A Prisoner’s Choices

During World War II, Viktor Frankl was kept in a Nazi concentration camp for three years. During that time, he could make few of the choices we take for granted. He could not choose how to wear his hair; his head was shaved. He could not choose what clothes to wear; he was given a prison uniform. He could not read or write or talk freely. Someone told him when to get up and exactly what to do every minute of the day. He was treated cruelly, and if he did not work hard enough, he was in danger of being killed.

What choices could Viktor Frankl make?

He later wrote this about his experiences:

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. … They offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms–to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

“And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour offered the opportunity to make a decision.” (Man’s Search for Meaning, trans. Ilse Lasch, rev. ed. [New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962], p. 65.)

Viktor Frankl found out that no one could force him to be bitter and angry, no matter how much they hurt him. He could still enjoy the beauties of nature; he could love and show kindness to other people.

I highly recommend Viktor Frankl’s book titled “Man’s Search for Meaning“

-Source: Family Home Evening Resource Book: Lesson Eight: We Can Choose

-Shared by Brandon D. Byrge

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