Content Warning: This section discusses antisemitism and substance misuse. In addition, the source text uses offensive language regarding Jewish people, which is replicated only in direct quotes of the source material.

Little Man, What Now? is set during a period of economic turmoil marked by hyperinflation and high unemployment. Prices continually go up while wages do not, which creates a situation in which even employed people face poverty. This has a devastating effect on the population’s morale. Mrs. Scharrenhofer is a case in point. Johannes and Emma rent a room from her and soon discover that she is in the midst of a breakdown. She believes that someone is stealing from her, as her carefully kept accounts no longer make any kind of sense. With costs going up, Mrs. Scharrenhofer can no longer make sense of the world. Previously, she could trust in the value of her money and her savings, but now she can barely comprehend her financial struggles, much less address them. Mrs. Scharrenhofer’s situation speaks to the way the Weimar Republic’s economic collapse turned the lives of its citizens upside down.

Amid this economic downturn, newlyweds Johannes and Emma try to forge a life together. They are expecting a child, desperately poor, and lacking the maturity needed to navigate such circumstances.