Being Kafka - Gegenüber - Goethe-Institut

Why do we still find Kafka so modern and current?

Illustration by Roberto Maján

Being Kafka

Why does Franz Kafka’s spell remain unbroken a hundred years after his death? Why do we still perceive Kafka as so modern and contemporary? Because Kafka wrote such beautiful letters? Because we love drama queens? Because we feel that the world has never been more Kafkaesque than it is today? Join us as we step into Kafka’s world! Be Kafka!

Kafka at the age of 34 in July 1917

Reiner Stach
Franz Kafka in the 21st Century

Why do we continue to find Franz Kafka so compelling 100 years after his death? Why is Kafka still considered to be so modern and contemporary? What awaits us in Kafka’s anniversary year of 2024? Reiner Stach, Kafka’s most important biographer, provides us with some answers.

Reiner Stach

Picture of Kafka's parents

Autobiographies
Letters to the Parents

Clair G.hin

Kafka and TikTok
Why Is Everyone So Obsessed With Franz Kafka?

Serena Smith

Kafka on the couch

Interview with Wolfgang Hantel-Quitmann
Kafka on the Couch

Franziska Strasser

Dr. Wolfgang Hantel-Quitmann

A sensation at the beginning of the 20th century: a visit to the cinema

Early pop culture
Kafka, the Cinephile

Alice Aronová

Was Kafka a drama queen?

Exaggerations
Was Kafka a Drama Queen?

Tomáš Moravec

Franz Kafka about 34 years old. July 1917

Tomáš Moravec
Whom Does Franz Kafka Belong To?

Tomáš Moravec

I can also laugh, I am even known as a big laugher.

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka, generated with the Ideogram AI tool

Sexuality In Bed With Kafka

Víctor Millán

Scene from “The Trial” by Franz Kafka

Roberto Maján Kafka as a Picture Book

Roberto Maján

Verena Hütter

Johannes von Stritzky

Drawings of Kafka's novel figures

Psychological Test: Kafka
Which Kafka Character Are You?

Marta Krus

Beatrice Davies

Nicolas Mahler: “Komplett Kafka” (Completely Kafka)

Nicolas Mahler
Draw Kafka for Me

Nicolas Mahler

Ulrich Fügener

Staircase in the house at Zeltnergasse 3, Prague

Kafka’s Humour
The Big Laugher

Hernán D. Caro

Gabriel Garcia Márquez. Barcelona 1969

Hernán D. Caro Kafka and Latin American Literature

Hernán D. Caro

Moritz von Wolzogen: The Aeroplanes at Brescia

Comics and Graphic Novels Kafka in the Realm of Comics

Ulrich Fügener

Scene from “Letter to my Father” posed with Playmobil figures

Playmobil Kafka on Youtube

Michael Sommer

Johannes von Stritzky

Marie-Pierre Poulin

Marie-Pierre Poulin Booktube with Kafka

Marie-Pierre Poulin

Marius Goldhorn: “Oklahama, 3666”

Marius Goldhorn
Oklahama, 3666

Marius Goldhorn

Tanita Olbrich

Kafka at the beach with his friend, the author Ernst Weiß, in Travemünde or Marielyst

Kafka and Sports
The Great Swimmer

Benedikt Maria Arnold

Kafka word cloud German Kitty Kahane

Kitty Kahane
Word Clouds

Kitty Kahane

Geniuses with unusual professions

At Work with Kafka Ten Geniuses with Unusual Professions

Guillermo Martínez

Confusing traffic lights in front of a tower

Everything’s well regulated Bureaucracy