Szilard received German citizenship in 1930, but was already uneasy about the political situation in Europe. When Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, Szilard urged his family and friends to flee Europe while they still could. He moved to England, and transferred his savings of £1,595 (£ today) from his bank in Zurich to one in London. He lived in hotels where lodging and meals cost about £5.5 a week. For those less fortunate, he helped found the Academic Assistance Council, an organization dedicated to helping refugee scholars find new jobs, and persuaded the Royal Society to provide accommodation for it at Burlington House. He enlisted the help of academics such as Harald Bohr, G. H. Hardy, Archibald Hill and Frederick G. Donnan. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, it had helped to find places for over 2,500 refugee scholars.