Franciszek gajowniczek interview

Polish Army officer

Franciszek Gajowniczek (15 November 1901 – 13 March 1995) was a Polish armysergeant whose life was saved at the Auschwitz concentration camp by Catholic priestMaximilian Kolbe, who volunteered to die in his place.

Gajowniczek had been sent to Auschwitz concentration camp from a Gestapo prison in Tarnów. He was captured while crossing the border into Slovakia after the defeat of the Modlin Fortress during the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.

Franciszek gajowniczek interview

Gajowniczek survived the war and afterward became a lay missionary, dedicating his life to spreading the story of Kolbe's sacrifice.

Biography

Franciszek Gajowniczek, a Roman Catholic, was born in Strachomin near Mińsk Mazowiecki.

After the reconstitution of sovereign Poland, he moved to Warsaw in 1921, married, and had two sons.^[1] He was a professional soldier, a Polish armysergeant, who took part in the defense of Wieluń as well as Warsaw in September 1939 during the 193