--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was taken to the concentration…" description: "\"When I was taken to the concentration camp of Auschwitz, a manuscript of mine ready for publication was confiscated. Certainly, my deep desire to write..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fe/viktor-e-frankl-668_auschwitz_when-i-was-taken-to-the-concentration-ca_894247.jpg" --- # When I was taken to the concentration camp of Auschwitz, a… ![“When I was taken to the concentration camp of Auschwitz, a manuscript of mine ready for publication was confiscated. Certainly, my deep desire to write this manuscript anew helped me to survive the rigors of the camps I was in.” quote by Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fe/viktor-e-frankl-668_auschwitz_when-i-was-taken-to-the-concentration-ca_894247.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fe/viktor-e-frankl-668_auschwitz_when-i-was-taken-to-the-concentration-ca_894247.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3fe/viktor-e-frankl-668_auschwitz_when-i-was-taken-to-the-concentration-ca_894247.jpg) > “When I was taken to the concentration camp of Auschwitz, a manuscript of mine ready for publication was confiscated. Certainly, my deep desire to write this manuscript anew helped me to survive the rigors of the camps I was in.” [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding purpose can sustain life even in extreme suffering. **In simple terms:** Purpose helps survive hardship. Key Takeaway Cultivate meaning in adversity. Themes resilience meaning survival Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - prisoner of war - concentration camp survivor - mental health therapy Key Concepts logotherapy existential psychology Questions to Reflect On - What personal meaning can you anchor to in hardship? - How does purpose affect physical endurance? A Different Perspective Purpose alone may not change external conditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Concentration camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentration-camp/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ## Related quotes > [“Sigmund Freud once asserted, "Let one attempt to expose a number of the most diverse people uniformly to hunger. With the increase of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/sigmund-freud-once-asserted-let-one-attempt-to-expose-a-number-of-the/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [One can choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/one-can-choose-one-s-attitude-in-any-given-set-of-circumstances/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“Auschwitz was attacked and recovered by the Russian forces on January 27th, 1945. A very short time before that date Buchenwald had been reconquered.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-g-mez-p-rez/auschwitz-was-attacked-and-recovered-by-the-russian-forces-on-january/) Javier Gómez Pérez > [When I began research, I read the writings of the Sonderkommandos. They are not well known, but these prisoners wrote from the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-nemes/when-i-began-research-i-read-the-writings-of-the-sonderkommandos-they/) [Laszlo Nemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-nemes/) > [This is the concentration camp and crematorium at Auschwitz. This is where people were turned into numbers. Into this pond were flushed the ashes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/this-is-the-concentration-camp-and-crematorium-at-auschwitz-this-is/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [During the Nuremberg trials, Oswald Pohl, an SS Lieutenant General,...is shown here explaining how Farben operated such concentration camps as Auschwitz and Buchenwald.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-edward-griffin/during-the-nuremberg-trials-oswald-pohl-an-ss-lieutenant-general-is/) [G. Edward Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-edward-griffin/) > [The thing about World War II is that everyone knows about the concentration camps in Europe - in Nazi Germany and Poland and Auschwitz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-salonga/the-thing-about-world-war-ii-is-that-everyone-knows-about-the/) [Lea Salonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-salonga/) > [“Like Nazi concentration camps, labour camps in North Korea use confinement, hunger and fear to create a kind of Skinner box: a closed, closely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-harden/like-nazi-concentration-camps-labour-camps-in-north-korea-use/) [Blaine Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-harden/) > [“It's said that science will dehumanize people and turn them into numbers. That's false, tragically false. Look for yourself. This is the concentration camp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/it-s-said-that-science-will-dehumanize-people-and-turn-them-into/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [“Auschwitz—the very name stood for all that was horrible: gas chambers, crematoriums, massacres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/auschwitz-the-very-name-stood-for-all-that-was-horrible-gas-chambers/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those chambers upright, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-is-that-being-who-invented-the-gas-chambers-of-auschwitz-however/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of. And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/since-auschwitz-we-know-what-man-is-capable-of-and-since-hiroshima-we/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“We have come to know Man as he really is. After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/we-have-come-to-know-man-as-he-really-is-after-all-man-is-that-being/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Our generation is realistic, for we have come to know man as he really is. After all, man is that being who invented the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/our-generation-is-realistic-for-we-have-come-to-know-man-as-he-really/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Maidanek