The Ulbricht Group left from the Hotel Lux, where they had been living in exile, some for years, and flew from Moscow to Minsk, then to Calau, near Międzyrzecz. Not all members of the group knew what their assignment was or how long it would last until after they landed. They landed in an airfield and were met by a Soviet officer, who drove away with Ulbricht. The rest left by truck for Bruchmühle, about east of Berlin and the offices of Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the first commander of the Soviet occupation zone. The Ulbricht Group began working from there on May 2, 1945, though not much could be done with the city in flames after the Battle of Berlin. In the evening, Ulbricht met with the group and explained their assignment. They were to cover all 20 districts in Berlin and begin building local administrations. In each, they were to seek out as many social democrats as possible, also a civil servant with a Ph.D from each local administration who was willing to work with the Soviets and a cleric to lead a religious advisory council. Communists were to be installed in each district as assistant administrator, and to head up the departments for personnel and development. The group worked from Bruchmühle till May 8, after which they moved to the Friedrichsfelde area of Berlin.