In The Hiding Place, ten Boom does not name the guard, but only says that she recognized him as the first SS jailer she encountered at Ravensbruck.
In other speeches and in biographies, she retells the story, but never uses the man's name. I suspect there are multiple reasons, including protecting him from harm, but, knowing Corrie ten Boom's heart, I think the primary reason she omits his name is that she wants the focus to be on how God can forgive through us--even when we are resistant.
In a 1972 interview for Guidepost magazine, she related:
And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling."
That truly is the essence of the encounter and of her life's work: Forgiveness is a choice, and God is faithful to honor those who forgive.
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