A Remarkable Man: The Vanished World of Stefan Zweig by Peter Beyfus
This article, first published in the ‘Westminster Quarterly’, reminds us of why
we should be eternally vigilant, ever watchful of evil trends in society.
A man and his wife decided to commit suicide by taking an overdose of barbiturates on
the 22 February 1942. They were living in a country far removed from what was culturally
part of their universe, and were despairing of what was happening to Europe. The names
of these two people who soon after arriving in Petrópolis, Brazil, decided to end their lives
were Stefan and Elizabeth (“Lotte”) Zweig. Their ghosts are resurrected every year for me,
and, no doubt, others when listening to the New Year’s Day Concert from the Musikverein,
Vienna; for it was that city that encapsulated what Zweig held so dear; its architecture,
music, high culture and sense of enduring stability. As is the case for anyone having to
leave their homeland to preserve their life, fleeing Austria must have been...