At the outbreak of World War II, when the Germans arrived in Vardø, they took over the school and all of the other public buildings in town. Therefore the teaching instruction was moved around throughout the town until the bombing and fires made it impossible to continue. When the Germans withdrew from Vardø in October of 1944, a room in the cellar was filled with dynamite - enough to destroy not only the school building, but also large parts of what remained of the neighbouring buildings. Fortunately the caretaker discovered the igniting mechanism, a cord connected to a concealed axe, and the catastrophe was averted.