Stefan Zweig

About Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig, an Austrian writer whose lifespan spanned 1881 to 1942, was a towering literary figure of the early 20th century, renowned for his biographical works and novellas that captured the psychological complexities of his era. His significant cultural impact, rooted in works like The World of Yesterday and his deep engagement with humanist ideals, secures him a high historical ranking of #633 in MIT’s Pantheon project, placing him among the most influential figures globally across languages and time. Zweig's significance is further underscored by his opposition to rising Nazism, leading to his self-imposed exile and eventual suicide in Brazil.

In the modern digital landscape of 2025, Zweig received approximately 340K annualized Wikipedia pageviews, resulting in an Attention Gap ratio of approximately 1x. This suggests his current internet attention is closely aligned with his established historical importance, unlike many figures whose digital footprints either vastly over- or under-represent their historical weight. For context within the field of writing, Zweig's views are significantly lower than those of Isaac Asimov (#920 importance, 1.6M views), though he is comparatively viewed less than fellow writer Louisa May Alcott (#899 importance, 527K views).

Encouragingly for the preservation of his legacy, Zweig's 2025 pageviews showed a year-over-year growth of +8.5%. However, this momentum was stable across the year, with zero change between Q1 and Q3, indicating that while interest is slightly increasing, there was no specific recent event driving a significant surge in his online search volume.