Frankl's experience in Nazi concentration camps taught him

• A. You can't control the environment, but you can control your response
• B. You can control the environment but not your response
• C. You can control both
• D. You have no control at all

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that we retain the power to choose our inner response even when outer circumstances are beyond our control. Frankl observed in the concentration camps that the brutal environment could not be changed, but a person’s attitude toward that situation—and the meanings they derive from it—remained within reach. This is the essence of his message: the last of human freedoms is the ability to decide how we respond to what happens to us, to find purpose and maintain dignity despite suffering. That’s why the best description is that you can’t control the environment, but you can control your response.