Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom and her family were Christians who were active in social work in their home town of Haarlem, the Netherlands. During the Nazi occupation, they chose to act out their faith through peaceful resistance to the Nazis by active participation in the Dutch underground. In the Corrie ten Boom house, the family were hiding, feeding and transporting Jews and underground members hunted by the Gestapo out of the country. It is estimated they were able to save the lives of 800 Jews, in addition to protecting underground workers.

On Feb. 28, 1944, they were betrayed and Corrie and several relatives were arrested. The four Jews and two underground workers in the house at the time of the arrest were not located by the Nazis and were extricated by the underground 47 hours after they fled to the hiding place.

The Ten Boom family members were separated and transferred to concentration camps. Corrie was allowed to stay with her precious sister, Betsy. Corrie's father, two of his children and one grandchild perished. Corrie was released in December of 1944.

These acts of heroism and sacrifice became the foundation for Corrie Ten Boom's global writing and speaking career which began after she was released.

Ten Boom has received numerous awards for her writing and speaking. Notably, she was honored by the State of Israel for her work in aid of the Jewish people by being invited to plant a tree in the famous Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles, at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, near Jerusalem. She was also knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands in recognition of her work during the war.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Hiding Place Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie was released from the notorious concentration camp in Germany on New Year's Eve of December 1944. Ten Boom told the story of her family and their work during World War II in her most famous book, The Hiding Place (1971), co-authored with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, which was made into a film by World Wide Pictures in 1975.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Ten Boom House

The ten Boom house is where Corrie ten Boom and her family hid Jews and Dutch resistance fighters from the Nazis. The ten Boom house has now become a museum. Much of the house has been refurbished to appear as it did in the 1940's. Visitors can see the hiding place, the small area behind a false wall in Corrie's room. The ten Boom house is located in the Dutch city of Haarlem.

Corie Ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom was able to rescue many Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazi SS during the Holocaust. Her rescue work can be compared with Otto Schindler. Corrie told the story of her family and their work during World War II in her most famous book, The Hiding Place (1971), which was made into a film by in 1975. She was knighted by the Queen of the Netherlands in recognition of her work during the war, and a museum in the Dutch city of Haarlem is dedicated to her and her family. Israel honored Corrie ten Boom by naming her Righteous Among the Nations.