On 05.02.2025, Year 1 went on an excursion with Ms. Schenk, Ms. Wannenmacher and Ms. Zilles to the German Literature Archive of Modernism in the Schiller city of Marbach to visit the exhibition “Kafka's Echo” in the German Literature Museum and to learn more about literature around 1900 in a workshop.
After arriving in Marbach, we took some time to explore the surrounding area. The Literature Museum, designed by architect David Chipperfield, is located on the Schillerhöhe and offers an impressive view of the Neckar valley. As we entered the building, we were greeted warmly by a museum guide who was to accompany us through the exhibition.
The tour began with an introduction to the life of Franz Kafka. The museum guide explained to us that Kafka was born in Prague in 1883 and is known as a German-speaking writer of Jewish origin. Although he only published a few of his works during his lifetime, he is one of the most influential authors of modern times. His difficult relationship with his authoritarian father, his health problems and his experiences with bureaucracy and social constraints were particularly formative for his work.
After the introduction, we began our tour of the exhibition. There we were able to admire numerous original manuscripts, letters and first editions of Kafka's works. These showed how Kafka made changes while writing and experimented with different formulations. The museum guide explained to us that many of his works remained unfinished and were only published by his friend Max Brod after his death, although Kafka actually wanted them to be destroyed. After a short break, the second part of our excursion began. We began with a brief introduction to the turn of the century, with its new inventions such as the telephone. We were then asked to work independently. My group's task was to work intensively on a letter that Franz Kafka had written to his fiancée Felize Bauer. First, we read it carefully and tried to understand its content and the emotions it contained. It quickly became clear that Kafka was a very insecure and thoughtful person. Our group discussed how Kafka's insecurities are typical of his work as a whole, as many of his stories deal with similar themes such as fear, alienation and self-doubt. After the analysis, we made a short presentation summarizing our findings. In the subsequent discussion, the groups presented the results of their assignment. In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to visit Schiller's birthplace or go into town. At 3 p.m. we met at the bus and made our way back.
The exhibition was not only informative, but also very well designed. We learned a lot about Franz Kafka. The excursion was worthwhile and enriching for us.
