I’ve spent all afternoon out in the streets, bathing in Jew hatred. Prasivo plemeno—filthy brood—is what I heard them call the Jews. Isn’t it only natural to leave a place where one is so bitterly hated? The heroism involved in staying put in spite of all of it is the heroism of the cockroach, which also won’t be driven out of the bathroom.

 

Kafka

Letter to a Friend

Prague, 1920