Written in 1969, it first appeared as a single the next year, followed by the band's 1971 debut album Warum geht es mir so dreckig?
The song was originally written for the 1969 play Rita und Paul by Hoffmanns Comic Teater.
It followed a scene in which the titular hero, the young worker Paul, sees conservative commentator Matthias Walden [de] on television and throws the TV set on the floor in anger.
[1] The lyrics were written by Norbert Krause, a member of Hoffmanns Comic Teater, inspired by lyrics by Rio Reiser: "Bombs are falling / Tanks are rolling / Soldiers dying / Men are crying / It is a good time ...".
[5] Many people believed that Ton Steine Scherben had set the stage on fire, which gave them tremendous credibility in the radical scene.