800 lives saved

World War II hero defied Nazi regime

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

–Corrie ten Boom

While there are many notable female historical figures, not many women are a World War II heroine, who saved an estimated 800 lives from Nazi death camps.

Corrie ten Boom was born on April 15, 1892 in Haarlem, Netherlands, to Cornelia and Casper ten Boom. She had two sisters and a brother — Betsie, Nollie and Willem. Her father was a watchmaker and after her mother died, Corrie ten Boom followed in her father’s footsteps and became the first woman licensed as a watchmaker in Holland in 1922, according to biography.com.

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”

–Corrie ten Boom

In May 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and the ten Booms’ lives would be changed forever. Neither Corrie nor her sister Betsie were married and lived with their father at the time. Their home became one of the “safe houses” for Jews that were hiding from the Nazis.

Corrie ten Boom became one of the leaders of the Haarlem underground. According to tenboom.org, “during 1943 and into 1944 there were usually as many as seven people illegally living in the ten Boom home – Jews and members of the Dutch underground.”

A secret room was built into Corrie ten Boom’s bedroom behind a false wall. It was no bigger than a closet and could hold six people. When Nazi security sweeps came to the house, the Jews and Dutch underground workers would hide there. An estimated 800 lives were saved by the efforts of the ten Booms and their friends.

But the hiding ending on Feb. 28, 1944, when the family was betrayed and the Gestapo arrested 20 people at their house. The six people hidden in the secret room were not found and four survived the war. The family was imprisoned and Casper ten Boom died 10 days later. Corrie and Betsie ten Boom spent the next 10 months in three different prisons, the last being the Ravensbruck concentration camp, where Betsie died.

“Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.” 

–Corrie ten Boom

According to tenboom.org, Corrie ten Boom was released from the concentration camp due to a clerical error. Amazingly, this happened one week before all women prisoners her age were executed.

After the war, Corrie ten Boom was honored by the Queen of Holland as a war hero.

She also traveled to 60 countries over the next 32 years sharing God’s love and the power of forgiveness.

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” 

–Corrie ten Boom

She said, according tenboom.org, “God will give us the love to be able to forgive our enemies.”

In 1971, she wrote “The Hiding Place,” a best-selling book about her life and experiences during the war.

Ten Boom died on April 15, 1983 — her 91st birthday. According to Jewish tradition, only very blessed people are given the privilege of dying on their birthday.

“The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.” 

–Corrie ten Boom

“Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings…

It’s something we make inside ourselves.”

–Corrie ten Boom