Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv. (Polish: Maksymilian Maria Kolbe [maksɨˌmʲilʲjan ˌmarʲja ˈkɔlbɛ]; 8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941) was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the German death camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II.