Have you ever read a remarkable book and wished that the story didn’t end there? My life was deeply impacted by Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place, recounting her and her sister Betsie’s time in a concentration camp during World War II. Larry Loftis’s The Watchmaker’s Daughter is all I could have hoped for a fuller picture of Corrie and her heroic family.
Despite its weighty subject matter, it definitely qualifies as a “summer read” because of that distinctive can’t-put-it-down quality and the profound message of hope it imparts.
While Corrie and her sister Betsie are the best known Ten Booms because of Corrie’s memoir, they are only two members of the selfless Ten Boom family. Loftis’s biography does more than tell us the facts of the Ten Booms, who boldly sheltered many Jewish men and women in the Netherlands during the Holocaust. The author invites us into the family and their unforgettable generosity, love, and sacrifice, all of which stemmed from their love for Christ.
Meet the Ten Booms
Meet Casper, a faithful Christian who celebrated holy days and studied the Talmud with the Jewish community in Amsterdam. When the Jewish people were forced to line up to receive yellow stars, Casper lined up with them.
Meet Willem, Corries’s brother, who wrote his dissertation in the 1920s about antisemitism and practiced radical hospitality, opening his house to those in need.
Meet Betsie, who told the first Jewish person to ask for help to take her pick out of all of the available beds in the house.
And meet Corrie, the first female licensed watchmaker in all of Holland.
“Lord, make us strong”
When the Germans invaded Holland, Loftis recounts, Corrie and Betsie held on to each other. “Lord, make us strong,” they prayed. “Give us strength to help others…Take away our fear. Give us trust.”
The Lord certainly answered their prayers, giving them strength throughout the dark days of the Holocaust.
As the Spirit would have it, around the time I read The Hiding Place for the first time, my friend shared that her mother had been Corrie Ten Boom’s personal secretary after the War. She traveled with her around the world as Corrie shared not only her experience during the Holocaust, but her message of forgiveness.
My friend’s mom, Ellen, shared stories about her life with Corrie and spoke about Corrie’s life with Jesus that led to her incredible ministry. Like so many others, I was moved by the Ten Boom family — to the extent that I changed my job to one that let me, in some small way, more directly serve others.
Recipe for a heroic summer
Whether you want to pick up The Hiding Place first or The Watchmaker’s Daughter (either order works!), I invite you to get to know the Ten Boom family this summer. Learn from their simple trust in the Lord that led them to such heroism.
Editor’s note: ‘The Watchmaker’s Daughter’ is just one of many wonderful reads on Aleteia’s 2024 Summer Book List. Check out the link for articles on the other books on our list.
And today we celebrate...