The Holocaust and Philosophy

To formally start our look at Frankl's book, I wanted to make sure we have a basic shared understanding of the Holocaust. Most of you have studied it in a variety of different ways.  I had you write down the word, followed by the first words / phrases / details that came to mind, and we shared these.

Next, I gave you a quotation from Elie Wiesel's Night:

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself.  Never."


I had you select a phrase then write a few sentences exploring its ideas, then we read those aloud.

Lastly, we turned our attention to the start of the book. I had you read for about 10 minutes, then gave you these excerpts:

• How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?
• ...the hard fight for existence which raged among the prisoners. This was an unrelenting struggle for daily bread and for life itself…
• Each prisoner, therefore, had had an opportunity to claim a fictitious name or profession; and for various reasons many did this.
• Any guard who wanted to make a charge against a prisoner just glanced at his number (and how we dreaded such glances!); he never asked for his name.
• We who have come back, by the aid of many lucky chances or miracles - whatever one may choose to call them - we know: the best of us did not return.
• But does a man who makes his observation while he himself is a prisoner possess the necessary detachment? Such detachment is granted to the outsider, but he is too far removed to make any statements of real value. Only the man inside knows.
• I saw that as an anonymous publication it would lose half its value, and that I must have the courage to state my convictions openly.

You chose one of these to write about and explore, thinking about what Frankl is saying both within his story and beyond it.