Until World War I Stefan Zweig, an assimilated western Jew, thought of diaspora as the ideal way of life for himself and his people. With the Nazi takeover of power his perspective on life changed completely: he realized that he would never be able to return to Austria. He began experiencing exile as something foreign where he would never feel at home. Zweig’s loss of freedom destroyed everything that had previously given his life as an author meaning and stability.

Keywords: Stefan Zweig, freedom, diaspora, World War I, exile, National Sozialism, home, suicide, Brazil