— Ch. 1 · The Prague Birth And Family Shadow —
Franz Kafka.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
Franz Kafka entered the world on the 3rd of July 1883 in a cramped apartment near the Old Town Square of Prague. His father Hermann ran a haberdashery store that employed up to fifteen people and used a jackdaw as its business logo. The word kafka meant jackdaw in Czech, creating an ironic link between the family name and their trade. Hermann was described by scholars as a huge, selfish, overbearing businessman who dominated the household with his loud voice and worldly dominance. Julie Kafka worked twelve hours each day managing the shop while her husband handled the business side. Their six children grew up largely under the care of governesses and servants because both parents were absent during workdays. Two of Franz's brothers died in infancy before he turned seven years old. Three sisters named Gabriele, Valerie, and Ottilie survived childhood but met tragic ends during World War II. Valli was deported to the Łódź Ghetto in occupied Poland in 1942 and assumed dead after that point. Ottilie was Kafka's favorite sister yet she perished in 1943 alongside her husband Karl Hermann. Only one granddaughter from Elli's line survived the war. The family lived in a cold room where Franz often felt isolated despite being surrounded by relatives.
The Insurance Bureau And Legal Training
Kafka completed his Doctor of Law degree on the 18th of June 1906 at Charles University in Prague. He performed unpaid service as a law clerk for civil and criminal courts before joining the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute on the 1st of November 1907. His daily schedule ran from eight o'clock until six o'clock which made writing nearly impossible during those hours. He resigned from that position two weeks later and found employment at the same institute on the 15th of July 1908. This job involved investigating compensation claims for industrial workers who lost fingers or limbs due to poor safety policies. Factories with machine lathes and rotary saws rarely had safety guards leading to frequent accidents. Kafka processed appeals from businessmen who believed their firms faced unfairly high insurance premiums. He compiled annual reports for the institute that received praise from his superiors. His father expected him to help run the family store but Kafka despised this bread job. In late 1911 he became partners with his sister's husband Karl Hermann in an asbestos factory called Prager Asbestwerke. He dedicated much free time to this business yet resented how it encroached upon his writing schedule. Medical problems associated with tuberculosis diagnosed in August 1917 prevented him from continuing full work duties. The institute placed him on pension in 1918 allowing him to spend most of his remaining life in sanatoriums.