Using autobiographical texts, the authors of this volume examine how interpreters portray their self-image, their values, their world view, the understanding of their role - in short, their identity. The focus is on work situations in authoritarian regimes and conflicts in which basic questions of existence, such as adaptation or resistance, neutrality or partiality, come to the surface. The analyses show that the decisions made in such situations are as contradictory, diverse and complex as life itself.