Corrie Ten Boom : The Woman Who Forgave

While reading The Hiding Place, I was frequently inspired by the power and insight behind Corrie ten Boom’s words. However, two of her statements particularly stood out to me. The first was when she had said “Some knowledge is too heavy... you cannot bear it...your father will carry it until you are able.” (ten Boom 175) This phrase is so meaningful because it was a lesson she had learned from her own father when she was young, but now she uses it in her own teaching and relates it to her heavenly father as well. The second quote that stood out to me was when she had said “His will is our hiding place. Lord Jesus, keep me in Your will.” (ten Boom 234) This statement refers to Corrie’s realization of how everything had happened for a reason. This was her protection or “hiding place” through the horrors of the concentration camp and her personal losses. I found these two quotes to be the most perceptive phrases of Corrie’s that spoke to me the most.

After reading The Children of Willesden Lane, one can see how Lisa Jura changes and grows throughout the many events. These include on Kristallnacht, the night of November 9-10, Nazi gangs attack Jews throughout Germany and Austria, on September 1st, Britain declares war on Germany, and when the German air force begins the massive bombing of Britain known as the Blitz. In these events, she learned lessons and teachings which encourage her growth within these events.

The book, The Hiding Place, is a biography on Corrie Ten Boom and her family’s struggles during the Holocaust. The book takes place before World War I through World War II. Corrie and her family lived in the Netherlands in the time of the Holocaust where they owned a build and repair shop for watches. She had two sisters named Betsie and Nollie, and one brother named Willem. Her father did most of the work with the watch shop, and her mother died when she was a little girl. In 1940 when the Nazis started invading the Netherlands, they would often find people praying in their shop because they were scared. The Ten Boom family begins taking in Jews and giving them a place to hide from the invading Nazis. Later on, the family was caught and arrested

Corrie’s family had great beliefs in Christianity and felt that they were called to help the Jews in every way possible. So she ended up participating in a black market for ration cards that were stolen but in which they needed to help the Jews. This then led her to end up hiding Jews in her own home. She knew that her family would probably not get away with helping the Jews as they had no place to put them. Corrie was then later met by a man who had asked Corrie to help him with his wife who had been arrested she agreed to help but unknowingly the man was a Nazi undercover and the watch shop was raided and the whole Ten Boom family was arrested . The Jews were back at the house in a secret room. Corrie was then sent to a Dutch prison where she stayed in a cell in which it was very cold in the mists of night and in which you couldn’t communicate with anyone and the Nazi officers would not let you lay down. She then later found out that Betsie was in a different cell but didn’t know exactly which one because of the lack of communication. Corrie wasn’t so worried about her sister she was much more worried about her dad Casper Ten

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.

No one has survived to tell her story firsthand, but over many years historians have been able to piece together the incredible truth. Karolina Juszczykowska was born in Budków, Poland, in 1898. There is little information on Juszczykowska’s childhood, but we do know that she had a very modest one. During her testimony in court she was quoted as saying, "I never went to school. Until I was 13 years old I lived with my parents, and then went to Germany where I worked for 5 years for a farmer in Mecklenburg [a region in Northern Germany]… then I returned to Budkow, where I stayed with my sister until 1934. I helped my sister with farm work. In 1934 I moved to Tomaschow. Until the outbreak of the war I made a living in road construction. Subsequently I had different jobs, as laundress, maid, etc., and until my arrest I worked in the kitchen of OT (Organization Todt) in Tomaszow.” (http://www.yadvashem.org) Karolina told her interrogators that six weeks prior to her arrest she had met two young men on the street. They asked her to hide them, and they promised to pay her 300 Zloty per week for both of them. She decided to accept their offer. Karolina stated she hid them out of a need for money, not necessarily to help. They slept on the floor at night, and when she would go to work, she locked them in her small apartment. Juszczykowska told her interrogators that one of her

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.

In 1939, Germany began to invade a few countries, and in 1940, the Tripartite Pact, unifying Germany, Japan, and Italy, was signed. Also in 1940, Holland was invaded, which is where the inspirational story of Anne Frank comes in. Though only one of over 1.5 million children killed during the Holocaust, her story is one that we can all relate to. She is the same age as many of the students that should be taught about the Holocaust, and her age is not her only aspect that we can relate to. Over 30 million copies have been sold, and she has touched the lives of millions of poeple by teaching us the sheer terror they wer licing in, the isolation, and the desperate longing for the war to be over.

It was September 1943 in Copenhagen, Denmark, when just 10 year old Annemarie Johansen promised that as a danish Citizen if need be she would die for her King. Courage was what it took to survive the German occupation in their country. Although the German soldiers that stood at every street corner weren’t there to harm her family, they were there to relocate all Jews. Which soon included Annemarie’s lifelong friend, Ellen. Not only as a danish citizen promising to die for your kings safety, Annemarie also was willing to die for the safety of her friends too. Which is exactly what she did. The German soldier’s went throughout the city to every apartment at which known Jews lived and relocated them. Doing a very dangerous task the Johansen

Throughout all these unimaginable challenges and hardships, Ben and fellow partisans (and his family) defied Hitler and the Nazi’s reign of terror. After WW1 in 1918 there were very few jobs and homes for the

According to raoulwallenberg.net, "Corrie's mother had died before she was born so she was raised without a mother". After, Corrie got out of the last concentration camp and experienced sister's death, she chose to keep on fighting and to share her story instead of reminiscing on the past. Corrie ten boom had strength both mentally and physically when she went immense problems and struggles. Boom was phenomenally determined, which helped her gain the courage to survive. According to crosswalk.com, Corrie kept fighting through, and getting courage deep down in her heart so she could survive and share her story. Cory also catch on hiding Jews with her family even if it put her in her family at risk of getting caught. She also was in the Dutch resistance along with their family. Cory was determined to fight for her, and to fight for the helpless

The first reason the Ten Boom family should have hidden the Jews is it was the right thing to do. The Nazi’s persecuting the Jews is wrong so someone has to help them. The Jews do not deserve to die just because their belief. They had plenty of room for them in their gigantic house. Their home was

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

All the House members came rushing down the four flights of stairs to the living quarters. The house leader was caught not giving the right meals to everyone and was sentenced to life in Bubble 29. Bubble 29 was not spoken in public. That was the place that criminals that commit very bad crimes go to. Bubble 29 is a community just like the other Bubbles but with more increased security, larger amount of people in one House, and has to do 60 hours of community service a week, under supervision, to make up for the crime that they have committed. Not many people like to mention anyone that is in Bubble 29. Having anyone related to you that lives there is considered