Personal Narrative: Saint Maximilian Kolbe As A Positive Role Model

When World War 2 broke out it interrupted his academic career and he was sent into

This was a German Nazi Concentration that was the largest of all the Concentration Camps. The main camp of Auschwitz was like a small town, with its own staff canteen, cinema, theatre and grocery store. It is estimated that over 2 million people were sent to Auschwitz. Mostly Soviet POWs and Jewish people were forced into this camp. Witold Pilecki, a Polish soldier, volunteered to be sent to Auschwitz to gather information, escape and let people about the Holocaust. Only 143 other people escaped from Auschwitz successfully.

Before the Soviets approached the concentration camp, SS officers evacuated Auschwitz and forced prisoners to march away from the camp complex. They were marching to the city of Wodzislaw and the guards shot anyone who fell behind. Over 15,000 died on the death marched and when the Soviet army finally reached Auschwitz they were able to liberate more than 7,000 prisoners still remaining at the camp (USHMM). They happened to be the most ill or closest to dying. Approximately 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz between 1942 and 1945 and at least 1.1 of them were murdered

Most of the prisoners were Jews,most of them were in brutal conditions. Then they were evacuated to Buchenwald, Dachau, Flossenburg, and many other camps. Many prisoners died because they were hungry and thirsty, so they were killed if they were weak.

German Jews were not the only ones who were suffering in the 1930’s. In 1938, Poland cancelled citizenship of those Jews who lived outside of Poland for more than five years (Pentlin). Twelve to fifteen thousand Polish Jews, who lived in Germany at that time, were sent back to Poland only to find out that they are not accepted. When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, just in a few days, over 100,000 Jews were killed (“German Jews during the Holocaust”; Pentlin). In the next few weeks, among the 60,000 Jews who were killed, about 6,000

St Maximilian Kolbe was born Raymond Kolbe on January 8,1894 in Poland ( part of the Russian empire). Much of his life was strongly influenced By his version of the Virgin Mary he had when he was 12. One year after his vision Raymond and his brother joined the Franciscans and he was given his religious name Maximilian. over the years Maximilian would promote Mary throughout the world He founded monasteries in Japan and India.

In September of 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland and began World War II. Immediately after the campaign began the Germans modified their policy

Some are Gregory VII, St. Elizabeth Seton, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Franciso of Assisi, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Gregory VII wanted to improve the moral behavior of the clergy. He wanted to get the church out from under the authority of secular powers so bishops, abbots, and popes could be selected freely. St. Elizabeth Seton was the very first Native American to be canonized. She created the American Sisters of Charity which had an impact on Catholicism. St. Catherine wrote almost 400 letters and most of them were to popes telling them to use their power wisely. St. Francis of Assisi showed that Jesus was completely like us besides sin. He even tried walking the familiar footsteps of Jesus. Lastly, St. Thomas shaped how Catholics thought of theology. He was a priest and a

The effects of the second world war in Poland was almost an extinction of an entire race. (Luongo 32-35) Less than ⅓ of the Polish Jew population was wiped out from September 1, 1939 to January 17, 1945. In the beginning of the war, on the day of the Polish invasion, the population was around 35,100,000 citizens in total. This number would be cut in half and then some at the end of the war. The drop in population was due to the fact that the Nazi’s captured and tortured the Polish Jews all around the country and in particular, Warsaw. Warsaw along with other cities in Poland isolated the Jews in their communities and were starved and diseased. (“warsaw” 1) In Warsaw before the resistance, the Jews were captured and sent to their death, in either concentration camps like Treblinka or in isolated 10 foot wall confinements known as the “Jewish Ghettos” there was no way out of the Nazi grasp for these defenceless Jews. (Bond 370)

There has been many different saints throughout history who have changed the world by helping the poor and sick. Some of these saints include St. Vincent De Paul, St. Benedict of Nursia, and St. Giles; however most of these saints did their good deeds one hundred or more years ago. In the past century some people were inspired by these people of the past and decided to continue the work that theses saints started. One of the most important people who heard the call and gave up their life in order to follow it is St. Pope John Paul the Second.

War brews over Warsaw in 1939, and while life is still running its course, the Germans are slowly beginning to make their presence felt, with Hitler secretly preparing for the German invasion of Poland.

Martin Luther, lived in Germany, his Father wanted him to be a lawyer, and one day Martin was near a tree and lighting hit a tree and he became a monk, he became troubled over the possibility of not going to Heaven and he turned to the Bible, Romans 1:17, he realized only faith and not what you did to get to Heaven, Luther’s 95 Theses (95 things he didn’t like about the Church): power of pope, extreme wealth of the Church (some money came from relics and stuff), and indulgences (way of getting to Heaven according to Catholic), Purgatory for people who didn’t do right things and working off someone else's Sin, he posted his beliefs all over the Church

The first bishop of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin (known as Saint Sernin) worked hard to extend the Christian community but was martyred by the Romans. (Saint Saturnin is the Saint the “Basilique Saint-Sernin” is named after)

His purpose was to form communities of Christians throughout the regions he travel spreading the gospel to the world.1 Matthew 28:19 articulates, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

The doctor gave him about four weeks to live. At this point he took things into his own hands