Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who sheltered Jews and members of the Dutch Resistance during World War II. After the war, she turned her home into a rehabilitation center and traveled the world as a teacher and minister. She is recognized for her bravery and contributions to the war effort. Her home, Beje, is now a museum.
Corrie ten Boom was one of many brave and selfless Dutch people who sheltered persecuted people in the Netherlands during World War II. In addition to risking his life to protect people in need, ten Boom went on to form a rehabilitation center after the war, and traveled extensively as a teacher and minister, bringing his devout Christian values to people around the world. He also published an autobiography, The Hiding Place, in 1971; the book went on to be made into a film about his experiences.
Cornelia Johanna Arnolda ten Boom was born in 1892 in Amsterdam. Shortly after her birth, her family of watchmakers moved to Haarlem, where they set up shop and house in a structure that became known as Beje. She lived in Beje with her father, Caspar, and her brother and sister, William and Elizabeth. She also apprenticed with her father, becoming the first female watchmaker in the Netherlands in the 1920s.
The Boom Ten were an extremely devout Christian family dedicated to serving and helping others. Their home was always welcome for guests and people in need and they tried to help their community when and how they could. After the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, the ten Booms became active in the Dutch Resistance, housing Jews and members of the Dutch Resistance in a hidden room. Eventually, Corrie ten Boom became a major figure in the Dutch Resistance and the family safe house is estimated to have housed at least 800 Jews during WWII.
In 1944, the ten Booms were betrayed and sent to Nazi prison camps. Corrie ten Boom survived, but her family did not, and after the war, she returned to Beje and turned it into a rehabilitation center. She also began testifying of her Christian faith and traveling the world to continue her family tradition of helping others. Corrie ten Boom has been recognized by the State of Israel and the Queen of the Netherlands, among others, for her contributions during World War II.
Corrie ten Boom was just one of many daring and courageous people across Europe who attempted to oppose the tide of Nazism. She is very well known and loved in the Netherlands, and sadly not very well known outside of Europe, especially in the USA, despite having lived her last years in the USA, dying in Orange, California in 1983. People who know her story and consider her one of the unsung heroes of the Holocaust, and thanks to the work of historians, Beje can be visited today, as the house is maintained as a museum.
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