Like most of Pomeranian areas aside the larger coastal Hanse cities, the character of Demmin and its surrounding areas remained rural and dominated by agriculture until today, even though Demmin had been a member of the Hanse league because of the rivers (e.g. the Peene River) connecting this area to the Baltic coast.

During the Thirty Years' War, Demmin was occupied by imperial forces from 1627 to 1630, and thereafter by Swedish forces.

In the Weimar Republic Demmin was a stronghold of the nationalistic organisations DNVP and the Stahlhelm.
Even before 1933 there were boycotts of Jewish businesses, which drove away most of the Jews and the synagogue was sold in June 1938 to a furniture company, which is why it survives as a building today.
In the last free national elections to the Reichstag on 5 March 1933 the National Socialist Party won 53.7 percent of votes in Demmin.
On 11 November 1938, thousands gathered in the square in an anti-Semitic demonstration as part of Kristallnacht.

During World War II, Poles, Russians, as well as POWs from France and Belgium were used as forced labour in the town.

German troops destroyed the bridges over the Peene while retreating from Demmin during World War II.
This way, the advance of the Soviet Red Army was slowed down when they arrived in Demmin on 30 April 1945.
During  that night and the following morning, Demmin was handed over to the Red Army largely without fighting, similar to other cities like Greifswald.
Rapes, pillage and executions committed by Red Army soldiers triggered a mass suicide of hundreds of people and nearly all of the Old Town was burned down by the Red Army.
Like most of Pomeranian areas aside the larger coastal Hanse cities, the character of Demmin and its surrounding areas remained rural and dominated by agriculture until today, even though Demmin had been a member of the Hanse league because of the rivers (e.g. the Peene River) connecting this area to the Baltic coast.
During the Thirty Years' War, Demmin was occupied by imperial forces from 1627 to 1630, and thereafter by Swedish forces.
In the Weimar Republic Demmin was a stronghold of the nationalistic organisations DNVP and the Stahlhelm. Even before 1933 there were boycotts of Jewish businesses, which drove away most of the Jews and the synagogue was sold in June 1938 to a furniture company, which is why it survives as a building today. In the last free national elections to the Reichstag on 5 March 1933 the National Socialist Party won 53.7 percent of votes in Demmin. On 11 November 1938, thousands gathered in the square in an anti-Semitic demonstration as part of Kristallnacht.
During World War II, Poles, Russians, as well as POWs from France and Belgium were used as forced labour in the town.
German troops destroyed the bridges over the Peene while retreating from Demmin during World War II. This way, the advance of the Soviet Red Army was slowed down when they arrived in Demmin on 30 April 1945. During  that night and the following morning, Demmin was handed over to the Red Army largely without fighting, similar to other cities like Greifswald. Rapes, pillage and executions committed by Red Army soldiers triggered a mass suicide of hundreds of people and nearly all of the Old Town was burned down by the Red Army.
Demmin