after slovak students started moving to nearby sobrance and the number of classes was reduced from 19 to 16 by april 1939, teaching in at the school year was interrupted again. when hungarian troops invaded slovakia on march 23, 1939 and the subsequent slovak–hungarian war, slovak troops occupied the school and returned slovak language to the curriculum. this education highlighted growing slovak national consciousness and nationalism. at this time the head teacher was also the government commissioner of michalovce and later the leader of the hlinka youth (slovak paramilitary scout movement, modeled after the hitler youth). in school year 1939/40 that organization counted 118 of the schools students. two years later the count was 590 boys and girls. in 1944 it was 694 students out of a total 875. influenced in part by the ideas of slovak nationalist andrej hlinka, catholicism became an important part of the school year, the year began with worship of veni sancte spiritus, a school celebration, ending a solemn te deum. during the closing phase of world war ii, the school became a military hospital for the wehrmacht, and after november 1944, for the red army.