The government's cutbacks were causing great poverty among the German population. In Berlin, workers jointly stopped paying rent in protest against the high rents and the poor condition of their houses.
Köpenicker street was the centre of the rent strike.
The slogan ‘First food - then rent’ is painted on the wall in the background. Flags of the Communist Party and the Nazi Party hang from the windows. Both sides appealed to the workers because they promised to solve the problems of poverty, each in their own way.