Beckmann based this print on press photographs of the Revolution. The revolutionaries are making a last stand against the government. The viewer's eye is drawn across the scene to the top left-hand side, towards an unseen enemy. The man seen in profile at the centre of the scene wielding a machine-gun appears to be Beckmann himself. If that is the case, it may be that the artist is supporting the cause of the revolutionaries; however, despite their noble cause, damage is still incurred, and injured and dying men lie on the ground.