A Day Of Celebration And Honor

When asked about his sense of community during his childhood, my Grandfather spoke about how much his family and his neighbours relied on each other to survive and to keep each other in good spirits. They helped farm each others land and in the end would split what was harvested. It was not until doing further research that it became obvious to me just how important the interdependence of this tight knit community was to their survival. Between 1943 and 1945 the Dutch people faced a horrible famine that killed nearly 30,000 Dutch civilians which is an astronomical number for a two years span. (Hitchcock, 98) Seeing as my Grandfather was so young at the time he was not able to remember much about his times during the war, so instead I conducted some research on what life might have been for a Dutch civilian during that time period. During the war time the Dutch government was completely ran by Nazis and as a result many rules were implemented that were of little benefit to the people of the country. For example men from ages 18-35 were forced to work in munitions factories and do field work, Dutch people were handed out “ration cards” that would limit the amount of food they could consume within the week. (Van der Zee, 3) Evidently this was a difficult time for the Dutch people so I decided to then change the topic of discussion and ask my Grandfather about his teenage years. To kick off the discussion the

Despite their efforts, the ten Boom family was captured and taken to concentration camps, although the Jews in the house were not found. Casper, Corrie’s father, died ten days later, and Nollie was released eventually, but Betsie and Corrie stayed imprisoned. Unfortunately, they were subjected to horrific conditions, and they witnessed the deaths of many innocent people. For many people, the concentration camp would have been the end of their work, but for Corrie and Betsie the months they spent in Ravensbrück became "their finest hour." Corrie described how she struggled with and overcame the hate that she had for the man who betrayed her family. Holding secret worship services, Corrie and Betsie were able to comfort the inmates and share the love of Christ. Although Betsie eventually died of sickness, Corrie was able to continue her legacy within the concentration camps and beyond, in her ministry.

Cornelia Ten Boom, known as Corrie, was born April fifteenth, 1892 in Haarlem, Netherlands. She lived with her father, Caspar, her older siblings, Betsie, Nollie and Willem and her three aunts. Her whole family was part of the Dutch Reform Church and was very religious and part of that was helping out the community. No matter how hard times were for the Ten Booms they always gave food to the poor. Corrie’s

According to Corrie & Betsie Ten Boom, life was a faith-building experience. Those two women were faced with one of the toughest experiences of their lives. Each day, Corrie and Betsie had to persuade each other that everything was going to be okay, once they were free from the “hell”, or the concentration camp they were placed in. And, yet, Corrie and Betsie somehow managed to keep in mind that God was with them.

The following is a critique of the article “Good Times, Bad Times: Memories of The Third Reich” by Ulrich Herbert. In this critique, I will explore the themes of the article, discuss the main arguments, and address the significance of the author’s insight to the world of Nazi Germany.

In todays’ society many Americans never think about our foster care system. Foster care is when a child is temporarily placed with another family. This child may have been abused, neglected, or may be a child who is dependent and can survive on their own but needs a place to stay. Normally the child parents are sick, alcohol or drug abusers, or may even be homeless themselves. We have forgotten about the thousands of children who are without families and living in foster homes. Many do not even know how foster care came about. A few of the earliest documentation of foster care can be found in the Old Testament. The Christian church put children into homes with widowers and then paid them using collection from the church

Last but not least the third reason Corrie should have hidden the helpless, desperate, and terrified Jews was because if the Nazi found them and sent them off to a concentration camp the ten Booms could bring hope to other prisoners. Because the ten Booms loved God they could bring the gospel to doubting prisoners. Corrie could deliver the much needed love into the concentration camps. The ten Boom could bring the comfort of a loving and caring God to the prisoners.

He promised to make a difference for the foster community, so he decided to get his bachelors in social work and intern with the National Council for Adoption. Having experienced the harsh realities himself and knowing the struggle for the children in foster care, he said “the reality of facing life's responsibilities alone is paralyzing; often we are far behind educationally, socially, and emotionally compared to those who grew up in loving families” (Lawson). Most of these children in foster care, ranging from two to fourteen, have to leave home because of neglect and trauma that had happened to them previously. Most of them don’t know what it's like to live with a loving and healthy family like most of American children get to experience everyday. Foster children experience maltreatment at home and in the system that becomes a catalyst for more corruption in their lives.

