What do you think?
Rate this book
Der Heizer. Das Urteil. In der Strafkolonie.
Im September 1912 verfasste Kafka "Das Urteil", für ihn - nach seinen eigenen Worten - der "Durchbruch zur Literatur". Er beschreibt hier die Lage eines Sohnes in einer Dreiecksbeziehung zu Vater, Geliebter und zum Freund. Im Jahr 1913 las Kafka seinen Prager Freunden erstmals aus seinem Roman "Die Verschollenen" (erst durch Max Brod veröffentlicht unter dem Titel "Amerika") vor, wobei der erste Abschnitt "Der Heizer" von ihm immer als geschlossene Geschichte angesehen wurde. 1914 folgt dann "In der Strafkolonie" (gedr. 1919). Alle drei Erzählungen zeugen davon, dass Kafkas Schaffen immer wieder vom Gedanken der Gewalt der Rechtsordnung, die alles Leben überformt, bestimmt war. Im Nachwort werden sachliche und sprachliche Erläuterungen zu den einzelnen Texten gegeben.
67 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
8 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Franz Kafka
3,267 books38.9k followersFranz Kafka was a German-speaking writer from Prague whose work became one of the foundations of modern literature, even though he published only a small part of his writing during his lifetime. Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kafka grew up amid German, Czech, and Jewish cultural influences that shaped his sense of displacement and linguistic precision. His difficult relationship with his authoritarian father left a lasting mark, fostering feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inadequacy that became central themes in his fiction and personal writings.
Kafka studied law at the German University in Prague, earning a doctorate in 1906. He chose law for practical reasons rather than personal inclination, a compromise that troubled him throughout his life. After university, he worked for several insurance institutions, most notably the Workers Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His duties included assessing industrial accidents and drafting legal reports, work he carried out competently and responsibly. Nevertheless, Kafka regarded his professional life as an obstacle to his true vocation, and most of his writing was done at night or during periods of illness and leave. Kafka began publishing short prose pieces in his early adulthood, later collected in volumes such as Contemplation and A Country Doctor. These works attracted little attention at the time but already displayed the hallmarks of his mature style, including precise language, emotional restraint, and the application of calm logic to deeply unsettling situations. His major novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were left unfinished and unpublished during his lifetime. They depict protagonists trapped within opaque systems of authority, facing accusations, rules, or hierarchies that remain unexplained and unreachable. Themes of alienation, guilt, bureaucracy, law, and punishment run throughout Kafka’s work. His characters often respond to absurd or terrifying circumstances with obedience or resignation, reflecting his own conflicted relationship with authority and obligation. Kafka’s prose avoids overt symbolism, yet his narratives function as powerful metaphors through structure, repetition, and tone. Ordinary environments gradually become nightmarish without losing their internal coherence. Kafka’s personal life was marked by emotional conflict, chronic self-doubt, and recurring illness. He formed intense but troubled romantic relationships, including engagements that he repeatedly broke off, fearing that marriage would interfere with his writing. His extensive correspondence and diaries reveal a relentless self-critic, deeply concerned with morality, spirituality, and the demands of artistic integrity. In his later years, Kafka’s health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, forcing him to withdraw from work and spend long periods in sanatoriums. Despite his illness, he continued writing when possible. He died young, leaving behind a large body of unpublished manuscripts. Before his death, he instructed his close friend Max Brod to destroy all of his remaining work. Brod ignored this request and instead edited and published Kafka’s novels, stories, and diaries, ensuring his posthumous reputation.
The publication of Kafka’s work after his death established him as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque entered common usage to describe situations marked by oppressive bureaucracy, absurd logic, and existential anxiety. His writing has been interpreted through existential, religious, psychological, and political perspectives, though Kafka himself resisted definitive meanings. His enduring power lies in his ability to articulate modern anxiety with clarity and restraint.
