A Franz Kafka exhibition has opened at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, concluding a series of global events marking the centenary of the death of the celebrated Czech novelist and writer.
The display showcases, for the first time, more than 80 rare original items that tell the life story of one of the best-known German-language authors in the world.
They cover the breadth of his works, relationships with friends and lovers, special connection to Judaism, Zionism, and the Hebrew language, illness and death.
Kafka – last postcard to Max Brod, Kierling Austria – 20 May 1924
The exhibition is also the first time the rich Kafka archive preserved at the National Library of Israel (NLI) has been showcased. It was delivered to the institution in 2019, following a Supreme Court ruling that it was a cultural asset which should be kept in Israel, and made accessible to the public.
NLI,, together with Oxford University’s Bodleian Library and the German Literary Archive in Marbach are deemed the top international institutions with important Kafka manuscript collections. All have held exhibitions during the centenary year.
Franz Kafka – Letter to His Father 1919 Photo by Ardon Bar-Hama
Among the rare items on display: the original manuscript of Kafka’s “Letter to His Father”; Hebrew notebooks; drawings; his original last will in which he expressed the wish for all his writings to be burned after his death; personal letters; historical photographs; first editions, and rough drafts never before presented for public view.
Kafka – Black Notebook drawing
Eight Israeli illustrators (Sergey Isakov, Eitan Eloa, Nino Biniashvili, Anat Warshavsky, Addam Yekutieli, Merav Salomon, Roni Fahima, and Michel Kichka), were invited by the Library to create new works inspired by Kafka’s drawings.
A new work by theatre artist Patricia O’Donovan will be presented, as well as video, animations, and rare historical documentation of theatre and dance performances influenced by Kafka.
Dr. Stefan Litt, curator of the humanities collection and director of the Kafka Archive at the National Library of Israel, said: “Although his work is perceived as secular and universal, the exhibition reveals, for the first time, the fascinating web connecting between him and the Jewish world of his time.
“His close friends in the Prague Circle, chiefly Max Brod, the Rebbe of Belz, who exposed him to the world of Hasidism, all are part of an extensive network of Jewish personalities who shaped his spiritual and creative world. Kafka’s effect on world culture – in literature, theater, and cinema – continues to this day. This exhibition offers an in-depth look at the person behind the immortal works.”
- The exhibition “Kafka: Metamorphosis of An Author”, closes on June 30, 2025. For more details, to purchase tickets and tours of the exhibition, click here.
