Germany from the outside and from the inside is the true theme of these essays, which carry the breath of the autobiographical: of the person whose homeland was taken away, who had their homeland restored, and who knows how revocable the seemingly self-evident is. Essentially, these are works about the borderline situation of humanity and the writing individual in this century: for example, about the possibility of voluntariness within involuntariness. The life paradox assigned to us is presented in many ways, in speeches, works about fellow sufferers, statements, obituaries for friends, interpretations, and self-interpretations. Additionally, there are fundamental thoughts about writing. Just as German post-war poetry has coped better with the past than politicians and has restored normal contacts with the world for itself.