Gaber separated "Die Plage" into four discrete parts or movements, much like a symphony. The first section is dedicated to the Weimar Republic (1918–1933) and the first seven years of the Third Reich, including Hitler's rise in popularity, propaganda campaigns, the political defamation of modern art, the 1936 Olympics and the 1937 "Entartete Kunst" exhibition. Section II depicts persecution of the Jews. In this section, Gaber painted directly on the collages with abstract strokes of gray and blue. Section III reimagines the events in the prior two sections from more subjective points-of-view, and Section IV serves as an epilogue. The density of images within the canvases, and the rhythm of canvases within panels, change notably in each section.