Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) was a Polish Franciscan friar who joined the Franciscans in Lvov at the age of 16 and was ordained a priest in 1918. He was deported to the Auschwitz camp in May 1941. Following an escape, ten prisoners were condemned to starve to death in a bunker. Among them was a family father. Maximilian offered to take his place. He died in Auschwitz on 14 August 1941.
He was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1982.