The unexpected Kafka

Franz Kafka was not just an awarded and one of the most influential writers of European literature of the Twentieth century, but also a “model employee” of Assicurazioni Generali in Prague. A role he always accomplished with an extraordinary expertise, as proven by the papers belonging to the Historical Archive of Generali, that include – among the others – the personal file with the autographic signed application for employment. The Italian journalist  and writer Cesare Lanza describes this less-known perspective of the writer’s life in the book “In Kafka’s name, the insurer” (published by L’attimo fuggente). The writer was born in a Jewish German-speaking middle-class family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Boemia, then (1883) part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Kafka took up a legal education and worked in the insurance sector. He made his entrance in Assicurazioni Generali in 1907. During his spare time he committed himself to writing, complaining about the lack of time to devote himself to his vocation: writing. But the lack of time didn’t stop his sense of duty and discipline in managing his work. His masterpieces are followed by his working reports as insurer. Careful and  meticulous, and revealing, in transparency, his passion.