Stefan Zweig honoured with London blue plaque

Austrian writer Stefan Zweig has been honoured with a London blue plaque at the Hallam Street flat where he lived from 1936 to 1939 after leaving Austria as Adolf Hitler rose to power.

The English Heritage marker at 49 Hallam Street reads: “Stefan Zweig 1881-1942, Austrian Writer lived in flat 71, 1936-1939.” The plaque was installed after a campaign by admirers including the late playwright Tom Stoppard and novelist Julian Barnes.

Zweig was once widely translated and is cited as an inspiration for Wes Anderson's 2014 film “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” His works include “Letter from an Unknown Woman,” “Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman” and “Beware of Pity,” which was written and published while he lived in Hallam Street.

English Heritage said Zweig's address appeared on the Nazis' secret Special Search List Great Britain, which named about 2,820 politicians, writers, scientists, refugees, journalists and others considered enemies of the Nazi regime in the event of an invasion of Britain. It said Zweig's Hallam Street flat was one of only two locations linked to blue plaque recipients that were explicitly listed.

Blue Plaques historian Susan Skedd said Zweig's letters showed he took comfort from London, but that his mental state appeared to fluctuate during his time in the city. In September 1939, as war in Europe broke out, Zweig delivered the funeral eulogy for fellow exile Sigmund Freud at Golders Green Cemetery.

Zweig left for New York in 1940 and later lived in Brazil. On February 23, 1942, after finishing his autobiography, Zweig and his second wife, Lotte, took fatal doses of barbiturates.