Executed by Nazis at Auschwitz - Catholic Priest Maximilian Kolbe

Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Catholic priest whose extraordinary act of self-sacrifice made him one of the most powerful moral symbols of the Holocaust and the Second World War. Born in 1894 in Zduńska Wola, then part of the Russian Empire, Kolbe became a Franciscan friar, missionary, publisher, and outspoken opponent of totalitarian ideologies. His life was defined by faith, resistance, and compassion in an age of extreme brutality. After the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, Nazi Germany imposed a regime of terror, persecution, and mass murder. Kolbe’s monastery at Niepokalanów became a refuge for thousands of displaced people, including Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. Refusing to cooperate with the occupiers, Kolbe rejected the German Volksliste and continued to publish religious and anti-Nazi material. In February 1941, he was arrested by the Gestapo and later deported to Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was registered as prisoner number 16670. At Auschwitz, Kolbe endured forced labor, beatings, and starvation, yet continued to secretly minister to fellow prisoners. In July 1941, after a prisoner escaped, the SS selected ten men to die by starvation as collective punishment. When one of them, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out for his wife and children, Kolbe stepped forward and volunteered to take his place. For two weeks, Kolbe was held in a starvation bunker, leading prayers and offering comfort to the condemned. When he remained alive after the others had died, SS guards killed him with an injection of carbolic acid on 14 August 1941. He was 47 years old. Kolbe’s sacrifice became a rare testament to human dignity within the machinery of genocide. After the war, he was recognized as a martyr of charity, canonized as Saint Maximilian Kolbe in 1982, and remembered as the “Saint of Auschwitz.” His story endures as a profound reminder that even in the darkest places, moral courage and selfless love can survive. Join World History channel and get access to benefits:    / @worldhistoryvideos   Disclaimer: All opinions and comments below are from members of the public and do not reflect the views of World History channel. We do not accept promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on attributes such as: race, nationality, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation. World History has right to review the comments and delete them if they are deemed inappropriate. ► CLICK the SUBSCRIBE button for more interesting clips:    / @worldhistoryvideos   #MaximilianKolbe #worldhistory #worldwar2videos #ww2documentary #holocaustdocumentary #auschwitzbirkenau #auschwitzbirkenau #history #holocaustdocumentary #wwii #secondworldwar #auschwitzsurivor #holocausteducation #concentrationcamps #ww2story Maximilian Kolbe biography, St Maximilian Kolbe, Maximilian Kolbe movie, Maximilian Kolbe film, Maximilian Kolbe story, Maximilian Kolbe quotes, Maximilian Kolbe Auschwitz, How did Maximilian Kolbe die, What did Maximilian Kolbe do, Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz Birkenau, Auschwitz story, What happened in Auschwitz,Nazi Germany,Auschwitz gas chambers, German invasion of Poland, Maximilian Kolbe and Franciszek Gajowniczek, WW2 saints, Maximilian saint of Auschwitz, Auschwitz victim, The saint of Auschwitz, Maximilian Kolbe Saint of Auschwitz