How He Became

In his biography, Waldemar Behrendt, born in 1953, recalls above all the first 26 years of his life, which he spent in Poland until his family moved to Germany in 1979. The author reflects on his experiences and emotions from today's perspective and asks himself existential questions. As a student, he began reading Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer in his "early morning self-study" in order to find answers. The graduate engineer recounts vividly and touchingly his life on a farm in Jomendorf, East Prussia: farming, fetching wood, caring for farm animals. The children had to lend a hand. In his recollections, to which he adds his own poems, Behrendt also analyzes his sadness and fears, which still accompany him today.