Court Rules Kafka Manuscripts Belong to National Library of Israel

Posted on July 4, 2015

After a lengthy court battle which has been going on since 2008, a collection of original manuscripts written by German author Franz Kafka will be turned over to the National Library of Israel. The Tel Aviv District Court issued the ruling.

Kafka, the brilliant author of The Metamorphasis, The Trial and The Castle, left all of his manuscripts to his friend Max Brod. Kafka told Brod to burn all of the documents after his death. Kafka died in 1924 of tuberculosis. Brod did not burn any of the documents and took them with him when he fled the Nazi regime in 1939. Brod fled to Israel where he lived until his death in 1968. In his will Brod left the Kafka manuscripts to his secretary Esther Hoffe. She was directed to ensure the works were published and give the originals to the National Library of Israel for safekeeping.

But Ms. Hoffe began selling off the documents to German buyers. Eventually the attorney general of Israel got involved, demanding that the documents be turned over the National Library of Israel. Hoffe and her family sued for a declaration that they owned the manuscripts.

Some of the documents are in Germany now. The court ruled that Brod wished the documents to remain in Israel, writing, "It appears that he would have summarily rejected the possibility of transferring his literary estate to an archive located in Germany."

The National Library has said it will eventually put the entire archive online for scholars and readers to enjoy. The archive has not yet been inventoried and cataloged, but reportedly contains original manuscripts of "A Country Doctor", and "Wedding Preparations in the Country," as well as his Paris diaries, drawings and numerous handwritten letters from Kafka to Brod.

Needless to say, the scholars at the National Library are thrilled and are hoping the cache will have a few hidden surprises.