Psychology Today | 04.02.2026 02:31
Viktor Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist, neurologist, and Holocaust survivor who came to a hard-earned conclusion under the most extreme conditions imaginable: Meaning is not a luxury—it is a psychological necessity. While imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Frankl watched people lose everything that typically anchors identity and hope—status, safety, family, control. What he observed was striking. Survival did not hinge on optimism, toughness, or even physical strength. It hinged on whether someone had something to live for. Not happiness. Not success. Meaning.
