Maximilian Kolbe

(Saint) Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Catholic priest who was arrested and sent to Auschwitz after publishing anti-Nazi publications. When a prisoner in Auschwitz escaped, it was a common punishment to kill 10 people in his place, and on this day it was decided that 10 would be murdered in starvation chambers. One person chosen at random cried out for mercy, and Maximilian took the place of this stranger. As the 10 lay in the starvation chamber, he led them in prayer and despite two weeks without food or water, he stood up and looked at the Nazi guards calmly every time they entered to remove the dead. Running out of patience, the Nazi guards eventually killed him by lethal injection. He’s a national hero in Poland.