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Casper ten Boom: A Strong Faith
Casper ten Boom
Throughout the course of history, there have been many events that have plumbed the depths of human depravity. World War II was certainly one of them. Fires of hatred forged thousands of yellow stars. As they did, the Darkness rose. Fear ran rampant, binding people with its chains so that when life became difficult for the stars, many turned their backs. They were too afraid of the consequences that helping might bring. As a result, the Darkness spread. Eventually, the same fires that forged the stars rounded them up and consumed them. As stench from the ash-infused smoke filled the air, the Darkness thickened.
But even in the depths of that inky Darkness, there were lights that refused to be extinguished — hands that refused to be chained. The Ten Boom family was one of those lights.
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Background Information
Casper ten Boom was born in Harlaam, Netherlands in 1859. In 1884, he married Cornelia “Cor” Luitingh; and together, they had five children — Betsie, Willem, Nollie, Hendrick, and Corrie. (Hendrick passed away a few months after he was born; Willem and Nollie grew up and had families of their own; Betsie and Corrie never married.) The son of a simple watchmaker, Casper too became a watchmaker; and although it never made him rich, it did allow him to share the Gospel with those who came through his doors — something that was very important to Casper.
As his father Willem before him, Casper ten Boom had a special love for the Jewish people — so much love that when the situation became life-threatening for them during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, he was willing to put his life at risk for them. For two years, he and his daughters Betsie and Corrie hid Jews in their home — some for a few days, until a safer place could be found for them; others for a lengthier period of time.
On February 28, 1944, the Germans raided the Ten Booms’ house. As the raid began, six people fled to the secret space that the Ten Booms had had built in Corrie’s room — four Jews who were living there at the time and two young men who worked with the Dutch underground movement. Casper, Betsie, and Corrie were arrested and sent to prison. The hiding place went undetected, and those inside were later released by other underground workers.
After their arrest, Casper and his daughters were separated and imprisoned. Ten days later, Casper died at the age of 84. His daughters never saw him again.
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Casper’s Faith in Action
According to a book that Corrie ten Boom later wrote about her father, “the cornerstone of [Casper’s] character was his steady and consistent walk with the Lord, his knowledge of, and trust in, the Bible. He believed the Bible was relevant for every part of his daily life.”
Throughout his life, Casper proved that belief over and over again. For example, despite having trouble making ends meet for his own wife and children, he opened his home to three of his wife’s sisters when they needed a place to live. And by that I mean all three moved in and remained until their deaths years later. If someone happened to be visiting around lunch or dinner time, the meal was stretched to include them — even if it meant the soup was rather watery. After his wife had died and Willem and Nollie had moved out, Casper and his daughters Betsie and Corrie took in children of foreign missionaries who were being sent back home by their families so they could go to school. And of course, during the Nazi occupation, there were the Jews.
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In June of 1943, an intern from a nearby hospital brought a Jewish mother and her newborn baby to the Ten Booms’ house, asking the family if they could find a safe place for them. The next day, Corrie asked a pastor friend of theirs if he and his family could take the young mother and her baby in. His response? “Miss ten Boom! I do hope you’re not involved with any of this illegal concealment and undercover business. It’s just not safe! Think of your father! And your sister — she’s never been strong! No. Definitely not. We could lose our lives for that Jewish child.”
Casper overheard their exchange. His response? “You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.” A few months later, Casper would receive that honor — not for hiding that Jewish child and mother, but for helping and hiding others.
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In February of the following year, the Ten Booms’ house was raided and Casper and his daughters were arrested. For the rest of the day, they were held in a local gym along with several other people. That night, Casper led evening prayers as he usually did when he was at home. He had no Bible with him, but he quoted Scriptures effortlessly. (Years later, Corrie would encounter a policeman who remembered listening to those evening prayers.)
