When we think about a concentration camp we are immediately confronted with human depravity and cruelty. The guards in these camps were brutal and merciless. The Nazi creed proclaimed that many people, including Jewish and disabled people are, ‘life unworthy of life’. Hitler once wrote: “Victory is to the strong and the weak must go to the wall.” This is the context into which the life of Corrie ten Boom takes shape.
She was born in 1892 in Haarlem in the Netherlands. Her family were committed Christians and her father made his living as a watch maker. Apparently he could be so absorbed in the joys of his calling that he often neglected to charge his customers for his services. Corrie also trained to be a watch maker and she became the first woman to be licensed in this profession in 1922.
During the second world war the ten Boom family was active in the Dutch resistance, risking their lives sheltering those hunted by the Gestapo. Some fugitives would stay only a few hours, while others would stay several days until another safe house could be found. Corrie became a leader in this movement, overseeing a network of safe houses in the country. Through these subversive activities, it was estimated that the lives of 800 Jewish people were saved.
Then in 1944 Corrie and her family were arrested by the Gestapo. Her father died in a prison and then Corrie and her sister Betsie were taken to the infamous Ravensbrück concentration camp. It was in this setting that the two sisters reached out in love to so many prisoners with the gospel.
Corrie and her sister, Betsie, were assigned to a dormitory crawling with lice and fleas. Struggling to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 and “give thanks in all circumstances,” Betsie prayed and thanked God for the nasty, biting, insects. Corrie was understandably taken aback by her sister’s deep piety and trust in God. The sisters faithfully read their smuggled Bible with other prisoners every day. At first they were very secretive for fear of the callous guards. They could not grasp why the guards permitted this special time of Bible reading and study. Only later did they learn that the guards refused to enter their dormitory because of the biting insects.
There are so many things that Corrie did after she was miraculously released from the gruesome camp. She became a very popular evangelist travelling the world with a gripping testimony but we want to highlight the way in which she rented a former concentration camp in order to use it as a shelter for displaced people.
In her book Tramp for the Lord she tells a moving story about a former concert pianist who loved to play music by Johann Sebastian Bach. First the background. After the war friends of Corie helped her to rent a former concentration camp in Darmstadt. They transformed this cruel and evil institution into a home for displaced persons. A place of healing and welcome. The home had room for 160 refugees and soon it was full with a long waiting list. Corrie worked closely with the Lutheran church on this redemptive project. The barbed wire vanished; flowers and light, attractive paint enfolded the camp and brought delight to the inmates. An institution that had been designed to create misery was now a centre of restoration and healing. For this is the kingdom of God breaking in to broken lives.
Corrie describes in her book how she would walk through the camp talking with the lonely, downcast refugees. Her mission was to bring joy and the merciful reign of Jesus into these battered and bruised lives. One afternoon, Corrie spotted an elderly woman huddled in the corner of a room. There she crouched, like a child who had just been whipped; her worn, threadbare dress was pulled tightly around her gaunt, fragile body. Corrie noticed her confusion and sadness. How could she bless this woman?
Corrie sat beside her on the floor and probed her gently and patiently about her life. The woman told her that she used to be a professor of music and that a minister in a nearby town had given her permission to play his piano. Unfortunately the minister’s home was many miles away and walking there took a long time. Corrie explained to the professor that she loved the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the eyes of the pianist lit up. She unfolded her proposal:
“Would you care to accompany me to the minister’s home? I would be most happy to play for you.” The two women set out and walked several miles to the minister’s domicile. The pianist sat down at the rather battered piano. The rusted strings were exposed through the warped frame and the pedals had been broken off. The situation did not look promising.
Looking up, the elderly professor asked Corrie what piece by Bach she should play. Corrie prayed silently that her answer would be agreeable to her new friend. She blurted out: “Would you play the ‘Chromatic Phantasy of Bach?” This was a very difficult piano piece and Corrie reproached herself momentarily for making this request. The woman, however, responded with a cheerful nod and her fingers engaged the broken keyboard with finesse and skill. Corrie could hardly believe her ears as the beautiful and mellifluous music of Bach flowed from those wrinkled fingers. Tears came to her eyes as she revelled in the exquisite music of the German Christian composer. The woman was alive and fully present as she unfolded her calling as a gifted pianist.
There is so much we can learn from this poignant story. We should notice the power of an institution to change lives. It doesn’t have to be a church. Cadbury’s factory brought joy to his employees. This former concentration camp, transformed into a loving home, had brought joy and hope to a woman who loved playing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. This should alert us to the biblical theme of the creation mandate and how in Jesus Christ we are set free from the power of sin to once again serve the Lord with all our many talents and gifts.
What a gift Corrie ten Boom was to that elderly professor and pianist!
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
- The Inspiring Story of Corrie ten Boom and the Concert Pianist - April 29, 2026
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