Kafka studied law at the German University in Prague, earning a doctorate in 1906. He chose law for practical reasons rather than personal inclination, a compromise that troubled him throughout his life. After university, he worked for several insurance institutions, most notably the Workers Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His duties included assessing industrial accidents and drafting legal reports, work he carried out competently and responsibly. Nevertheless, Kafka regarded his professional life as an obstacle to his true vocation, and most of his writing was done at night or during periods of illness and leave. Kafka began publishing short prose pieces in his early adulthood, later collected in volumes such as Contemplation and A Country Doctor. These works attracted little attention at the time but already displayed the hallmarks of his mature style, including precise language, emotional restraint, and the application of calm logic to deeply unsettling situations. His major novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were left unfinished and unpublished during his lifetime. They depict protagonists trapped within opaque systems of authority, facing accusations, rules, or hierarchies that remain unexplained and unreachable. Themes of alienation, guilt, bureaucracy, law, and punishment run throughout Kafka’s work. His characters often respond to absurd or terrifying circumstances with obedience or resignation, reflecting his own conflicted relationship with authority and obligation. Kafka’s prose avoids overt symbolism, yet his narratives function as powerful metaphors through structure, repetition, and tone. Ordinary environments gradually become nightmarish without losing their internal coherence. Kafka’s personal life was marked by emotional conflict, chronic self-doubt, and recurring illness. He formed intense but troubled romantic relationships, including engagements that he repeatedly broke off, fearing that marriage would interfere with his writing. His extensive correspondence and diaries reveal a relentless self-critic, deeply concerned with morality, spirituality, and the demands of artistic integrity. In his later years, Kafka’s health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, forcing him to withdraw from work and spend long periods in sanatoriums. Despite his illness, he continued writing when possible. He died young, leaving behind a large body of unpublished manuscripts. Before his death, he instructed his close friend Max Brod to destroy all of his remaining work. Brod ignored this request and instead edited and published Kafka’s novels, stories, and diaries, ensuring his posthumous reputation.
The publication of Kafka’s work after his death established him as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque entered common usage to describe situations marked by oppressive bureaucracy, absurd logic, and existential anxiety. His writing has been interpreted through existential, religious, psychological, and political perspectives, though Kafka himself resisted definitive meanings. His enduring power lies in his ability to articulate modern anxiety with clarity and restraint.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 8, 2021
“er war weder bürger der strafkolonie, noch bürger des staates, dem sie angehörte. wenn er diese exekution verurteilen, oder gar hintertreiben wollte, konnte man ihm sagen: du bist ein fremder, sei still.”
translation in the english edition according to kafka-online.info: “he was neither a citizen of the penal colony nor a citizen of the state to which it belonged. if he wanted to condemn the execution or even hinder it, people could say to him: you are a foreigner ─ keep quiet.”
this was something i had to read for class and, no matter what it is, i never enjoy anything i am obligated to read. so even though in the penal colony wasn’t as terrible as i expected it to be after the first three pages, i still disliked it. the idea, nevertheless, was interesting enough though i found the execution (no pun intended) and characters to be depicted too vaguely, which might’ve also been the intention? however, that’s not really something i like to read.
→ 2 stars
translation in the english edition according to kafka-online.info: “he was neither a citizen of the penal colony nor a citizen of the state to which it belonged. if he wanted to condemn the execution or even hinder it, people could say to him: you are a foreigner ─ keep quiet.”
this was something i had to read for class and, no matter what it is, i never enjoy anything i am obligated to read. so even though in the penal colony wasn’t as terrible as i expected it to be after the first three pages, i still disliked it. the idea, nevertheless, was interesting enough though i found the execution (no pun intended) and characters to be depicted too vaguely, which might’ve also been the intention? however, that’s not really something i like to read.
→ 2 stars
September 4, 2024
„In der Strafkolonie“: Willkür der Rechtsprechung? Eine Kritik am Kolonialismus? Der ultimative Glaube an den Fortschritt und den Sieg Humanität? Oder einfach vollkommen grotesk-brutale Absurdität? Gut, dass ich diesen Text nicht in der Schule besprechen muss. Oh wait…
September 2, 2024
could not care less about these men acting weird and off-putting
September 26, 2021
[Ich habe nur „In der Strafkolonie“ gelesen]
Eine merkwürdig Erzählung und nicht unbedingt mein Fall. Die Beschreibung der Hinrichtung war mir etwas zu detailliert, aber dennoch nicht schlecht geschrieben.
Mal sehen, was wir im Unterricht darüber erfahren.
Eine merkwürdig Erzählung und nicht unbedingt mein Fall. Die Beschreibung der Hinrichtung war mir etwas zu detailliert, aber dennoch nicht schlecht geschrieben.
Mal sehen, was wir im Unterricht darüber erfahren.
July 13, 2018
"Das Urteil"
A short but very profound story about different aspects:
1. The relationship between father and son.
2. How we change our emotions and thoughts quickly - we can go from empathy and generosity to anger, or from love to hate in a matter of seconds.
