Inspired by "Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder" (1938/39), a play by Bertolt Brecht, and Serpente de Luxo (1933).
The abbreviation "LSR," seen painted on various walls throughout the film, stands for "Luftschutzraum," German for "air raid shelter".
For the last seven minutes of the film, the last seven minutes of the 1954 FIFA World Cup final is heard above and behind the Maria-Hermann dialogue. The match is known as the "Miracle of Bern" as West Germany unexpectedly ran out 3-2 winners against Hungary's golden generation, who were massively favored to win and had demolished the Germans 8-3 only two weeks earlier in the group stage.
Part of the BRD Trilogy along with O Desespero de Veronika Voss (1982) and Lola (1981). "BRD" stands for Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the official name of West Germany and of the united contemporary Germany, period in which those three stories takes place.
The baby crying in the opening sequence to the sound of the sirens and gunfire is a specific reference to Rainer Werner Fassbinder's autobiography.