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Viktor E. Frankl was born
This was the start of the life of a very profound, influential thinker who impacted the lives of many as well as the field of psychology. He is known as an Austrian psychiatrist. -
Lale Sokolov was born
Lale was a Slovak Jewish Holocaust survivor. No one knew the difference he would make in other people's lives in the concentration camps. -
Louis Zamperini was born
Louis was an American Olympian as well as a member of the air force in WWII. He played a significant role in American sports as well as the US military. -
Louis joins track
Louis becomes a very troubled child until his older brother, Pete, encourages him to join the track team at the High School. He practiced all the time and ran the fastest high school mile. This was a pivotal moment in his life, not knowing how much it would shape his future, and create stepping stones to the resilience and determination he shows throughout the war. -
Louis heads to the Berlin Olympics
Louis goes to the summer 1936 Berlin Olympics in in Germany and finishes 7th in the 5000 meter race. He completed the last lap in only 56 seconds which is the record. -
Louis gets drafted into war
Louis gets drafted into the war in the air corps. This was a big transition for him, having to put his athletic dreams on hold. However, he quickly embraced his role as a soldier, showing patriotism and a sense of responsibility. -
Viktor gets sent to concentration camp
Frankl and his wife, Tilly, were sent to Theresienstadt Ghetto concentration camp. He was starting to get stripped of his identity and life along with every other prisoner. From their hair and names to their personalities, they weren't who they were before. -
Lale is taken to a concentration camp
Lale is taken on a train to somewhere unknown after he offers himself up to save his family. He will do whatever to takes to protect the people he is close to and this continues to show throughout the book. He had no idea what his job was going to be and didn’t know he wouldn’t see his family for a very long time. This is what puts them in a state of vulnerability, exactly where the Nazis want them to be in. -
Lale meets Gita
Lale and Gita lock eyes for the first time while Lale tattoos Gita’s number on her arm. His heart was beating out of his chest, wanting to stay with this girl forever. This scene was also mentioned in the prologue, emphasizing the love he feels which also allows him to focus on her rather than the possibility of death. This is also where Lale receives the full responsibility of being the tattooist and becomes friends with Baretski. This allows him to strengthen his rank in the camp. -
Lale meets Victor
Lale meets the civilian Victor and they come up with a deal for both Victor to receive diamonds and Lale to receive food. This is how Lale helps out prisoners throughout their time in the camp. Due to his position as the Tatowierer, he felt confident enough to make deals with civilians, wanting to fill his life with more certainty. Ultimately, having this outside connection provides him with moral support and encouraging determination. -
Lale helps prisoner
Prisoners come up to Lale and ask for help to stop their friend from being hanged after he tried to escape. Lale asks his coworker, Bella, to add this boy to the transport list so he can get out of there. Example that shows Lale’s selflessness and how he is using his position to help others. -
Lale is taken to Crematorium
Lale is taken to the Crematorium to distinguish the difference between two numbers. He is traumatized by what he sees, with the naked bodies and dirty areas in the oven. He realizes he is the only Jew who walked in and walked back out. Lale empathizes for these prisoners, knowing they won't make it out alive. -
Louis' plane crashes
Louis’ team is ordered to look for a missing plane. However, they couldn’t use the plane they usually fly so they had to use a questionable plane. Three of the four engines blow up during their flight and they are forced to make an emergency landing in the water. Only Louis and two others, Phil and Mac, survive. Their resilience was very much tested, trying to stay focused and optimistic that they would make it out of the sea alive. Louis was the one who really held onto the hope. -
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Louis & others survive on raft
Louis, Phil, and Mac survive on a raft in the middle of the ocean for 47 days. They had to ration their food, catch fish, dodge Japanese shooting, and fight the sharks. Mac passes away during this time, leaving only Louis and Phil to survive. Louis' ability to survive provides a key part to his legacy and shows how he can overcome am ample number of challenges. -
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Louis & Phil get captured
Japanese capture Phil and Louis off of the raft. They were then beaten and questioned, hoping to get information about the Americans’ plans in war. This marked another scary chapter to his war journey where he faced a lot of brutal mistreatment. This continued to test his physical and mental abilities, doing his best to survive. -
Viktor gets sent to Auschwitz
He and a bunch of others traveled for days in a train to head to Asuchwitz and had to go through awful examinations before officially being in the extinction camp. He helped bring prisoners to a new perspective, allowing him to make a huge difference in their lives. -
Lale gets in trouble
Lale gets caught with jewels hidden under his mattress and claims prisoners gave them to him but will not tell them who. Jakub, a prisoner who Lale helped when he first arrived, had no choice but to torture the names out of him even thought Lale would never confess. Lale flashbacks to memories of him and his family and is accepting his fate of death. Jakub then does him a favor and tells the guards he would have confessed if he knew names so they let Lale go. -
Louis gets sent to concentration camp
