The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Week 10: Chapter 10 — Ravensbrück
Read Chapter 10 of The Hiding Place. Key Scripture: Philippians 4:11-13 — "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Previewing Week 10 of The Hiding Place
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 15-week guide when you’re ready.
Ravensbrück — the name alone became synonymous with human cruelty. And yet it is here, in the worst place Corrie and Betsie ever inhabit, that their testimony burns brightest. Prepare to be unsettled, and to be amazed.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Describe the conditions at Ravensbrück as Corrie presents them — the overcrowding, the fleas, the brutal labor, the roll calls, the death all around. What details are most striking to you? What does it cost you emotionally to sit with this chapter?
2.The episode of the fleas is one of the most famous in the book. Betsie insists that they should thank God for the fleas. Corrie resists. Later they discover why the fleas were, in an ironic way, a mercy. What is revealed, and what does this teach about the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to give thanks in all circumstances?
a.Is there something in your own life — something genuinely unpleasant — that you might be invited to thank God for, not knowing yet what He is doing with it?
3.Betsie and Corrie hold Bible studies in Barracks 28 that draw increasing numbers of prisoners — women of multiple nationalities and languages, translating for one another in whispered chains. What does this improvised, underground church reveal about what the church truly is and what it truly needs?