In its early years, the group consisted of nine people, none of whom had any theatrical training, a pianist and a driver. The
Berlin troupe was one of the most highly praised agitprop troupes in Germany, despite its lack of training. Hans Hauska joined the troupe in late summer 1930. In 1931, the Left Column were rewarded with a tour in the
Soviet Union for five weeks for having gained 16,000 new members for the WIR. Fritz Lemke, and Hauska wrote the music. Beginning in 1935, the NKVD began arresting members of the troupe in the Great Purge. On February 5, 1938, Kurt Ahrendt, Karl Oefelein and Schmidtsdorf were arrested, charged with starting a branch of the
Hitler Youth, and were executed three weeks later. Hauska, after four years in custody, and sentenced in a Nazi court on August 18, 1939 to one and a half years at hard labor in a
Zuchthaus, as did Klering, who returned to Germany in 1946 and became a co-founder of
DEFA. Damerius was unable to leave the Soviet Union until 1956. == Notable members ==