The book focuses on the autobiographical manuscript written by the Jewish physician Heinz Lichtenstein (1904-1990) under the pseudonym Martin Andermann for the Harvard University 'prize competition' in 1939. Answering the call "To all who knew Germany well before and since Hitler," Lichtenstein recounts his growing up in Königsberg - under the influence of Immanuel Kant - his student days, which made him a follower of Martin Heidegger, as well as his work as a doctor and the restrictions and persecutions associated with it, which led to his emigration to the USA. In the U.S., Lichtenstein became a renowned psychoanalyst and author. The second part of the book is devoted to his further scientific work.