Displacement

Displacement: Zweig, Roth & BenjaminJewish Book Week 2025
Speaker Richard Harper
Chair Trudy Gold

In his second book, “Displacement”, Richard Harper explores the profound impact of fascism on three iconic writers.

In conversation with historian Trudy Gold, he examines the lives and literary legacies of Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and Walter Benjamin—each of whom created enduring works while facing persecution and exile. A former judge and barrister, Richard Harper brings a unique perspective to artistic expression and the ongoing struggle against oppression, offering a compelling look at these writers’ resilience and relevance today.

This event will last approximately 1 hour, without an interval.

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Through the intertwined stories of Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and Walter Benjamin, Richard Harper examines the devastating impact of fascism on three brilliant Jewish writers. Their shared experiences of persecution and exile, culminating in their tragic deaths, offer profound insights into displacement—a theme that resonates powerfully with today's global refugee crisis. This groundbreaking work brings their compelling narratives together for the first time, illuminating timeless questions of identity, survival, and the human cost of political upheaval.

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The "Displaced: Stories of Exile, Resistance & Hope" campaign launches on 9 March, exploring exile through the interconnected narratives of Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and Walter Benjamin. This campaign links historical and literary persecution with contemporary refugee experiences through partnerships with the Jewish Literary Foundation and refugee advocacy groups. Programming includes panel discussions, university lectures, and readings, all supported by virtual events for a global audience. The campaign’s outreach targets academic institutions, literary organisations, and human rights groups through academic journals, festivals, and migration policy conferences. This coordinated effort positions the work as both a historical analysis and a contemporary commentary on global displacement, fostering dialogue between scholarly research and current humanitarian advocacy. The campaign highlights the enduring relevance of these writers' experiences to modern migration discourse across multiple channels.

In this pioneering study, Richard Harper chronicles the parallel fates of Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth, and Walter Benjamin—three Jewish literary masters whose lives were shattered by fascism. Their stories of exile and loss illuminate the refugee experience, bridging past persecution with present-day displacement.

This compelling work explores the profound experiences of persecution and exile as seen through the interconnected lives of three remarkable writers: Stefan Zweig, Joseph Roth and Walter Benjamin. All three were displaced and hunted to death by fascism. Their literary brilliance, tumultuous lives and tragic ends continue to captivate the imagination and inspire. By bringing together the extraordinary stories of Zweig, Roth and Benjamin for the first time in a single overview, Richard Harper offers a thought-provoking examination of the meaning and feeling of displacement, so highly relevant to the widespread and challenging issues of persecution and migration today.