Corrie and her sister Betsie were considered old spinsters, working in their father’s watch shop and spending their years being good neighbors to the other people on their street in Haarlem. As the German occupation made life more and more miserable for Netherlanders, the Ten Boom family reached a new level of joy and excitement as their home became a busy hub of secret activity for the Dutch Resistance and a literal hiding place for refugees.
If you’ve ever heard the question “is it ok to lie if you’re hiding Jews during the holocaust,” Corrie’s answer would’ve been a resounding “Yes!” and she lied many times. Trusted friends would drill her by waking her up in the middle of the night with a flashlight and harshly asking “Where are you hiding the Jews?!” until she was able to convincingly deny the questions, even when half-asleep. She and the refugees would also practice how quickly they could go from having dinner together to hiding in a tiny wall compartment in Corrie’s bedroom; the goal was under a minute. It’s estimated that the Ten Boom family saved the lives of 800 people through their efforts.
The Ten Boom family was arrested when Corrie was 52, and she spent nearly a year between prison, solitary confinement, and two different concentration camps. The living conditions, as I’m sure you’ve read, were truly hellish. But when you read about how Corrie and her sister navigated these horrors, “hellish” isn’t how you would describe their inner life at all.
They had a significant amount of joy and purpose, even with shaved heads, fleas, beatings, abuse, brutal work days, humiliating nakedness, untreated sickness, meager rations, bitter cold, and the weight of empathizing with the conditions of all the other prisoners, too.
The thing that I like the most about Corrie’s story is she’s actually relatable. She didn’t like her aunt’s bad mood. She thought her sister was crazy for feeling gratitude on their first night in the concentration camp. She didn’t want to share vitamins with other prisoners. After her release, she kept her hand at her side when a former guard tried to seek reconciliation.
Her sister Betsie seemed to have stronger faith. She praised when Corrie complained. She prayed for their enemies when Corrie found that unthinkable. There’s a lot to admire about Betsie Ten Boom, and I plan on spending lots of time having adventures with her someday (see my Heaven series.)
But Corrie. She was a lot more like me. Stubborn, discontent, judgmental…though she had much more reason to be so than I do. Yet as she had new epiphanies throughout all her hardships—including when she was young and learned beautiful things from her dad about anxiety or jilted love—we all got to learn with her.
And that’s why I love memoirs. I hope you read this one.
Warmly,
Hope