The Hiding Place
Author: Corrie ten Boom
Characters: God, Corrie ten Boom, Betsie ten Boom (sister), Father, Mother, Nollie, Pickwick, Willem.
The Hiding Place is a memoir by Corrie ten Boom, detailing her experiences during World War II. When the Nazis invaded Holland, Corrie ten Boom's quiet life, living with her elderly father and sister above their family’s watch shop, transforms into a living nightmare, because she made her home a "hiding place" for Jews, she and her family were sent to a concentration camp. Refusing to despair, Corrie discovered how Jesus can turn grief to grace and bring God the glory, even in suffering. It is a story of courage, faith, and the power of forgiveness.
Faith is a powerful theme in this book, and nowhere is the power of faith exemplified more, than in the character of Corrie ten Boom, herself, and how her faith in God carried Corrie and her family through even the darkest moments of her life, and how, even when she was imprisoned, and sick, and utterly stripped of everything, God was still with her, and she was able to see the joy shining through the dark cloud of suffering.
The two things that were most significant in helping Corrie endure the darkness was the precious Bible that she carried, hidden on her back, during her years of imprisonment and suffering, and the strong bond of sisterly love that Corrie shared with her sister, the wise and beautiful Betsy ten Boom.
When Corrie was alone in prison, God provided her with comfort in the form of the four Gospels, bound in four small booklets, that the nurse secretly gave Corrie when she was being seen for a checkup. When Corrie generously gave away her last Gospel to a fellow inmate the day before, she had no idea that she would be briefly seeing her family the following day for the reading of her father’s will, but God was still watching over Corrie, and in that moment, He provided Corrie with another precious gift when Corrie’s sister, Nollie, smuggles a package into the prison and surreptitiously gives it to her in the midst of an embrace. This secret gift was a Bible, tucked into a small pouch that Corrie could carry hidden on her back… and it is this same precious Book that God allowed to slip undetected through so many inspections and searches. This Bible gave comfort and hope, not only to Corrie, but to her sister and the other suffering inmates, as well, when Corrie and her sister are reunited, and their nightly Bible reading and prayer time became a beacon of hope, shining in a dark storm, to the women suffering in the lonely barracks that they are confined in.
When Corrie was imprisoned in her solitary cell, her body was weak from sickness, and she was suffering from starvation, not just from food, but from color and conversation and company, but her heart found strength and comfort in the beauty she saw around her. Corrie had a window in her dark cell, and although this small opening was high up and covered in bars, Corrie could see outside, and feel the warmth and beauty of the sun, and see the vibrant colors of the sky every day, because in such lonely darkness, even sunlight is a comforting friend. Corrie also found solace in a tiny, black ant who befriended her when she was so desperately and utterly alone. She used color to make that cold, colorless room more cheerful when she embroidered her pajamas and her sister’s blue sweater in cheerful, red designs. She also found comfort in remembering her father’s wise story to her, of a father carrying a heavy bag for his little daughter, because she was not strong enough yet, to carry it, herself, and how this metaphor compares to our Heavenly Father’s love for us, and how He will never give us a burden we cannot bear. Even in that lonely cell, Corrie’s still felt God’s loving care.
When the sisters are living at the Beje with their father and their secret family of Jews, Corrie became the unspoken leader of their underground operation, and Betsy became the provider for their family, both physically and emotionally. While Betsy initially worked in the watch shop with her father and Corrie saw to the running of their home, the sisters realized that they were doing the work backwards when Betsy got sick. Corrie realized that she deeply enjoyed the challenge of watch repair and creating a system which allowed their humble watch shop to keep track of orders and make money on their sales, but she realized that Betsy rather enjoyed keeping house while she was sick. She and Corrie traded work and Betsy started running the house, creating delicious meals on a scant budget and creating beauty in the house, like her mother did before she died. Betsy adopted her mother's knack for looking after the poor and hungry and having special events of reading and music to keep their spirits strong during that dark and oppressive time when Holland was under the icy grip of their enemies. When the bombs were crashing overhead, Betsy would comfort her sister with whispered prayers and encouragement when Corrie was scared.
