Born: January 8, 1894
Death: August 14, 1941
One of the many myths perpetuated about Catholics is that back in WWII, we did little to nothing to stop Hitler. In reality, the opposite is true. The pope at the time declared many churches as sanctuary for Jews hiding from Nazis and spoke out against them. This caused the Nazis to place them in concentration camps as well. One Catholic who certainly did oppose the Nazi regime was Maximilian Kolbe.
Kolbe was born in Russian Poland. In 1920, he reopened a Polish friary and started a Marian press. Despite being diagnosed with tuberculosis, he had successful missions in Japan and India before returning to Poland in 1936, three years before the Nazi invasion. He eventually was captured and sent to Auschwitz. He took the place of a man condemned for execution, causing him to become a martyr.
I feel that Kolbe can be an inspiration. In today’s world, Christians are still being persecuted for their beliefs. We must oppose tyranny in all its forms.
Aspie Catholic 