Studied by 43 peopleWhat are the 3 phases of the inmate's mental reactions to camp life?
the period following his admission 2. well-entrenched in camp routine 3. period following his release and liberation
Phase 1 is characterized mainly by
shock
What was Frankl's first impression of the prisoners who helped them from the trains?
they looked well fed and were in good spirits
Explain the psychological term "delusion of reprieve"
the condemned man believes he may be reprieved right before execution
Why were some prisoners given or permitted to have liquor (schnapps)?
thousands of marks were needed to have liquor
What was the "finger game"?
to decide if the prisoners will be killed or not
What truth has to be explained to Frankl in plain words?
where his friend went (he died)
When Frankl's manuscript was taken, what was his psychological reaction?
he struck out his whole former life
after the showers, what were the prisoners left with?
naked bodies/lives
destroyed illusions brought a grim _______
sense of humor
they were then seized by curiosity which evolved into
surprise
______ was means of protection (a newly formed state of mind)
objectivity
give some examples of Frankl's surprise. how did the textbooks lie?
"man can't exist without sleep", but people could go hours without sleep
his gums were able to stay healthy without brushing his teeth
explain Dostoevsky's quote that "man can get used to anything" from the perspective of MSFM
life in the concentration camp soon becomes familiar and part of a routine. humans can get used to anything
Frankl states that during this first phase of shock, he didn't fear death because the gas chambers _______.
lost the horrors for him; spared him the act of committing suicide
what is a "Moslem" and how did one refrain from becoming one?
a miserable, sick-looking man; it can be avoided if one shaves
an abnormal ______ + an abnormal ______ =
reaction + situation = normal behavior
phase 2 is characterized mainly by relative ___, where the prisoner is trying to achieve an death.
apathy, emotional
eventually, the prisoners became emotionally unmoved. give examples of this
not being affected when sewage splashes on them
no feelings when sick
not averting their eyes when someone would get beat
Frankl explains that the insensitivity to the beatings is a result of a very necessary _________
protective shell
__________ was worse than physical pain.
mental agony
3 examples of mental anguish which brought Frankl from his protective shell include ________
when he got beat because the lines were symmetric
when he was beaten for helping another prisoner not slip on ice
a foreman insulted him about his job
explain the quote: "Indignation can rouse even a seemingly hardened prisoner."
some things that are said/done can hurt an "emotionless" person
why did the Capo like Frankl? how was this beneficial to Frankl (3 ways)?
Frankl listened to his love stories and marriage problems
gave him peas; "good work
guaranteed place of honor
was appointed as the Capo’s physician
how did the building site foreman react to Frankl's challenge of learning a brain operation to road work?
he grinned
apathy is a necessary mechanism of _________
self-defense
all efforts and emotions of the prisoners were centered on one task: _____________
preserving one's own life and that of the other fellow
explain regression
a retreat to a more primitive form of mental life
wishes and desires of the prisoners became evident in their dreams. give examples
prisoners would talk about their favorite dishes and recipies
once spiritual life deepened,
they retreated to a life of inner riches and spiritual freedom
salvation of man is through ________ and in ___________
love, love
Love goes beyond the physical person of the beloved. it finds its deepest meaning in his ________/his _________
spiritual being; inner self
as inner life becomes more intense, so does beauty of art and nature. give 3 examples
mountain of Salzburg - faces through barred train windows don't look depressed
Bavarian woods with beautiful sunsets
light amid the gray and the bird
Frankl struggled to find a reason for his ____. he felt an ultimate purpose to his life, confirmed by the _____ in a distant farmhouse
sufferings, light
Frabkl felt his wife with him, as if he could touch her, while a guard was insulting him. Incidentally, at that moment when he felt his wife the most, a __________ and looked steadily at him
bird flew down, perched in front of him,
to develop a sense/need for art, cabaret programs were created. how significant was this to the attendees?
very important; some skipped their rations for a means to "forget". escape from reality
what happened to the prisoner who sang Italian arias during lunch?
he was given soup WITH the peas
explain Frankl's need to applaud "The Murderous Capo"
it saved his life and put him in a favorable angle
the second night Frankl was at Auschwitz, he woke to the sound of a violin which sang a desperate tango. why was this so significant to him?
it was his wife's 24th birthday
Frankl likens a sense of humor to the soul's ________ in the fight for self-preservation
weapons
_______ can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above the situation. to encourage this sense of humor, Frankl and his friend created a humorous scenario/story daily regarding incidents after liberation. give 2 examples
Human makeup;
orderly will announce surgeon's arrival with "action, action!"
at dinner, they might ask the hostess to "ladle it from the bottom"
why were the prisoners so overjoyed to find that they weren't going to Mauthausen but to Dachua?
