Viktor Frankl, the Australian author and psychiatrist, wrote a book “Men’s Search For Meaning”. During the World War II (1939-1945), he spent most of his time in German concentration camps (the camps in which people were kept, punished, killed and their bodies were disposed off). The author in his book says that anyone getting into these concentration camps never turned back alive. In these camps, there used to be no food and other facilities, neither was there any legal jailor.
Due to scarcity of food, prisoners ate each others several times. In other times, the made jailor told them to work all the time. They had a life at worst. The prisoners were to break rocks which was very difficult with hungry stomachs. They were not let to sleep. In the prisons, women and men were kept in separate jails, even though couples were separated. Any one of them, who got weak in working, was killed.
The author says that he too got very weak at a time in the camp, but he made himself strong physically so that he had not been killed. It was all his intrinsic motivation which kept him strong mentally. The harmful voices of innocent prisoners spread an environment of fear around. The author kept his calm and managed to escape death due to laziness.
In his room, he had another friend who was getting weaker day by day. He always thought that he would be killed this day or the coming. Viktor always talked to him and tried to make him mentally strong that no one would kill them because they were strong. In fact, in the concentration camp, Viktor’s family was killed, but he still was hopeful for a brighter day.
The prisoners in those concentration camps were disturbed mentally each night. One night, the author’s friend planned told him to run away from the camp, but he refused. Viktor told him to wait there because there were like chances they would be killed if they try to run. But, he did not listen to him and tried to escape and hence got killed.
One day, a car was coming nearer to their camp in which people had worn other clothes than uniforms. Viktor thought they were soldiers but they were not. They came and saved them from the concentration camps.
Download The Book in PDF: Man’s Search For Meaning
The book by Viktor Frankl described his experiences as to how he and other prisoners were kept into severe harshness in those concentration camps. Another thing is to keep yourself internally motivated in such a time so that you become mentally strong. The best thing this book teaches is no pain is permanent.
