Auschwitz

Today, Krista and I went to Auschwitz (Gord went on Monday).

Many aspects of Auschwitz are deeply saddening, disturbing, unimaginable and almost incomprehensible, but the most surprising thing I found there was inspiration. It came from St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Conventual Franciscan Friar who was sent to Auschwitz for providing shelter to Jewish refugees. If you don't know his story, here is a summary:

Photo of Maximilian Kolbe (Taken from http://www.turnbacktogod.com/saint-maximilian-kolbe/)

"At the end of July 1941, three prisoners disappeared from the camp, prompting SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, the deputy camp commander, to pick 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker in order to deter further escape attempts. When one of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, "My wife! My children!", Kolbe volunteered to take his place.^[15]

In the starvation cell, he celebrated Mass each day for as long as he was able and gave Holy Communion to the prisoners covertly during the course of the day; the bread given to prisoners was unleavened and so could be used in the Eucharist, and sympathetic guards gave him materials, including wine, that he could use.

He led the other condemned men in song and prayer and encouraged them telling them that they would soon be with Mary in Heaven. Each time the guards checked on him, he was standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell and looking calmly at those who entered. After two weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe remained alive. The guards wanted the bunker emptied and so gave Kolbe a lethal injection of carbolic acid. Some who were present at the injection say that he raised his left arm and calmly waited for the injection.^[16] His remains were cremated on August 15, the feast of the Assumption of Mary." (Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe)

The cell in which Kolbe was incarcerated. (Taken from http://www.thefullwiki.org/Maximillian_Kolbe)

At the end of the tour our guide left us with some thoughts that I would like to share with you. He said that as time goes on, we lose more and more survivors of the Holocaust. Consequently, it is up to us to learn their stories and the truth of what happened to them so that history will never be repeated. If you ever have the chance to visit Auschwitz, I would encourage you to do so. It is not easy, but it is worthwhile.

"I decided to devote my life to telling the story because I felt that having survived I owe something to the dead. And anyone who does not remember betrays them again."

Elie Wiesel

"We wish to remember. But we wish to remember for a purpose, namely to ensure that never again will evil prevail, as it did for the millions of innocent victims of Nazism."

The Holocaust Speech by Pope John Paul II