Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis

The family stays up one evening to listen to the Prime Minister of Holland address the nation over the radio. He vows that Holland will once again remain neutral. Casper Ten Boom, however, predicts war. Five hours later, an air raid begins. Betsie and Corrie awake at the sound of the bombing, and they pray for their country. Betsie, always the generous-hearted one, prays that the Germans will see the error of their ways.

The occupation quickly moves into Haarlem, though, at first, life is not disturbed too much. Everyone must carry identification and use ration cards. None of the media carries real news, only that which the German government wants to be told. Radios are confiscated. Corrie lies to the authorities when she only turns in their one, smaller radio. They hide the larger, more powerful radio under a stairwell...