3. The guilt we carry from the most absurd things.
4. How each individual lives in their own world, with their own visions and selfishness.
5. The guilt that each one carries, however absurd it may be.
6. The verdict we impose on ourselves and others, by a constant judgment by our own references.
7. The place of power where we place ourselves over others - through social hierarchies (such as the relationship of father and son) and the ideas we develop, for example the supposed "pity" we feel for others, we constantly put ourselves above of others.
8. The different characters we create from ourselves that we show at work, in society and at home, in our intimacy.
9. The "well of vanity" that we are.
Around all of this, there are other issues constantly present in Kafka's stories: alienation, condemnation and absurd condemnation.
The narrative revolves around a character who becomes engaged and decides to tell his or her engagement to a friend who moved to another city and who is experiencing difficulties and who does not want to return to his hometown because of the shame of not having given in nothing in life.
The protagonist does not want to tell the friend of his engagement not to make him more unhappy. Georg works and lives with his father, a widowed and old man.
Most of the story takes place in a dark room, with the windows closed, in a conversation between the father and son about Georg's decision to tell his friend about his engagement and the speeches his father makes to him in the light of that event.
As in other stories, Kafka provokes to life the selfish proportions that defy and define the limits of itself: its horizon, its hopes, expectations, memories and depravations, reaching the end of itself: the absurd meaning.
____
"O Veredito"
Uma história curta, mas muito profunda sobre diferentes aspectos:
1. A relação entre pai e filho.
2. Como mudamos de emoção e de pensamentos rapidamente - podemos ir da empatia e da generosidade à raiva, ou do amor ao ódio em questão de segundos.
3. A culpa que carregamos das coisas mais absurdas.
4. Como cada indivíduo vive em seu próprio mundo, com suas próprias visões e egoísmo.
5. A culpa que cada um carrega, por mais absurda que ela seja.
6. O veredito que impomos à nós mesmos e aos outros, por um julgamento constante por nossas próprias referências.
7. O lugar de poder onde colocamos nós mesmos sobre os demais - através de hierarquias sociais (como a relação de pai e filho) e sobre as idéias que desenvolvemos, por exemplo a suposta "pena" que sentimos pelos outros, constantemente nos colocamos acima dos demais.
8. Os diferentes personagens que criamos de nós mesmos que mostramos no trabalho, na sociedade e em casa, na nossa intimidade.
9. O "poço de vaidade" que somos.
Em torno de tudo isso, há outras questões constantemente presentes nas histórias de Kafka: a alienação, a condenação e a condenação absurda.
A narrativa gira em torno de um personagem que torna-se noivo e decide contar ou não seu noivado a um amigo que mudou-se para outra cidade e que passa por dificuldades e que não quer retornar à sua cidade de origem pela vergonha de não ter dado certo em nada na vida.
O protagonista não quer contar ao amigo de seu noivado para não deixá-lo mais infeliz. Georg trabalha e mora com o pai, um homem viúvo e já velho.
A maior parte da história se passa dentro de um quarto escuro, com as janelas fechadas, numa conversa entre o pai e o filho sobre a decisão de Georg contar do noivado ao amigo e os discursos que o pai faz para ele em função desse acontecimento.
Como em outras histórias, Kafka provoca apontando à vida as proporções egoístas que desafiam e definem os limites dela mesma: seu horizonte, suas esperanças, expectativas, memórias e depravações, chegando ao fim dela mesma: o absurdo que se significa.
A short but very profound story about different aspects:
1. The relationship between father and son.
2. How we change our emotions and thoughts quickly - we can go from empathy and generosity to anger, or from love to hate in a matter of seconds.
3. The guilt we carry from the most absurd things.
4. How each individual lives in their own world, with their own visions and selfishness.
5. The guilt that each one carries, however absurd it may be.
6. The verdict we impose on ourselves and others, by a constant judgment by our own references.
7. The place of power where we place ourselves over others - through social hierarchies (such as the relationship of father and son) and the ideas we develop, for example the supposed "pity" we feel for others, we constantly put ourselves above of others.
8. The different characters we create from ourselves that we show at work, in society and at home, in our intimacy.
9. The "well of vanity" that we are.
Around all of this, there are other issues constantly present in Kafka's stories: alienation, condemnation and absurd condemnation.
The narrative revolves around a character who becomes engaged and decides to tell his or her engagement to a friend who moved to another city and who is experiencing difficulties and who does not want to return to his hometown because of the shame of not having given in nothing in life.
The protagonist does not want to tell the friend of his engagement not to make him more unhappy. Georg works and lives with his father, a widowed and old man.
