The influx of refugees in Schleswig-Holstein after the Second World War was one of the biggest difficulties faced in Germany in the early post-war period. Per capita, the Province of Schleswig-Holstein of Prussia, later the state of Schleswig-Holstein, took in the second-most refugees and displaced persons from the former eastern territories of Germany between 1944 and 1947, second only to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This led to an economic and humanitarian crisis in the state throughout the late 1940s. The situation was only resolved in the 1950s as the Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) enabled physical reconstruction, raised living standards, and aided in integrating the hundreds of thousands of new residents. Origins Refugees began to enter Schleswig-Holstein as early as 1943, when 200,000 people north of the Lower Elbe fled cities such as Hamburg, which was destroyed by Allied bombing campaign, to rural areas in neighbouring states. When the Red Army reached the borders of Nazi Germany in 1944, millions of Germans began to flee west. During 1944 and 1945, Kriegsmarine vessels brought over two million people across the Baltic Sea to Mecklenburg and Schleswig-Holstein. When Allied forces reached the western border of Germany, more people began to flee into Schleswig-Holstein, which Allied forces reached only in the very last stages of the war. From March to June 1945 alone, 700,000 refugees and displaced persons settled in towns and villages across the state. After the war, Schleswig-Holstein became part of the British occupation zone. Over a million Wehrmacht soldiers were interned in two "restricted areas" within the state. It was not until April 1946 that these soldiers were released – 410,000 from the Dithmarschen–Eiderstedt zone and 570,000 from the Plön zone. Even then, over 200,000 former so-called "foreign workers" and forced labourers remained in the camps, and a further 365,000 refugees and displaced persons took refuge in them by the end of 1946. In the first "all-German" census in October 1946, Schleswig-Holstein recorded a population of 2.6 million, excluding displaced persons. This was an increase of approximately one million from 1939. Excluding the war deaths, this meant that the state was home to approximately three refugees for every four locals. This was much higher than other states, such as Lower Saxony (one refugee to two locals) and Bavaria (one refugee to three locals). The population continued to rise even after the war, reaching 2.7 million in 1949. Living conditions and employment Despite extensive bombing of