"Bleiben wir beisammen, denn wir leiden ein Leiden und haben eine Aufgabe": Zu Arnold Zweigs und Stefan Zweigs Briefwechsel und ihren publizistischen Positionen zur UdSSR

Abstract: This article present the relationship between the two men, primarily based on their little-known correspondence (1919–1940; until 1937 only Arnold Zweig's letters are available). These letters contain revealing reflections on their missions as writers, literary forms, current political events (including clear-sighted prognoses by Stefan Zweig), and private matters and bear witness to an ambivalent relationship. The article also sheds light on both writers' public positions toward the Soviet Union. Arnold Zweig was a vehement critic of the dictatorial system in the beginning of the 1930s, which, according to him, betrayed the socialist idea—until he became its advocate in 1936. Stefan Zweig, on the other hand, refused to criticize the system publicly and declared it to be more progressive than the (to his mind) outdated political conditions in Europe. The article concludes with an appeal to take a more critical look at canonization processes and literary historiography.