He was imprisoned in Auschwitz. There he volunteered to be starved to death instead of Franciszek Gajowniczek (the latter one was among the men sentenced to death because three other prisoners had escaped from the concentration camp). After two weeks of starvation, Maksymilian Maria was still alive so the camp guards killed him with a lethal injection. He was the first Christian WW2 martyr.
Maksymilian Maria Kolbe was recognized as a Blessed Person in 1971. He was proclaimed Saint in 1982.
The two above cards I was given a long time ago, when I was a primary school kid. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe was still regarded as a Blessed one then.
Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe's attributes are his camp prisoner's number 16670, concentration camp outfit, glasses, a book, a rosary made of bread, and a palm leaf.
He is the saint patron of prisoners, families, journalists, blood donors, and Esperantists.
The feast day of St. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe is August 14.
