Institute (KPI) and Kaunas Medical Institute in 1946. Under the influence of Perestroika, the Soviet Lithuanian government reinstated the school's university status, and it was renamed the Kaunas University of Technology (KTU).