Friday Favorites: The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill

Recommended For: Ages 13 and up

Rating: PG-13 (Disturbing Content)

  At one time Corrie ten Boom would have laughed at the Idea that there would ever be a story to tell. For the first fifty years of her life nothing at all out of the ordinary had ever happened to her. She was an old-maid watchmaker living contentedly with her spinster sister and their elderly father in the tiny Dutch house over their shop. Their uneventful days, as regulated as their own watches, revolved around their abiding love for one another. However, with the Nazi invasion and occupation of Holland, a story did ensue.

Corrie ten Boom and her family became leaders in the Dutch Underground, hiding Jewish people in their home in a specially built room and aiding their escape from the Nazis. For their help, all but Corrie found death in a concentration camp. The Hiding Place is their story.

This is an amazing book about Corrie Ten Boom's experience during World War II. The book starts out by going through Corrie's childhood and adult life. The book tells of how their country was taken over by the Nazis and the changes that happened as a result. It also tells of how the Ten Booms helped shelter Jews from the Nazis. It went into detail on their secret room and the drills they had to do to make sure if they were searched that no one would be found. They were searched one day but there was no evidence found of any Jews, though the Nazis suspected that they were hiding them. The Ten Booms were arrested for having extra ration cards. When they were arrested, Corrie was sick and she had to leave a bag that she had packed for jail, because she had thrown it over the small door into the secret room where some Jews were hiding. 

 When they were put in jail, the Ten Boom family was separated. It was a while until Corrie found out what had happened to her family. While she was in jail, she received the four Gospels, which she eventually gave away. Corrie and her sister, Betsie were taken to a concentration camp. While they were there, they ministered to the other women that were there. They trusted in God and were thankful no matter how horrible their situation was. There was some sort of medicine that Betsie took. Betsie shared it with the other women and there was always enough. They didn't know how it had lasted so long. One day they got something that served as a replacement for what they already had. Corrie wanted to finish their bottle first, but that night it was empty. Corrie was eventually let out of the concentration camp. There is some of what happened to her after leaving the camp. The most amazing thing is the reason she was let out of the camp, but you have to read the book to find out. This book was well written in a way in which it is easy to concentrate on.

There is a lot of information on what went on in the concentration camps, and while it isn't graphic, it doesn't tone it down.

This is a really great book to read and I would highly recommend it for everyone to eventually read.