The Tale of Franz Kafka's Archives at the National Library of Israel with Dr. Stefan Litt

The National Library of Israel has the honor of holding the third largest collection in the world of Franz Kafka's original manuscripts, letters, and drawings; it represents a significant perspective of Kafka's legacy. While Kafka did not foresee the sacred value of his work, his friend Max Brod, who was part of Kafka's literary circle, did and he preserved Kafka's material even when instructed not to do so. Dr. Stefan Litt, Humanities Curator of the National Library of Israel, will not only share highlights of the Kafka archives, but will tell the story behind the Kafka collection and how it ultimately came to the National Library of Israel. 

Stefan Litt received his PhD in Pre-Modern History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has researched and taught at the universities of Erfurt, Duesseldorf, Graz and Bar-Ilan in Israel, and has published on the history of early modern European Jewry and on Jewish archives and book culture. He was awarded the Rosl and Paul Arnsberg Prize for his research. Since 2010, he has worked as an archivist at the National Library of Israel, responsible for the foreign language holdings. In 2018, Dr. Litt assumed the position of Humanities Curator of the National Library of Israel.

In partnership with the Wood River Jewish Community. This program will be livestreamed and available to view later. Click here to watch online.

Photo of Dr. Litt courtesy of NLI, photographer: Yorai Lieberman. Kafka collection images courtesy of National Library of Israel.