Gideon Boissevain had always thought of Amsterdam as a home, not a warzone. When the Germans occupied Amsterdam, his family knew something wasn’t right. His parents were recent members of the Dutch Nazi party, but they quit after they saw how brutal the members behaved. After Gi and his brother began to work for the Dutch resistance, they knew they were in risky waters. They helped their parents hide the innocent and harmless Jews that the Nazis were after.

Corrie Ten Boom is the daughter of a popular watchmaker and christian living in Holland during the beginning of Hitler, the Nazis, and hatred against Jews. The Ten Boom’s, however, always do the right thing and help anyone in need. Before their mother died, their household was always full of poor neighbors needing food or tea or anything else they could provide. This kindness continues into the beginning of the Holocaust. Corrie begins to join an underground system, involved with helping and sheltering Jews. At first, she was just trying to get some to different places where they would be safe, however. Corrie got so involved that the watch shop, called the Beje. became the center. She had monthly deliveries of food ration card, new Jews would show up to her door almost weekly, and the rest of the people involved in the underground had a secret code or phone calls, revolving around watch-talk. Eventually, Corrie could not find a place or a man, so he ended up living with the Ten Booms. They ended building a secret room with an elaborate warning system installed. They had many Jews living in that room, but little did she know that the entire town knew of her work in the underground and o the Jews in her house. Corrie ended up being caught and taken to prison, along with her father and sister. Corrie kept her with all this time, which helped her make it through. Eventually, after finding out that her father has died in prison, Corrie and her sister get to see the rest of

Throughout the book “Au Revoir Les Enfants” Louis Malle highlights at several points the typical associations which the majority of people have when discussing the role of the Germans during the war. However Malle approaches the topic from a more complex angle thus forcing the reader to question the general stereotypes and examine the varying attitudes of both the French and Germans, by portraying them in certain situations in which they adopt a sometimes unexpected attitude.

A fellow “member” of the “Dutch Underground” warned the ten Boom family that if their house was ever to be searched by soldiers and they had Jews in their house, they’d be in trouble. For families living in the country this wasn’t much of a problem, but the ten Boom house (the Beje), was located on the main street of the city and around the corner from the German headquarters! Since the Beje also served as a pretty famous watch store, this could also be a problem because random people could come in during open store hours. To fix this problem, a man offered to build a “secret room” located somewhere in the Beje. This room is where the Jews would hide if the Beje had been broken in and searched through by the Germans. The man had built the “secret room” into the back of Corrie’s personal bedroom. When he was done, it was completely unnoticeable to the naked eye that there was a hidden room behind her bedroom wall. For months, the 7 Jews (Eusie, Jop, Henk, Leendert, Meta, Thea, and Mary) just slept in it.

On an early morning in July of 1942, the Van Daans and Franks meet up for the first time at the annex. All of them are covered in layers of clothing to carry as much to their new home as possible. They are all

By all accounts, Corrie Ten Boom, a nearly 50-year old Dutch woman, should not have been a heroine. However, when she saw an injustice, she took a stand as a visionary leader and used inspirational motivation to rally support for the

Soon the Jewish community around the world will be fasting and withholding any forms of pleasure, entertainment or happiness to commemorate the day of Tisha B’Av. It was on this day on at 70 ACE (After the Common Era) when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple of the Jews and forced them into an exile lasting just under two millenniums. Within the Jewish community there is debate of whether the formation of the current political state of Israel constitutes our return from exile. However, most religious Jews would argue that only with the coming of the Messiah will the Jewish people truly return from our long waited exile. When I put on Tefillin, the last prayer I cite is for the coming of the Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple. For Rwandans, they might be aware of this commemoration as it is not found within Christian beliefs. However, the history behind the day does replicate with some of Rwanda’s own history. I am talking specifically of the conflict amongst Jews, which the Rabbis state was the true reason for the destruction of the Second Temple.