The most important theme of this story is God's love is always there no matter
how dark the shadows are that fall over us. This could be seen first in
how the ten Boom's secret work for the Resistance was challenged many
times and yet always persevered until God Himself decided to allow the
raid that sent Corrie and Betsie to prison. He needed them in the various
prisons and concentration camps to provide hope for those who were facing,
at the least, the horrific conditions within the prisons and, at the most,
their inevitable deaths. He provided miracles such as the never-emptying
vitamin bottle as a light which shone on the power of His love. Later,
he used Betsie's prophetic deathbed words to help Corrie find a way to
help those who were in the most pain from the events set in motion by
the Nazis. Even when Corrie feels her greatest despair, He is always there
in the Scriptures they have secreted in or in the words of comfort that
Betsie always has to offer.
Another theme involves the idea of love for our fellow man. Even when Casper
ten Bloom was offered the chance to return home after his arrest if he
promised not to bring any more Jews into his home, he proclaimed that
if he was sent home, he would always provide shelter for anyone who needed
him. This lesson was totally a part of how he raised his children, and
Corrie and Betsie both practiced this compassionate idea. No matter how
bad or how in need they were, they always believed that it was their responsibility
to show love to the least among us. This later was even more evident in
the ministry that Corrie and Betsie provided for all the other prisoners,
no matter how ill the women might be or how disgusted they might feel
by the behavior of those around them, including the guards. After the
war, Corrie met up with a guard whom she hadn't seen since Ravensbruck
and forgave him. She even forgave Jan Vogel, the collaborator who had
turned in the ten Booms for hiding Jews. Only this love for her fellow
man could have allowed her the strength to do this.
The theme of prejudice weaves throughout the story as well when we see the
anti-Semitic feelings even among some of the Dutch. The Nazis systematically
rounded up the Jews in Holland and shipped them to concentration camps
in Germany and Poland. Meanwhile, Corrie and her family did everything
they could to hide as many of these people as they could and worked to
disrupt the Nazi machine in Holland. Within this framework can be seen
the terrible damage prejudice does when it's allowed to degenerate from
individual acts of hatred toward people of another race or religion to
a government sponsored act of genocide. Betsie and Father lost their lives
fighting against this terrible prejudice, but Corrie lived to speak against
it and offer love in its place.
There's also the theme of honesty and when it's right in the eyes of God to
be dishonest. In the course of their work in the Resistance Movement,
Corrie and her family were frequently placed in positions where telling
a lie would save a life. The youngest sister, Nollie, was especially determined
to be honest at all costs, believing that an honest person would be given
God's protection. She proved to be right even when it nearly meant her
sons would be rounded up by the Gestapo. However, it opened up a question
that Corrie struggled with as she tried to remain true to the laws of
God and still save those who needed saving.
Finally, there is the theme of the responsibility of a Christian to stand up against evil. Corrie frequently struggled against the feeling of wanting to protect her own family even when it would mean allowing innocent people to go to their deaths. She witnessed a minister, a man of the cloth, refuse to take in a Jewish woman and newborn baby for fear it would compromise him and his family. Many times, she saw what she thought were good Christians collaborating with Nazis and turning in those who were enemies of the German state. Always, she knew the right path, but the danger and her inner fear sometimes held her back and made her selfish. She learned from Betsie's and Father's examples the right way to live and be a responsible Christian.
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Cite this page:
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on The Hiding Place".
TheBestNotes.com.
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