​Monday, the 4th of Kislev, November 12th, 18:00-22:00

*Lectures will be given in Hebrew except where otherwise noted 

Marking 50 years since the donation of his archive
to the National Library

A special event dedicated to the memory of the composer, playwright and author Max Brod. Brod became well known as Franz Kafka's closest friend, and he worked tirelessly to ensure that Kafka's books and writings would see the light of day.

The event will be divided into two parts, with the first dedicated to Brod's time in Prague and the roots of his spiritual Zionism during the pre-war period. The second part will focus on Brod's influence on Israeli culture - in music, theatre and literature. In addition, the event will include a comprehensive review of Max Brod's personal archive, his work methods and the challenges facing the National Library in the course of collecting and preserving this important material.

In recent years, the National Library has been working to fulfill Max Brod's wish that his personal archive, which includes the writings of Franz Kafka, be shared with a broad audience and preserved in a public archive. During the course of this work, many of Brod's manuscripts were brought to the library, including personal diaries in which he described his extensive relationships with the members of the "Close Prague Circle", many of whose archives are also kept at the library.

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18:00-19:30

First Sitting - Max Brod and His Time in Prague

Host: Dr. Stefan Litt, the National Library of Israel

Max Brod, biography of a multidisciplinary genius

Dr. Nurit Pegy, scholar of German-Jewish literature

The roots of Max Brod's humanist Zionism

Dr. Dmitry Shumsky, the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Re-collections. Max Brod between Leipzig and Prague

Dr. Caroline Jessen, Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach - *Lecture to be given in English

20:00-22:00

Second Sitting - Max Brod's Influence on Israeli Culture

The Max Brod archive and its complex fate

Dr. Stefan Litt, the National Library of Israel

Max Brod: Narratives in Israeli music

Dr. Liran Gorkevich

Max Brod's contribution to Israeli theatre: Woven into the heart of new Hebrew culture

Dr. Leah Gilula, director of the Israel Goor Theatre Archives and Museum, editor & language editor

Musical selections from the compositions of Max Brad

Ofra Itzhaki

A segment from the opera "Dan the Guard"

Efrat Wolfson, opera singer

The event will include an exhibition of items, manuscripts, diary excerpts and many documents that will be displayed to the public for the first time, including several manuscripts written by Franz Kafka, which were found in the archive.