Five working-class children 

This sketch, ‘Five working-class children’ is by Heinrich Zille. Zille was born in Saxony in 1858, but his family moved to Berlin when he was young, where he would live until his death in 1929. Zille’s own impoverished background gave him unique access to Berlin’s working-class communities. Here, we see figures which preoccupied him throughout his career: working class children living in the tenements of Berlin. They were often left to fend for themselves while their parents worked long hours. These children are rendered with an uncommon tenderness. Look at the young girl carrying a baby on her back, and the older child carefully holding an infant. There is an emotional complexity in these figures which counters stereotypes about working-class families. Zille once said, "I don't want to depict misery; I want to depict people who put up with misery." His images are a reminder of both the hardships and the resilience found within marginalized communities.