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Postcard from Franz Kafka to the publisher Kurt Wolff in Leipzig, 11 November 1918

Dear publisher, At the same time I am sending you by express recommended letter the manuscript for “The Penal Colony” with a letter. My address is Prague, Pořič 7, Yours sincerely, Dr Kafka 11 XI 18

Copyright 
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Verwendet bei

  • Chapter

    ‘Guilt is always beyond doubt!’ Franz Kafka’s 'In der Strafkolonie' (In the Penal Colony)

    Like other short stories Kafka’s In der Strafkolonie arose from a writing block, as the author found himself unable to continue with the end of Der Prozess (The Trial). Kafka wrote the story in October 1914, but it was not published until 1919, when it appeared in a one-off edition of 1,000 copies. The fantasies of guilt and punishment in Der Prozess are also to be found in In der Strafkolonie. In a key passage we read, ‘Guilt is always beyond doubt.’