In a sense, Betsy is like a living conscience for her sister, as she helps Corrie to see the blessings that God surrounds the sisters with, even in prison, and she reminds Corrie of God’s love and promises when Corrie’s own heart is struggling to recognize them. Although the sisters are stripped of everything when they are imprisoned, from their identities, to their possessions, their dignity, to their voices, and they were subjected to unspeakable horrors, their faith allowed them to see the precious ways that God was taking care of them… most importantly, that the sisters were together in that dark prison, and that their precious Bible had gone through countless inspections and transfers without being discovered and confiscated. The inhumane living conditions in the prison allowed the sisters to share the Gospel with their fellow prisoners and give them all a small measure of comfort and hope, without being caught by the guards, because the guards could not tolerate the squalor that their prisoners were being forced to endure… and this, in turn, allowed the prisoners a small measure of freedom. And although Corrie struggled at times, to find joy in all circumstances, and to give her love to others, selflessly and willingly, as her Mama and Betsy did, her sister was always there to remind Corrie of God’s perfect love, and taught her, by example, to pray, even for their enemies and be thankful for the less pleasant gifts that God provided… like fleas and filthy bedding and endless work…which were transformed from hardships and suffering into hope and healing for both the sisters and the other prisoners who heard their heartfelt messages night after night, and allowed their hearts to be filled with love, rather than crushed by such cruel and unrelenting hatred.
The blue sweater plays a significant role in Corrie’s journey. When Corrie and her sister are being imprisoned, the blue sweater not only served to protect Betsy’s frail body from the bitter cold and keep her warm, but it also kept their precious Bible from being discovered by the prison guards, and thus, kept their souls warm with the beautiful words these women soaked in from the pages to sustain her. When Betsy died, Corrie tried to retrieve the sweater…her last physical link to her sister…but even though the sweater was riven with black lice and ink stains and had to be destroyed, Corrie’s bond with Betsy remained joined in the promise that they would be reunited in Heaven, with their family and the Lord. When Corrie saw her sister’s face for the last time, she was amazed to see that all the signs of her sister’s suffering were now gone, and Betsy’s beauty was restored as she went home to the Lord. In the end, the seeds that Father and Betsy had sown in Corrie’s heart about God’s perfect love and forgiveness brought forth a great harvest of love as Corrie fulfilled her last promise to Betsy to open the big house in Holland, as they planned, and to visit these graveyards where so much hatred and pain had been given and transform these places into places that gave love instead.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Author: Corrie ten Boom
Characters: God, Corrie ten Boom, Betsie ten Boom (sister), Father, Mother, Nollie, Pickwick, Willem.
The Hiding Place is a memoir by Corrie ten Boom, detailing her experiences during World War II. When the Nazis invaded Holland, Corrie ten Boom's quiet life, living with her elderly father and sister above their family’s watch shop, transforms into a living nightmare, because she made her home a "hiding place" for Jews, she and her family were sent to a concentration camp. Refusing to despair, Corrie discovered how Jesus can turn grief to grace and bring God the glory, even in suffering. It is a story of courage, faith, and the power of forgiveness.
Faith is a powerful theme in this book, and nowhere is the power of faith exemplified more, than in the character of Corrie ten Boom, herself, and how her faith in God carried Corrie and her family through even the darkest moments of her life, and how, even when she was imprisoned, and sick, and utterly stripped of everything, God was still with her, and she was able to see the joy shining through the dark cloud of suffering.
The two things that were most significant in helping Corrie endure the darkness was the precious Bible that she carried, hidden on her back, during her years of imprisonment and suffering, and the strong bond of sisterly love that Corrie shared with her sister, the wise and beautiful Betsy ten Boom.
When Corrie was alone in prison, God provided her with comfort in the form of the four Gospels, bound in four small booklets, that the nurse secretly gave Corrie when she was being seen for a checkup. When Corrie generously gave away her last Gospel to a fellow inmate the day before, she had no idea that she would be briefly seeing her family the following day for the reading of her father’s will, but God was still watching over Corrie, and in that moment, He provided Corrie with another precious gift when Corrie’s sister, Nollie, smuggles a package into the prison and surreptitiously gives it to her in the midst of an embrace. This secret gift was a Bible, tucked into a small pouch that Corrie could carry hidden on her back… and it is this same precious Book that God allowed to slip undetected through so many inspections and searches. This Bible gave comfort and hope, not only to Corrie, but to her sister and the other suffering inmates, as well, when Corrie and her sister are reunited, and their nightly Bible reading and prayer time became a beacon of hope, shining in a dark storm, to the women suffering in the lonely barracks that they are confined in.
