In the first section of Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy, Frankl writes of his job working to lay tracks for a railway line. What was this job like? Who paid for it?

Frankl writes that his job laying track for a railway line was difficult because of the weather, his clothing that did not warm him, the cruel SS, the lack of nourishment provided at the camp, and the long hours. He writes that he received "so called 'premium coupons'" for this work, which were "issued by the construction firm to which we were practically sold as slaves: the rim paid the camp authorities a fixed price per day per prisoner." The coupons could be exchanged for cigarettes or food.