Stefan Zweig: Suicide letter (1942)
Stefan Zweig: Suicide letter (1942)
Ich, allzu Ungeduldiger, gehe ihnen voraus.
[I, all too impatient, precede them. (ed. trans)]
Stefan Zweig: suicide letter, February 22, 1942
In 1940, as the front line threatened to approach his exile in England, Stefan Zweig escaped to Petropolis, Brazil, via the USA. The loss of his beloved European homeland and culture appeared to deeply disturb the renowned author. The National Socialist regime and its military seemed unstoppable, and Zweig, depressed by the destruction of all he considered valuable, could only imagine a refuge in suicide. His suicide letter (shown here) has at least one other version. Even in this last version the meticulous author felt compelled to make two additional corrections.
Further reading:
Dines, Alberto: Tod im Paradies. Die Tragödie des Stefan Zweig. Frankfurt a. M., Wien, Zürich 2006
Gallery
