Max Frisch
Frisch's dramas up until the early 1960s are divided by the literary commentator into three groups: (1) the early wartime pieces, (2) the poetic plays such as "" ("Don Juan oder Die Liebe zur Geometrie") and (3) the dialectical pieces. It is above all with this third group, notably the parable "The Fire Raisers" (1953), identified by Frisch as a "lesson without teaching", and with "Andorra" (1961) that Frisch enjoyed the most success. Indeed, these two are among the most successful German language plays. The writer nevertheless remained dissatisfied because he believed they had been widely misunderstood. In an interview with Heinz Ludwig Arnold Frisch vigorously rejected their allegorical approach: "I have established only that when I apply the parable format, I am obliged to deliver a message that I actually do not have". After the 1960s Frisch moved away from the theatre. His late biographical plays "" ("Biografie: Ein Spiel") and "" were apolitical but they failed to match the public success of his earlier dramas. It was only shortly before his death that Frisch returned to the stage with a more political message, with "Jonas and his Veteran", a stage version of his arresting dialogue "Switzerland without an army? A Palaver".
Max Friz
Friz designed the first practical German aircraft engines in 1912-1913 while at Austro-Daimler. The engines had separate cylinders on the crankcase and an overhead camshaft driven by a vertical shaft and bevel gears. At the end of 1916 the young engineer Max Friz applied for a position with Rapp Motorenwerke. At that time Friz was still working for the Daimler engine company in Untertürkheim, near Stuttgart. However, he was frustrated because the chief engineer, Paul Daimler, ignored the suggestions of his young assistant on engine development. Faced with this situation, Friz remembered his former colleague, Karl Rapp. At first Rapp was going to turn down Friz’s request; however, Josef Popp successfully intervened on Friz’s behalf, because he recognized that Rapp Motorenwerke lacked an able designer.