In 1461, Jan enthusiastically participates in the persecution of the Jews and witches blamed for an outbreak of plague and famine, but the burgeoning violence threatens Jan himself as he faces choices that have allegorical links to contemporary issues.

The fact that Szczypiorski is not only a great narrator but also a brilliant essayist was already evident in his ›Notes on the State of Things‹. Now all his essays and speeches are united in one volume with which Szczypiorski became a household word in recent years, above all the speech on the anniversary of the reunification of Germany on October 3rd 1994 in Bremen.