Dachua was a small camp with no gas chamber
although a man was missing during roll call (upon arrival to Dachua), and the prisoners had to endure a punishment parade, why were they so pleased to be there?
there was no chimney in the camp and Auschwitz was a long way off
from what did the air raid save Frankl?
an alarm saved him from dying of exhaustion
why were they glad that there was no air raid during delousing?
with no lights, the work couldn't be done properly --> it didn't make the task longer
another pleasurable moment is Cook F - explain.
he dealt the soup out to everyone equally - no favorites
explain why Frankl claims the patients in the photograph aren't necessarily unhappy.
they get to rest and take a break from everything, so they're pretty comfortable
when the chief doctor asks Frankl to volunteer for medical duties in another camp, why did Frankl agree?
there would be some sense in his death if he died while helping his comrades
an individual being with a mind, inner freedom, and personal value descended to no greater than ________
animal life
explain the metaphor of the prisoners as herded sheep
the men have no mind of their own - sheep
dangerous pack watched from the outside - the Nazis
prisoners thought - how to evade them and how to get food
why was it important for Frankl to get into the middle of the formations?
there's a better chance at avoiding blows from guards
give an example of how Frankl coped with wanting to get away for privacy and solitude.
quiet spot in a corner of the double fence of barbed wire surrounding the camp; he looked out at the Bavarian landscape
explain how Frankl helped treat his patients with the aspirin
half tablets of aspirin for serious cases
smile and word of encouragement for light cases
no tablet for deathly ill because there's no hope
little value was placed on human life. how did numbers become more important on the list than the dead?
fate, history, name - didn't matter. the list always has to be correct & number can't be compromised
what was Frankl's rule for himself that he developed at Auschwitz which proved to be good for him?
answer all kinds of questions truthfully
Frankl repeatedly tells us that he learned to follow _________
fate
3 elements of Frankl's will as relayed to Otto
tell wife…… he talked of her daily
loved her more than anyone
short time married to her outweighs everything
what happened to the prisoners who stayed behind after Frankl departed to the actual rest camp? (this was relayed to Frankl by the policeman)
famine, which eventually leads to cannibalism
recount briefly the Death in Teheran parable
rich Persian walked into the garden with the servant who saw Death
Persian gave him a horse to flee to Teheran
Persian meets Death himself and asks why it’s scaring his servant
Death says he was surprised to see the servant here when he'll see him in Teheran
moral of the story = you can't escape death
although...immediately Frankl was filled with ________
peace
what happened to the "13"?
taken to a camp, locked in huts, and burned to death
Frankl had to exercise much _______ to keep from striking the apathetic patients during the time of inspections. what were the guards mostly concerned with?
self-control; reporting smartly, clicking heels, etc
man has a choice of action - he can preserve spiritual ________ and independence of __________, even in such terrible conditions while enduring psychological and physical stress
freedom and mind
inner freedom - everything can be taken away except one thing (the last of the human freedoms) to choose
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's way
the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an ______
inner decision
any man can decide what will become of him __________ and _________________. he may retain his human _________ even in a concentration camp
mentally and spiritually; dignity
explain why Frankl references Dostoevsky's quote: "there is only one thing I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings"
there were the martyrs in camp who showed that inner freedom can't be lost
the way the prisoners bore suffering was a genuine inner achievement; spiritual freedom (which can't be taken away) makes life _________ and __________
meaningful and purposeful
give credence to the following idea: without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.
if there's a meaning in life, there's a meaning to suffering, as it's an ineradicable part of life
explain the young invalid and the woman and the tree
wrote to his friend that he will die soon, but is brave about it
woman knew she was going to die, but she was grateful that life hit her so hard - the tree spoke to her (I am life)
most depressing influence was not knowing the term of imprisonment because the term was not only uncertain, but unlimited
"provisional existence of unknown limit"
explain 2 paradoxes on page 70-71
with the end of uncertainty came the uncertainty of the end
in camp, a day lasted longer than a week
give an example of how a prisoner who lost faith in the future was doomed
prisoner refusing to dress and wash or go out on parade grounds - he simply gave up
why did the death rate increase between Christmas '44 and New Year's '45?
majority of the prisoners had hope that they would be home and liberated by Christmas.
Nietzsche states "he who has a _____ to live for can bear with almost any ______"
why, how
life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual
if you have a problem in life it is your responsibility to find a solution in order to move forward
tears bore witness that man had the greatest courage, the courage to _________
suffer
Frankl encourages the desperate to realize that life was still expecting something from them - give 2 examples
told a man his child was waiting for him in a foreign country
scientist needs to finish his book series
why was collective therapy so important for Frankl to support on the "bad day" in the concentration camp, at that particular moment?
to restore hope and show that their lives had meaning
what is the third state of the prisoner's mental reaction?
the psychology of the prisoner after his liberation
Frankl claims that there is no pure race, but 2 races: _______ and _______
race of the decent and indecent man
examine the psychology of the concentration camp prisoner who has been released
the prisoners were confused about the concept of freedom; not pleased because they don't have the ability to be
Define depersonalization
when everything seems unreal or dissociated - a dream
how did the body make good use of the new freedom?
ate ravenously and then talked for hours
at what moment did Frankl's new life start (during his freedom of space)?
when he dropped to his knees and prayed
the liberated prisoner needed ________ care because an enormous pressure of sudden release = danger
spiritual
why didn't Frankl want to walk over the crops?
no reason to become the oppressor and destroy life
no one has the right to do ________ even if wrong has been done to them
wrong
explain how 2 other fundamental experiences threatened to damage the character of the liberated prisoner: bitterness and disillusionment
the # of things that they came up against in their home town
the feeling that one could still suffer; even more intensely
the crowning experience for the released prisoner is that after all the suffering he has endured, nothing to fear anymore - except for his ________
God
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