The article treats of one of the most innovative series in the Polish humanities after the 1945, the Poznań German Library. The series is a scientific-editorial project initiated 1996 to introduce readers in Poland (both specialists and nonspecialists) into the most important questions of German history, sociology, political science etc. in the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st century.

This essay asks the question of the topicality of Franz Kafka's work on the centenary of the writer's death. In a contemporary era, which – like the entire passing century – is beset by violent conflicts, crises; afflicted by epidemics, ecological and climatic threats; by a widespread sense of „confusion” and the anxiety that results from it. Kafka's work not only bears witness to all these threats and fears, but also asks about the possibility of hope.