In July 1941, a prisoner escaped from Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. Ten prisoners were selected to die of starvation as punishment.
One of them was Franciszek Gajowniczek. When he realized he had been chosen, he cried out for his wife and children.
Then Father Maximilian stepped forward.
“I am a Catholic priest. I would like to take his place.”
The guards agreed.
Father Maximilian was taken to the starvation bunker with the other nine men. They were given no food or water.
Even there, Father Maximilian prayed with them and encouraged them. Days passed, and one by one, the prisoners died.
After more than two weeks, Father Maximilian was still alive.
On August 14, 1941, the guards came to the cell and gave him a lethal injection.
Franciszek Gajowniczek survived and lived until 1995. He never forgot the priest who had saved his life.
Let’s keep learning the saints’ way—day by day.
⌨ ᴛʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ ᴏᵘᵗ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ʙˡᵘᵉ ᵈᵃʳᵉᵐ ᵐᵘˢⁱᶜ ᵇˡᵒᵍ