When Corrie was imprisoned in her solitary cell, her body was weak from sickness, and she was suffering from starvation, not just from food, but from color and conversation and company, but her heart found strength and comfort in the beauty she saw around her. Corrie had a window in her dark cell, and although this small opening was high up and covered in bars, Corrie could see outside, and feel the warmth and beauty of the sun, and see the vibrant colors of the sky every day, because in such lonely darkness, even sunlight is a comforting friend. Corrie also found solace in a tiny, black ant who befriended her when she was so desperately and utterly alone. She used color to make that cold, colorless room more cheerful when she embroidered her pajamas and her sister’s blue sweater in cheerful, red designs. She also found comfort in remembering her father’s wise story to her, of a father carrying a heavy bag for his little daughter, because she was not strong enough yet, to carry it, herself, and how this metaphor compares to our Heavenly Father’s love for us, and how He will never give us a burden we cannot bear. Even in that lonely cell, Corrie’s still felt God’s loving care.
When the sisters are living at the Beje with their father and their secret family of Jews, Corrie became the unspoken leader of their underground operation, and Betsy became the provider for their family, both physically and emotionally. While Betsy initially worked in the watch shop with her father and Corrie saw to the running of their home, the sisters realized that they were doing the work backwards when Betsy got sick. Corrie realized that she deeply enjoyed the challenge of watch repair and creating a system which allowed their humble watch shop to keep track of orders and make money on their sales, but she realized that Betsy rather enjoyed keeping house while she was sick. She and Corrie traded work and Betsy started running the house, creating delicious meals on a scant budget and creating beauty in the house, like her mother did before she died. Betsy adopted her mother's knack for looking after the poor and hungry and having special events of reading and music to keep their spirits strong during that dark and oppressive time when Holland was under the icy grip of their enemies. When the bombs were crashing overhead, Betsy would comfort her sister with whispered prayers and encouragement when Corrie was scared.
In a sense, Betsy is like a living conscience for her sister, as she helps Corrie to see the blessings that God surrounds the sisters with, even in prison, and she reminds Corrie of God’s love and promises when Corrie’s own heart is struggling to recognize them. Although the sisters are stripped of everything when they are imprisoned, from their identities, to their possessions, their dignity, to their voices, and they were subjected to unspeakable horrors, their faith allowed them to see the precious ways that God was taking care of them… most importantly, that the sisters were together in that dark prison, and that their precious Bible had gone through countless inspections and transfers without being discovered and confiscated. The inhumane living conditions in the prison allowed the sisters to share the Gospel with their fellow prisoners and give them all a small measure of comfort and hope, without being caught by the guards, because the guards could not tolerate the squalor that their prisoners were being forced to endure… and this, in turn, allowed the prisoners a small measure of freedom. And although Corrie struggled at times, to find joy in all circumstances, and to give her love to others, selflessly and willingly, as her Mama and Betsy did, her sister was always there to remind Corrie of God’s perfect love, and taught her, by example, to pray, even for their enemies and be thankful for the less pleasant gifts that God provided… like fleas and filthy bedding and endless work…which were transformed from hardships and suffering into hope and healing for both the sisters and the other prisoners who heard their heartfelt messages night after night, and allowed their hearts to be filled with love, rather than crushed by such cruel and unrelenting hatred.
The blue sweater plays a significant role in Corrie’s journey. When Corrie and her sister are being imprisoned, the blue sweater not only served to protect Betsy’s frail body from the bitter cold and keep her warm, but it also kept their precious Bible from being discovered by the prison guards, and thus, kept their souls warm with the beautiful words these women soaked in from the pages to sustain her. When Betsy died, Corrie tried to retrieve the sweater…her last physical link to her sister…but even though the sweater was riven with black lice and ink stains and had to be destroyed, Corrie’s bond with Betsy remained joined in the promise that they would be reunited in Heaven, with their family and the Lord. When Corrie saw her sister’s face for the last time, she was amazed to see that all the signs of her sister’s suffering were now gone, and Betsy’s beauty was restored as she went home to the Lord. In the end, the seeds that Father and Betsy had sown in Corrie’s heart about God’s perfect love and forgiveness brought forth a great harvest of love as Corrie fulfilled her last promise to Betsy to open the big house in Holland, as they planned, and to visit these graveyards where so much hatred and pain had been given and transform these places into places that gave love instead.
© 2025 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.