 The German occupation of the city began on 8 April 1941.On the 15th of April the Jewish leadership within the city was arrested, and in June, the Rosenburg Commando began confiscating Jewish cultural property including manuscripts and art, and sending it back to Germany.Significant hardship occurred in the winter of 1941–1942, as refugees streamed in from the hinterlands of Greek Makedonia and Thrace, straining food supplies beyond their limit and causing starvation and typhus outbreaks, combined with summary executions of the Jewish population during the situation by the Germans; during some parts of the winter, 60 Jews died each day.