I’ve been reading the story of Corrie ten Boom. I was surprised at the information told regarding Hitler and the Third Reich—from Corrie’s perspective. Back then they didn’t have up-to-date news as we do now, so the takeover of Hitler was quite a shock to the European people. Here are a few quotes.

• A growing evil appeared on the eastern horizon…a socialism of the most heartless kind (this seems much like we feel now in America).
• It is called the National Socialist German workers Nazi party.
• They were called progressives (sound familiar?). In this Nazi party the poor, the old, the feebleminded, and the handicapped were enemies of progress. And soon the Jews became enemies too.
• The leader among the Nazi party, Hitler, appeared laughable at first, comical, then maddening.
• This man Hitler sounded like the devil himself…he was afraid of no one…he was diabolically shrewd.
• They walked into Czechoslovakia and took over the entire country. They invaded Poland, Norway, and Denmark.
• The Dutch people of Haarlem (where Corrie lived) walked the streets in a daze. Within two days the Dutch army surrendered.
• The Germans were very well-organized.

Of course, the worst of it was quite hidden from everyone—the concentration camps and the brutal extermination of so many Jews. In my reading, I’m just getting into the parts when they were hiding Jews behind fake walls. It was quite an operation—a labor of love!

My Work

I just finished a long painting job, taking all of August and into Sept. The job had good points and bad point. I’ll get the bad points over first. There were a lot of high areas where ladders and roof jacks were involved and as a result I now have some rib injuries; but it is healing up. And painting the high fence around the yard was not fun—trying to get in behind the flowers and tall bushes.

But the good points I think far out-weighed the bad points. The people, which I have known for over thirty years, are very kind., They invited me for lunch every day, and they also were very complimentary of all my work and paid me well. I will keep them in my prayers as they are very old. I have been retired for a about ten years—but still working. Maybe now, after my rib injuries, I will start taking my retirement more serious