#in der strafkolonie

[amtskind]

kafka's literary works in the kafka series

die verwandlung / the metamorphosis

der prozess / the trial

das urteil / the judgement

das schloss / the castle

in der strafkolonie / in the penal colony

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

"In the Penal Colony" is available to read here

*Originally published in German under the title "In der Strafkolonie", sometimes translated as "In the Penal Settlement"

[horanastudy]

I still remember my first time reading Kafka. I remember crying on the bus and feeling all that bitterness devastate me. It took me a while to get back to Kafka, but I'm starting to read In der Strafkolonie, still not knowing if I'm anxious or preparing for the storm.

[ian-flannery]

Ian Flannery

“There is only one way to fight, and that’s dirty. Clean gentlemanly fighting will get you nowhere but dead, and fast. Take every cheap shot, every low blow, absolutely kick people when they’re down, and maybe you’ll be the one who walks away.” ― Jeaniene Frost, Halfway to the Grave

Aus der Londoner Unterschicht des 18. Jahrhunderts stammend wurde er im Alter von Anfang zwanzig in die Strafkolonie von Neusüdwales verschifft. Im Jahre 1789 floh er aus dieser und bereitete seiner menschlichen Existenz ein Ende, indem er sich in Gesellschaft von Vampiren brachte, um schließlich einer der Ihrigen zu werden. Über die Jahrhunderte hinweg badete er seine Hände nicht selten in Blut, welches bis in die Gegenwart an jenen haften blieb und stets erneuert wird.

Ehemaliger Blog: ianflannery.tumblr.com

[channeledhistory]

Es ist noch gar nicht so lange her, dass die Theaterregisseurin Jewgenija Berkowitsch und die Dramaturgin Swetlana Petrijtschuk vom Publikum und Kritikern in Russland gefeiert wurden. Vor zwei Jahren wurde den beiden Frauen gleich zweifach die Goldene Maske verliehen. Die Auszeichnung gilt als der wichtigste russische Theaterpreis. Den hatten sie für Ihr Stück "Finist, der lichte Falke" bekommen. 

In dem Stück geht es um zwei Frauen, die im Netz IS-Kämpfern kennenlernen und sich in diese verlieben. Sie lassen sich vom "Islamischen Staat" rekrutieren und fliegen daraufhin nach Syrien. Die Geschichte basiert auf realen Geschehnissen und Gerichtsprotokollen.

Am Montagabend wurden beide zu sechs Jahren Haft in einer Strafkolonie verurteilt. Außerdem wird Berkowitsch und Petrijtschuk drei Jahre lang der Internetzugang verboten. Das Gericht befand sie der Rechtfertigung von Terrorismus für schuldig.

Während des Prozesses hatten die beiden angeklagten Frauen gesagt, sie verstünden die Anklage nicht, sei doch gerade ihr Stück eine Warnung vor Terrorismus.

[...]

[...] Staatsanwältin Jekaterina Denisowa hatte während des Prozesses eine Verschwörung gewittert. In verbrecherischer Absicht hätten Berkowitsch und Petrijtschuk geplant, ihr Stück auf möglichst vielen Bühnen zu spielen. Die beiden Künstlerinnen stellten somit eine Gefahr für die Gesellschaft dar.

Die Anwältin der beiden Frauen, Xenia Karpinskaja, bezeichnete die Sitzung des Gerichts als "absolut gesetzwidrig und ungerecht". Sie kündigte an, das Urteil anzufechten - "obwohl es kaum Hoffnung gibt".

[...]

[denk-weisen]

SCHULD UND VERGEBUNG

"Die Schuld ist immer zweifellos!" heißt es in einer berühmten Passage in Franz Kafkas Erzählung "In der Strafkolonie" - gegen den Strich gelesen liegt darin auch ein Hinweis darauf, wie wir mit unserer eigenen inneren Schuld umgehen ... wo starke Schuld gefühlt wird, ist der Zweifel abwesend. Umgekehrt auf Vergebung hin gedacht bedeutet das: Vergebung (und SelbstVergebung) kann nur da stattfinden wo Zweifel, das heißt andere Perspektiven als nur die der reinen Schuldzuweisung, möglich werden - auch und gerade dann wenn die Schuldzuweisung legitim und gerecht ist. Schuld und Vergebung sind in unser aller Leben ein zentrales Thema, welches wir nur ungern direkt in den Blick nehmen - aber wenn wir wagen, es zu tun, werden wir freier, gelöster, leichter. Deshalb wird dies, inspiriert von Kafkas Werk, eines der Themen der neuen Denken-CoachingGruppe sein - und wir werden gemäß des Titels der Gruppe "Unkonventionelle: Gegen den Strich denken, lesen und leben" mit sehr andersartigen Ansätzen dazu experimentieren als mit den Gewohnten. Sei dabei - nur noch 3 Plätze frei, Beginn nächste Woche. Maximal 6 Teilnehmer. Wöchentliche Zoom-Session von 60 Minuten, alle Sessions auch als Audio-Aufzeichnung, begleitende WhatsApp-Gruppe für Fragen, Feedback und Austausch zwischendurch. Sehr günstiger Tarif. Einfach PN oder eMail an niels@nielskoschoreck.de schicken für mehr Info!