Most of the story takes place in a dark room, with the windows closed, in a conversation between the father and son about Georg's decision to tell his friend about his engagement and the speeches his father makes to him in the light of that event.
As in other stories, Kafka provokes to life the selfish proportions that defy and define the limits of itself: its horizon, its hopes, expectations, memories and depravations, reaching the end of itself: the absurd meaning.
____
"O Veredito"
Uma história curta, mas muito profunda sobre diferentes aspectos:
1. A relação entre pai e filho.
2. Como mudamos de emoção e de pensamentos rapidamente - podemos ir da empatia e da generosidade à raiva, ou do amor ao ódio em questão de segundos.
3. A culpa que carregamos das coisas mais absurdas.
4. Como cada indivíduo vive em seu próprio mundo, com suas próprias visões e egoísmo.
5. A culpa que cada um carrega, por mais absurda que ela seja.
6. O veredito que impomos à nós mesmos e aos outros, por um julgamento constante por nossas próprias referências.
7. O lugar de poder onde colocamos nós mesmos sobre os demais - através de hierarquias sociais (como a relação de pai e filho) e sobre as idéias que desenvolvemos, por exemplo a suposta "pena" que sentimos pelos outros, constantemente nos colocamos acima dos demais.
8. Os diferentes personagens que criamos de nós mesmos que mostramos no trabalho, na sociedade e em casa, na nossa intimidade.
9. O "poço de vaidade" que somos.
Em torno de tudo isso, há outras questões constantemente presentes nas histórias de Kafka: a alienação, a condenação e a condenação absurda.
A narrativa gira em torno de um personagem que torna-se noivo e decide contar ou não seu noivado a um amigo que mudou-se para outra cidade e que passa por dificuldades e que não quer retornar à sua cidade de origem pela vergonha de não ter dado certo em nada na vida.
O protagonista não quer contar ao amigo de seu noivado para não deixá-lo mais infeliz. Georg trabalha e mora com o pai, um homem viúvo e já velho.
A maior parte da história se passa dentro de um quarto escuro, com as janelas fechadas, numa conversa entre o pai e o filho sobre a decisão de Georg contar do noivado ao amigo e os discursos que o pai faz para ele em função desse acontecimento.
Como em outras histórias, Kafka provoca apontando à vida as proporções egoístas que desafiam e definem os limites dela mesma: seu horizonte, suas esperanças, expectativas, memórias e depravações, chegando ao fim dela mesma: o absurdo que se significa.
September 10, 2019
Der Heizer ist ein brillantes Stück Literatur, das sich so spannend liest, wie kaum ein anderes und Themen, wie Gerechtigkeit, Macht, sowie die Bedeutung von Freundschaft und Familie aufarbeitet und das mit einer Extravaganz und Komplexität in kürzester Zeit, die zeigen, was Schreibkunst sein kann.
Das Urteil befasst sich mit der vielschichtigen Beziehung zwischen Kafka und seinem eigenen Vater. Keiner ist der Gute, auch wenn jeder so wirkt. Keiner der beiden ist der Böse, auch wenn dieser Anschein geweckt wird. Vermittelt wird diese Geschichte dann über einen alten Freund, den man sinnbildlich für die Briefe nehmen kann, über die Kafka versuchte mit seinem Vater zu kommunizieren und in Kontakt über das zu treten, was er ihm persönlich nie hätte sagen können. Darüber hinaus lässt sich seine Geschichte aber auch ohne solches Vorwissen genießen als Analogie auf Familienbeziehungen und Ehen, die sich in ähnlicher Form und mit ähnlichen Problemen auch heute finden lassen.
Nach dem das Urteil gefällt ist, befasst sich In der Strafkolonie nun mit der Ausführung von Strafe und in wie weit die Menschenrecht kukturübergreifend gelten, sowie welche Auswirkungen ein Eingreifen in scheinbare Ungerechtigkeit und ein Tatenlos zusehen solcher haben kann. Auch hier zeigt sich Kafkas intensiver und spannender Schreibstil, den ich zuvor so nicht erwartet hatte.
Mein persönliches Highlight dieser Geschichtensammlung bleibt jedoch immer noch der Heizer, dessen Geschichte mich von vorne bis hinten gefesselt hat.
