DI GIANMARIA ZAMAGNI
ABSTRACT – The purpose of the essay is to discuss the historical – and at the same time conceptual – “background” to the crisis experienced by Stefan Zweig in the latter part of his life. The World of Yesterday tells us about Zweig’s casual encounter with the moving train that carried Emperor Charles of Austria into exile. The last Zug, properly speaking. The term Zug, however, also refers to the moves on the chessboard. The reference to The Royal Game also serves as a symbol of the author’s last move, Zweig’s last decision. If his reasons are beyond our scope and maybe even understanding, certainly the crisis of a model of peace and coexistence, Habsburg’s Austria must serve precisely as a background for that desperation. A “world of yesterday” that Zweig handed over to us, also consigning it to history.
KEYWORDS – Stefan Zweig – Habsburg Empire – political myth – security – symbolic power.