[black-silverwolf]

We had to read a different kafka story in german class: In der Strafkolonie (In the penal colony?)

Wonder what they'd think about that one

goodreads reviewers aren't human

[world-of-news]

Am 14. Juni 2022 wurde der Oppositionspolitiker Alexej Nawalny in die Hochsicherheits-Strafkolonie in Melechowo in der Region Wladimir verlegt. Die Justizvollzugskolonie Nr. 6, kurz IK-6 genannt, liegt knapp 250 Kilometer östlich von Moskau und ist als Folterkammer gefürchtet.

Sind im Gefängnis Handys erlaubt?

Hier kann jeder Gefangene, sofern er im Besitz einer Telefonkarte ist, unbeschränkt nach außen telefonieren. Eingehende Telefonate für Gefangene werden aus vollzugstechnischen Gründen grundsätzlich nicht durchgestellt bzw. vermittelt. Im offenen Vollzug dürfen Sie grundsätzlich ein Mobiltelefon besitzen und betreiben.

[korrektheiten]

Kreml- und Putin-Kritiker Nawalny stirbt nach jahrelanger Haft in Strafkolonie

Tichy:»Er galt als einer der populärsten Oppositionellen von Präsident Wladimir Putin: Alexei Nawalny. Nun ist einer der härtesten Putin-Gegner in einem Straflager mit nur 47 Jahren gestorben. Der russische Friedensnobelpreisträger Dmitri Muratow spricht von einem „Mord“, es sei Absicht, dass die Haftbedingungen zu Nawalnys Ableben geführt hätten. „Sein Tod in einer Strafkolonie erinnert uns an Der Beitrag Kreml- und Putin-Kritiker Nawalny stirbt nach jahrelanger Haft in Strafkolonie erschien zuerst auf Tichys Einblick. http://dlvr.it/T2rQYh «

[defensorpacis]

Wem nutzt der Tod von Nawalny?

Am 16. Februar starb der prominente russische Oppositionsführer, Alexej Nawalny, in einer Strafkolonie in Sibirien. Die offizielle Todesursache bleibt vorerst unbestätigt, da die Ermittlungen noch laufen, doch der Westen hat bereits einen Schuldigen im Visier. Gemäß Berichten aus der russischen Strafkolonie verspürte Nawalny während eines Spaziergangs plötzlich Unwohlsein und verlor schnell das…

[holybookslibrary]

A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka

A Country Doctor A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka is a short story about a doctor who struggles to reach a sick boy on a winter night. Louis H. Leiter writes about A Country Doctor: "A Country Doctor" comments on man, who, buffeted by the scheme of things, is unable to transcend the part assigned him by the absurdity of that existence. Because he does not lack conscious knowledge of his condition, but refuses to act in the face of his portentous freedom, the doctor, an archetype of the anti-existential hero, deserves his fate." Download the book here:

A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka  

Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor English Subtitle

Who was Franz Kafka?

Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. Born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kafka's unique body of writing—much of which is incomplete and was published posthumously—is considered to be among the most influential in Western literature. His works are characterized by themes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, characters trapped in an incomprehensible system, and mystical transformations. Kafka's writing blends elements of realism and the fantastic. He often created malevolent, absurd worlds and characters who struggled futilely and had a deep sense of existential angst. Despite the posthumous publication of the majority of his works, Kafka's influence has grown steadily, influencing a vast range of writers, critics, artists, and philosophers during the 20th and 21st centuries. List of Works by Franz Kafka: - Novels: - "The Trial" ("Der Prozess") - "The Castle" ("Das Schloss") - "Amerika" (also known as "The Man Who Disappeared" or "Der Verschollene") - Short Stories: - "The Metamorphosis" ("Die Verwandlung") - "In the Penal Colony" ("In der Strafkolonie") - "A Hunger Artist" ("Ein Hungerkünstler") - "The Judgment" ("Das Urteil") - "A Country Doctor" ("Ein Landarzt") - "The Great Wall of China" ("Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer") - "A Report to an Academy" ("Ein Bericht für eine Akademie") - "The Hunter Gracchus" ("Der Jäger Gracchus") - "The Burrow" ("Der Bau") - "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk" ("Josephine, die Sängerin oder Das Volk der Mäuse") - Letter Collections: - "Letters to Felice" ("Briefe an Felice") - "Letters to Milena" ("Briefe an Milena") - "Letters to Ottla and the Family" ("Briefe an Ottla und die Familie") - Diaries: - "Diaries 1910-1923" ("Tagebücher 1910-1923") This list is not exhaustive, as Kafka wrote numerous other letters, fragments, and shorter pieces. Some of his works were destroyed, either by Kafka himself or by others after his death, so the full extent of his writings is unknown. Read the full article

[ddc-nightshots]

Mit: Martin Hecher, Diana Nitzschke, Jens-Paul Wollenberg, Uve Teschner Regie: Thomas Kirsche Technische Realisierung: Thomas Kirsche Bearbeitung: Thomas Kirsche

[dustylava]

[courtbard-anka]

That’s an awesome description. I was never really able to put into actual words what the difference between those two kinds of villains is.

