Man's Search for Meaning.

A prisoner can be reminiscent of what 
Viktor Frank writes in his book, 'Man's Search for Meaning', 
about his fellow prisoners in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau. 
Some of these prisoners, who yearned so desperately for their freedom,had been held captive so long that,when they were eventually released, they walked out into the sunlight, blinked nervously and then silently walked back into the familiar darkness of the prisons 
to which 
they had been accustomed for such a long time.


"More than 90 percent 

of all the prisoners 

in our  prisons 

have been abused 

as children."

John Powell

Frankl's concentration camp experiences thus shaped both his therapeutic approach and philosophical outlook, as reflected in his seminal publications. He often said that even within the narrow boundaries of the concentration camps he found only two races of men to exist: decent and unprincipled ones. These were to be found in all classes, ethnicities, and groups.^[9] Following this line of thinking, he once recommended that the Statue of Liberty on the East coast of the US be complemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West coast, and there are reportedly plans to construct such a statue.^[10]

Another important conclusion for Frankl was:

If a prisoner felt that he could no longer endure the realities of camp life, he found a way out in his mental life

– an invaluable opportunity to dwell in the spiritual domain,

the one that the SS were unable to destroy.

Spiritual life strengthened the prisoner,

helped him adapt,

and thereby improved his chances of survival.^[8]

***