War broke out across most of Europe during September 1939: military advances during the next couple of years by the German army further reduced the number of places where German political exiles might be relatively safe. Norway fell in the early summer of 1940: one young SAPD who was forced to leave the country was using the name Willy Brandt. Brandt moved to Stockholm where for the next few years he worked closely with Enderle. During the closing years of the war Enderle and Brandt took a lead in the SAPD members' decision to join or rejoin the Social Democrats at the end of 1944.