Friedrich Koffka

Friedrich Koffka (22 April 1888 – 5 November 1951) was a German lawyer and writer.

Early life and education

Friedrich Koffka was born in Berlin. His mother, Luis Levy, listed herself as Protestant despite having a Jewish heritage. His father, Emil Koffka, was a lawyer, and his older brother was the psychologist Kurt Koffka.

As a young man Koffka was interested in theatre. As a 19-year-old he reviewed a 1907 production of Hamlet in the theatrical magazine Schaubühne. Koffka became a member of Kurt Hiller's literary expressionist New club. Koffka's first play was David and Absalom in 1913 and he continued to write journalism for Blätter des Deutschen Theaters, Das Tage-Buch, and Schaubühne for some years. His expressionist dram Kain premiered on 9 June 1918 on the experimental stage of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. By 1942 he was employed by the British Fund for Jewish Relief and Rehabilitation. He was one of the leaders of Hans José Rehfisch's Club 1943 which was an attempt by emigre members of the German Communist Party to organise German cultural writers in Britain. Koffka wrote radio plays for the BBC and articles under the pseudonym Florin ("Letters to Elinor Gardens") for the British Ministry of Information's Die Zeitung from 1943 to 1945. After the war, he continued to work for the BBC as an announcer and editor. Koffka chose to stay in Britain after the war, having turned his back on Germany: "But where is Germany now? ... The country that was once our home has lost its reality for us."

Works

Sincerus (pseudonym): Kaiser Wilhelm II: Zum zwanzigjährigen Regierungsjubiläum. Charlottenburg, 1908 David and Absalom. Fragment of a play 1913 Kain [Cain]. Drama 1917 Herr Oluf. Drama 1919 Letters to Elinor Gardens. Radio play 1943 Goethe in England. Radio play 1949 Uncle Toby. Radio play 1950 Wellington. Radio play 1951