The next day, Casper, Betsie, and Corrie were taken to prison. As they were being registered, one of the soldiers told Casper, “I’d like to send you home, old fellow. I’ll take your word that you won’t cause any more trouble.” Casper’s response? “If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks.” Ten days later, he died in prison.
In 2007, Casper ten Boom was honored at the Yad Vashem in Israel and recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.
(If you’re interested, my posts about Casper’s wife and daughters – Cor, Betsie, and Corrie – can be found by clicking on their names.)
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My Sources and Further Information
Web Articles
- “About the Ten Booms” – (the Ten Boom Museum website)
- “Casper ten Boom” – (Wikipedia article)
Books
- The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom and John and Elizabeth Sherrill
- In My Father’s House by Corrie ten Boom
- Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom and Jamie Buckingham
- Father ten Boom: God’s Man by Corrie ten Boom
- Life Lessons from the Hiding Place by Pam Rosewell Moore – (Pam was Corrie’s live-in companion/helper/nurse for the last few years of her life.)
Videos
- a virtual tour of the Corrie ten Boom Museum – (the Ten Booms’ former home in Harlaam, Netherlands)
- Corrie ten Boom: A Faith Undefeated – (a documentary about the Ten Booms)
- The Hiding Place – (a movie based on Corrie ten Boom’s book, The Hiding Place)
Nice post Weeping. Thanks.
I read The Hiding Place. Theirs is an amazing, selfless story. Thanks for the OP.
Thank you for posting this, and especially for the links.
It’s one of the few books I started in the evening and didn’t put down until I had read it all.
The guy was already eighty when WWII started. And for the next 4+ years basically told the Nazis where they could stick it. Now, that is a man!
And this conversation is part of our ongoing Group Writing Series. And if you think this guy is something, Weeping is doing a mini-series that progresses up from here, and wait until you see tomorrow’s. But while you’re waiting, if you have any thoughts on wisdom, the wisdom of the ages, the things you have learned in life, or why wisdom is over-rated, why not head over to our April schedule and sign-up sheet to join us or just to sign up to set us all straight.
Bravo Mr Ten Boom
but his truthfulness was in the end a debit.
saying to the Deutsch soldier, “of course I will be no more trouble” would have permitted him to continue to work.
Depends on which work he thought was more important.
There is an interesting discussion of this point in The Hiding Place. Corrie Ten Boom’s sister–in-law taught her daughters never to lie, which one of them followed, even when asked by soldiers where her brother was so that he could be conscripted. She told them he is under the table, which was true, but when they removed the table cloth and he wasn’t there, she laughed, and they thought she was lying. Actually he was hiding in the cellar under the table, but they never found him. At the same time, Corrie’s nephews were trying to teach her how to lie when awakened in the middle of the night and asked where the Jews were. She did not mind lying to protect them, she just had a hard time waking up enough to realize she should lie.
and
@tigerlily and @susanquinn – You’re welcome.
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@hartmannvonaue – You’re welcome. I like to include links when I write posts like this in case someone might enjoy reading more about whatever it is I’ve posted about. I’m glad you did.
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@thereticulator – Theirs was an amazing story. I remember reading the book in high school. It’s one of the books/stories that I use to help me keep my perspective about whatever’s going on in my life.
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@arahant – Definitely!
@doctorrobert – This is true, but a few things to consider.
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@nancy – Yes! It was actually Corrie’s sister Nollie, not sister-in-law. Her brother and his wife were also involved in the Underground, but this happened with her sister’s family. In The Hiding Place, Corrie relates the incident this way:
Cocky told the truth. The soldiers looked under the table and saw nothing. (The table and a throw rug had been placed over the trap door.) The soldier yelled at Cocky and left.
Corrie pointed out that she herself had lied in the course of the work she was doing. Her father interrupted and said “Whatever came from your lips, Corrie, I am sure it was spoken in love!”
Thank you for correcting my somewhat faulty memory. I read the book about 1977 and haven’t looked at it again since, but the point of the story has stayed with me all this time.