In this memoir, the author reflects on the past eight decades of his life. Konrad M. Weis’ story took place in a transformational century, and he tells it with zeal, expertise, and a sense of humor from the Rhineland.
The book opens with his childhood and continues into the Second World War and May 1945’s »Stunde Null«, which he experienced as a 16-year-old discharged soldier. His journey home by himself through a strangely silent and peaceful Bavaria was a stark contrast to the uproar of war that had preceded it. In post-war Bonn, Weis became witness to how quickly a new peaceful world developed after the collapse. Taking this optimistic spirit of the time to heart, he began his career with Bayer in Leverkusen. After 16 years, he relocated to the United States, which surprised him with its warmth and positive acceptance.
A new citizen of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he quickly took on a variety of honorary, public positions in industry and culture as well as on the boards of regional banks and businesses. This is a phenomenal story of integration, though not without its share of minor problems and cultural misunderstandings. Konrad Weis illuminates the differences between German and American culture and the ways they complement and enrich one another. As an international manager, he vividly experienced the increasingly closer ties between continents and the process of globalization that took place in the post-war decades. In the 1990s, after his retirement, he supported university startups from the chemical and medical fields as an advisor and investor. And as a member of the board of directors of the new Leipzig Trade Fair, he had the opportunity, over the course of ten years, to make trips back to the city where he was born. During this time, he personally participated in some of the historical changes taking place in reunified Germany.