Note from Steve Shultz:
Anje van Tongeren, a Christian non-Jew, lived in Holland during World War II and risked her life to help the Jewish people escape by forging documents for them. Her home was raided twice, and her father turned her in. She was sent to a Nazi prison camp.
After reading the article, There Comes a Time When Silence is Betrayal, in the May issue of ElijahRain magazine, she felt prompted to share her story with us. Anje is a member of the Righteous Among the Nations, a title of honor Israel grants to non-Jews who fought to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.
Steve Shultz
Founder, ElijahList and ElijahRain magazine
www.ElijahList.com
Prophetic TV
www.Prophetic.tv
This year, April 15, 2007, marked the 62nd Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah). It's still the most difficult day of the year for me. It's not the remembrance of the Holocaust that I struggle with the most, but rather, the forgetting and forgiving of it. The official ceremony with the lonely trumpet sound, followed by the two minutes of silence seems to bring back all the terror, insanity, and the painful experiences I have witnessed.
Featured Product
"Whirlwind Romance--Coming Up from the Wilderness Vol. 2"
$16.99 Audio CD
 This CD reflects the call of God to "Come away with Me, My beloved." Awesome worship with Ruth Fazal and excellent (more)
1-866-354-5245 (USA)
-OR- 1-541-926-3250 (Outside the USA) |
By insanity, I mean the horrible treatment people went through. It was much lower than anyone could have imagined—worse than the treatment of any animal. But so much worse than the gas chambers, the ovens, or the animal-like experiments people endured, was the torture—the terrible screams—the ripping apart of a baby right before its mother's eyes.
People had to dig their own graves, and then they were shot. Even if they weren't dead yet, that didn't matter, because a tractor would come and bulldoze over them, covering the graves. Oftentimes they made soap out of the bodies. Human hair was used for stuffing pillows and lamp shades were made out of human skin—especially skin with tattoos.
For me, there will never be a "Lest We Forget"
"Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay each person according to what he has done?"
—Proverbs 24:11-12
But the day also brings thanksgiving to mind. I have always believed in my guardian angel. And whenever I was afraid, I prayed to the Father in Heaven, "Help!"
I can remember shortly after the war, I was going to end it all, because it was then that I found out my father was our betrayer. I found that after the second raid on our home, my father turned us in—this was when I went to prison.
Many women were caught because of their resistance activities during this time. They not only hid the Jews, but also transported weapons for the underground, participated in armed raids on the Nazis, printed underground leaflets, or helped the allied pilots who landed by parachute when their planes were shot down over the Netherlands.
Featured Product
"Why is Israel Always on God's Mind?"
$12.99 2-CD Teaching Set
 This awesome set is packed with revelation and insight you can apply toward Israel, the Middle East, and toward ALL the (more)
1-866-354-5245 (USA)
-OR- 1-541-926-3250 (Outside the USA) |
There were so many reasons to end it all. My mother died in Ravensbruch Concentration Camp in January, 1945. My uncle was shot in Vught in 1944, at the age of 42. Most of my friends had died either by being shot, or while they were in the prison camps.
And there I was, one of the few that survived, and I was released from prison. I asked, "Why God—why me?"
After my release, I had no money. I was hungry most of the time and had to live with a father who made life unbearable for me. I was going to turn on the gas and end it all—but then I heard a small voice say, "Don't do it." I obeyed the voice, but went on to bed still praying, "Why?" Then suddenly, I heard a voice saying, "I am the Judge." At that very moment, the hatred left my life. A beautiful peace settled over me and I was free from worry about my future. I knew my Heavenly Father would take care of me.
"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."—Romans 5:5
As I grew in the Lord, I found the small voice that had spoken to me the day I was going to end it all, was the voice of the Holy Spirit, and the guardian angel, who was with me during the days in the prison camp, was Jesus. He was the One who was with me at all times. He was with me in prison. He was the One who gave me courage when I was hungry and lonely, when bullets were flying, and when I was sitting in the cold. He saved me from so many dangers.
We must remember that God's grace is always at work, especially in the midst of our greatest difficulties. His grace is sometimes hidden when all seems to be going well, but it's always there.
Tragedy opens our eyes to His presence in ways that good times never can. It was during these most difficult times I recognized He was always present and powerful, and that even death couldn't keep us from Him.
Featured Product
"Delivering the Captives"
$14.99 Book
 Do you suffer from an unbridled temper, overpowering sinful habits, overwhelming sadness, or (more)
1-866-354-5245 (USA)
-OR- 1-541-926-3250 (Outside the USA) |
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation (war), or distress (not knowing where to turn), or persecution (being watched and followed), or famine (hunger, eating whatever you can find, even rotten potatoes in prison), or nakedness (no human comforts whatsoever), or peril (constant danger and complete hopelessness), or sword (bullets, bomb shells, and fire)? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."—Romans 8:35-39 (paraphrased)
Not only did six million Jews die, but also, so many Gentiles. I know the Holocaust was real, and it should never be forgotten!
My name is Anje van Tongeren, I am 78 years old. I reside in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I have two daughters, Freda and Joanne and one grandson, Raymond. I was born on October 7, 1928 and raised in a city in northern Holland called Groningen, I was an only child. I am an active member of Aglow (being Prayer Chairman, tape guest speakers and telephone chairman) and First Nations Community Church where I am also a Prayer Chairman. I have been asked to speak for several church groups, the last one being a special service held in remembrance of the Jewish Holocaust, and as a Gentile, I have a different take on things.
For this article and MUCH more, purchase the AUGUST issue of ElijahRain magazine.
| Featured Products | ||
|---|---|---|
|
"Can't You Talk Louder, God?"
$15.99 Book
(details) |
NEW! "Elijah Seasons 12-month Calendar"
(PRE-ORDER) $12.99 Calendar
(details) |
"Yes, Faith Will Move Your Mountain, but Favor Causes Others to Move Your Mountain For You!"
$12.99
2-CD Teaching Set (details) |
|
"Decree for Kids!"
$16.00 Audio CD
(details) |
"Essence of Jerusalem - Eau De Perfume Spray for Women"
Sale - $22.99 1 oz. (details) |
"It's Time! 8"x10" signed print"
$16.95 Artwork
(details) |
| 1-866-354-5245 (USA) -OR- 1-541-926-3250 (Outside the USA) |
