Suffering (Isn’t a Lesson) = Warning

What Holocaust Survivors Really Teach Us About Our Own Authoritarianism

In the shadow of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, his story tells us that purpose can turn suffering into strength. Frankl's time in Auschwitz convinced him that individuals who found meaning in their suffering were most likely to survive. This view is comforting, but it has the unintended effect of placing the burden of trauma on the individual, with a perception that their ability to find meaning is what makes them resilient, their ability to choose how to respond in the face of difficulty and horror giving them a strength no one can take away. But this interpretation must be critically judged. Trauma, especially of the sort which has happened during the Holocaust, tends to leave scars that can hinder development rather than promote it.