To describe a concentration camp in one word, “hell” would fit perfectly. Persons placed in inhumane conditions experienced the darkest moments of their lives, both physically and psychologically. One such Nazi concentration camp was Auschwitz. Dr. Frankl, an author and psychologist, shared personal experiences and narratives of Auschwitz prisoners.

On the way to the site of horror, in a filthy train with 80 people crammed in each car, no food, toilet facilities, or stops, people traveled into the unknown. Fear engulfed them when they saw a sign through the window pointing to Auschwitz. The name "Auschwitz" was horrible; it meant gas chambers, crematoriums, and massacres.

The living conditions upon arrival didn't change with time; they only worsened. One and a half thousand weary prisoners were confined in a space intended for a maximum of two hundred. There was no space to lie down and no meal after the journey. Most prisoners who arrived at Auschwitz didn't even pass the so-called initial selection. 90% were immediately sent to the crematorium. The coordinators sent the surviving victims to a room where they shaved them beyond recognition. Then, they held them naked underwater and redressed them in work clothes with their assigned number. To withstand the cold at night, prisoners huddled as close to each other as possible. Nine men slept together on boards sized six by eight feet.

However, worse than the living conditions was the treatment. Guards cruelly punished prisoners even without reason. They beat the unfortunate with such force that silence fell upon all. While performing difficult work, insults never ceased to echo from the guards' mouths. Frankl became a victim while digging the frozen ground to lay water pipes in freezing temperatures. He carried out the work in bitter frost and almost out of strength. The guard yelled at him, "You pig, I have been watching you the whole time! I'll teach you to work, yet! Wait till you dig dirt with your teeth – you'll die like an animal!"

Of course, among the guards were those who sympathized with the prisoners. However, they also devalued all the efforts the starving prisoners exerted at work. The prisoners ate about seven ounces of bread and a little watery soup daily. They lived without news of their families and were constantly on the verge of death. Yet, they had to live to survive.