"... How could I imagine this white-haired man, called Opa - Grandfather - by all the children of Harlem, how could I imagine this man thrown by strangers into a grave without a name? And Betsie, with her high lace collar and gift for making beauty all around her, how could I picture this dearest person on earth to me standing naked before a roomful of men? In that room on that day, such thoughts were not even thinkable."
- The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom
I love to learn about World War II. It is awful, heart wrenching, and moving. And this book describes it perfectly, first hand.
Corrie ten Boom is the daughter of a watchmaker, Casper ten Boom. A very peaceful family, and a peaceful life... Until WWII hits Holland. This Christian family worked underground hiding Jews, right under the Gestapo's noses. The book is a big deep breath that you don't let out, you know the danger of the work they're doing. And you cry when they get raided.
The book is balanced in that approximately half the book talks about their life before and during the war, and the other half is her life in the concentration camps and afterwards. Although, I did get a little impatient while reading about their life when I wanted to hear about life inside the concentration camps.
The amazing faith that this family displayed, even in the darkest pit, is baffling. There's no word to describe their faith. Especially her sister, Betsie. Betsie was praying for the German soldiers who treated her so horribly, she was leading Bible studies - not out of duty, but out of love. She sincerely thanked God for the fleas that lived in their hay mattresses. I am completely in awe of her faith. She said "their is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." If you stop and think of the cruel place they were in, that quote speaks - very loud volumes.
Near the end of the book, Corrie tells us what happened after she was freed and the war was over. She bought a home that would be a safe haven for Jews and others who survived the horror of the Holocaust. The home was Betsie's vision - literally. While in a concentration camp, Betsie had a vision of the house they would use for that specific purpose.
Corrie also went on to preach and teach. After one of her sermons she met a German. The same German soldier who she 'met' in the camp. To hear how she reacted was truthful. She didn't want to forgive him. She couldn't even lift her hand to shake his. But she did, but not alone. With God's help.
What is most shocking, is how Corrie survived. She technically wasn't supposed to survive. Through a clerical error, a slip of a pen, she survived. The next week all the women her age were taken to the gas chambers.
The whole story is beautiful testimony of love, faith, hope and forgiveness. It's one that will never leave your mind, and will leave you changed... for the better.
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