Corrie Ten Boom

"We must tell people what we know, Corrie," said Betsie. And for the remaining years of her life, Corrie ten Boom did just that. Traveling the world, Corrie spoke to men and women, old and young, rich and poor, and even her former captors about what she and her sister Betsie learned about God’s love in a Nazi extermination camp -– she told them that Jesus can turn loss into glory.

Born in 1892 in Holland, Corrie couldn’t remember a day that didn’t begin and end in prayer and Bible reading. Corrie’s parents taught their family that Jesus would never turn anyone away, and neither would they; so the ten Boom home was always a haven for children and adults alike. Little did she know God was training Corrie and her family for the role they would play in a world gone mad. Years later, not even the cruelty of their Nazi tormentors could stop Corrie and Betsie from bringing the hope and love of Jesus Christ to their fellow prisoners and captors alike.

Following the Nazi occupation of Holland in 1940, Corrie and her family sought to live the gospel. Corrie became increasingly involved in the Dutch underground, hiding Jews in a secret room built in their home and helping others to escape. But in 1944, the ten Booms were betrayed by a countryman and imprisoned. Corrie, her family, and co-conspirators were separated and questioned. Eventually, the rest were freed, while Corrie and her oldest sister, Betsie, were transported to another facility. Corrie later learned her father had died only 10 days after his arrest.

Shuffled from one prison to the next, Corrie and Betsie were finally sent to Ravensbruck – one of the worst concentration camps in Nazi Germany. The camp held some 35,000 women who were brutalized daily by their captors and assigned to various work details. Betsie organized prayer and Bible study groups among the prisoners and eventually had the others praying daily for the guards and soldiers who constantly beat them. Their love for the Lord was preeminent, and God’s presence was often experienced in miraculous ways.

Betsie went to be with the Lord one week before Corrie was released and permitted to return home. It was not until 1959 that Corrie discovered that her release was due to a clerical error. Just one week later, all the women her age had been killed.

After the war, Corrie opened several facilities to care for war victims. Corrie went to be with the Lord in 1987, having spent the rest of her days telling the world what she knew by always stressing Whom she knew.