his land. In 1912, the first bank was established in Sarny—the Sarny Mutual Credit & Loan—in response to the financing requirements of forest products and textile merchants. Prior to 1914, there was one private school and no public schools in Sarny. The private school was a Russian school with four grades, owned by management of the railroad and primarily for the benefit of the children of railroad employees. During this same period, there were no medical facilities in Sarny, and only one physician in the city. Sarny became a focal point for a large number of orphans fleeing the Petlura pogroms in Ukraine between 1918 and 1920. The city was annexed to Poland, following the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1921. Due to the city's proximity to the Russian border, it became a Polish military centre following the Polish-Soviet War. In addition, prior to the outbreak of World War II, an airfield was constructed beside Sarny. The city's economic zenith occurred after World War I, particularly during the period of Polish rule between 1921 and 1939, involving close economic and social relationships with the neighbouring city of Rovno, which had been the previous provincial seat, prior to Polish rule. In 1921, the city became part of the Second Polish Republic. Sarny also developed close economic ties with the metropolitan centres of Poland, such as Warsaw and Lodz. In Poland, it was the seat of a Sarny county (powiat), firstly in Polesie Voivodeship, then, since 1930 - in Wołyń Voivodeship. During this period, four hotels were constructed around the railway station, serving the needs of lumber merchants, in particular. In addition, Sarny had a ten-person police force, a functioning courthouse with permanent judge and secretary, a post office and, what was particularly important for the time, a government store selling hard liquor. As of 1921, approximately 50% of the town was composed of persons primarily of Polish, Ukrainian and Russian backgrounds, who were also Jewish, amounting to approximately 2,800 individuals. The city was divided by the rail line, with Jewish residents predominantly on one side, and predominantly non-Jewish residents on the other: the "Polesia side". Parallel education systems developed for Jewish and non-Jewish residents, since there was a 10% quota limiting Jewish students from attending public secondary schools. Despite Sarny being a county seat in Poland and under Polish legislative rule, the dominant social influence at the time was Ukrainian, including Ukrainian nationalist