Hans-Georg Gadamer was able to observe and shape the intellectual currents at significant universities (Breslau, Marburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Heidelberg) for over half a century as a student and university lecturer. He describes remarkable encounters as a student of Paul Natorp, Nicolai Hartmann, and especially Martin Heidegger, as well as a fellow student of Gerhard Krüger and Karl Löwith. He meets prominent figures such as Rudolf Bultmann and Max Scheler, and he maintains friendships with Oskar Schürer, Max Kommerell, Hans Lipps, and Karl Reinhardt. Gadamer recounts his time as a student and lecturer in Breslau and Marburg. After the collapse of the Third Reich, he becomes rector of the University of Leipzig under Russian occupation, contributing to its arduous reconstruction. Shortly thereafter, he receives an appointment to Frankfurt in 1954.