Saint Maximilian Kolbe by Rev. Fr. Jeremiah J. Smith

Author:Rev. Fr. Jeremiah J. Smith [Rev. Fr. Jeremiah. J. Smith, O.F.M. Conv.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: eBook ISBN: 9781618904836
Publisher: TAN Books
Published: 1998-10-21T04:00:00+00:00

“I offer my life for this man …”

Chapter 17

THE DEATH HOUSE

BLOCK 13, the death chamber of Auschwitz, situated on the right side of the camp, was surrounded by an eighteen-foot wall. The cells were underground. It was to one of these cells that Father Maximilian came on July 31, 1941. When he and his nine companions arrived, they passed by a cell which housed twenty other victims of a previous starvation sentence. These latest ten were locked in a cell of their own. As the SS guard clanged the door behind them, he laughed and mercilessly reminded them: “You will dry up like tulips!” What he said, he meant; from that time on, these prisoners received neither food nor drink.

This was a strange group. They were so different from the others who had died in the same way. Instead of tears and pleas coming from their cell, there was heard the sweet prayer of the Rosary and hymns to the Blessed Virgin. The death cell seemed more like a chapel. Sometimes the victims were so engrossed in their prayers that when the SS guard opened the cell for check-up, they did not know he was there until he gruffly shouted for silence. What an influence this priest wielded over his companions in death! As the days passed, the victims died one by one—some from hunger and thirst, others from a kick in the stomach in answer to their pitiable plea for water.

The Polish interpreter and orderly who visited the cell every day reported that Father Maximilian never asked for anything and that it was he who encouraged the others not to despair. As the days went on, their prayerful voices became weaker and fainter. Almost to the end, Father Maximilian could be seen on his knees in prayer. He was truly remarkable. The SS guards knew of the sacrifice he made; they saw him calmly accept this torture. Even they learned to respect him, so that often they were heard to remark: “This priest is really a gentleman. We have never before seen a prisoner like him.”

Only four prisoners survived the second week. Among them was the frail, consumptive Father Maximilian. However, this group had lasted too long. The cell was needed for other victims. So the prison infirmarian was called in to end their lives with an injection of carbolic acid. He approached Father Maximilian, who was seated on the floor with his back resting against the wall, his head fallen a bit to the left side. The priest saw him come, and with the words “Ave Maria” on his lips, he submitted his left arm to the executioner. In a moment it was all over. The date was August 14th, the vigil of the feast of Our Lady’s Assumption.

The Polish orderly witnessed the whole proceeding, up to the time of the carbolic acid injection. Then, unable to stand any more, he fled. When he returned, Father Maximilian was dead. The orderly reported: “When I opened the iron door, he was no longer alive, but he seemed as if he were still alive.

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