The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

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.

My Verdict

I had never read this book and it showed up on some banned books lists in a couple southern states. I knew that this book was written by a Christian author and so I was a little intrigued. This became the catalyst that led me to read this book now.

I would first like to point out that this book was intended for 9-12 year olds and as such there is no graphic description to speak of. Next, it is an autobiographical book by Corrie ten Boom that recounts her and her family's experience before and during her imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust during World War II.

I find it difficult to discount an author's personal experience. The Ten Boom’s family commitment to not only do what is right but also to discern what that right thing might be is incredible. Corrie’s ability to be peaceful and not embittered after the War and everything she went through is an amazing tribute to her faith. She is honest about who it was more difficult to forgive than others, and how she found the ability to do so. This should be relatable to any Christian reader. The sections about her capture and imprisonment are remarkable for their combination of honesty about the suffering combined with clear forgiveness and lack of bitterness for her captors.

"When He [God] tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself."

Corrie also demonstrates a viewpoint of both the body and soul needing to be cared for in order for the human being to be completely well and whole. She notes both when a German captor is clearly well cared-for but wanting in soul care and when a prisoner is happy in the soul but wretched in the body, noting neither is as God intended.

Corrie’s commitment to peace is also seen following the war when she establishes and runs a home to help all people (no matter which side they were on) find their way again after the war. Truly an inspiration in peace work. It’s also inspiring that she didn’t find this labor until she was in her 50s. An indicator that our calling may not fully come until later in life.

In the end, I see no reason to ban this book about faith and forgiveness unless those who are banning it believe that the ten Boom family should not have hidden Jewish people to prevent their imminent death.

I give this book a strong 4 stars.