Kuhle Wampe takes place in early-1930s Berlin. The film begins with a montage of newspaper headlines describing steadily-rising unemployment figures. This is followed by scenes of a young man looking for work in the city and the family discussing the unpaid back rent. The young man, brother of the protagonist Anni, removes his wristwatch and throws himself from a window out of despair. Shortly thereafter his family is evicted from their apartment. Now homeless, the family moves into a garden colony of sorts with the name “Kuhle Wampe.”
Hertha Thiele
as Anni
Ernst Busch
as Fritz
Max Sablotzki
as Vater Bönicke
Lilli Schoenborn
as Mutter Bönike
Martha Wolter
as Gerda
Adolf Fischer
as Kurt
Gerhard Bienert
as Zeitungsleser
Erwin Geschonneck
as Arbeitersportler
Anna Müller-Lincke
as Sängerin
Helene Weigel
as Ballad singer (voice)
Hermann Krehan
as
Hugo Werner-Kahle
as
