Victorious Christians You Should Know: Corrie Ten Boom
A Book Review of The Hiding Place
The Hiding Place is a thrilling account of the lives of the Ten Booms and their perseverance through the horrors of World War II. Corrie Ten Boom and her siblings, Betsie, Willem, and Nollie were born into a faithful Christian family. Their father, Casper, forged the character of his children from the beginning of their lives.
Casper was a respected watchmaker in Holland, Netherlands. Although Casper was one of the best watchmakers in all the Netherlands, his inept business skills caused the Ten Booms to live in poverty for much of their lives. Despite the Ten Booms’ poverty, their home and business were always open to foster children and those in need. The watch shop was on the main floor of the Ten Boom’s home and was called the “Beje” (Bay-yay).
One day, Corrie’s mother had a terrible stroke and was unable to live life as she had before. Corrie’s mother’s infirmity caused her father to take on the role of caretaker and Corrie assumed more responsibility of the watch business. Corrie found that she enjoyed the business of watchmaking and helped the business flourish. Corrie eventually became the first woman certified in watchmaking in the Netherlands.
The account of what sounds like a mundane, ordinary life contains snippets of spiritual gold poured out from Corrie’s parents and siblings. Quotes from father Ten Boom such as “And our wise Father in heaven knows when we’re going to need things, too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find strength you need—just in time” played a key role in preparing Corrie and her siblings to face death in prison and a concentration camp.
Life in Holland continued as normal, despite the growing darkness of Nazi ideology capturing the minds of their German neighbors. Willem wrote his doctoral thesis on the dehumanizing philosophy of the Nazi Germans. Willem was described by his sister as a sober man, always ready to tell the harsh truth. His doctoral thesis would be the next thing that God used to prepare the quiet Holland family for what came next.
One ordinary evening after the Ten Booms’ Bible reading and prayer, “the voice of a demon,” as described by Betsie, came blaring through the family radio. This was the voice of Adolf Hitler. It wasn’t long until they were confronted with the evil of Nazism face to face in the new watchmaking apprentice, Otto. He was a true German National Socialist, declaring that he would go back to Germany and outshine the Dutch watchmakers. Not only did Otto believe that the Germans would be the supreme watchmakers, but also he, along with the rest of the Nazis, believed Germans to be the supreme race. It was the ideology of German supremacy that fueled the hatred and extermination of Jews and others whom the Nazis deemed as inferior.
Not long after this encounter with Otto, Germany invaded the Netherlands. The bustling streets of Harlem became overrun with German soldiers. Jews were forced to wear the yellow Star of David with the inscription “Jood” on the outside of their clothing. At first, the classification of Jews was simply a way to shame them and divide them from the rest of society. This persecution of the Jewish people quickly grew into unprovoked violence, harassment, and eventually the abduction and extermination of anyone who wore the Star of David.
The horrid treatment of God’s people inspired the Ten Booms to open their hearts to their Jewish neighbors, first by praying to God for them. They prayed that God would allow them to serve their Jewish neighbors and vowed to help anyone who came to their door. This prayer eventually caused God to open unimaginable doors. This simple Christian family and the Beje became the center of the underground network for aiding and hiding Jews from being abducted and shipped to concentration camps by the Nazi occupants.
As the Ten Booms grew in their faithfulness to this mission, the Nazi Gestapo eventually learned of what was happening at the Beje. One day, they were greeted by a Dutch man who begged for money to free his wife from prison. Fulfilling her vow to help anyone who came to her door, Corrie handed over the money. This man would go on to betray the Ten Booms to the German soldiers. One dark night when Corrie was suffering from influenza, the Nazis raided the Beje. At the time, there were eight Jews harbored at the Beje. Although the soldiers did not find the Jews safe in the hiding place, the entire family was arrested and hauled off to a prison called Scheveningen. Corrie’s father only lasted ten days in this prison before he died.
After a lengthy time of solitary confinement in Scheveningen, Corrie was reunited with her sister, Betsie. Her two other siblings had already been released. The great test for the two single sisters was just about to begin. They were released from Scheveningen and shipped out to Ravensbrück, an extermination camp. When they first arrived, they were ordered to strip naked before male and female guards. Miraculously, the guards did not find the pocket-sized Bible that they had been carrying with them on their journey.
The time at Ravensbrück was filled with unspeakable horrors. Firing squads lined up husbands within earshot of their wives. Women were taken, at random, to the gas chambers not knowing if they were going to the showers or to their death. The women were burdened with back-breaking labor, and those who could not meet their quota were savagely beaten or exterminated. This sad providence became true of Betsie, who was singled out and beaten for being unable to meet her quota. In her last days, during one of their weekly nude searches, Corrie whispered, “They took Jesus’ garments.” Betsie responded, “Oh Corrie. And I never thanked him.” Throughout their time at Ravensbrück, the two sisters unceasingly witnessed and gave thanks for the opportunity to suffer and bear witness for Christ. They attributed their joy to the cross of Christ.
Before Betsie succumbed to malnourishment and her wounds, she had a vision that they would be released before the New Year, that they would get a mansion that would serve the purpose of rehabilitating those traumatized by war and concentration camps, and that they would restore an old German concentration camp as a way to show the Germans their forgiveness and extend their hands to help rebuild the country that was responsible for their suffering!
Not long after Betsie shared this vision, she entered the arms of her Father in heaven. Although Betsie never saw the promise with her eyes, Corrie did. Corrie was released from Ravensbrück a week before all the women her age were exterminated in gas chambers. Corrie later discovered that she was released on a clerical error, but attributed this release to the providence of God so she could fulfill her life’s purpose. After forgiving her betrayer and the guard who beat her sister, Corrie would travel to 61 countries proclaiming the gospel and her family’s heroic story of faith and forgiveness to anyone who would listen.
May we continue to live our lives faithfully, be quick to forgive, and be confident that the Lord will sustain us through any suffering that may come into our lives.
Your brother in Christ,
Jacob Foster