Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl proposes the idea that even under the most extreme circumstances, one can still preserve their humanity through acts of kindness, thus creating a meaning in their suffering. One example that this idea applies to is during the Holocaust as a Jewish prisoner's humanity is put to the test through some of the most horrible forms of suffering that one can imagine. Some prisoners may have responded with complete inhuman acts towards others that were put in the same situation, while others may of acted with the opposite, passing on a positive attitude of kindness. The point of view that during extreme suffering, one can still preserve their humanity through acts of kindness towards others is true because doing so positively effects those suffering around you, which gives meaning to your own suffering because when you provide a selfless act of kindness towards another, it creates a chain effect of kindness on the suffering group as a whole.
During extreme forms of suffering, an individual is able to create meaning in their own suffering through passing on what they cannot give to themselves to others. In other words, people are not able to necessary show kindness to themselves, but they are able to pass kindness and positive attitudes on towards others who are in need. Doing this will provide meaning because it will create an impact on someone else's life while they are in need of it most, during suffering. .
These same ideas are emphasized in Elie Wiesel's novel "Night", which discusses how important the preservation of humanity during suffering is. During the novel he gives an example of how much of an impact even the smallest acts of kindness and positivity can be as he writes, "I could hear only the violin, and it was as though Juliek's soul were the bow. He was playing his life"(91). In this situation, Juliek's violin symbolizes the last bit of humanity that he has left during this time of great suffering.
