The Franz Kafky Society

Established in 1990, the Franz Kafka Society is a non-governmental non-profit organization. Its main goal is to contribute to reviving the traditions that gave rise to the phenomenon called Prague German literature, while restoring general awareness of the great significance of cultural plurality in Central Europe, a region where the Czechs, Germans and the Jews have been living together for centuries. Promoting those traditions, epitomized by the name of Franz Kafka, the Society is devoting systematic attention to his works, seeking to make Kafka´s heritage a natural component of the Czech cultural context. The Franz Kafka Society now has some 1000 members in a total of 23 countries throughout the world.

The members of the Society include Günter Grass, the holder of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Israeli writers Amos Oz and Avigdor Dagan (Viktor Fischl), Polish poet Tadeusz Rózewicz, writers Arnošt Goldflam, Jiří Gruša - now President of the International PEN Club‚ Ivan Klíma, Pavel Kosatík, Petr Pithart - now first Vice Chairman of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Karol E. Sidon - Chief Rabbi of Bohemia and President of the Prague Rabbis, playwright and prose writer Milan Uhde, American architect Steven Holl, music composer Ilja Hurník, actors Eva Salzmannová and Jiří Ornest, sculptor Olbram Zoubek, outstanding literary historians Peter Demetz, Klaus Wagenbach, Hans Dieter Zimmermann, and many other prominent figures of the cultural and public life in the Czech Republic and abroad.

The Franz Kafka Society is managed by a committee whose members are voted. These include leading personalities of the Czech cultural and public life: its President is Professor Kurt Krolop, a literary historian of world renown, specializing in German studies who deals primarily with the so-called Prague German literature; its Honorary President is writer Arnošt Lustig, whose books on the Holocaust have been published in many countries throughout the world; Vice President is Vladimír Železný, former Director of TV Nova, now member of the European Parliament. The Committee is composed of the following members: Josef Čermák, a literary historian and translator, František Černý, former Czech Ambassador to Germany, graphic designer Bohuslav Holý, leading Czech poetess Viola Fischerová, Jindřich Špicner, a publicist, poet and photographer, Jan Vít, journalist and editor, Marie Vodičková, editor and translator, Professor Ivan Vyskočil, a playwright, prose writer and actor who markedly shaped the development of modern Czech theater.

The Society pursues its activities through the Franz Kafka Center. These include the holding of literary evenings, debates, specialized lectures and seminars. Over a hundred book titles have been published to date in its Franz Kafka Publishing House, including a 20-volume series - Works of Karel Poláček, Works of Franz Kafka in Czech translation or a series of essays called Man in the Mirror. The Society owns a unique replica of Franz Kafka´s private library comprising close to 1,000 period volumes. It also runs a specialized library containing a valuable collection of secondary literatary sources on Prague German literature. The Society organizes the Franz Kafka Prize, the only international literary prize awarded in the Czech Republic. The following writers have received the prize thus far: Philip Roth (USA), Ivan Klíma (Czech Republic), Péter Nádas (Hungary), Elfriede Jelinek (Austria), Harold Pinter (Britain). Each year, the Society announces the Max Brod Prize, a students´ literary competition for the best essay which regularly brings together entries from all over the country. One of the major projects completed by the Society is the installation of the Franz Kafka Monument in the Old Town of Prague.