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
Anni
Ernst Busch
Fritz
Max Sablotzki
Vater Bönicke
Lilli Schoenborn
Mutter Bönike
Martha Wolter
Gerda
Adolf Fischer
Kurt
Gerhard Bienert
Zeitungsleser
Erwin Geschonneck
Arbeitersportler
Anna Müller-Lincke
Sängerin
Helene Weigel
Ballad singer (voice)
Hermann Krehan
Hugo Werner-Kahle
Richard Hilgert
Hans Sternberg
Karl Wagner
