User talk:Lou Kash

Hi[edit]

Do you have the page numbers and place of publication for that Northey reference? PumpkinSky talk 00:52, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I have the book in front of me. :) What exactly do you need to know? The Jacob Kafka (and Jacob Löwy) references are on pages 8-10. The book was published in Prague by Nakladatelství Primus (Primus Publishing): http://www.primus.cz/knihy/beletrie/mispoche-franze-kafky It's a translation from the German original "Kafkas Mischpoche" which I also have but I can't find it right now (it's probably in my office, not at home).

Your knowledge seems to be very good, but we are trying to get this article to Featured Article status, so we need to rock solid references and verification of everything, that's all. The book should be fine. How reliable is that web site? Do you speak Czech? Out of curiosity, what brought you to this article at this time?--I ask because you have not edited much. I'll go format the book ref as we need it--I guess it's in Czech?. Help is appreciated.PumpkinSky talk 01:21, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No problem, I understand. :) You mean http://www.kohoutikriz.org/priloha/kafka.php ? The b/w photo http://www.kohoutikriz.org/images/kafka13.jpg is exactly how I still remember the cemetery. I was there in 1988 or 1989, and I was then already twenty-something, so I remember it very well (d'oh, perhaps I've even taken a photo myself then? I have so many b/w negatives from those years…)

I got to the Kafka article because I'm an active user on http://discogs.com and for some reason I was looking up http://www.discogs.com/artist/Franz+Kafka and I just clicked on the Wiki link there. And I was shocked about the nonsense regarding Hermann being a "slaughterer" from Osek "near Písek" (actually it's near Milevsko on the other bank of Vltava, although still Písek district). What's worse: when you make a Google search for Jacob Kafka Osek, most search results are now repeating this nonsense, including http://www.kafka.org/index.php?biography

And yes, I'm fluent in Czech, it's my 1st language, but I don't live there since 1981.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. Although frankly, I'm not a Kafka expert by any means, but I know at least something about the part of the history which affects our branch of the whole Kafka "mishpocha". By the way, my great-grandparents are mentioned on page 74 of the Czech version of the book. Both were then murdered in Auschwitz. My great-grandmother is Fanni Klein here: http://www.franzkafka.de/sixcms/media.php/539/Stammbaum%20Northey02.jpg . And my grandfather's brother with a cousin, whom I both knew personally as well, appear as teenagers on a photo on page 75; my grandfather reportedly missed that photo session… :) The photo is not in the German version of the book though.

Very interesting. The mixup in the text probably came from copyediting and things getting moved around, possibly misreading of a book too. Possibly me, possibly someone else. Thanks for making the article more accurate. I really appreciate it. Reiner Stach has written 2 of 3 books in a trilogy on Kafka. These are in English and German that I know of. Yes, that's the web site I mean. Is it what wiki would call a reliable source? As in, say, a highly respected news or academic site, not a blog, not gossip, etc? PumpkinSky talk 02:20, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it looks very reliable: http://www.kohoutikriz.org/ is obviously a website of The Research Library of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, and certified by webarchiv.cz. Lou Kash (talk) 02:41, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Added. PumpkinSky talk 22:12, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

One thing I still don't like much in the Kafka article is the expression "Czech-speaking Jewish village". The "Mišpoche" book says: "Hermann and his five siblings originated from the […] Osek village, which used to have a relatively large Jewish community around 1852: 20 families with 95 members and a synagogue. (In Strakonice then lived 25 Jewish families, in Písek only 11.)" (A quick translation by me.) So it wasn't really a "Jewish village", but still likely the largest Jewish community in the district. Lou Kash (talk) 03:01, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Changed to "a Czech village with a large Jewish population". That better? PumpkinSky talk 22:12, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I found my original German edition of "Kafkas Mischpoche" (ISBN 3 80315106 6, Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin, 1988). The corresponding section (also pages 8-10) is indeed a bit misleading, because it first says that Kafka's family originates from Písek, documented back to 17th century, but adds: "But Hermann and his five siblings originated from the nearby [obviously referencing aforementioned Písek] village Wossek (district office Strakonitz) […]". That might be the source of how the confusion about which Osek arised: the other Osek (Písek District) is definitely not in Strakonice District. See map: http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Osek,+Strakonice+District&daddr=Osek,+P%C3%ADsek+District Lou Kash (talk) 12:14, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Good confirmation and explanation. Danke. PumpkinSky talk 22:18, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Very cool. Thanks so much for all the help and research. I'll get to all this later today, roughly 8 hours from now.PumpkinSky talk 13:56, 3 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You'd enjoy the item on page 8 here: Talk:Franz_Kafka#Various_notes_from_Reiner_Stach PumpkinSky talk 20:43, 6 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

See Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Franz Kafka/archive1. This is now a featured article candidate. I thought you'd like to know. Thanks again for the help.PumpkinSky talk 22:32, 6 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]