Man's Search for Meaning

The etymology of the term “concentration” translates literally as “the action of bringing to a center.” As you read Frankl’s account of being a prisoner in German concentration camps during World War II, think about what those in power were trying to bring to the center: were they more interested in physical human beings or abstract human ideas?

Describe the command hierarchy of German concentration camps. How does Frankl describe the prisoners who were selected to supervise camp activities?

On p. 5, Frankl states that World War II gave us “the war of nerves and it gave us the concentration camp.” The prisoners in the camps suffer from extensive mental anguish. By what psychological methods did they survive—or not?

In what ways could a prisoner obtain sufficient sustenance? What is Frankl’s observation of this process?

Why would politics and religion play a vital role in concentration camps (p. 34)?

In MSFM, Frankl observes that the “intensification of inner life” helped prisoners cope with their dire situation. He then uses examples drawn from his own interior life that helped him cope with his own prisoner experience: a vivid memory of observing the mountains of Salzburg; a strong connection to a watercolor painting of the Bavarian woods by Albrecht Dürer; and a poignant reflection on his wife as a bird alights on a mound of dirt which the prisoner Frankl has just dug. In what ways did Frankl’s inner life help him maintain his will to live in this seemingly meaningless world (pp. 40–42)?

Think about those prisoners who clung to a desire to live (p. 41), as opposed to those who succumbed to death. By what psychological methods did the survivors manage to survive?

Frankl states that “freedom is in danger of degeneration . . . unless it lives in terms of responsibleness” (p. 122). He then posits that the United States should have a “Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.” After reading MSFM, what do you think he means by these statements? Do you agree? Why or why not?