Between October 1937 and early 1938 Bertolt Brecht wrote his drama Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, a series of 27 scenes exploring the daily lives - including the private lives - of different social strata in Germany, including manual workers, storm troopers, lawyers, scientists, farmers, craftsmen.

Slatan Dudow, director of the emigrant ensemble Die Laterne, selected eight scenes from the sequence for the Paris premiere in the Salle d'Iena on 21 May 1938: Das Kreidekreuz, Winterhilfe, Der Spitzel, Die jüdische Frau, Zwei Bäcker, Rechtsfindung, Der Bauer füttert die Sau, Arbeitsbeschaffung. For this he proposed the title 99%, pointing a finger at the official result of the referendum on the "annexation" of Austria by the German Reich.

There was a considerable response to the three evening performances which were supported by the Schutzverband Deutscher Schriftsteller (SDS) in Paris, not only in emigre circles but also in the French press. Singled out for praise was the performance of Helene Weigel as a guest of the ensemble in the role of Judith Keith in Die jüdische Frau. Heinz Lohmar designed the set, Sylta Busse the costumes. The music of the prologue text Die Deutsche Heerschau saw the start of the collaboration between the composer Paul Dessau and Bertolt Brecht.

After translations appeared in the magazines Commune and Nouvelle Revue Française, French ensembles also performed scenes from Fear and Misery of the Third Reich.