Casper ten Boom (May 18, 1859 – March 10, 1944) was a Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. He is the father of author Corrie ten Boom. He died March 10, 1944, while in the Scheveningen Prison after being arrested by the Nazis.

Background

Willem Ten Boom was the son of Caspar Ten Boom(1816-1892) and the grandson of Gerrit ten Boom, a gardener on the Hofstede estate in Heemstede. In 1837 Willem started a watch shop in Haarlem. Casper was born in 1859. When Casper was eighteen years old, he started a jewelry store in Amsterdam. While he was there, he started a work among the poor people called Tot Heil des Volks (For the Salvation of the People). In Sunday School he met and married Cor Luitingh in 1884.Ten Boom was a watchmaker from Haarlem, Netherlands. He and his wife Cor had three daughters (Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" (1892-1983), Elisabeth "Betsie" (1885-1944), and Arnolda Johanna "Nollie" (1890-October 22, 1953) and a son, Willem (November 21, 1886-December 13, 1946). Another child, Hendrick Jan (September 12, 1888-March 6, 1889), died in infancy. His wife died in 1921 from a stroke. Willem and Nollie both married and moved away, leaving Casper with his two unmarried daughters Corrie and Betsie in their home and workshop. The Ten Boom family were members of the Protestant Dutch Reformed Church.

Activities during the Holocaust

The family of Casper was a devout generous Christian family, and according to The Hiding Place, in 1918, the family took in the first of many foster children that they would shelter over the years. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Casper became very active in helping Jewish people fleeing from the Nazis. In May 1942 a woman came to the Ten Booms asking for help. Nervously, she told Ten Boom that she was a Jew and that her husband had been arrested several months before, and her son had gone into hiding. Occupation authorities had recently visited her, and she was too fearful to return home. After hearing about how they had previously helped other Jews fleeing the Nazi Holocaust, she asked if she might stay with them, and Casper readily agreed. A devoted reader of the Old Testament, Casper ten Boom believed Jews were indeed "the chosen," and told the woman, "In this household, God's people are always welcome." When the Nazis began requiring all Jews to wear the Star of David, he voluntarily wore one also.

Arrest and death

On February 28 1944, the Gestapo raided his house and arrested Casper and his daughters. As he was interrogated, the Gestapo told him they would release him because of his age so that he could "die in his own bed". He replied: "If I go home today, tomorrow I will open my door to anyone who knocks for help". On March 10, Casper died at the Hague Municipal Hospital at the age of 84 after only ten days in Scheveningen Prison. When Casper was asked if he knew he could die for helping Jews, he replied, "It would be an honor to give my life for God's chosen people."

References

1. Corrie Ten Boom,Father Ten Boom: God's Man. Old Tappen, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1978.
2. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum encyclopedia
3. Dave Jackson, Neta Jackson. The Complete Book of Christian Heroes: Over 200 Stories of Courageous People. Tyndale House Publishers, 2005
4. Corrie ten Boom museum - history

Sources

• Corrie ten Boom museum
• Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, The Hiding Place, Guideposts Associates, 1971.