Chemnitz was heavily bombed by the Anglo-Americans during World War II. However, it was occupied by the Soviet Union after the war. In spring, 1946, NKVD Captain Vladimir Bokov travelled to Chemnitz after the German Freedom Front had carried out a series of assassinations. He met with the Soviet-appointed burgomeister, Max Müller, about the town's inability to deal with the GFF. Müller was astonished that Bokov seemed to have no better answers.