Ivan Klíma, Holocaust survivor, journalist, playwright, dissident, was one of the best-known Czech writers of the 20th century. Along with works by Milan Kundera and Václav Havel, Klíma’s were among the Czech titles most frequently published abroad. His works were banned from publication in his homeland in the 1970s and 1980s. Among other occupations, Klíma earned his living in animated film (for two years, he wrote for the hugely popular Little Mole) and as a land surveyor. Ivan Klíma died in 2025, aged 94. His estate included a previously unknown manuscript about the politics, history and culture of Prague – a tribute to the author’s spiritual home.

‘The Czech character tends to be modest and not to draw attention to itself,’ the author would say. After Karel Čapek, Klíma is the Czech author most translated into German. Libuše Černá talks to Michal Klíma about his father’s life and work.

Mein Prag [Praha, moje láska], translated by Maria Hammerich-Maier, Transit Verlag, 2026 

Michal Klíma. Moderation: Libuše Černá. Deutsche Stimme: Stephan Wolf-Schönburg