In this woodcut, Lucienne Bloch depicted workers congregating in small groups outside factories. Beginning in the 1800s, the Ruhr Valley became the industrial heart of western Germany and was a major producer of coal and steel. But the aftermath of World War I had severe economic consequences for Germany, and periods of prolonged hyperinflation resulted in regular strike activity by coal and steel workers throughout the 1900s. In the distance a series of smokestacks rise vertically from the horizon line. Notably absent, however, is any smoke, suggesting factory floors devoid of workers.