Who was the most-free human being eighty years ago in July of 1941? In July of 1941 Hitler was at his zenith of power. The Nazi’s had concurred most all of Western Europe and now had their sites on Great Britain. No one seemed to be able to stop Hitler and his military machine. With the world’s eyes on the blitzkrieg marching its way across Europe, a very dirty sideshow of Nazi aggression was also underway. Millions of Jews, along with other people that were on the wrong side of Nazi imperialism, were being sent to concentration camps where they would meet their death or be forced to survive years of hard labor. It was in these camps that demonstrations of tremendous freedom took place.
Before continuing the story, one must take a brief look at Adolph Hitler. I think he was perhaps the least free person in the world in July of 1941. “What?” you might say, “He was free to do whatever he wanted!” He was free by most external standards. He was free: to become what he dreamed; to do whatever he wanted throughout most of Europe; to use his massive power and wealth on acquisition of just about anything. Hitler is an extreme example how if a person’s will is not oriented toward service of God and service of neighbor, a person can become slave to his or her improperly oriented passions. For Hitler his passion must have been power. Hitler was a slave to his quest for power which lead to a pitiful and lonely life, a pitiful and lonely death, and death, pain and misery for millions.
In contrast, in the death camps of Nazi Germany extraordinary acts of freedom were taking place. By freedom, I don’t mean freedom in the modern context where freedom is measured by an accounting of the human rights given to a person by society. Although I totally embrace human rights, by freedom I mean the historic Christian perspective where a person is only as free as he aligns his free will to do what is good and just in serving God and man. I know there were many unaccounted acts of the use of free will in the service of goodness and justice taking place in these camps in July of 1941, but I will share with you the one I am most familiar…..
The cry “My wife! My children!” echoed across the prison grounds. Franciszek Gajownicze had been selected as one of ten prisoners to be starved to death. A prisoner had recently escaped the death camp at Auschwitz. The evil routine practiced at the camp was if any one escaped the camp, ten would then be starved to death as a consequence. Gajownicze, a sergeant in the polish army had been captured after the sacking of Poland by the Germans and now had been selected to the cruel death of starvation.
Suddenly a skinny, weathered man stepped forward. His name was Father Maximilian Kolbe. Prior to entering the prison it is estimated that Kolbe and his community helped hide 3,000 Polish refuges of which about 1,500 were Jews. Kolbe also produced a widely read periodical which sharply criticized the Nazi’s. These activities lead to Kolbe’s imprisonment. Kolbe had been beaten and tortured while at the camp by a particularly vicious guard that the prisoners called “Bloody Krott”. Recently Krott had forced Kolbe to carry the heaviest of planks until he collapsed and then beat Kolbe until near death. Despite the beating Kolbe always remained calm and dignified and his eyes always shinned bright, nearly penetrating.
Everyone in the compound stopped and looked at the Kolbe. The Nazi commander spoke up saying, “What does this Polish pig want?” Kolbe looked at the commander with his piercing eyes. “I am a Catholic priest from Poland,” Kolbe said and then pointing at Gajowniczek he added, “I would like to take his place because he has a wife and children.” Gajowniczek was released.
Fr Maximilian Kolbe and the nine other prisoners were put into an underground bunker. Prisoners at the camp were familiar with the cruelty of being starved to death, the pleadings and crying of people as they slowly wasted away was a familiar sound. This time; however, it was different. Rather than hearing crying and pleading the sound of prayers and music and even laughter was heard from the bunker. As the men began fading, the prayers and music became whispers, but in the center of the bunker Kolbe was always kneeling and praying, always encouraging his fellow prisoners, always smiling at the guards that looked down at him.
Maximilian Kolbe was directing all of his free will toward serving first Gajowniczek, then his fellow prisoners in the bunker and, in some remote way, even the guards that looked onto the scene. Kolbe despite being held in a bunker being starved to death, through the exercise of his free-will, was perhaps one of the most-free people in the camp and perhaps the world.
After two weeks without food and water all the prisoners except Kolbe had died. The Germans wanted the scene to be over and put Fr. Maximilian Kolbe to death by deadly injection on August 14, 1941.
Franciszek Gajowniczek was freed by the Allies after spending 5 years, 5 months and 9 days in concentration camps. Gajowniczek died at the age of 93 on March 13, 1995.
During this week when we celebrate our country’s freedom, let us ask perhaps the most important question regarding freedom…..”What things do I serve?”
#anaturewalkwithGod #Freedom
