Kurtz is a character, not a real man in the history books. He appears in the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899).

Kurtz is a character, not a real man in the history booksKurtz是小說裡的角色，不是歷史書上真實存在的人 He appears in the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1899)他出現在Joseph Conrad（康拉德）1899年的小說Heart of Darkness（黑暗之心）裡

In the story he is an educated white European in Central Africa. He went out with high Western ideas, but he has dropped those ideas and become a violent, powerful ruler — almost a kind of god to the people around him. He is sick, brilliant, and frightening.

In the story he is an educated white European in Central Africa在故事裡，他是一位在中非的受過教育的白人歐洲人 He went out with high Western ideas他當初帶著崇高的西方理念前去 but he has dropped those ideas但後來拋棄了那些理念 and become a violent, powerful ruler變成一個暴力、有權勢的統治者 almost a kind of god to the people around him對周圍的人來說，他幾乎像是個神 He is sick, brilliant, and frightening他病態、聰明絕頂，又令人害怕

The book is often read as a picture of what empire does to people, though actually readers still argue about how far Conrad is attacking empire and how far he is still seeing Africa through European eyes.

The book is often read as a picture of what empire does to people這本書常被解讀成一幅描繪帝國如何對待人的畫面 though actually readers still argue about how far Conrad is attacking empire不過實際上讀者仍在爭論康拉德到底有多批判帝國主義 and how far he is still seeing Africa through European eyes以及他有多少程度仍是用歐洲人的眼光在看非洲

If you have seen the film Apocalypse Now, that film moves the same kind of figure to the Vietnam War and also calls him Kurtz. The novel came first.

If you have seen the film Apocalypse Now如果你看過電影Apocalypse Now（現代啟示錄） that film moves the same kind of figure to the Vietnam War那部電影把類似的角色搬到越戰的背景裡 and also calls him Kurtz也一樣叫他Kurtz The novel came first小說才是原作，出現得更早