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Max Brod
(1884-1969)

Active: 1906-1968 in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Continental Europe; Israel

By Pamela S. Saur (Lamar University)

Indexing Data:

  • Active In: Czechoslovakia, Austria, Continental Europe; Israel
  • Born In: Austro-Hungarian Empire
  • Activity: Literary Critic, Translator, Novelist, Story Writer, Essayist, Biographer

Life, Works and Times

Reader Actions

Max Brod owes much of his fame to his close friend, Franz Kafka. Not only did he publish Kafka’s biography and interpretations of his works, as well as edit and publicize Kafka’s novels and stories, but as Kafka’s executor, he enriched modern literature by disregarding Kafka’s wish that he destroy his manuscripts after his death. Both writers belonged to the German-speaking Jewish community of Prague, where Brod earned a law degree and worked as a civil servant, journalist, and writer. A dedicated Zionist since 1910, Brod and his wife emigrated to Palestine in 1939, escaping on the last train abroad after the Nazi German army invaded Czechoslovakia. In Tel Aviv Brod was hailed as an important Jewish author. He worke

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First published 23 January 2008

Citation: S. Saur, Pamela. "Max Brod". The Literary Encyclopedia. 23 January 2008.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11962, accessed 9 February 2010.]