In June 1941 the non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany ended abruptly when the Germans launched a massive invasion, triggering what came to be known in the Soviet Union as the "Great Patriotic War". On 20 October 1941 Moscow was declared to be in a state of siege. By that time thousands of Muscovites, including many longstanding German political exiles, had been evacuated. Elisabeth Zaisser was evacuated to the south at the start of October 1941, first to Stavropol and later to Engels. The period of greatest threat to Moscow appears to have lasted till the Autumn of 1942, when Zaisser returned to the city. For five months during 1942/43 she worked as a translator for the Soviet Union's National Broadcasting Committee ("Государственный вещательный комитет"). She also authored a number of teaching books on German language and grammar.