In July , three prisoners appeared to have escaped from the camp; as a result, the Deputy Commander of Auschwitz ordered 10 men to be chosen to be starved to death in an underground bunker.
My children! I was stunned and could hardly grasp what was going on. The immensity of it: I, the condemned, am to live and someone else willingly and voluntarily offers his life for me — a stranger. Is this some dream? I was put back into my place without having had time to say anything to Maximilian Kolbe.
I was saved. And I owe to him the fact that I could tell you all this. The news quickly spread all round the camp. It was the first and the last time that such an incident happened in the whole history of Auschwitz. The men were led away to the underground bunker where they were to be starved to death. It is said that in the bunker, Kolbe would lead the men in prayer and singing hymns to Mary. When the guards checked the cell, Kolbe could be seen praying in the middle.
Bruno Borgowiec, a Polish prisoner who was charged with serving the prisoner later gave a report of what he saw:. From the underground cell in which they were shut up there continually arose the echo of prayers and canticles. The man in charge of emptying the buckets of urine found them always empty. Thirst drove the prisoners to drink the contents.
Since they had grown very weak, prayers were now only whispered. At every inspection, when almost all the others were now lying on the floor, Father Kolbe was seen kneeling or standing in the centre as he looked cheerfully in the face of the SS men. Father Kolbe never asked for anything and did not complain, rather he encouraged the others, saying that the fugitive might be found and then they would all be freed.
One of the SS guards remarked: this priest is really a great man. After two weeks, nearly all the prisoners, except Kolbe had died due to dehydration and starvation. Because the guards wanted the cell emptied, the remaining prisoners and Kolbe were executed with a lethal injection. Those present say he calmly accepted death, lifting up his arm. Can I do anything for you? Saint Maximilian volunteered to take the place of Franciszek Gajowniczek, a husband and father who had been chosen.
Franciscek later recalled, "I could only thank him with my eyes. I was stunned and could hardly grasp what was going on.
The immensity of it: I, the condemned, am to live and someone else willingly and voluntarily offers his life for me - a stranger. Is this some dream? Kolbe would kneel and lead psalms and canticles. He'd encourage them to forgive their persecutors. One of the SS guards even stated, "This priest is really a great man. We have never seen anyone like him. The Nazis then executed him by injection with carbolic acid on Aug. He was beatified on Oct.
Franciszek Gajowniczek was present for the canonization. How did this friar have such heroic virtue, mercy, and forgiveness in the face of such injustice and suffering? Indeed, Fr. Kolbe strove to live a life of mercy beginning years before his arrest. Born on Jan. All others died of thirst and starvation and only Kolbe remained.
When Kolbe remained alive after all the other prisoners died of thirst and starvation, the prison administrators wanted to clear the dungeon. So they decided to get rid of Kolbe altogether. They injected him with poisonous carbolic acid, during which Kolbe did not offer any resistance.
He died on August 14 and his body burned the following day on August 15 which coincidentally happened to be the feast day of the Assumption of Mary. The pope clarified that Kolbe was a true martyr and not only a confessor. There are hundreds if not thousands of Catholic Churches across the world that are named after Saint Maximilian Kolbe. We cannot enumerate them here but examples are;. Friday, November 12, Share This Readings Using In this App [Read More August Maximilian Kolbe.
The year-old Franciscan Conventual priest volunteered to die in place of a stranger 80 years ago on August 14, at the German Nazi concentration and death camp of Auschwitz in Poland.
The priest was arrested in February on charges of aiding Jews and the Polish underground and was imprisoned in Warsaw. He was deported to the death camp of Auschwitz, Poland, where he was stripped of his Franciscan habit and assigned prisoner number He was forced to the most humiliating jobs, such as carrying dead bodies to the crematorium.
Nevertheless, he continued his charity and priestly ministry, for which he was subjected to violent beatings by the guards. However, things took a dramatic turn at the end of July , when a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz.
In retaliation, the deputy camp commander picked up 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker to deter further escape attempts.
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