Max Frisch wrote Biedermann and the Firebugs originally as a short story while he was in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1948. Right at that time, Czechoslovakia experienced a coup d’état in which the Russian backed communists took over the government. 

​

There is a lot of evidence that the Communist powers in Czechoslovakia had the ability to overthrow the government since 1945. Yet, even with what would seem to be obvious signs of the impending power struggle, Czechoslovak society failed to maintain their democratic government. Parliament cooperated with communist leaders for years, which gave them a false sense of safety. There were "countermeasures" to prevent such a revolution from happening (clearly, not effective). Leaders and regular citizens often considered the communist party to just similar to their own, just with more radical ideas. Because of this, most people did not feel strongly about totally destroying any ability for communism to take over. There was a general mindset of defeating communism "just a little". This manifested itself in a very split election in 1947. Instead of democratic parties combining efforts to squash communism, they competed among themselves. 

​

Many people also believed that it would not be beneficial for Russia, or any other communist-leaning countries to have control over Czechoslovakia. In Russia's mind, it was important to grab hold of as many countries as possible during this time. During a preliminary poll in 1947, the Christian Democrats and the National Socialists had 75% of the vote while the Communists and Social Democrats had 25%. This lack of power is likely what stirred the Communist leaders into action only a few months later. 
 

To understand where this revolution came from, it is essential to understand the backdrop to the revolution. As World War 2 came to an end, countries all across Europe were at a loss at rebuilding communities. In places such as Czechoslovakia, fear of German power froze most people. The Communists utilized this fear by proposing Russia as a sort of protection. Many Czechs believed that Russia might be the only force able to keep them safe from Germany. The government collaboration with communist authorities in parliament allowed for the Kosice Program to start- which allowed communists to take over lands liberated from the war. It sat 7 communists out of 13 members, and eventually allowed communists to put leaders in local governments as well as change foreign policy. This had a huge impact in the ability of Communists to take over Czechoslovakia. Additionally, a severe drought and foot shortage came in 1947, and all of these factors came together to allow for the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia. 

​

Another really important point in understanding the progression of the revolution, is the idea that Czechs had a sort of fatalistic mindset, meaning they did not believe that their actions had any significant impact on the future. Nazi oppression is what caused this. Fatalism is an idea that plays heavily on the themes of The Arsonists because Biedermann does not actively participate in preventing arsonists from entering, or burning his home. He not only sees what he has done wrong; he resigns that there is no alternative. Read more about fatalism here : https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fatalism/ 

​