“Does the life of a person reveal an inherent logic, a meaning, that takes shape under all circumstances and even in defiance of them? To what extent can one fashion one's life, how far was I able to do so? What created me? Will I leave any evidence of my existence?”

Hanna Behrend looks back upon a long, eventful and politically active life: Born in Vienna, Austria she emigrated to France and Britain and joined
her first husband when he moved to East Berlin. In the post-war period she
was confronted with the struggles for survival under a repressive system.
In her second, happy marriage she was able to develop her scholarly potential.

Her academic achievements, her publications and political commitment are impressive. Her utopian ideas of a truly humane society and, last but not least, her personal charms as revealed in this excitingly vivid narrative are fascinating and of far more than merely historical interest.