Written in November 1919, when Kafka lived with Max Brod in Zelezene (Bohemia). According to Brod, Kafka sent this letter to his mother with a request to give it to his father; but the mother did not do this, but returned the letter to her son “with a few soothing words.” It is filled with the author's sad reflections on how a difficult relationship with his father in childhood influenced his entire future life. This letter from Kafka is useful for all parents to read in order to know how not to raise children.

This letter is often mentioned by Kafka in letters to Milena Jesenskaya. Excerpts from it were cited by Brod in his book “Franz Kafka. Biography."

The letter in its entirety was first published in the magazine Neue Rundschau, 1952, No. 2.