from 1893 to 1900, thälmann attended elementary school. he later described history, natural history, folklore, mathematics, gymnastics and sports as his favorite subjects. however, he did not like religion. in the mid-1890s, his parents opened a vegetable, coal and wagon shop in eilbek, a suburb of hamburg. in this business, he had to help after school. thälmann did his schoolwork in the morning before classes started. despite this burden, thälmann was a good student who enjoyed learning. his desire to become a teacher or to learn a trade was not fulfilled because his parents refused to give him the necessary money. he had to continue working in his parents' business, causing much sorrow and conflict with his parents. therefore, he sought a job as an unskilled worker in the port. here the ten-year-old thälmann came in contact with the port workers on strike from november 1896 till february 1897, the bitter labor dispute known as the hamburg dockworkers strike 1896/97.