under the patronage of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch

Gregorij von Leïtis and Michael Lahr (Elysium) will present a literary collage from the works of Austrian psychiatrist, neurologist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl. In the 1920s, Viktor Frankl (1905 - 1997) founded the "Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy", the so-called logotherapy or existential analysis. In his approach to therapy he focused on meaning and value. Having survived the Holocaust as the only one of his immediate family, Frankl reflected upon his experiences in the concentration camps in his famous book "Man's search for Meaning" which has become one of the ten most influential books in the United States of America. Lesser known is his play "Synchronization in Birkenwald: A Metaphysical Conference ", which he wrote in 1946. On the occasion of Frankl's 85th birthday in 1990, Gregorij von Leitis, Founding Artistic Director of Elysium, presented the world premiere of this play in New York.

Soon after the Holocaust, Frankl advocated for reconciliation as the only way out of the destructive catastrophe of war. The experience of meaning even while suffering, and reconciliation with oneself and with the world as a precondition for healing the world and society: those aspects of Frankl's work are more important than ever in today's broken world.

Concept & Introduction: Michael Lahr
Narrator: Gregorij H. von Leïtis

http://www.lahrvonleitisacademy.eu