Kafka's Works and Nazi Race Laws

Kafka's works have been a focal point in discussions surrounding Jewish identity and the impact of Nazi policies. As the Nazi regime prepared to implement its Race Laws during the Nuremberg Rally, Klaus Mann highlighted the importance of Kafka's literature in the final issue of Die Sammlung. Mann's commentary served as a critique of the antisemitic policies being enforced by the Nazis, emphasizing Kafka's status as a Jewish writer whose works were increasingly seen as subversive by the regime. In response to this growing recognition of Kafka's significance, the German cultural ministry intervened by sending a cease-and-desist letter to Schocken, Kafka's publisher. This letter served as a reminder that Kafka's name had been placed on the Third Reich's index librorum prohibitorum, a list of prohibited books, which effectively barred his works from circulation within Nazi Germany. This action underscored the regime's efforts to suppress dissenting voices and control cultural narratives, particularly those that challenged their ideology.