Carl Zuckmayer in his autobiography remembers how the greatest fear some of his friends had concerning detention in a concentration camp wasn't so much physical destruction, but to be mentally broken. Stefan Zweig's Schachnovelle features a similar sentiment. And this is exactly what Jen o rodinných zálezitostech is dealing with and quite drastically illustrating: How to mentally break real or alleged traitors or enemies of the Communist party. The setting is Czechoslovakia in the early 1950s and in pseudo-religious show trials defendants are coerced into confessing by all means, for they must be found guilty beyond any doubt.