Viktor Frankl was born in 1905 and later became a psychiatrist in Vienna. Although he was Jewish, Frankl was protected from arrest by the Nazis for a time because of his work as a doctor. When he was offered the opportunity to obtain a visa and escape to America, he chose to stay in Nazi-occupied Austria to be near his aging parents. Ultimately, he and his family were sent to the Theresienstadt Ghetto and then to the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. Though his parents, brother, and wife all died of illness or were murdered outright, Frankl survived his imprisonment and returned to Vienna following the war to both teach and practice medicine; he also taught at a number of American universities. He died in 1997 shortly after publishing Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning, a follow-up to his seminal 1946 work. 

Frankl is the only major figure in the book, which is an outline of his theory of psychotherapy, evidenced in part by autobiographical accounts of his experiences during the war. Frankl begins the Preface by describing his critical decision to give up his opportunity to escape to America. Years later, Frankl made a similar decision when he decided to stay and care for his patients in the camp rather than escape with his friend. In that instance, Frankl says he had a bad feeling about deserting those who needed his help and who could not escape because of illness. He was guided by his conscience, by his professional ethics, and by his deep courage, all of which bolsters his arguments about Finding Meaning in Extreme Conditions: Love (for both individuals and humanity writ large) is in Frankl’s account such a powerful source of meaning that it motivates him not merely to endure hardship but to embrace it for the sake of others. 

These same choices characterize Frankl as a self-sacrificing and compassionate man. In his categorization of the wide range of human beings he encountered in the camps, he separates the decent from the indecent. Frankl’s actions align him with the former, yet his tone is humble throughout the work, indirectly supporting his arguments about The Importance of Moral Choice and his contention that decency is a choice available to all.  

The text also reveals Frankl to be intelligent, talented, and dedicated to his profession. In the first part of the book, when describing life in the camps, Frankl demonstrates his skill at observation and analysis. The second part shows his gifts for creative thinking, problem solving, and leadership.