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The Nazis Invade Holland
S: The Nazis invade, and 5 days of battling ensue before the Dutch surrender. As the attacks continued on, the community connected, and they all prayed and braced themselves.
TP: When Germany invades, the ten Booms are finally forced to acknowledge the Nazis' existence and cruelty, having only seen vague traces from their associates in Germany. As the discrimination and laws drastically worsen as time passes, they are forced to watch as their Jewish friends are gradually backed into a corner. -
The Nazis Invade Holland
Relation to Theme: Throughout not only the course of the battling, but before and after as well, the family is constantly praying to God for their protection and safety. -
Corrie ten Boom Joins the Underground
S: After having begun a system of transporting Jews to safety, Corrie is introduced to the "underground", a large organization across Europe devoted to freeing the Jews and ending Hitler's regime.
CD: (Positive) By this point, Corrie has learned to be cunning, able to oversee her own little "operation" to transport Jews, forming her own connections and contacts. While the sins she must commit during her work (ex: lying) concern her, she believes that she is allowed to do so for the greater good. -
Corrie ten Boom Joins the Underground
Relation to Theme: When she first hears of the underground, Corrie questions if God would allow her to commit sins for the greater good... Now officially a member, she realizes that this is the work God has meant for her to do, work she must faithfully carry out. -
The Operation in Haarlem, Holland is Caught and Sent to Scheveningen Prison
Relation to Theme: In jail, Corrie truly struggles with her faith... why is she being punished for helping the Jews? Why is God putting her through all of this? However, with her highly religious upbringing paired with the intense boredom of solitary confinement, Corrie delves herself into the bible she has sneaked in, sharing it with others any chance she can get (ex: in the showers). -
The Operation in Haarlem, Holland is Caught and Sent to Scheveningen Prison
S: While Corrie is down with the flu, the Beje (the ten Booms' home and the center of operations) is raided by the Gestapo, as one of the underground workers had been caught and interrogated. While the Jews were able to safely escape, the family, along with all the other members that had been caught, were sent to prison.
TP: Now in prison and separated from her loving family for the first time, Corrie struggles with the harsh conditions, but faithfully prays and preaches God to the others. -
Casper ten Boom (Corrie's Father) Dies
S: A man loved by all, Casper ten Boom passed away, though the reading of his will gave the chance for the ten Booms to see each other once again. Speaking discretely, Corrie was able to learn of what occurred, as well as the safety of the Jews they were hiding.
CD: (Negative) At the reading, Corrie was witness to the weak states of her beloved family, causing her to question and dwindle her faith. However, there, her sister smuggled her a bible, crucial to the continuation of her devotion. -
Casper ten Boom (Corrie's Father) Dies
Relation to Theme: Once again, Corrie's faith briefly falters... after her father's death, Corrie wonders why the Lord would take him so soon... She soon, however, realizes he is now in heaven, no longer having to suffer. -
Corrie and Betsie are Transported to Vught Concentration Camp
Relation to Theme: As Corrie learns more about her family's captors, her anger and hatred simmers up. Betsie, however, helps her by continuously preaching compassion and sympathy for others, using the Bible and preaching Christianity for others as well. -
Corrie and Betsie are Transported to Vught Concentration Camp
S: At Vught, the prisoners are separated by gender into barracks, though they have jobs together in the main camp. Betsie is assigned work sewing prison uniforms, while Corrie is given work in the radio factory.
CD: (Positive) While she enjoys her intricate work at the camp, Corrie is exposed to the harsh reality of the Nazis, including mass shootings and roll calls. While her contempt grows, Betsie is able to satiate it by further encouraging their faith in God and advocating compassion to all. -
Corrie and Betsie are Transported by Train to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp
S: Enduring a grim ride to the next camp in Germany, Corrie and Betsie suffer immensely, though it only worsen at the camp. There, they are put through grueling work and terrible living conditions, but Betsie eventually passes away.
TP: When Betsie passes, Corrie is hit extremely hard, and she resolves to fulfill Betsie's dream of a place for the survivors of the Holocaust. While they were opposites personality-wise, they had an extremely close bond, and Corrie struggles to function without her. -
Corrie and Betsie are Transported by Train to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp
Relation to Theme:When Betsie passes, Corrie mourns greatly, though she is happy to understand that she is now in Heaven, free from the miseries of living in these conditions.She also is given a new motivation, purpose, to fulfill Betsie's dream of a Christian home for survivors of the Holocaust. -
Corrie is Finally Discharged from the Camp
S: While years later she learns her release was a mistake that had saved her the fate of gas chambers, Corrie is finally discharged, and makes her way back to Haarlem. Though she initially continues her work in the underground, she realizes it is no longer the work God gives her, and instead focuses on Betsie's dream.
TP: Now free and given a different work by God, Corrie begins to once again preach his words as well as find a place to allow survivors to cope with their trauma, as Betsie wished. -
Corrie is Finally Discharged from the Camp
Relation to Theme: Corrie continues to practice Christianity throughout her time in the camp, and her constant faith rewards her-- she is released from the camp thanks to a mistake, but if it had not occurred, she would have been one of the countless women gassed to death at the camp in the following weeks. -
Holland is Liberated, and Corrie Opens the First Part of Schapenduinen
Relation to Theme: To fulfill Betsie's dream, Corrie begins a Christian rehabilitation center for war victims, and preaches worldwide on Christianity. -
Holland is Liberated, and Corrie Opens the First Part of Schapenduinen
S: A short time after Holland is liberated, Corrie officially opens Schapenduinen as a Christian rehabilitation center for war victims, a place Betsie had dreamed to open in the camps. She continues her work preaching Christianity and travels across the world to speak.
TP: Corrie officially begins her work, which spreads across the world as she opens more rehabilitation centers as time passes, along with writing a few books including a memoir (The Hiding Place) before passing away in 1983. -
Theme: Don't let your faith dwindle, as God prevails
