Stefan Zweig's paternal family came from Moravia ,where Jewish communities commonly lived and worked in small country villages. The pace of life there, being without the 'haste'of Galician or Eastern Jews ,a harmonious coexistence with both the peasants of the villages and the petty- bourgeoisie.
When the family moved to Vienna from Moravia they adapted themselves very quickly into Vienna's higher cultural sphere. This they did with surprising rapidity, although this was quite common for new Jewish families settling in Vienna.

Stefan's paternal grandfather was a dry-goods dealer and continued his trading of ' finished goods'. However with the second half of the 19th.century seeing industrial revolution sweeping Austria from England there became a noticable decline in the price of 'finished goods', this being particularly noticable in the textile industries. Stefan's grandfather held to his established trade, while Stefan's father became involved with the new technologies. This he did alongside other Jewish merchants in Austria who were the first to see the great advantage of this change in production.
At thirty, Stefan's father founded a small weaving mill in Northern Bohemia, which over many years developed into a thriving business. He set up the business with his own small capital and continued the expansion without the help of Banks or borrowed money. The business being testament to his 'solid' and 'safety first' approach. He prided himself on being able to claim that 'no-one had ever seen his name on a promissory note or on a draft'.

By his fiftieth year his father counted among the very wealthy, even by international standards. During this period the family only aquired modest comforts such as moving from a smaller to larger house. The business being founded on taking only a small amount in income and investing prudently in the future. It was only when his father reached fifty that he allowed himself the luxury of spending money, on such things as, a winter holiday with his wife in Nice. Surprisingly , even though his father was a millionaire, he still smoked the cheap 'Virginia' cigars and only gambled small stakes at cards.

Stefan's mother , whose maiden name was Brettauer, was born in Ancona in the South of Italy. She spoke both Italian and German but regarding Italian as her mother tongue; which she returned to in family discussions. Her family owned a banking business, although a modest one by Jewish banking standards.
The bank being situated in the small town of Hohenems, near the Swiss border. It had, however, managed to distributed the family all over the world; an uncle reaching as far-a-field as New York. This distribution resulted in a greater range of professions within the family such as directors, bankers, professors, doctors and lawyers.

It was a very proud family, and would not allow a marriage to occur within the family that it regarded as 'beneath' it. The family would, if necessary, collect a considerable dowry to prevent poorer relatives needing to do this. The family made much of this 'Solidarity'. Stefan's father ,a respected industrialist, was welcomed into the family.