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Born in Poland in 1894, St. Maximilian Kolbe entered the Conventual Franciscan Order. His life was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. He formed the "Army of the Immaculate One" to promote Marian devotion. In 1941, Kolbe was deported to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. After two prisoners escaped, the Auschwitz commander ordered 10 prisoners to be starved to death. Kolbe volunteered to take the place of another prisoner who had a family. He died at age 47 after a week's starvation and from a lethal injection administered by Nazi jailers. His feast day is celebrated on August 14, the date of his death. Visitors to Auschwitz may visit his concentration camp cell. He was declared a saint and martyr of charity in 1982 by Pope John Paul II. 
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Milan artist Marco Ventura designed the €1,00 stamp and the €2,30 postal card to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Kolbe's death. Kolbe is depicted on the stamp preaching to a diverse group of people, including a German soldier. A palm branch, a symbol of sacrifice, is included in the design. Except for the postage rate change, a black and white version of the stamp is represented as the postal indicia. 150,000 stamps were printed in sheets of ten. 13,000 postcards were printed.

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