Kafka w Jerozolimie. Rzecz o zdradzonych testamentach, batalii o rękopisy i Bibliotece Narodowej Izraela

Abstract

The article discusses the court battle over the right to Franz Kafka’s manuscripts, which took place between the National Library of Israel, the German Literature Archive in Marbach, and the holder of the writer’s archive, Eva Hoffe (1933–2018). The case dealt with fundamental issues: the clear distinction between intellectual property and private property, the definition of heritage, the resolution of the contradiction between the will of the deceased, the necessity, or even duty, to protect and preserve his legacy, etc. In the background was the question of who Kafka was as a writer and whether his literary output belonged to German or Jewish literature.