42 Ducere Est Servire: THE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL OF DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY key factor in his ability to continue in the enduring of his suffering. Providing additional encouragement was the fact that Niemöller was allowed many special privileges at Dachau, including the chance to lead services for his fellow prisoners. However, in the midst of these moments of renewal, Niemöller lost two of his children. His prison sermons at the time reflected the emotions of a grieving father but also themes of hope and strength in the Lord. By the last month of his imprisonment, Niemöller’s endurance had worn thin, and his emotions were raw. He feared for his life and experienced a great deal of anxiety. When compared to the horrors experienced by the average concentration camp prisoner, Niemöller’s exposure to adversity and levels of suffering appear relatively mild, but when compared to a healthy baseline, they are quite significant. He endured years of solitary confinement and other traumatic experiences, causing substantial emotional, spiritual, and physical damage. Medical research reveals that individuals enduring solitary confinement for less time than Niemöller developed extreme symptoms such as violence, paranoia, and hallucinations.35 Remarkably, the research on Niemöller reveals mild symptoms with sporadic moments of intensity. In addition to Niemöller’s punishment of seclusion, he suffered from the emotional trauma of his proximity to torture and death, the deaths in his family, and the uncertainty of his fate. Niemöller’s emotional progression during his imprisonment followed common emotional stages associated with trauma and suffering.36 Medical research validates the severity of these experiences and the numerous adverse effects experienced by others in similar circumstances.37 Furthermore, Niemöller’s suspension from the Protestant Church fractured his professional identity. Christian psychiatrists Frauke and Charlie Schaefer point out that “trauma not only affects our brains, our relationships, and our perceptions, but severe trauma can also shatter our assumptions about God, the world, others, and ourselves.”38 All of Niemöller’s statements and behaviors during imprisonment must be considered in the context of a man experiencing intense emotional trauma, clinging to his sanity, and longing to be released. Following his release from Dachau, Niemöller experienced many serious health issues: depression to the point of expressing a desire to return to Dachau, issues with his nerves, bouts of rage over trivial inconveniences, intense worry for missing children, fear of rejection, suppression or disbelief of Nazi horrors, irrational conspiratorial view of the press, and isolation from old colleagues. Common adverse reactions to trauma include anxiety, fear, sadness, depression,
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