The rise of the Nazi party finally forced Brecht into exile in 1933. One day after the Reichstag Fire on February 27, we find Brecht in Prague as his wife temporarily settled in Vienna, her birthplace. Brecht moved on to Zürich, looking for a safe and economic place to stay. His friend Bernard von Bretano offered a temporary residence in Lugano,  Switzerland, while Brecht traveled to Paris for The Seven Deadly Sins. After the ballet project, the Brechts accepted an invitation from Weigel's old colleague Karin Michaelis to settle in Denmark. They arrived in Thürø and two months later moved in a house in Skovsbostrand (on the small island known as the "garden of Denmark," Fünen). This would be the residence for the Brecht family until 1939. During these six years, Brecht traveled to Copenhagen, Paris, Moscow, New York and London for various projects, as many German refugees would also pay visit to Brecht's temporary home.

Near the end of April 1939, Brecht delivered the speech "On Experimental Theatre" in Stockholm as Nazi troops advanced on. In May the Brecht family moved to Lidingö, Sweden. A year later they further moved to Helsinki thanks to Hella Wuolijoki's help in obtaining the necessary papers; meanwhile the Brecht family would apply for an American visa. In July 1940, Wuolijoki invited the Brechts and Margarete Steffin to stay at her country estate at Marlebäck.

In May 1941, Brecht obtained the American visa and travelled to Moscow (to avoid the Nazi-controlled Finnish seaports). Forced to leave Margarete Steffin behind in Moscow for her tuberculosis, the Brechts and Ruth Berlau boarded the trans-Siberian train for the Pacific seaport Vladivostok. The news of Steffin's death later reached the playwright while on board the train.

On June 13, they got aboard "Annie Johnson," heading the United States via Manila. As the ship arrived in San Pedro (the harbor for Los Angeles) on July 21, they were advised to stay in Santa Monica for an opportunity to work in the movie industry. This would be the home for the next six years while Ruth Berlau sought work in New York. By this time Brecht's financial situation was stringent as the income from royalties sharply decreased due to the expansion of the war. Brecht, as a film writer, was only occasionally engaged in contributing story ideas or storylines and the income generated at first could barely cover their daily expenses. Weigel's hope for a job in the theatre was also limited due to the language barrier (except for a tiny role in the film The Seventh Cross [1944, MGM]) but she was an excellent hostess for a stream of house guests. During the six years in the States, Brecht also had several extended visits to New York and New England, arranging production opportunities on Broadway and working with German emigres on other matters. His American experience would end in Washington at the House Committee on Un-American Activities in October 1947.

November 1, 1947, Brecht arrived in Paris, the first stop on his way home. Accessing the post-war situation in Berlin, Brecht decided to stay in Zürich first (later moved in a house in Feldmeilen). During the interim year before his trip to Berlin, he took the advice from his childhood friend Caspar Neher to collaborate with Gottfried von Einem for the newly revived Salzburg Festival.

October 1948, Brecht finally embarked on his return journey to Berlin after fifteen years via Prague (the authorities of the American Zone had denied his travel permit). The Kulturbund at first arranged him in a temporary residence at the Hotel Adlon overlooking the wrecked post-war Berlin. In May 1949 the Brechts settled in Weißensee. As the playwright was making arrangement for a performance of  Mother Courage and Her Children at the Munich Kammerspieler in September of the same year, he took the opportunity to return to Augsburg for the first time since the war. In 1952, the Brechts acquired a country site in Buckow (south of Berlin) as their vacation residence. 1953, they moved in the two-story apartment at 125 Chausseestraße (now the Bertolt-Brecht-Haus) to work nearby the Berliner Ensemble (later moved in Theater am Schiffbauerdamm) and the Academy of Arts (East Germany).

The final resting place for Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel is at Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof.