No Greater Power
The Spiritual Formation of Corrie Ten Boom
“It was the hardest thing I had ever done, to walk out of that room, leaving the bag behind”
- Corrie ten Boom
Betsie and Casper ten Boom
Willem ten Boom
Corrie ten Boom and nephew Peter van Woerden
Nollie ten Boom (van Woerden)
Postcard of the "Orange Hotel" Prison in Scheveningen, Courtesy of the Oranjehotel National Monument
,
If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door again to anyone in need who knocks”
- Casper Ten Boom
Drawing of the A-wing in the Scheveningen Prison by Pieter Sliggers, undated, Courtesy of the Oranjehotel National Monument
Drawing of cell 718 by Jan Molenaar at Schveningen Prison, 1943, Courtesy of the Oranjehotel National Monument
Mobile crematorium, guard towers, and gallows at Vught, courtesy Jewish Virtual Archive
“We experience so many longings…. We are able to witness here and there but not nearly as much as we had expected. There is so much bitterness and communism, cynicism and deep sorrow. The worst for us is not that which we suffer ourselves, but the suffering which we see around us. We are also learning to put the worst in the hands of our Savior. We are very tranquil, in rather good spirits, but not cheerful
“On the whole I can accept quite well being here, but I have too many thoughts of home….
“In the morning, we walk outside and pray aloud together. Everybody thinks that we are just talking, but then we are just talking – talking with the Savior, and that is such a joy….”
- Corrie to her family, August 13, 1944
“Sunday, we had about 60 people for our sermon. It’s like there is an awakening. God’s Spirit is working. Oh if there could be a revival here? There is so much unspeakable anguish in this place”
- Corrie to her sister, Nollie, August 22, 1944
“[Our work group] became the praying heart of the vast diseased body that was Ravensbruck, interceding for all in the camp – guards, under Betsie’s prodding, as well as prisoners. We prayed beyond the concrete walls for the healing of Germany, of Europe, of the world.”
- Corrie Ten Boom
Forced Labor at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, Courtesy Yad Vasham and US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Darmstadt after its transformation into a refugee camp, Courtesy Corrie ten Boom Hus
Hans Rahms and Corrie ten Boom, approximately 1970s, Courtesy Buswell Library Archives & Special Collections
Willem ten Boom, Sr. Corrie’s grandfather, circa 1860s-1870s, Courtesy Buswell Library Archives & Special Collection
Portrait of Isaac Da Costa, approximately 1825-1849, Amsterdam City Archives Collection: drawings and prints
Casper ten Boom in front of his watch shop at the Beje, courtesy Corrie ten Boom Hus
L-R Betsie, Nollie, Casper, Willem, Cornelia, and Corrie ten Boom, 1902, Courtesy Buswell Library Archives & Special Collections
Courtesy Corrie ten Boom Hus
The Beje, image from The Hiding Place
Corrie teaches her girls club outdoors, approximately 1920s, , Courtesy Buswell Library Archives & Special Collection
Girls club members on an outdoor excursion, approximately 1920s-1930s, , Courtesy Buswell Library Archives & Special Collection
Dining Room at the Beje, 1921, courtesy Corrie ten Boom Hus
Back Row: Henk, Leendert, Eusi, Henk, Hans
Front Row: Mary, Betsie, Casper, Corrie, Thea
July 1943
“Bedtime in the Boys Room” photo by Hans Poley
Eusie, Leendert, Cockie and Aty Van Woerden (Nollie’s daughters), and Henk perform in a medieval play, photo by Hans Poley
Music in the parlor with Mary at the piano, , Courtesy Buswell Library Archives & Special Collection
Washing dishes at the Beje
Mary, Leendert, Henk, Hans, and Eusi peel potatoes on the roof
Eusi, Corrie, and Hans reunited at The Beje, March 1974, Photo by Hans Poley
“I live in a world where demons rule, where wars are waged, where hopelessness, far and cruelty predominate, where millions of people are starving in China, where cities are turned into ruin in many places in Europe, where atom boms are surpassed in power by hydrogen bombs.
“Exactly where am I?
“I am in a world which God so loved that he gave his only begotten son that whosever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
“I am on an earth where soon he shall come, even he who has promised, “Behold I am making all things new (Rev 21:5)
“One day the earth, this beautiful earth “will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord/as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14)
“Where am I exactly?
“Already at this moment I am in Him
“And underneath me are his eternal arms’
Corrie at the Hiding Place, 1976, Buswell Library Archives & Special Collections
Thea helps Mary out of the Hiding Place during a practice drill, 1943 or 1944, Photo by Hans Poley
Religious meeting Youth for Christ Schapenduinen Date 00-00-1945