Who Was Corrie Ten Boom?

Who was Corrie ten Boom? What should it matter?

Corrie ten Boom

Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom was a Christian Dutch woman who helped many of the Jews escape certain death from the Nazis, risking her own life in the process. She would later write a book about her experiences called The Hiding Place which described her ordeal during World War Two. She was later imprisoned after they discovered her “hiding place” for the Jews. This godly and fearless woman of faith was born in Haarlem, Netherlands on April 15th, 1892 and brought up in strict Calvinism in the Dutch Reformed Church. This means that her parents and grandparents had a genuine and abiding trust in whatever would happen would work for their very best (Rom 8:28), and they lived every day in expectation that God would do what was needed to be done, possibly through them, and that they could trust tomorrow, even before taking that first step of the day. A strict Calvinist believes that God has elected those for salvation and predestined them to be saved (Rom 8; Eph 1), but unlike “hyper-Calvinists,” they knew they needed to evangelize because God can use them as a means to save the lost. Corrie ten Boom’s whole life would be shaped by that belief, even though at times it was tempting to doubt, she trusted God more than her feelings and as such, God did great things through her for His glory and to save many lives.

God’s Sovereignty

When ten Boom was only one week away from all the women in her prison came being executed, a clerical error released caused her to be released from the Nazi’s Ravensbruck concentration camp. She could only say “God does not have problems. Only plans,” and indeed God did. He used this woman to build an intricate “Underground Dutch Church” where many would be hiding the Jews who were fleeing for their lives. When Corrie was imprisoned along with her sister Betsie for hiding Jews, they observed one of the prison staff beating a prisoner and Betsie’s prayer was not for the woman as much as it was for the Nazi guard. Corrie must have remembered that because that became her philosophy too. She would pray for her enemies, as Christ had instructed Christian’s to do in Luke 6:27-28 where He said; “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” She didn’t just believe the Word of God; she practiced it in her life, even at risk of losing her freedom or her life.

The Hiding Place

After the so-called “Nazification” of the Dutch, the Beje house became a refuge for Jews and being a watch shop of ten Boom’s father, it had lots of hidden walls capacity with some places holding up to six people, but they only had room enough to stand…and they had to be very quiet. One sneeze and they’re caught. Corrie’s entire family was actively participating in the hiding of Jews in the hopes of saving their lives, but they were also involved in the Dutch resistance of the Nazis. The book The Hiding Place is a heart-pounding day by day account of her hiding the Jews from the Nazi’s. For the family, they could never take a breath and relax. Every single day they had to watch the windows, not make any noise, not be seen outside, and listen for footsteps…of German soldiers. So they lived with the constant fear of a knock on the door, or worse, the fear of their door being broken down and the home raided. It could be certain death for anyone hiding Jews or it could be death by torture, or any number of things. This brave woman of God ranks right up there with Deborah the Judge who heroically inspired Israel’s commander to fight and gain the victory, however this battle was much different. It was a battle of wits. They had to constantly outsmart the Germans and explain ever ration of food that they bought and ration everything they had. The war had greatly reduced the amount of foods that were available so it wasn’t like running down to the grocery store if you had company.

Later Years

In the later years of Corrie ten Boom’s life, she became an ambassador on the powers of forgiveness through Christ, meaning of course, the former German Nazi’s who were ordered to kill or imprison so many Jews but also the Jews to extend forgiveness for their captors and sometimes, torturers . Of course the Nazi’s also rounded up Gypsies, disabled people, homeless and transients, but never to the extent of the mass genocide the Nazi’s inflicted on the Jews. She went on to establish rehabilitation centers for the Holocaust survivors, fighting till the end of her life for reconciliation and forgiveness for both sides. On April 15th, 1983, Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom passed into glory. She had died on the very day she was born (April 15th), but she was born again, so it’s not like she’s actually gone.

Conclusion

The story of Corrie ten Boom is an inspirational one because she had a great desire to be obedient to God and preserve human life, even if it meant lying to the Nazi’s. Dr. R.C. Sproul said that (paraphrasing) “Only those who deserve the truth should receive the truth,” meaning a lie is nothing in comparison to the sanctity of human life. Corrie knew this too and had no problem with lying to save lives.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.