Václav Havel Library

The Václav Havel Library aims to:

• Assemble the complete works of Václav Havel and everything related to his public activities
• Make these materials accessible to the public
• Create a permanent exhibition about the life and work of Václav Havel and his efforts in the struggle for freedom and democracy
• Support and organize archiving, research, educational and publishing activities together with public discussion and debates

Further information

• Who are we? – Establishment and Mission
  • Founders
  • Board of Trustees
  • Friends of the Václav Havel Library
• Library Team

• Back to home page

Speech on receiving an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem

„My somewhat desultory attitude about studying Kafka’s works comes from my vague feeling that I don't need to read and re-read everything Kafka has written because I know what I’ll find there anyway. I'm even secretly persuaded that if Kafka did not exist, and if I were a better writer than I am, I would have written all his works myself.“

Václav Havel:
Speech on receiving an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
April 26, 1990