After Poland regained independence, the first authority in the town was the District Liquidation Committee established on 3 November 1918 headed by Roman Mayzel who served as the town’s mayor for 26 years. The town flourished during that time with new schools emerging and a reinforced concrete bridge built on the Soła river. The Upper Silesian Relief Committee had operated in town since 1919. It was a refuge for insurgents and refugees who had to fight for the region to be incorporated into Poland. The District Plebiscite Committee was established in 1920 to collect funds for the plebiscite. There was a slaughterhouse and a brickyard, and fairs were held in town. Ignacy Mościcki, the President of Poland, visited the town in 1929. The first issue of the ‘Głos Ziemi Oświęcimskiej’ magazine was published in 1930. The exhibition displays images of the Oświęcim town square that has changed its appearance over the years. The artwork by Izabela Dudzik visible on the wall refers to the story of the Praga car that was used by well-known artists such as Loda Halama, Jan Kiepura and Wojciech Kossak. The car was assembled in the Oświęcim factory in the inter-war period and tourists can ty to drive on a ‘virtual tour’ in the displayed Baba model of 1936. The outbreak of World War II was a difficult time for the town. It began with the displacement of residents and the Jewish community. Having entered the town, the Germans burnt the Great Synagogue in the Berka Joselewicza Street. Estates, shops and service outlets belonging to Jews were confiscated. Only the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue survived. The Oświęcim population lived in fear. The name of Oświęcim was changed into Auschwitz. Its coat of arms featured an eagle without a crown with the letter A on its breast. Polish schools and kindergartens were closed and a curfew was introduced. Polish names of streets and squares were erased. German became the official language. A big bunker was built at the very centre of the town square. In 1939–1945, the German authorities integrated it into the anti-artillery defence system in the town centre by connecting it with the town hall building via an underground corridor. In 1940, the Germans established a concentration camp in the suburbs of Oświęcim that has become a symbol of the Nazi genocide and Holocaust worldwide. The first transport of 728 Polish political prisoners arrived at KL Auschwitz in June 1940 from Tarnów. The majority of buildings in the barrack settlement were demolished and used to expand the camp. Some of them were assigned to German professionals employed in the construction of a chemical plant belonging to the industrial syndicate known as IG Farben. Inhabitants of the town spontaneously organised help for the prisoners, often risking their own lives in the process. Combat units were also formed. The Oświęcim Province of the Union of Armed Struggle was established with its commander Alojzy Banaś ‘Zorza’. The Committee to Support Political Prisoners of the Camp was also active. The cruel war changed the town. The liberation of the camp on 27 January 1945 ended the drama unfolding in the city and opened a new chapter in the history of Oświęcim. Historical monuments, documents and witness accounts attest to that cruel period, and the Jewish Museum, Café Bergson (Szymon Kluger's former refurbished flat) and the Jewish cemetery are the only traces of the Jewish community left in the town.