Civ Book Review: Hope Remains

In the course of history, no group of people has suffered as much as

the Jews. From their Babylonian exile to the destruction of Jerusalem at the
hands of the Romans, to their persecution under Anti-Semitistic practice
during the middle-ages; and most recently, the horrors of the Holocaust that
they experienced during the Second World War. Despite these many
tribulations, the Jews remained resilient and endured throughout the difficult
times. One might wonder how they were able to accomplish this; why did
they not falter and fall? The answer might be found in their sense of purpose.
The Jews, as a people, never lost their sense of purpose, one of which might
be to reach their promised land. This allowed them to keep going even in
the face of adversity. In his Mans Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl pinpoints
finding ones sense of purpose, albeit in a smaller individual scale, as one of
the main themes revolving around his experiences in a Nazi concentration
camp.
However, before getting to this theme, attention must first be given to
the circumstances behind the events in the novel. The Holocaust was the
systematic, bureaucratic, and merciless extermination of around six million
Jews during the Nazi regime. The Nazis, under the leadership of Hitler,
claimed Aryan superiority and considered the Jews an inferior people. The
primary tool used by the Nazis in carrying out this Final Solution of
genocide was the concentration camp.
Concentration camps can generally be characterized as places of mass
incarceration, torture, and likely eventual extermination. Based on the
authors descriptions regarding the experiences of Jewish prisoners, it seems
that the camps were a living hell for most, if not all of them. According to the
novel, the prisoners agony begins right during their arrival by train to the
concentration camp, when the men are separated from the women and
children, while the old and handicapped are isolated from the able-bodied
workers. Those who were incapable of work were immediately sent to the
gas chambers. Crematoriums and gas chambers were the main features of
horror in the concentration camps, for many prisoners were mercilessly
gassed or incinerated alive in these. Aside from this, they were forced to
work in extreme conditions; under the heat of the sun or in the bitter cold of
winter. Whats worse is that the prisoners were underfed even with all the
stress they experienced. Quoting Frankl, live on 10 ounces of bread
and 1 pints of soup per day. Also, because of the clustering of individuals
in a small area, the tendency for the spread of sickness was much greater;
an example of which was the occurrence of typhus epidemics. In the camp,
ones self-worth was also tested. That is when you become a number.
Whistles blow and there is a roll call, said Kitty Hart-Moxton, an Auschwitz
death camp survivor. Frankl also makes mention of people called the SS and
Capos. The SS, or Schutzstaffel were Nazis who exercised control over the
camps. Capos were men who were given special privileges and some
authority over their fellow prisoners. Usually, the SS and Capos treated the

prisoners brutally, giving them severe beatings when not satisfied with their
work efforts.
Frankls first hand accounts regarding his experiences in a
concentration camp are historically accurate and are in accordance with
other survivors own narratives. He is able to portray the cruelty and
mercilessness that permeated the camp. With all the difficulties the prisoners
went through - the deadly labor, physical abuse, undernourishment, and the
possibility of being executed at any given moment, its well worth wondering
why most did not resort to, as Frankl recounts, touching the electricallycharged barbed fence wire, thus committing suicide.
I believe the answer lies in finding ones purpose in life. I have come to
realize that despite their suffering, many prisoners still found reason to keep
living. One such example might be finding purpose by helping the sick. In
Frankls experience, he had the opportunity to escape but did not do so
because he would not abandon his sick patients in the camp. As soon as I
told time with finality that I had made up my mind to stay with my patients,
the unhappy feeling left me, says Frankl. Even with his own suffering, he
still had a calling to serve his fellow man. Ones motivation to live can also
be fueled by his love for family. Frankl says, A man who becomes conscious
of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits
for him will never throw away his life. This means that the prisoner finds
purpose in survival because of the possibility that his loved ones might still
be alive, waiting for his return, and that he is responsible for them. To me, it
seems that many of the prisoners were able to rise above their suffering.
They found purpose in their suffering; suffering for their family, suffering for
a better tomorrow, suffering for God. By this, they were able to bear the pain
and hardship, knowing that it would be for the sake of a cause greater than
themselves.
The entire Holocaust was an unforgivable act, a crime against humanity.
Jewish lives were lost, families ripped apart, an entire race diminished, but
when the dust and ashes settled, we find that not all was for the worse. I
believe those who survived the horrors of the Holocaust and concentration
camps became stronger for it. After the war, the Jews were able to pick
themselves up and rebuild their nation. Through the experiences of the
prisoners, we learn that man can endure great amounts of suffering as long
as he finds meaning in it. As Frankl, quoting Nietzche says, He who has a
why to live can bear with almost any how.

References
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/auconditions.html

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005144
http://www.wollheim-memorial.de/en/ankunft_im_kz_bunamonowitz
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2087826/Kitty-Hart-Moxon-Onewoman-shares-extraordinary-story-concentration-camp-survivor.html
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005180

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Introduction to the Holocaust. Holocaust

Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/?ModuleId=10005143.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Nazi camps. Holocaust Encyclopedia. Retrieved
from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005144
Harding, L. (2012, Jan. 24). One woman shares her extraordinary story as a concentration
camp survivor. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2087826/Kitty-HartMoxon-One-woman-shares-extraordinary-story-concentration-camp-survivor.html
Jewish Virtual Library. (n.d.). Living conditions, labor, and executions. Retrieved from
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/auconditions.html
Frankl, V. (2006). Mans search for meaning. Beacon Press. Boston, Massachusetts.