Editing Zabrze (section)

===World War II===
During World War II, in 1941 the German administration requisitioned church property, in which it removed Polish symbols and memorabilia.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|Węcki|2010|p=102}} [[Church bell]]s were confiscated for war purposes in 1942.{{sfn|Rosenbaum|Węcki|2010|p=105}} The Germans established three [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] subcamps of the [[Stalag VIII-B]]/344 [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] in the city, two of which operated in the local coal mines,<ref name=lams>{{cite web|url=https://www.lamsdorf.com/working-parties.html|title=Working Parties|website=Stalag VIIIB 344 Lamsdorf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029103834/https://www.lamsdorf.com/working-parties.html|access-date=25 March 2020|archive-date=29 October 2020}}</ref> and also a subcamp of [[Auschwitz III]] was located there. Another subcamp of Stalag VIII-B/344 (E51) was operated at a coal mine in the present-day Mikulczyce district.<ref name=lams/>

On 24 January 1945, the Soviets captured the city, then committed a massacre of some 100 inhabitants,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hanich|first=Andrzej|year=2012|title=Losy ludności na Śląsku Opolskim w czasie działań wojennych i po wejściu Armii Czerwonej w 1945 roku|journal=Studia Śląskie|volume=LXXI|location=Opole|language=pl|page=216|issn=0039-3355}}</ref> and later deported some inhabitants to the [[Soviet Union]], while other inhabitants were [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expelled]] west in accordance to the [[Potsdam Agreement]]. However, in stark contrast to the other cities in the so-called [[Recovered Territories]], three quarters of the mostly bilingual inhabitants were spared expulsion.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Fußballegende mit deutsch-polnischem Hintergrund|language=de|journal=Kulturkorrespondenz östliches Europa|issue=1441|pages=30|author=Dawid Smolorz}}</ref>