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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
Very faith encouraging. Loved reading it. It's a bit difficult to get invested in the story, but it is very worth it.
Want an incredible story!! I've known about Corrie for years, but reading this book brought so much more of her story to light. Betsie & Corrie's unshakable faith in God through the most horrific circumstances makes this a must read for all Christians.
How should a Christian act when evil was in power?
This was a phenomenal memoir of survival during the Nazi era, up there with the very best I have read.
I first came across it when a friend shared the story of the fleas on Facebook. The story goes that as Corrie and her sister Betsie were in Ravensbruck women's prison camp, Betsie prayed in thanksgiving to God, including a prayer of thanks for the fleas that infested the dormitory barracks where they slept. Corrie could not comprehend how she could muster gratitude for something that only compounded the misery they experienced during that time.
Some time later, she noticed that a particularly horrible prison guard would never trouble them when they entered the dormitory, and it turned out it was because she (the prison guard) was repulsed by the fleas. So in a hidden twist of mercy, the detestable fleas provided a refuge for the prisoners from the awful Nazis.
After reading this story I found the book available for free as part of my Audible subscription, so I had no reason not to move it straight to the top of my reading list. I'm very glad I did.
The book starts by describing, in broad strokes, the first fifty years of her life, which were quite ordinary and largely unremarkable. With the Nazi occupation of Holland, everything changed.
Corrie and her family became active in the resistance, welcoming everyone and sheltering persecuted Jews.
It was a very human account, as she described how her devoutly Christian father would have theological discussions with devout Jews and how neighbourhood politics was altered by a common need to come together and support each other.
It was also riveting, as the measures they took were every bit as daring and nerve-wracking as a Hollywood spy movie. They set up an alert system and practised drills at every hour of the day and night so that everyone who needed to be invisible could conceal themselves behind a specially-installed false wall within about 100 seconds of the alarm being raised. Corrie describes how she initially faltered in the faux-interrogations when she was still half-asleep and needed to be trained to say the right things by reflex.
The day finally came when their house was raided by Nazis, and the training all paid off. All of the people they were sheltering survived the raid, but Corrie's whole family was carted off to prison.
Corrie spends some time detailing the misery of Scheveningen prison where she was separated from her family for months. At last she was reunited with her sister Betsie, and they learn that their father Casper died ten days after the raid.
There is a touching moment when Corrie connects with one of the prison guards, who she comes to realise is trapped himself, torn between disgust at what his job had become and a need to keep going for the sake of his family.
After a little more time, the inmates are transported to Ravensbruck women's prison. The account of the loathsome three-day train journey without any ventilation or sanitation provisions, and with 80 women crammed into a car with capacity only for 40, has haunted me. It is deeply shocking to hear about the possible extent of man's inhumanity to man.
While Corrie does not shy away from the horrors of life in the concentration camp, her focus was primarily on keeping the light of faith alive among the prison inmates. She managed to source a Bible in Scheveningen and, through several acts of Providence, managed to smuggle it all the way to Ravensbruck. With it, she and Betsie, her sister, led prayer groups and shared the joy of the gospel message with the other prisoners, safe in the barracks where the Nazi guards would not enter.
There are many more anecdotes and events towards the end, each pointing to something profound about the calling of a Christian. For example Corrie maintains that the greatest wickedness the devil wrought in those camps was the ability to make people feel justified in their selfishness. Surely it was reasonable, she would think, to take an extra blanket or an extra food or medicine ration, so that she and Betsie could be well enough to keep the prayer group going and serve the greater good of nourishing the faith of the other prisoners. Then she would realise how selfish that thinking was and how silently and insidiously it had wormed its way into her mind.
At times, the book is almost a hagiography of her sister Betsie, whose perspective was very often an antidote to these un-Christian thoughts, and whose faith was staggering, her joy unquenchable and her charitable spirit indomitable.
Ultimately, Corrie is released, but I was stunned to learn afterwards (on Wikipedia) that her release was the result of a clerical error, and a week later all the women her age in Ravensbruck were sent to the gas chambers.
It is a heart-rending story, and it is difficult not to feel conflicted when, after Corrie's release and the start of her new mission of speaking about her experiences, she struggles to shake hands with and forgive one of her Nazi guards who comes to one of her talks.
But this is the power of the book - she places the challenging message of the Gospel front and centre at all times. For anyone who thinks the Gospel is comfortable, this book will quickly deliver you of that illusion.
The book is in many ways similar to [b:Man's Search for Meaning|4069|Man's Search for Meaning|Viktor E. Frankl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535419394l/4069._SY75_.jpg|3389674] by Viktor Frankl, though one of the key, interesting differences is that it is a woman's account of life in a concentration camp. Like Frankl's book, this book has enormous power to reshape your life. It absolutely deserves to be among the classics of Christian literature.
All my friends are right. This is an awe inspiring book.
Excellent
Giving thanks to God in all circumstances......even the fleas. There is no greater gift than that if sharing the gospel with those around you no matter the trial..... Thus book is evident of that!
Giving thanks to God in all circumstances......even the fleas. There is no greater gift than that if sharing the gospel with those around you no matter the trial..... Thus book is evident of that!
What an amazing faith and story - you MUST read this!
reflective
medium-paced