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.