Kafka: German-Speaking Bohemian

We mentioned in class that Kafka, as a result of being a German-speaking Jew in Bohemia, was resented.  In AP Euro, we just went over some of this material, so I thought I'd share to give a little more historical context to Kafka's dilemma.
Resentment of German supremacy in Bohemia goes far back; for example, in the 14th century, the Hussites, a mostly Slavic/Czech party, espoused this very idea, and there were even several wars across Europe at the time.

Then in the 19th century, there was the Slavic Revival, partly as a result of growing nationalism in Eastern Europe.  In 1836, the Czech historian Francis Palacky wrote History of Bohemia.  The book was first published in German, but then in Czech and renamed History of the Czech People. 

Tied in with this Slavic Revival and nationalism, during the March Days of the Revolutions of 1848, Bohemia persuaded Emperor Ferdinand to allow them to have constitutional separatism within the Austrian Empire.

Also significantly, the Czechs in Bohemia had an all-Slav congress in Prague in June of 1848, the first Pan-Slav assembly.  One of the main reasons for the congress was that there was an all-German national assembly at Frankfurt in May.  The Czechs, not to be outdone, decided to have their own congress.  The resistance to Germanization (with the Germans seen as oppressors) was widespread.  So, being a German in Bohemia?  You probably wouldn't have gotten the warmest welcome either if you'd been in Kafka's shoes.