Louis and Phil get separated at the Omori POW camp. The leader, Mutishiro Wantanabe, would specifically torture Louis more than the other prisoners. They are later forced to transfer to another camp after the Americans found where they were. It takes Louis so much to survive all the torture and labour. He continued to be dehumanized and humiliated for a good duration of time. -
Lale and Gita get married
Lale and Gita got married and made a home in Bratislava and Lale started to import fine fabrics as his own business. Their love triumphed over the hate and brutality Auschwitz brought into their lives. So much so they were able to create their own, new lives together. -
Lale gets transported again
Lale finds himself transported to another concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria where he is strip searched and then asked to be moved again to a subcamp of Mauthausen in Vienna. -
Viktor gets sent to a rest camp (Turckheim)
Frankl was transported to a rest camp (Turckheim) with a bunch of typhus patients to treat. Frankl gave a lecture about psychology to the concentration camp. Taught prisoners about the psych within a concentration camp. He wanted the prisoners to keep saying freedom until they believed they would one day receive that. -
Lale makes it to Bratislava
It takes Lale three days to get there and then stays at the train station for two weeks, waiting for Gita to possibly arrive. While Gita is walking on the street, she catches Lale’s eyes and Lale asks Gita to marry him. The relief and joy they both feel in this moment is immense. They have been through so much together getting split and reunited multiple times. -
Lale and others must evacuate the camp
Gita tells Lale that something must be wrong because the SS is panicking. Lale is then informed that they are emptying the camp out because the Russians are very close by. Women prisoners are taken during the night and Lale is forced to say bye to Gita. Gita finally tells him her last name, Furman, as they exit the Birkenau gates. The next morning, cannons are fired and everyone remaining must now leave the camp. They were filled with unsettlement and uncertainty, knowing they might be split. -
Viktor finds out about family
After liberation, while Frankl is in Vienna, he finds out his pregnant wife died of sickness or starvation. This gave Viktor a deep sense of grief and despair. Like he mentions throughout the book, even though he is suffering, doesn't mean his life is no longer meaningful. -
Lale escapes camp & gets captured
He quickly escapes from this new camp until a jeep pulls up and asks what languages he speaks. Lale mentions the many languages and the man in the truck claims he has a job for Lale. It was seen unusual for Lale to be singled out for this possible dangerous job. This job shows the contrast between the luxury lifestyles for some while others are barley getting through the concentration camps. -
Lale escapes the chalet & goes to his hometown
Lale is then told he is now trusted and will do the job to go into town on his own. He then sees a train that is being taken to Bratislava and escapes. His plan is to find a ride from Bratislava to his hometown, Krompachy. After four days, he makes it to his old house where he finds out his sister is alive and well. He talks to her and their neighbor about Gita and how he must find her. His neighbor claims that transports are coming into Bratislava so Lale finds a ride back. -
Viktor faces typhus outbreak
Viktor treated typhus patients and watched people die in front of him and showed/felt no emotion.
Typhus outbreak infected almost all the prisoners → meeting was held of all professionals, including Viktor. Viktor decided to instead embrace the suffering rather than feel doomed. It was a fresh perspective that he shared with everyone at the camp. -
Viktor gets liberated
Frankl was liberated from the concentration camp. This marked the end of his suffering in the concentration camps and now that he is free, he can instill resillience, hope and meaning into other people's lives. -
Louis is liberated
The end of war has arrived and Louis and the others were finally free. This marked the end of suffering and torment for him and millions of others. He can now focus on the future. -
Lale has a new job at a chalet
They enter this beautiful chalet where Lale has his own room and is able to have new clothes and bathe. His minder and another soldier walk in and tell him he must go into town and bring back women by bribing them. The soldier, Frederich, will kill Lale if he tries to escape and will watch him at all times. Lale lives in luxury for a few weeks, doing the job he is told. Even though he is no longer at a camp, he is still considered a prisoner and his knowledge worked against him in this case. -
Louis reunites with family
Louis reunites with his family and later on is able to reunite with Phil as well. Represents the end of wartime and the comfort family brings for him. His family will prove to be important throughout his challenging recovery and journey in the future. -
Viktor publishes book
Franklin published his book From Death-Camp to Existentialism and added a section on logotherapy. This book later became known as A Man’s Search for Meaning. Logotherapy was introduced to help people either meaningfully accomplish their goals or survive a scary situation. -
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Lale & Gita's new life
Lale was arrested but Lale and Gita used their wealth to get help. After Lale was realized they went to Austria, then France, and finally ended up in Sydney in July 1949. Gita started designing women’s clothing and Gita got pregnant and gave birth to their son, Gary, in 1961. -
Viktor remarries
Married Elenore Schwidt who was Catholic. She helped him rebuild and move forward, staying with him to work through the traumatic experiences in the past. -
Viktor dies at 92 years old
Died from a heart disease. His memory lives on in his books, spreading the message that anybody can change their behavior or attitude in any situation, known as tragic optimism. -
Lale dies at 90 years old
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Louis dies at 97 years old
Louis dies from pneumonia.