As part of his , at the end of 1939 Liebknecht took charge of the "Department of Health and Social Matters" at the "All Unions Academiy for Architecture" in Moscow. After the German invasion, which began in June 1941, he was mandated to work in collaboration with the Red army on plans for underground medical facilities. As the German army advanced towards Moscow it became more important than ever that he always presented himself as a "loyal Soviet citizen". His architectural designs came with ever more "Russian national flourishes" As the Germans came closer the entire "All Unions Academy" - including all its workers - was evactuated to Shymkent ("Шымкент"), an industrial city (with a rich cultural heritage) in Kazakhstan. After the focus of the fighting turned, with disastrous results for the invaders, to Stalingrad, in 1943 Liebknecht was able to return to the Architecture Academy in Moscow.