Lübeck and especially Kiel, a relatively large area of Schleswig-Holstein escaped the destruction of the war. In the first few years after the war, only one-fifth of the refugees in the state resided in Flensburg, Kiel, Lübeck and Neumünster. By contrast, the population of the rural Eckernförde and Stormarn districts doubled in the same period; in Rendsburg and Eiderstedt, the increase was 65%. In some areas, the influx was overwhelming; the town of Großhansdorf was home to 1,500 locals alongside 3,500 refugees. The influx of new residents triggered a massive crisis due to lack of housing, food, and employment. Rooms and apartments had to be shared or given up, and kitchens and toilets shared. Since many of the ceded rooms and emergency accommodations were unheated, stoves were set up for warmth. Coal and wood were scarce and expensive, so peat was used as fuel wherever possible. Wool was collected from fences and spun to make clothing, with other material taken from old uniforms, blankets, and bedding. In the first years after the war, the state faced a chronic food shortage; refugees and displaced persons were particularly affected. The food available via ration cards was not sufficient, and many people resorted to the black market, harvest work, or taking food from fields to get by. All employees and workers suffered from the job shortage in the first few years, but the refugees and displaced persons were hit harder than locals. Many lacked the skills required for the available work; even overqualified workers had to retrain and accept what was available. Of 69,000 refugees who had formerly been self-employed, most had worked in agriculture; of this group, only one-fifth had their own business again by 1949. The Refugee Settlement Act of August 1949, and the so-called "30,000 Hectare Agreement", which obliged large landowners to surrender land, provided relief. Nonetheless, by 1958, only 4,246 displaced persons ran their own agricultural or forestry operations, and only half of them were over 10 hectares. Craftsmen suffered less - their services in the repair of consumer goods were sorely needed after the war. More than half of the 2,368 businesses registered state-wide in 1946 were run by refugees or displaced persons. Many fishermen who fled East Prussia also found employment in Kiel. On 1 April 1950, there were still 728 refugee camps in Schleswig-Holstein, housing a total of 127,756 people. To keep the camps clean, access