The flight and evacuation of the civilian population from East and West Prussia took place mainly via the Baltic Sea, as the land route to the west was interrupted as from 26th January 1945. Because many German Baltic ports had been destroyed, this evacuation by sea usually led to Denmark, which was occupied by Germany until 5th May 1945. At the end of the war, about 245,000 refugees, mostly women, children and elderly people, were provisionally accommodated in about 1,100 camps. Around 13,700 people died in the first year.
After the German surrender, the camps were initially run under Danish administration. At that time, the Western Allied Powers refused to admit the internees in view of the occupation zones overloaded by the influx of refugees.
With the simplest means and with the support of local administrations the fugitives organised not only their daily lives but also school, sports and cultural events. At the end of 1946, the first camp inmates were resettled in the western occupation zones. It was not until February 1949 that an end to the refugee camps in Denmark became apparent.