Man's Search For Meaning - 41

     In "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl, we learn about what it was like first hand in Auschwitz. Frankl explains everything about the camps from the first train ride, to building railroads, to food rationing, and so forth. Lucky for Victor Frankl, he was sent to a labor camp instead of a gas chamber like most of the Jews. He mentions the tricks he was taught in order to stay alive: "Shave daily, if at all possible, even if you have to use a piece of glass to do it"(19). This allowed the men to look younger and more capable of sticking around for work instead of being thrown into a gas chamber. Frankl witnessed so many horrors at Auschwitz that it became normal. Men would scavenge the shoes off of a dead man in hope to avoid frostbite. But who can blame them? They were merely trying to stay alive! Everyday was a struggle mentally and physically. Frankl was able to keep himself focused on the beauty of nature around him. The mountains and sunset gave him a glimpse of hope to carry on. However the main aspect that kept Frankl working was his beloved wife. They were parted physically but he knew they were together spiritually. Frankl would talk to her while building railroads to keep himself occupied. Nobody should ever go through such a trauma but Victor Frankl did, and he overcame it. Not only that, but he built up the strength to write about it and share his work with the world.
     The whole book up to page 41 has been really depressing. I can't put the book down, because it's truly unbelievable how the Jews were treated. It's amazing how eager the German people were to look for a hero, that they were brainwashed by Hitler. Victor Frankl constantly describes the land around him and is awestruck by it. I too sometimes have to just pause and take in the beauty of nature. Food was also a big problem in Auschwitz as they were malnourished and expected to work all day. The horrors Frankl and the other prisoners went through just stops you in your tracks when you think about it. But how come the Nazi's didn't stop in their tracks when they were rounding up their neighbors? This is why Man's Search For Meaning is so important.