The central figure is the President, Paul von Hindenburg, recognizable by his long moustache and his military uniform with medals.

A bloodied sword and a funerary cross on the table in front of Hindenburg are a reminder of his role in World War I, and the lives lost.

A corpulent industrialist, with a top hat, and with small weaponry and a miniature train under his arm, whispers discreetly at the President's ear.

[3] A donkey, wearing blinders decorated with the German eagle, stands facing a feeding trough full of papers while balancing on a board tied to a skeleton.

The donkey is interpreted by art historian Ivo Kranzfelder as a symbol of the German people, represented as accepting whatever is put in front of them.