Fr Maximilian Kolbe

I was born Raymund Kolbe in January 1894. My father was German and my mother Polish. I had four brothers. As a child I experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary who offered me a path for my life. I saw two crowns, one white and one red, one for purity and one for martyrdom. The Virgin Mary asked me which one I wanted, but I said that I would take them both.

In 1907 I joined the Franciscan order along with one of my brothers. That was where I took the name Maximilian. When the Second World War broke out I sheltered Polish refugees, including 2,000 Jews, hiding them from the Nazis. But in 1941 I was caught by the Gestapo and imprisoned in Pawiak before being sent to Auschwitz.

When some prisoners escaped from the camp, it was ordered that ten men should be starved to death as a punishment and to deter others from trying to escape. One of those men was Franciszek Gajowniczek. He was distraught because he had a wife and children, so I volunteered to take his place.

I celebrated Mass every day for as long as I could and gave Holy Communion to other prisoners. I also led prayers and hymns and tried to help the other condemned prisoners to focus on the hope of heaven. After two weeks I was still alive although everyone else had died, so I was finally executed by lethal injection. The person whose place I took survived the war.

The man he saved

I was born Franciszek Gajowniczek in November 1901 in Poland. I was in the army but was caught helping the Jewish resistance in Poland. That resulted in my being sent to Auschwitz. I was with Fr Kolbe when there was an uproar about a prisoner having escaped. We were told that ten of us were to be starved to death to teach all the prisoners a lesson and in revenge for the escaped prisoner. I was one of those chosen to die. When this happened all I could think about was my family and what on earth would happen to my wife and children and I broke down. Fr Kolbe then offered to die in my place because I had a family and the guards allowed this. I couldn't believe it. I was totally stunned. I couldn't even talk to him but I hope he saw the gratitude in my face as he was taken with the others.

I was removed to another camp where I stayed until it was liberated by the Allies. I went home to my wife but discovered that my sons had been killed in the war. When Fr Kolbe was beatified and then canonized by the Pope I spoke of my thanks for the life he had died to give me.

You can find out more about Fr Kolbe at www.fatherkolbe.com

You can move on to a new cell-space, but you must imagine that you can only leave with permission and that you are escorted by a guard to that new space. If you are in a group you can make this feel more realistic by getting your neighbour to pick where you go next, so that you don't get to choose where you go or who your 'cell-mates' are for the next exploration.