If you allow, I’d love to explore that distinction in relation to the Kafka discourse (sorry, I know this was not at all the subject but I just thought it was super interessting and now I kinda wanna try to put my initial thoughts into text; let’s hope this still makes some kind of sense when I wrote it down).

Since there is no fixed definition of the adjective kafkaesk (kafkaesque) there are a lot of theories on how the term could be defined. Even the different literary discourses have different understandings of the term (I’m arguing from the perspective of German Literature since that’s what I know most about). One of my professors argues that this kafkaesk feeling of “weird, scary, dangerous, helpless” that is displayed is Kafkas books comes from the absence of the highest power instance. For example in “In der Stafkolonie” (In the Penal Colony) the old Commandant who has established and institutionalized the colony’s justice system is absent. But his power lives on in the Officer and the torture and execution device. So my professors hypothesis is that the emotion of kafkaesk is formed by the absence of the highest instance of power while the power of that instance is still very much shaping the characters and the society.

Now - and this is where the above distinction of villains comes in - I’d like to suggest that kafkesk is not only the absence of the highest power instance but as well the lack of recognition and legitimation of the experienced pain.

For example in “Die Verwandlung” (The Metamorphosis) Gregor is in great physical pain as well as emotional pain but we only read about it from Gregors perspective. Neither his family nor outsiders ever mention he’s hurt or even suggest the idea that he could be suffering from the traumatic experience he’s undergoing. He can’t feel half of his body, there is an apple rotting in his wound, he is suddenly unable to commmunicate at all and he barely eats anymore (and of course, he has become a huge insect which also sounds kinda not very fun) but never ones he has his pain acknowledged or even talked about by anyone but him.

Long story short, I’m saving that for later and think about it some more. And definitely research a few things more things about it...

so about writing a villain who is a Hate Sink:

There are villains that are clearly evil and messed up, and there are villains that you loathe and actively want to die painful deaths. Think Voldemort vs. Dolores Umbridge (as much as I don’t really want to cite Harry Potter).

It’s not enough for them to be evil to the core or even a sadist. It’s that on top of two other things:

1) they hold some kind of institutional or personal power over the protagonist or other characters,

2) the world and other characters validate them.

We’re wired to express pain and to have our pain heard and understood by others. When you are hurt, you turn to other people, both for comfort and for validation, acknowledgement that the hurt was hurt. Likewise healing from abuse includes that basic realization that what happened was not okay. Recovery from trauma involves processing the event, and that usually requires getting to the point where you can say, “That shouldn’t have happened to me, and it was wrong.”

Essentially, an abuser is a person who hurts you and then withholds from you that reassurance that you were hurt and the hurt was wrong. Either by making you think that it wasn’t really hurt, or that it was your fault that you were hurt, or that you deserved being hurt. Abusers have power over others, and they use it to hurt. Almost all of us have been under the power of people like that at some point, whether it was a family member, a teacher, a coach, or some other authority figure.

That’s exactly why this type of villain (e.g. Dolores Umbridge) is gut wrenching and hate-inspiring in such a special way. They hit really close to home, for one thing—because in almost every case, the evil and terrible people we have personal experience with were authority figures who abused their power over us and yet weren’t recognized as abusers. In this way they’re much harder to categorize as just pretend, something that only exists within the confines of a book. They’re not just villains, they’re abusers. There is something very real and familiar about their evil.

Not only that, but we respond strongly to the awful, intolerable unfairness of horrible people being given authority and privilege, and having your pain dismissed and ignored. It is, again, a reminder of real life experiences with learning that the world is often unfair. Not only are people cruel, but people will defend cruelty and call it good.

[je--me--souviens]

Franz Kafka moodboard.

I am nothing but literature and I can and want to be nothing else.

[xiaq]

Me, working on an upcoming chapter of BGDC: what if I foist all of my pandemic-related existential angst about literature onto Booker.

He wants to tell her that he has multiple degrees in literature. In English, French, German, and Russian. He wants to tell her that he spent his childhood with books as companions and that before he was pressed into military service, he was a scholar. That he read to his children before bed every night. That he has published fiction under pseudonyms and writes poetry when he can’t sleep and that if he is not as effusive as Joe, if he does not flaunt his knowledge so openly, it does not mean he has fewer words or feels any less.

He wants to tell her that the books he reads now—science fiction and fantasy and trashy pulp novels with little substance—that he reads them for escapism. For company and comfort. 

He wants to tell her that if he picked up Kafka today he might start crying and never stop but that doesn’t mean he has forgotten Das Urteil or In der Strafkolonie.

He doesn’t say any of this, though.