Kafka and Power. 1963–1968–2008

The Kafka conference held in the Liblice Castle in 1963 is regarded as a key intellectual precursor of the political upheaval in Czechoslovakia that culminated in Prague Spring in 1968. In commemoration of the 125th anniversary of Franz Kafka's birth, a new conference titled "Kafka and Power. 1963-1968-2008" re-examined the relationship between these important years in history in Liblice October 2008. Literary scholars, contemporary witnesses, historians and philosophers discussed the events of 1963 and 1968 and their relationship to one another. The Zipp - German-Czech Cultural Projects also supported the scientific work of a thirty-volume historical-critical edition of Kafka's works (FKA), being compiled and edited by the Germanists Roland Reuß and Peter Staengle. The goal of the FKA is to facsimile Kafka's complete works in their authentic form and make them publicly accessible.

Lectures and podium discussions
Conference languages: German and Czech

Guest speakers: Klaus Theweleit, Jirí Grusa, Ulrike Draesner, Michael Rohrwasser, Jürgen Danyel, Anson Rabinbach, Alena Wagnérova, KD Wolff, Roland Reuß, Peter Staengle, Alexej Kusak, Kurt Krolop

The conference partners are the Institut für Textkritik Heidelberg; the German Studies Department at the University of Heidelberg, and the Czech Academy of the Sciences, Prague / Institute of Contemporary History, Prague (ÚSD)