were ultimately prepared not in some ministry or other in Berlin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/i-am-absolutely-convinced-that-the-gas-chambers-of-auschwitz/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) ## More by Viktor E. Frankl > [For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/for-the-meaning-of-life-differs-from-man-to-man-from-day-to-day-and/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“In the past, nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, on the contrary, everything is irrevocably stored and treasured. To be sure, people tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-the-past-nothing-is-irretrievably-lost-but-rather-on-the-contrary/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer... his unique opportunity lies in the way he bears his burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/when-a-man-finds-that-it-is-his-destiny-to-suffer-his-unique/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“A positive attitude enables a person to endure suffering and disappointment as well as enhance enjoyment and satisfaction. A negative attitude intensifies pain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/a-positive-attitude-enables-a-person-to-endure-suffering-and/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“our sacrifice did have a meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/our-sacrifice-did-have-a-meaning/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man's last freedom is his freedom to choose how he will react in any given situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-s-last-freedom-is-his-freedom-to-choose-how-he-will-react-in-any/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [The more one forgets himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/the-more-one-forgets-himself-by-giving-himself-to-a-cause-to-serve-or/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-i-venture-to-say-that-would-so/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man's search for meaning is the chief motivation of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-s-search-for-meaning-is-the-chief-motivation-of-his-life/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-a-last-violent-protest-against-the-hopelessness-of-imminent-death/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/but-happiness-cannot-be-pursued-it-must-ensue/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another one's belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another one's right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-one-s-belief-but-it/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“I think it was Lessing who once said, 'There are things which must cause you to lose your reason or you have none to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/i-think-it-was-lessing-who-once-said-there-are-things-which-must/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“I believe that my handicap will only enhance my ability to help others. I know that without the suffering, the growth that I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/i-believe-that-my-handicap-will-only-enhance-my-ability-to-help/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“He main retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once, 'There is only one thing that I dread: not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/he-main-retain-his-human-dignity-even-in-a-concentration-camp/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) [Explore all 381 Viktor E. Frankl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) ## More Auschwitz quotes > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/) [Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. Secretly, a nagging fear gnaws at me: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/i-am-keenly-aware-that-the-security-we-enjoy-is-frail-and-could/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [There is more to Jewish history than Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/there-is-more-to-jewish-history-than-auschwitz/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [“I once conjured up this image of Hitler. I imagined that he didn’t kill himself and that he was kept in a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-haybittle/i-once-conjured-up-this-image-of-hitler-i-imagined-that-he-didn-t/) [Glenn Haybittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-haybittle/) > [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/there-is-no-question-in-my-mind-that-we-live-in-one-of-the-truly/) [Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/) > [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [“It was, unbelievably, not the most depressing thing we had ever seen: a bride, ripped from her own wedding, separated from her groom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-unbelievably-not-the-most-depressing-thing-we-had-ever-seen-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“He sounded chilly. “I’m sure she is.” Allegra was trying to back off, but she was annoyed that he had taken her father’s part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/he-sounded-chilly-i-m-sure-she-is-allegra-was-trying-to-back-off-but/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Auschwitz was one of the wealthiest places in the world. Everyone who was deported there had been in such a hurry that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/auschwitz-was-one-of-the-wealthiest-places-in-the-world-everyone-who/) [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/) [Browse all 168 Auschwitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was taken to the concentration camp of Auschwitz, a manuscript of mine ready for publication was confiscated. Certainly, my deep desire to write this manuscript anew helped me to survive the rigors of the camps I was in.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Viktor E. 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