Letters from exile

The special reading tip

75 years ago, Stefan Zweig and his wife Lotte took their own lives in exile in Brazil. Now, for the first time, a collection of letters provides an insight into the last two years of the couple's life. The letters, written in Brazil, Argentina and New York, convey a sense of how the Zweigs rushed between countries, tried to help friends and acquaintances to escape and coped with the challenges of everyday life in their host countries. These letters are unique, as the Zweigs were forced to write the correspondence addressed to Lotte Zweig's brother and sister-in-law in English due to British censorship. In Karin Hanta's excellent translation, their state of mind is once again expressed in the Zweigs' actual mother tongue. For the first time, Lotte Zweig, who has mostly been portrayed as a "silent woman" in previous biographies, speaks with a clear, confident voice. Very much worth reading!

Stefan and Lotte Zweig's South American letters. Edited by Darién J. Davis and Oliver Marshall. Translated from the English by Karin Hanta. Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2017. 336 p., 27.90 euros