The Last of the Human Freedoms
…It is this spiritual
freedom—which cannot be taken away—that makes life meaningfull and purposeful…—to
choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own
way…
Victor Frankl (Man’s
Search for Meaning)
“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 may have been few in number, but they offer
sufficient proof that everything can be taken 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, a decision which determined whether you would or would not
submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your
inner freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate.
Seen from
this point of view, the mental reactions of the inmates of a concentration camp
must seem more to us than the mere expression of certain physical and
sociological conditions. Even though conditions such as lack of sleep,
insufficient food and various mental stresses may suggest that the inmates were
bound to react in certain ways, in the final analysis it becomes clear that the
sort of person the prisoner became was the result of the inner decision, and
not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can,
even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him – mentally and
spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp.
Dostoevski said once, “There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy
of my sufferings.” These words frequently came to my mind after I became
acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and
death, bore witness to the fact that their last inner freedom cannot be lost.
It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore
their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom—which
cannot be taken away—that makes life meaning full and purposeful.”
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