Franz Kafka

Name

Nationality

Franz Kafka was born on 3rd july 1883 in Prague (Bohemia), then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now the Czech Republic.

Coming from a Jewish, middle-class family, he became a literary genius, being considered one of the main writers of modern literature, known for his works such as “Metamorphosis”, “The Process”, “The Castle”, “The Verdict”, among others.

He studied Law in Prague, graduating in 1906.

On 1st november, 1907, Kafka was hired by “Assicurazione Generali”, an italian insurance company, where he worked for almost a year. This first experience, with working hours from 8am to 6pm, left him quite dissatisfied, which made it difficult for him to concentrate on writing, which was increasingly important. On 15th july, 1908, he resigned.

Two weeks later, he found a job that allowed him better conditions for writing at the Work Accident Insurance Institute of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The job involved research and assessment of personal injury compensation for industrial workers.

He was quickly promoted and became responsible for the annual report of the Insurance Institute during the years he worked there. His parents referred to their son’s work as an insurance officer’s “breadwinner’s work”, a job done just to pay the bills. Kafka constantly claimed to hate his service.

In 1918, the Insurance Institute drove him away from his activities because of health problems, which were associated with tuberculosis, which at the time had no cure.

He died on 3rd june, 1924 in the Austrian Republic, now Austria.