Casper ten Boom
| Casper ten Boom | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 May 1859 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Died | 10 March 1944 (aged 84) Scheveningen Prison |
| Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
| Residence | Barteljorisstraat 19, Haarlem, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Other names | Opa, Haarlem's Grand Old Man |
| Citizenship | Netherlands |
| Education | Primary School |
| Occupation | Watchmaker |
| Years active | over 60 years |
| Known for | Aiding Jews and resisters |
| Home town | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Board member of | Haarlem School Board |
| Spouse(s) | Cornelia Johanna Arnolda ten Boom-Luitingh |
| Children | Betsie, Willem, Nollie, Corrie |
| Parent(s) | Willem and Elisabeth ten Boom |
| Website | ten Boom Museum |
Casper ten Boom (18 May 1859 – 10 March 1944) was a Dutch Christian who helped many Jews and resisters escape the Nazis during the Holocaust of World War II. He is the father of Betsie and Corrie ten Boom, who also aided the Jews and were sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp where Betsie died. Casper ten Boom died 10 March 1944 at the Scheveningen Prison, ten days after the arrest of the family.
Casper was born in Haarlem in 1859, the son of Willem ten Boom, who had a watchshop. When Ten Boom was eighteen years old, he started a jewelry store in Amsterdam. He had grown up in a family that belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church and had strong faith. While living in Amsterdam, he started a work among the poor people called Tot Heil des Volks (For the Salvation of the People). Later he returned to Haarlem to live.
In Sunday School he met Cornelia Johanna Arnolda Luitingh (commonly known as "Cor"), whom he married in 1884. Like his father, he lived and worked in the same building, with the shop on the ground floor and living quarters on the two floors above. He and Cor had five children, four of whom survived to adulthood: Elisabeth "Betsie" (1885-1944), Willem (21 November 1886 - 13 December 1946), Arnolda Johanna "Nollie" (1890 - 22 October 1953), and Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" (1892-1983). Another child, Hendrick Jan (12 September 1888 - 6 March 1889), died in infancy. Casper's wife died in 1921 from a stroke.
While Willem and Nollie both married and moved away, Ten Boom lived with his two unmarried daughters Betsie and Corrie in their home and watchmaking workshop. The Ten Boom family were members of the Protestant Dutch Reformed Church.
The Ten Boom family were devout and generous Christians. According to The Hiding Place, in 1918 the family took in the first of many foster children that they would shelter over the years. Corrie ran special church services for disabled children for 20 years. The Dutch Reformed Church "protested Nazi persecution of Jews as an injustice to fellow human beings and an affront to divine authority." The Ten Boom family strongly believed that people were equal before God.
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