Das Urteil befasst sich mit der vielschichtigen Beziehung zwischen Kafka und seinem eigenen Vater. Keiner ist der Gute, auch wenn jeder so wirkt. Keiner der beiden ist der Böse, auch wenn dieser Anschein geweckt wird. Vermittelt wird diese Geschichte dann über einen alten Freund, den man sinnbildlich für die Briefe nehmen kann, über die Kafka versuchte mit seinem Vater zu kommunizieren und in Kontakt über das zu treten, was er ihm persönlich nie hätte sagen können. Darüber hinaus lässt sich seine Geschichte aber auch ohne solches Vorwissen genießen als Analogie auf Familienbeziehungen und Ehen, die sich in ähnlicher Form und mit ähnlichen Problemen auch heute finden lassen.
Nach dem das Urteil gefällt ist, befasst sich In der Strafkolonie nun mit der Ausführung von Strafe und in wie weit die Menschenrecht kukturübergreifend gelten, sowie welche Auswirkungen ein Eingreifen in scheinbare Ungerechtigkeit und ein Tatenlos zusehen solcher haben kann. Auch hier zeigt sich Kafkas intensiver und spannender Schreibstil, den ich zuvor so nicht erwartet hatte.
Mein persönliches Highlight dieser Geschichtensammlung bleibt jedoch immer noch der Heizer, dessen Geschichte mich von vorne bis hinten gefesselt hat.
February 24, 2023
kafka has a way of writing that is really satisfying to read. i think it’s whitty and almost hypnotic but i also get why you wouldn’t like it. personally, big fan. not sure translations can do that justice, though.
i thoroughly enjoyed “Der Heizer” and also found it to be the best story in here. it really made me want to pick up “Der Verschollene” in the future. i liked karl exceptionally well and got quite involved in his suitcase situation. got me really excited to read more.
I liked “Das Urteil” the least out of the three stories, though i still enjoyed it. it’s definitely thought-provoking and i feel like both characters have a point, which makes it difficult to side with anyone. it’s interesting how georg’s friend is the one holding the power over him and his father, all while not being present at all.
“In der Strafkolonie” was very descriptive and grim, though that didn’t bother me personally. it’s about the execution of punishment, about justice and injustice, and attempting to assert (or not) your own view of these things by opposing what’s already established. in that regard, i suppose it’s nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary in its criticism but nevertheless an important reminder.
i thoroughly enjoyed “Der Heizer” and also found it to be the best story in here. it really made me want to pick up “Der Verschollene” in the future. i liked karl exceptionally well and got quite involved in his suitcase situation. got me really excited to read more.
I liked “Das Urteil” the least out of the three stories, though i still enjoyed it. it’s definitely thought-provoking and i feel like both characters have a point, which makes it difficult to side with anyone. it’s interesting how georg’s friend is the one holding the power over him and his father, all while not being present at all.
“In der Strafkolonie” was very descriptive and grim, though that didn’t bother me personally. it’s about the execution of punishment, about justice and injustice, and attempting to assert (or not) your own view of these things by opposing what’s already established. in that regard, i suppose it’s nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary in its criticism but nevertheless an important reminder.
January 4, 2020
in the penal colony — had to read for school
this was disturbing but in a good way? i am not quite sure what exactly i just read but i didn’t hate it?
i wasn’t sure if i liked kafka’s writing style but he has a way of writing that is very fascinating and intriguing to me.
(might read the other two stories in the future)
this was disturbing but in a good way? i am not quite sure what exactly i just read but i didn’t hate it?
i wasn’t sure if i liked kafka’s writing style but he has a way of writing that is very fascinating and intriguing to me.
(might read the other two stories in the future)
December 9, 2025
Wir mussten ,,In der Strafkolonie" für den Unterricht lesen. Es war echt gut und schnell zu lesen, besser als die Theaterstücke, die wir die letzten Jahre immer lesen mussten. Es war im Gegenteil zu denen auch verständlich, das war sehr erfreulich. Mit mehr Wissen über Kafka hat es auch tatsächlich sehr viel Sinn ergeben. Trotzdem ist es etwas crazy
January 23, 2023
Der Heizer ***
Das Urteil ***
In der Strafkolonie *****
Das Urteil ***
In der Strafkolonie *****
October 6, 2023
nur in der strafkolonie gelesen und das hat gereicht
Read
December 22, 2023Eingravierende Geschichten...
February 12, 2024
Habe nur "Das Urteil" gelesen. Fand es interessant die Beziehung zwischen dem Vater und dem Sohn zu analysieren. Das Ende kam zwar sehr aprupt, hat aber gepasst. Leider sehr kurz.
February 13, 2024
Der Heizer war am besten
Read
August 21, 2024[in der strafkolonie] what tf did i just read
September 11, 2024
Seems like Kafka isnt for me
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews