The Hiding Place is a widely read autobiographical book, first published in 1971, by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, recounting her Dutch family's efforts to shelter Jews during the Holocaust. The book details their capture, imprisonment in concentration camps, and the power of faith and forgiveness in the face of immense suffering.
The Hiding Place Paperback by John Sherrill Corrie Ten Boom ...
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom - 1971 Vintage paperback ...
The Hiding Place: of Corrie ten Boom, Bantam, 1971 ...
Plot Summary
The narrative begins in the ten Boom family home, the "Béjé," a watch shop in Haarlem, the Netherlands, where Corrie lives with her father and sister Betsie. As devout Christians, the family is deeply disturbed by the Nazi occupation and the persecution of the Jewish people. They become active in the Dutch resistance, building a small, secret room behind a false wall in Corrie's bedroom to hide Jewish refugees and underground workers.
Their operation successfully saves an estimated 800 lives until they are betrayed and arrested in February 1944. The people hidden in the secret room remain undiscovered and are later rescued. Corrie, Betsie, and their elderly father are imprisoned; their father dies in prison days later. The sisters are eventually transported to the brutal Ravensbrück women's concentration camp in Germany.
In the camp, despite horrific conditions, the sisters share their faith and a smuggled Bible with fellow prisoners, offering hope and holding secret worship services. Betsie dies in the camp, but not before sharing a vision of a post-war ministry of healing and reconciliation. Corrie is miraculously released a few days later due to a clerical error, narrowly escaping the gas chambers.
Themes and Legacy
After the war, Corrie fulfills Betsie's vision, establishing a rehabilitation home and traveling the world for over three decades to share her family's story and a powerful message of forgiveness, love, and resilience. She even publicly forgave a former Ravensbrück guard she encountered at one of her speaking engagements, demonstrating her deep-seated belief in the power of grace to overcome hatred.
Faith and Hope: The ten Boom family's unwavering Christian faith is the driving force behind their resistance efforts and their ability to find strength in the darkest of places.
Forgiveness: A central theme is the transformative power of forgiveness, even toward one's enemies and captors.
Courage and Compassion: The story highlights the extraordinary courage of ordinary people who risked everything to protect others.
A Historical Testament: The book serves as a vital educational tool about the Holocaust and the importance of compassion, ensuring that such persecution is never forgotten.
The family's home in Haarlem has been preserved as a museum, and Corrie ten Boom has been honored as one of the "Righteous Among the Nations" by the State of Israel. The book was also made into a successful film in 1975.