Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning

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Man’s Search for Meaning This book was written as a record of a person’s involvements in a concentration camp during World War II, and the psychology of the prisoners who were there with him to experience the rough and hard times every day. Viktor Frankl's was a man who was a part of this experience, along with his wife, father, mother and brother who all died in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. All endured extreme hunger, cold and cruelty, first in Auschwitz then Dachau; Frankl himself was under endless threat of going to the gas chambers. He lost every belonging on his first day in the camps, and was forced to give up a scientific manuscript he considered his life's work. Viktor starts his story with his entrance into Auschwitz. He explains how as he was entering the death camp: he and his companions held onto slight remains of hope that they would be rescued at the last possible moment. He relates this to a convicted man believing he will be saved before he is executed. He defines this feeling as the, "delusion of reprieve” and remembers getting off the train after arriving to Auschwitz, the people were separated into two lines, one for men and one for women. During this process everything on them was taken from them. They eventually got to a man who would point them in a direction of left or right. One way was the direction to the crematories, the other to a cleansing station. Frankl then goes on to talk about the second phase of imprisonment which was after the original shock had faded a little. He explains how numbness overcomes a prisoner, and how he was able to watch a man be brutally beaten to death and it not even phase him. There was a time her membered taking care of typhoid patience and would watch people di... ... middle of paper ... ...ere excruciating but I had no idea the extent of it. The way this book was written gives people hope. After reading this it made me realizes that there are harder things that people go through throughout their life and are still optimistic that everything will work out, while others complain about the everyday things. The author's use of quotations and description of events painted a picture in the reader's mind of the murders of the holocaust. Viktor E. was an amazing author and wrote this book well so that all types of readers would understand the hardship of the holocaust. The book gives the reader a large quantity of important information. The interpretations and ideas do not only apply to those who suffered in a concentration camp, but for all who live trapped behind bars and walls. It helps the reader comprehend and empathize the position of these individuals.

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