Howie Fogel

In 1942, Nazi guards believed they had destroyed Viktor Frankl. They stripped the 37-year-old psychiatrist of his name, dignity, and possessions. They shaved his head, tattooed the number 119,104 on his arm, and burned his life’s work — the manuscript for his first book. They were wrong. Months earlier, Frankl had held an American visa in his hands — a ticket to safety. But it was only for him. His elderly parents could not go. Torn by the choice, he saw a small marble plaque on his father’s desk inscribed with the commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” He let the visa expire and stayed. Deported to Theresienstadt, then Auschwitz and Dachau, Frankl witnessed something profound: survival wasn’t determined by physical strength alone. Some strong men collapsed, while weaker ones endured. He concluded that what mattered most was having a “why” to live for. In the camps, he quietly rebelled against despair. He mentally rewrote his burned manuscript. He imagined lecturing about it in Vienna one day. He clung to the memory of his wife Tilly as a lifeline. And he encouraged fellow prisoners by reminding them of their own unfinished purposes. Liberated in 1945, he weighed just 85 pounds. He learned that his wife, parents, and brother had all been murdered. Instead of surrendering to grief, Frankl sat down and wrote Man’s Search for Meaning in just nine days. The book, initially rejected by publishers, went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide. Viktor Frankl lived until 1997. He proved that even when everything is taken from us, we still possess the ultimate freedom: the power to choose our attitude and find meaning in suffering. The Nazis tried to erase him. Instead, they inspired a legacy that has helped millions endure their own hardships. This book is a “must read” if you haven’t studied it. Hope is eternal.