Maximillian Kolbe  was ordained a saint in 1984.  He was a Nazi prisoner of war who gave his life for a man with a family, who is depicted in the background of the painting.  He was starved and given a lethal injection of carbolic acid by the Germans.  He is depicted standing on the Nazi flag which symbolizes the spiritual defeat of the Nazi's.  In his hand is a book dedicated to the Blessed Mother who was his strength during his life.