She and her family made a conscious decision to forgive. This family was in the center of God’s will, though it was not an easy place.Ĭorrie alone survived the concentration camp, being let out due to an administrative error. The final raid came 100 years to the day that the Willem ten Boom held his first prayer meeting. The soldiers chopped, hacked, and destroyed, but the little hiding place worked! Two days later, members of the resistance were able to get the five people out of the cramped little space and they all escaped to freedom. He brought back the Gestapo, who arrested all three ten Booms, but those in the hiding place were not found. Though suspicious of the Dutch traitor, she gave him help anyway. The night of the final raid came on an evening when Corrie was very sick. When worldviews collide, God’s love always wins. Corrie and her family recognized the value and dignity of every life, especially the lives of those so precious to our Father God. But he could not overcome love, forgiveness, and mercy, that flow from the heart of God. Hitler led Germany with a wicked philosophy doing everything in his power to make the Jewish people and every other “undesirable” feel debased, humiliated, and hopeless. The ten Booms faced a collision of worldviews. When Casper was warned of the danger of hiding Jewish people, imprisonment and death, Casper declared that he felt it a great privilege to give his life to save God’s Chosen People.” Corrie and Betsy shared his heart. This little family saved the lives of many Jewish people. The thick walls of the hiding place were built below the floor so the Nazis wouldn’t find it with a secret entrance through a linen closet. They also had to get rid of any evidence of their presence such as a teacup or extra hand of cards. They worked hard to get the drill down to 70 seconds. When there was danger, the guests had to escape quickly to the hiding place. Their Jewish visitors might tell stories or play the family piano. They housed Jewish people who were fleeing for their lives, until they could find another place to hide out in the country nearby.Įven so, love and laughter continued to fill the little home. When Germany invaded Holland during World War II, Corrie, Betsy, Casper, and the rest of the ten Boom clan, joined the resistance. It felt like darkness had descended on the land. Their Jewish friends were taken away to concentration camps. People began to disappear never to be seen again. The goose-step marching sent shivers down their spines when they saw the Nazis marching down the street. War Breaks Out!Ībruptly, everything changed when invaders from nearby Germany conquered and began to rule the peaceful nation. Corrie started clubs for girls where she taught them crafts and shared the Gospel. When Corrie’s grandfather died, her father Casper brought his family back to Haarlem and took the helm of the weekly prayer meeting.Ĭorrie and her sister Betsy never married and remained at home with their widowed father Casper. Casper also spend lots of time sharing passages of Scripture in the Old Testament such as Isaiah 53 that Casper believed were fulfilled in Christ. Nonetheless, Willem began weekly prayer meetings for the Jewish people that continued for exactly 100 years.Ĭorrie’s parents, Casper and Cor had moved to a Jewish neighborhood in Amsterdam for a short while early in their marriage made good friends and enjoyed joining in many Jewish festivities. That was strange because back then there was no nation of Israel, and the Jews were scattered throughout the world. Guests frequented the little home behind the watch shop.Īlmost a century earlier, in 1844, Corrie’s grandfather, Willem was approached by a Messianic Jewish pastor who asked Willem to start a weekly prayer meeting for the Jewish people. Their home was filled with love and laughter. This Dutch family loved the Lord and lived a simple life going to church and running their own business. Let’s meet Corrie and her family who lived during some significant changes. No one has heard from Casper.Can your family make a difference in the confusing times we are living in? Have you seen Casper ten Boom, Betsie ten Boom, Nollie van Woerden, and Willem ten Boom? Of course not! I'm sure she will be assigned a new cell soon. We certainly don't want the rest of us to get sick! You guys are going to jail for hiding the Jews! The soldiers had just entered our house and were taking us away. After this, my family and I started to hide Jews in our house. Right as World War II started, I had a "vision" of me, my sisters Betsie and Norrie, my brother Willem, and my Father were put in a carriage with no way out. It happened when I was younger than I am today. I am here to tell you a true story that happened to me and my family.