The survivors took refuge in what is known today as the Federal Republic of Germany (which at that time was divided into four occupation zones) or in other countries.
In the Federal Republic of Germany a passport for displaced persons and refugees was created and the respective status of each individual documented in an admission procedure on arrival.
The refugee identity card confirmed their "recognition as a refugee" and provided access to various forms of help for these individuals (for example, the right to move, including entitlement to a rented flat; subsistence allowance which might include compensation for the Equalisation of Burdens Law and loans granted under the act for the purchase of property).
Identifying the status of a person, who may be displaced from their home country (Heimatvertriebene) or a refugee from the Soviet occupation zone, was carried out according to the Federal Expellee Law of 1953.
In addition, municipalities in Lower Saxony also issued identity card B to inhabitants who had moved there after the bombings.