Mere months after his ascension to the chancellorship, Göbbels was forced to evacuate. On April 7, 1951, the Kommfrei seized Berlin. Göbbels barely escaped under cover, his very noticeable limp almost giving him away multiple times. Over the next several weeks, Göbbels was smuggled across Germany, eventually settling in Strasbourg, France. He lived in relative obscurity until he and a group of others founded the Parti Populaire Nationaliste (PPN) in 1953. Göbbels was the head of the party, which rose into prominence during the 1960's and remains a formidable party today.