Kafka project
Encyclopedia
The Kafka Project is a non-profit literary research initiative founded in 1998 at San Diego State University
. Working on behalf of the Kafka estate in London, England, the SDSU Kafka Project is working to recover materials written by Franz Kafka
, the widely acclaimed modernist author, stolen by the Gestapo
in 1933. The search continues in Eastern Europe and Israel.
The SDSU Kafka Project, headed by SDSU adjunct professor and biographer Kathi Diamant, with an international board of advisors, is searching for Kafka's notebooks and letters written in correspondence to Dora Diamant
, his lover at the time of his death in 1924, as well as Dora's correspondence with Kafka's friend, literary executor and first biographer Max Brod
. Kafka's missing writings consist of 35 letters written to Dora Diamant between 1923–1924 and up to 20 notebooks, representing the last year of his life. The contents of these letters and notebooks is unknown and has never been published. The 70 letters that Dora wrote to Max Brod between 1924-1952 are amongst the hotly contested Brod Collection. Dora Diamant's letters to Max Brod contain information to further identify the missing materials
Kafka requested that all his extant writings be destroyed, however, Dora, following Kafka's express wish that his writings be burned, secretly kept them in her Berlin
home. Following the Nazi takeover in 1933, the Gestapo
ransacked her Berlin flat and confiscated every piece of paper, looking for Communist propaganda. In the early 1930s, Dora and her husband, Lutz Lask, were members of the KPD
and Lask was the editor of the illegal Communist organ, "Die Rote Fahne
." After the theft of her secret Kafka treasure, Dora contacted Max Brod to beg that he rescue the materials. Brod was told that the mountainous stacks of papers confiscated in the early days of Nazi rule made it impossible to recover at the time. In the mid-1950s, Brod, now living in Tel Aviv
, worked with Kafka scholar and biographer Klaus Wagenbach to attempt recovery of Kafka's lost writings. Unfortunately their search ended at the Iron Curtain
when the Berlin Chief of Police informed them Kafka's papers were most likely amongst confiscated materials taken out of Berlin in a train transport during the Allied bombing for safekeeping in Silesia
.
The Kafka Project has conducted two extensive research projects, in 1998 in the German archives and in 2008 in Poland. The Kafka Project has been responsible for the discoveries of three original Kafka letters, Dora Diamant's missing diaries and letters, and the only extant personal possession of Kafka, his hairbrush. "also found in Kafka Project Discoveries", Kafka Project
. The Project has been supported by the Hadassah Research Institute Brandeis University
, the Weingart Foundation, the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, Hedgebrook
, and individual donors.
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
. Working on behalf of the Kafka estate in London, England, the SDSU Kafka Project is working to recover materials written by Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
, the widely acclaimed modernist author, stolen by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
in 1933. The search continues in Eastern Europe and Israel.
The SDSU Kafka Project, headed by SDSU adjunct professor and biographer Kathi Diamant, with an international board of advisors, is searching for Kafka's notebooks and letters written in correspondence to Dora Diamant
Dora Diamant
Dora Diamant is best remembered as the lover of the writer Franz Kafka and the person who kept some of his last writings in her possession until they were confiscated by the Gestapo in 1933...
, his lover at the time of his death in 1924, as well as Dora's correspondence with Kafka's friend, literary executor and first biographer Max Brod
Max Brod
Max Brod was a German-speaking Czech Jewish, later Israeli, author, composer, and journalist. Although he was a prolific writer in his own right, he is most famous as the friend and biographer of Franz Kafka...
. Kafka's missing writings consist of 35 letters written to Dora Diamant between 1923–1924 and up to 20 notebooks, representing the last year of his life. The contents of these letters and notebooks is unknown and has never been published. The 70 letters that Dora wrote to Max Brod between 1924-1952 are amongst the hotly contested Brod Collection. Dora Diamant's letters to Max Brod contain information to further identify the missing materials
Kafka requested that all his extant writings be destroyed, however, Dora, following Kafka's express wish that his writings be burned, secretly kept them in her Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
home. Following the Nazi takeover in 1933, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
ransacked her Berlin flat and confiscated every piece of paper, looking for Communist propaganda. In the early 1930s, Dora and her husband, Lutz Lask, were members of the KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
and Lask was the editor of the illegal Communist organ, "Die Rote Fahne
Die Rote Fahne
The German newspaper Die Rote Fahne was created on 9 November 1918 by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg in Berlin, first as organ of the left wing revolutionary Spartakusbund. After the founding of the Communist Party of Germany on 1 January 1919 it became the central publication of the party,...
." After the theft of her secret Kafka treasure, Dora contacted Max Brod to beg that he rescue the materials. Brod was told that the mountainous stacks of papers confiscated in the early days of Nazi rule made it impossible to recover at the time. In the mid-1950s, Brod, now living in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, worked with Kafka scholar and biographer Klaus Wagenbach to attempt recovery of Kafka's lost writings. Unfortunately their search ended at the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
when the Berlin Chief of Police informed them Kafka's papers were most likely amongst confiscated materials taken out of Berlin in a train transport during the Allied bombing for safekeeping in Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
.
The Kafka Project has conducted two extensive research projects, in 1998 in the German archives and in 2008 in Poland. The Kafka Project has been responsible for the discoveries of three original Kafka letters, Dora Diamant's missing diaries and letters, and the only extant personal possession of Kafka, his hairbrush. "also found in Kafka Project Discoveries", Kafka Project
Kafka project
The Kafka Project is a non-profit literary research initiative founded in 1998 at San Diego State University. Working on behalf of the Kafka estate in London, England, the SDSU Kafka Project is working to recover materials written by Franz Kafka, the widely acclaimed modernist author, stolen by the...
. The Project has been supported by the Hadassah Research Institute Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, the Weingart Foundation, the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation, Hedgebrook
Hedgebrook
Hedgebrook is a rural retreat for women writers on Whidbey Island, Washington, founded in 1988. Hedgebrook's artist in residency program accepts 40 writers each year, who spend 2 to 6 weeks in residence working on their diverse writing projects. Each writer stays in her own hand-crafted cottage....
, and individual donors.
External links
- Kafka Project
- Franz Kafka Biography Website http://www.kafka-franz.com/franz-kafka-writing.htm