2 December 18

During the German occupation of Poland, the priest Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, SP3RN was arrested by the Germans. The Germans believed his amateur radio activities were somehow involved in espionage and he was transferred to Auschwitz on May 28, 1941. After some prisoners escaped in 1941, the Germans ordered that 10 prisoners be killed in retribution. Fr. Kolbe was martyred when he volunteered to take the place of one of the condemned men. On October 10, 1982 he was canonized by Pope John Paul II as Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Apostle of Consecration to Mary and declared a Martyr of charity. He is considered the Patron saint of Amateur radio operators.

Source … Amature Radio History Wikipedia World War 2 Section