Man's Search for Meaning

“I had wanted simply to convey to the reader by way of a concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any conditions, even the most miserable ones. And I thought that if the point were demonstrated in a situation as extreme as a concentration camp, my book might gain a hearing. I therefore felt responsible for writing down what I had gone through, for I thought it might be helpful to people who are prone to despair”

This is Frankl’s primary motivation for writing his book, to disseminate his thesis that human beings need to have meaning in their lives. They can find that meaning in a number of ways, but even in the most terrible circumstances, such as a concentration camp or death camp, one will still search for meaning. This is what helps human beings survive all of the painful events of a lifetime.

“I noticed a piece of marble lying on a table at home . . . He [my father] had taken it home because it was part of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. One gilded Hebrew letter was engraved upon the piece; my father explained that this letter stood for one of the Commandments. Eagerly, I asked, ‘Which one is it?’ He answered, ‘Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land.’ At that moment I decided to stay with my father and mother upon the land, and to let the American visa lapse”

This artifact was collected by the author’s father from the ashes of the last Jewish synagogue in Vienna after it had been burned by the Nazis. It clearly had great symbolic value for Frankl: he took it as a sign that he was supposed to stay with his “father” and “mother”, even though that put his own life at risk.

“This book does not claim to be an account of facts and events but of personal experiences, experiences which millions of prisoners have suffered time and again . . . This tale is not concerned with great horrors, which have already been described often enough (though less often believed), but with the multitude of small torments. In other words, it will try to answer the question: How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?”

The key terms here are “everyday life” and “mind of the average prisoner.” Everyday life was full of hardship and suffering. The prisoners lacked food, shelter, and proper clothing. They suffered from starvation, frostbite, illness, from work injuries and from beatings. Their circumstances were more than enough to drive an “average” mind into depression and madness, even to the point of suicide.