In This Dark Hour: Stefan Zweig and Historical Displacement in Brazil, 1941–1942

Abstract

Stefan Zweig was an Austrian-Jewish author and intellectual who fled Austrofascism and Nazi Germany and took his own life in Brazil in early 1942. The resurgence of interest in Zweig's life in the last few decades has introduced new methods of interpretation of his life as a refugee. But many scholars have not acknowledged the relationships Zweig formed with South American intellectuals while in exile there. Instead, the primary focus has been on his identity as a European and his subsequent suicide. This paper will argue that Zweig's identity as a refugee included a radical reinterpretation of history and perspective of the world outside of Europe, which had been previously based on nationalistic and Euro-centric interpretations. Zweig's exile was one not only of spatial displacement but of historical displacement, and the physical and political realities in Brazil contributed to this aspect of his life as a refugee.