Raymond Kolbe was born on January 8, 1894 in Zdunska Wola, a small village near Lodz, Poland. His father, Julius Kolbe, was a weaver by trade and his mother, Maria Kolbe, ran a delicatessen. There were four other siblings besides Raymond. Two of them died at an early age so he only grew up with Francis, who was older than him and Joseph, who was the youngest. Raymond's father died during WWI, he had been mistakenly executed as a traitor by the Russians. After the war, Raymond's mother passed away. Now he and his two brothers were on their own.

Raymond's destiny was told to him at an early age of ten. When he was a little boy his mother would sometimes get very angry with him. On day she yelled to him "I do not know what will become of you"(1)! After she said this Raymond went to church and prayed to the Virgin Mary. Raymond says she appeared to him holding two crowns, one was white which signified he would always be pure, and the other red which signified that he would die a martyr. She asked him which one he would choose, he said both. From that day on Raymond knew where his life was headed.

At the age of thirteen Raymond and his brother Francis entered a seminary. Raymond a

We were working digging gravel (to be used to build more blocks) outside the camp when suddenly, about three in the afternoon, the sirens began to wail and shriek. That was a terrible sign. It meant there had been an escape. At once the German sentries lifted their guns and counted us, and began to keep an extra strict watch(2).

At 6 p.m. on July 30, 1941, the prisoners of cellblock 14 were ordered to stand at attention for Kommandant Fritsch. A prisoner from the cellblock had escaped, and because of this, 10 men would be chosen to starve to death. Among those selected was a man named Francis Gajownicezek. He began to weep and call out "My poor wife and children"(3). When the ten were all chosen Father Kolbe stepped forward and asked to be chosen in Gajownicezek's place. Fritsch stared at him and asked "Who are you?". Father Kolbe replied the he was a Catholic priest. He was granted his request. The ten men including Father Kolbe were marched to basement cells in bunker 11 and stripped. They has no furniture or blankets, only a bucket to relieve themselves. The buckets were always said to be dry. For 16 days Father Kolbe led them all in prayer and hymns as one by one they died. On August 14, the last four, including Father Kolbe were given lethal injection. The young boy's vision when he!

Father Maximilian Kolbe's holiness of life was admired and acclaimed even while he was alive. After his heroic death, his sanctity was praised. Many people began to refer to Father Kolbe as Saint Maximilian Kolbe and the name stuck. The man father Kolbe died for made it his goal to survive and live to tell about Father Kolbe's heroic deed. He says, "Because we knew Maximilian Kolbe, we are all better human beings"(2).

was ten years old of the red crown of martyrdom had come true in a surprising manner.

Smith, Fr. Jeremiah. Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Tan Books and Publishers. Rockford, Illinois: 1988.

nd his

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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)