A critical allegory on Sweden's position in the build-up to World War Two. It was written in 1939 while Brecht was in exile in Sweden. The play is set in the shop of a male character named Svenson, who is repeatedly visited by a gangster-like figure wanting to purchase iron. Neighbouring shopkeepers Herr Austrian and Frau Czech fall victim to the gangster's increasingly violent behavior, but Svenson refuses to join a pact with shopkeeper Herr Britt to ward of the gangster. Eventually, Svenson himself falls victim to the gangster.
