There is no single, universal answer to that question. Still, it's interesting to see how people get through terrifying times.
Our blog is devoted to art and history, not psychology, so today I found the answer in a museum, more precisely in a garden — the Peter the Great Botanical Garden during World War II.
During the siege, the botanical garden was hit by dozens of incendiary bombs and shells. In the end no greenhouses remained intact. Only the hardiest plants — cacti — managed to survive. How was that possible?
According to museum staff, the worst thing for cacti is not cold or lack of water, but indifference. They survived the 900 days of the siege thanks to human care, primarily thanks to the efforts of Nikolai Ivanovich Kurnakov.
The famous scientist was offered evacuation to Kazan several times, but he refused and declared, "I won't go anywhere without the cacti." After the first bombs fell, palms and other tropical plants quickly died from the cold.
They could be saved in only one way — Nikolai Ivanovich filled his entire apartment with cacti: windowsills, tables, the floor. Plants even stood under his bed. Some say that only a narrow path led to the scientist's free bed.
Nikolai Ivanovich Kurnakov came to work at the Imperial Botanical Garden as a nineteen-year-old in 1902 and spent his life studying succulents. A revolution passed, the First World War, then the Second, and he kept working.
The scientist lived to see the lifting of the siege and the end of the war, but his health was undermined. The man passed away, but the collection of plants remained, preserved at the cost of his life.
Until his last day he continued his work — the one area in which no one could replace him.
