A Man for Others: Maximilian Kolbe Saint of Auschwitz  

By Patricia Treece

St. Maximilian Kolbe
Photograph, 1930s
www.ncregister.com/blog/joseph-pronechen/maximilian-kolbe-relic-tour-begins-in-u.s

“In this life, we can only work for God with one hand, because we need to hold on with the other lest we fall ourselves; how wonderful it will be after death, when we can work with both hands!”                      ~St. Maximilian Kolbe (Treece, 181)

The Catholic author, Patricia Treece, began her book-writing career with the biography A Man for Others: Maximilian Kolbe Saint of Auschwitz, in the Words of Those Who Knew Him, which recounts the awe-inspiring life story of a humble Polish Franciscan priest through the testimonies of individuals personally touched by his sanctity (Treece). Treece accomplished her goal magnificently, creating an intriguing work which truly dives into the heart of the frail body but gallant soul of St. Maximilian Kolbe, true knight of Mary Immaculate. By her unique compilation of the written accounts of multiple eyewitnesses, Treece formulated what she prefers to call “a documentary rather than a biography” (196). By her utilization of this unusual biographical style, Treece provides a fascinating eyewitness glimpse into the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

In the early stages of the text it can be difficult to ascertain the author’s personal opinion regarding the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe due to her frank and unbiased approach. This element is due to Treece’s desire to allow her audience to form, as much as possible, an unbiased opinion of the greatness and relatability of this humble saint. However, the reader is gradually invited to realize the high degree of esteem and devotion possessed by the author in regards to St. Maximilian’s holiness and heroism. As Treece stated:

As for interpreting his significance to human heroism or his place in Polish history, while I have suggested my views, as have some of the witnesses, I have chosen to leave this analysis to the reader. I have done the same with Kolbe’s place in the annals of Catholicism, although that, in a sense, is implicit in the Church’s having proclaimed him a saint (196).

By means of her impartial approach, Treece attempted to touch and inspire a larger audience than she would have otherwise.

Throughout the course of the book, Patricia Treece does not assume automatically that her reader is Catholic or even religious: rather, when she mentions a concept or devotion she takes the time to explain it in order to better benefit a larger audience. She thus imitates the evangelical and non-prejudicial qualities of St. Maximilian himself, who strongly believed in the power of a good example rather than the possible encroachment on another’s beliefs. This element of his personality is evident in the testimony of a Muslim cellmate of St. Maximilian, Jan Szegidewicz, who correlates:

He showed great delicacy of feeling at this. He took no advantage of the occasion to try to force his religious beliefs on me. He showed real insight, I thought, and distracted me with questions about Moslem religious customs, our holy days and about other Tartars in Poland. He did his best to create a positive atmosphere in which one could be optimistic and believe in survival (123).  

St. Maximilian’s standpoint in this regard was notably characteristic in a culture struggling against ideas bordering sharply on Nazi anti-Semitism as well as prejudice against the Church clergy. Indeed, the Jewish community attempting to flee the Nazi terror, whom St. Maximilian and the monastery of Niepokalanow assisted on a large scale, did not forget the efforts of the humble priest. As one Polish Jew stated: “If God permits us to live through this war, we will repay Niepokalanow a hundredfold. And, as for the benevolence shown here to the Jewish refugees from Poznan, we shall never forget it. We will praise it everywhere in the foreign press” (93). However, the cheery Franciscan’s charity did not end with the Jews but extended even to the German soldiers. Even in the face of his brutal Nazi torturers and ultimate executioners, St. Maximilian never showed any semblance of hatred, but continually prayed and forgave them, refusing to give up on the salvation of a single soul. Patricia Treece aptly relayed how the humble priest constantly and consistently served, through his prayers and labors, all people regardless of their ethnicities or creeds.  

In her skillful maneuvering through the fascinating life of the missionary Franciscan, Patricia Treece’s biography does not lose sight of the main events of St. Maximilian’s life. Carefully integrated into the text are the central aspects which defined his life and, indeed, legacy. These aspects of his eventful life include his strong devotion to Our Lady (his “Mamma mia”), his publication of the Franciscan Magazine ‘The Knight of the Immaculata’ (still in circulation today), his mission to Japan, and finally his tortuous passion and subsequent execution on August 14, 1941 (13). Through her portrayal of the life of the Polish hero and saint, Patricia Treece accomplishes an excellent literary portrait which vividly depicts the disposition and person of St. Maximilian Kolbe. By his full life and heroic death, St. Maximilian symbolizes the ultimate defeat of the total Nazi movement as well as every other Socialistic state system. The Nazis strove to strip the ‘undesirables’ of mankind of all dignity, sinking them through the weapons of starvation and torture into an animalistic state of being. By the actions of heroes such as St. Maximilian Kolbe, the forces of evil were utterly foiled. As the fellow prisoner and Auschwitz concentration camp survivor, George Bielecki, recalled:

We became aware someone among us in this spiritual dark night of the soul was raising the standard of love on high. Someone unknown…tortured and bereft of name and social standing, went to a horrible death for the sake of someone not even related to him. Therefore it is not true, we cried, that humanity is cast down and trampled in the mud, overcome by oppressors, and overwhelmed by hopelessness. …To say that Father Kolbe died for one of us or for that person’s family is too great a simplification. His death was the salvation of thousands. And on this, I would say, rests the greatness of that death. That’s how we felt about it. And as long as we live, we who were at Auschwitz will bow our heads in memory of it as at that time we bowed our heads before the bunker of death by starvation. That was a shock full of optimism, regenerating and giving strength; we were stunned by his act, which became for us a mighty explosion of light in the dark camp night (178-179).

Thus, the sacrifice and witness of St. Maximilian Kolbe not only saved the life of Francis Gajowniczek, (the fellow prisoner whose life was saved by St. Maximilian), but additionally sustained and encouraged countless other souls then until our present day.  

By virtue of the fact that her epic account of the saint was written almost forty-five years ago following the canonization of St. Maximilian Kolbe (on October 10, 1982), Patricia Treece was able to interview and incorporate many of the  living testimonies from those who had personally known St. Maximilian Kolbe. This feature added an even greater authenticity to the book, with the result being a great wealth of information on the humble priest and ‘Man for Others.’ Truly, St. Maximilian Kolbe was a living and holy testament to the Catholic Church as well as to his beloved country of Poland. As Francis Gajowniczek, stated, “because we knew Maximilian Kolbe, we are better human beings” (184). This book can be bought on Amazon by clicking here.

Works Cited

            Treece, Patricia. A Man for Others: Maximilian Kolbe, Saint of Auschwitz, in the Words of Those Who Knew Him. Harper & Row, 1982.

            Treece, Patricia. "Patricia Treece, Author at Catholic Exchange." Catholic Exchange. catholicexchange.com/author/treecepat. Accessed 24 Apr. 2018.