Book Review #21 – “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom (this post is in process and incomplete at this time)
Book Review #21 – “The Hiding Place” by Corrie ten Boom, published 1971 by Fleming Revell Co.
“If you remain indifferent in time of adversity, your strength will depart from you. Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and from those staggering to slaughter withdraw not.” (Proverbs 24:10-11).
The 1st Hero in the Story: Caspar ten Boom. The stage was set for this dramatic story of heroism long before the Nazis swooped into Holland like prehistoric predators in 1940. The family culture had been long-established within this quiet watch repair shop in Holland, well before this modest home became a watchtower for Jewish refugees on the run. Caspar, the ten Boom patriarch, had created a home that would gladly welcome anyone in need at any time. The entire city of Haarlem saw their modest home in the middle of town as a safe place of hospitality that always had a big kettle of soup on the stove for the hungry or poor. The ten Boom lifestyle was obvious to everyone who had eyes to see, as Caspar and his wife raised four children and housed three aging aunts at the same time in their old living quarters above the watch shop. After the aunts passed away, they raised eleven foster children as well. Caspar set the tone for each day by leading family Bible study devotions at 8:30 a.m. sharp without exception. Caspar was widely known as the finest watch repairman in Holland at that time after taking over the family business from his father. Yet, he would often “forget” to charge a needy customer, and would refuse to compete with the fledgling watch repair shop across the street. He was invariably kind, gentle, loved children, and every child in Haarlem called him “Grandfather.” Because of his Biblical conscience, Caspar had long loved the Jews before the Nazis hated them with such a passion. Caspar was known to declare that, “In this household, God’s precious people are always welcome.” So in the years leading up to the Nazi invasion, Caspar had helped his family to build their moral muscle by lifting the heavy weights of compassion and wisdom. By the time the Nazis were knocking on the door scouring the town for escaping Jews, the moral tone was set in their home, the family culture was established, the ten Boom lifestyle was engrained in daily life. Caspar especially loved the Proverbs passage above and fully intended his family to live their lives accordingly. It actually wasn’t that big a step to go from caring for needy neighbors to rescuing refugees. They simply used their muscle memory as they established the ten Boom watch shop as an important stop in the Dutch Resistance network. So this tale of heroism began with Caspar, the unassuming father of a humble Christian family who refused to cooperate with evil, even when their refusal was life-threatening. Everyone well knew the dictates from the Gestapo that “If you help a Jew, you will die like a Jew.” But that didn’t stop Caspar when he accepted a Jewish mother and baby into the home and said, “You say we could lose our lives for this child? I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.” And Caspar was not afraid to proudly wear the yellow star front and center on his coat after the Nazi’s required every Jew to wear it for identity. Finally, at the age of 84 in the year 1944, after being betrayed by a neighbor, and after years of operating a rescue mission out of their home, Caspar was arrested along with his daughters Betsie and Corrie, and brought to a Dutch jail nearby. When Caspar was being interrogated by the Gestapo, they offered to release Caspar if he promised to stop helping the Jews. Caspar refused, knowing the consequences, declaring, “If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door to anyone who knocks for help.” He died soon after in that jail while awaiting treatment for his tuberculosis. The Holocaust Commission officially recognized Caspar, along with Betsie and Corrie, as “Righteous Gentiles” and are honored in Holocaust Museums everywhere. Evidently, once again, practice makes perfect.