The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom

"Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word." --Psalm 119 : 114 Psalm 119 and verse 114 is where the title of this book is derived from. Everyone & Anyone can be inspired by this story. But it has enhanced meaning for those that love Christ and those that study Black History. Since I meet both conditions, this book has a double impact upon me. First to those that study Black History, you might be asking how & why? As this story takes place in occupied Holland during World War 2. To my knowledge, there's not a single character of African Descent in this story. However, when you study the Underground Railroad and their illegal activities during slavery, in the United States. Their activities took place just prior to the Civil War, we'll find that the parallels are amazing. When we apply Dr. Martin Luther King's definitions, we can begin to see it as the forces of light against the forces of darkness. Using that definition, there is a strong relationship and can be viewed as the same struggle for Human Rights. William Still, who was a conductor of the Underground Railroad (who's book I also purchased from Amazon) also quoted a scripture in his authentic narratives he later published. Deuteronomy 23: 15 says, "Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee." The next verse goes on to say, "He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him." The Hiding Place was also an Underground Movement operated by the same principles. When I read Casper Ten Boom's (the author's father) words to the German Oppressors that he would not turn away any in need that come knocking on his door...I hear the same sentiments coming from Thomas Garrett a White Man & Abolitionist who answered the Oppressive Majority in the same way. Although stripped of his money and everything he had, Garrett proudly proclaimed that he would befriend a runaway slave and anybody in need. In this age of ego & selfishness, such words and sentiments are inspiring indeed. The Hiding Place is a story of doing the right thing even though you know that you're going to be caught eventually. For those that follow Christ, the scriptures already illustrate the connection. However, we see God's presence throughout this story. God didn't stop doing miracles after the Bible was released. They are all through the Hiding Place. In prison, Betsie Ten Boom (Corrie Ten Boom, the author's sister) has a limited supply of medication. Which she was more than willing to share with her fellow inmates. The bottle never ran out, until another inmate managed to secure some more of it. While Corrie was trying to figure it out, Betsie knew it could only be the power of God. I'm truly inspired by the faithfulness of Betsie Ten Boom. It was revealed from the beginning that she had health problems and was unable to bear children. She was not of good health and incarcerated for doing the right thing, yet she had joy and peace in the midst of the jail and was thanking God for everything! She even thanked God for the fleas that were biting them. While, I agreed with the author that this was extreme, the fleas did turn out to be a Blessing! They had more autonomy at this installation because of the fleas. The Fleas also kept the German Soldiers, who would rape them, away! But the best shout, they saved for last. Betsie died in prison, in perfect peace, but Corrie was later released. Corrie Ten Boom was to discover years later that her release turned out to be a clerical error. She was actually scheduled to die, in the gas chambers. For those that trust God, we know that God doesn't make mistakes! Corrie Ten Boom was released, so she could as Betsie said, "Tell everyone about this." Also, that the power of love is greater than hate!

High on the emotional scale, the ups and the downs, the happy and the sad, the joy and the suffering, the love and the hate, all take turns in this novel. It's more than a biography or a WWII story. It's about the love of God and other people. Corrie's life before the war was simple. But it was a beautiful life full of family and friends. God was always center stage. I felt her happiness at all of the small things in life. I felt her compassion towards those who needed help. And, I felt her fear in prison and in the camp. It is a story of bravery. And it is a story of WWII Nazi camps. It is a story of love and loss. It is a story of triumph. This book is one of the best I've ever read on the subject. It is frightening as well - no fictional horror can come close to the actual horrors humans do to each other. Once you start reading, you won't want to stop. ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!!

This is an incredible story shedding a light on what went on during the holocaust. But the most incredible part is how faithful God is.

Let be the combination. Great taste

I just finished reading The Hiding Place for the 5th or 6th time and I love this book. It is about the best book on forgiveness and the Love of our Lord and Savior next to the New Testament that I have ever read. Lm

One of my friends came to Christ after reading this book. For myself, I never read it without being deeply moved at both the ten Booms' firm faith in Jesus and Jesus' tender care of them through "many hardships, toils, and snares." The story makes clear both the spiritual peace that can be found in our Hiding Place, and the historical and daily reality of His miraculous presence and power. This account is at times whimsical, at others tearful, but always down to earth. Here is one excerpt: "Fridays--the recurrent humiliation of medical inspection. The hospital corridor in which we waited was unheated, and a fall chill had settled into the walls. Still we were forbidden even to wrap ourselves in our own arms, but had to maintain our erect, hands-at-sides position as we filed slowly past a phalanx of grinning guards. How there could have been any pleasure in the sight of these stick-thin legs and hunger-bloated stomachs I could not imagine. Surely there is no more wretched sight than the human body unloved and uncared for. Nor could I see the necessity for the complete undressing: when we finally reached the examing room a doctor looked down each throat, another--a dentist presumably--at our teeth, a third in between each finger. And that was all. We trooped again down the long, cold corridor and picked up our X-marked dresses at the door. But it was one of these mornings while we were waiting, shivering, in the corridor, that yet another page in the Bible leapt into life for me. He hung naked on the cross. I had not known--I had not thought. . . . The paintings, the carved crucifixes showed at the least a scrap of cloth. But this, I suddenly knew, was the respect and reverence of the artist. But oh--at the time itself, on that other Friday morning--there had been no reverence. No more than I saw in the faces around us now. I leaned toward Betsie, ahead of me in line. Her shoulder blades stood out sharp and thin beneath her blue-mottled skin. 'Betsie, they took His clothes too.' Ahead of me I heard a little gasp. "Oh, Corrie. And I never thanked Him..."

Inspiring and moving, I read this in two sittings. So many profound and insightful applications of God’s word to the broken world around us. The only other book I’ve highlighted so much was “A Chance to Die” about the life of Amy Carmichael. “Betsie saw where I was looking and laid a bird-thin hand over the whip mark. ‘Don’t look at it, Corrie. Look at Jesus only.’”

This story about what war does to you to your family is so horrific! In a moment your life can change. But this family preserves and survives the war camps! some live to tell about it and help to heal their city and family! So inspiring, but not with our sorrow and tears…. Yet God is good and they saw him in everything, the good, the bad, the unspeakable conditions, the illness and death… they came home stronger and more faith filled than before! I want to Be bold like Corrie and her family!

This book was wonderful. The Shoah is a historical subject I really like to read about and this book was perfect. It gives you another view of the story without ever being off topic. Thank you Corrie Ten Boom for your amazing gesture.

It is an inspiring story of courageously doing what is right despite the persecution. And it is also a story of forgiveness in practice. No one can do so much good if they are holding on to the grudge and bitterness. We need to learn from Corrie and Betsie.

Absolutely fantastic and so sad too , but totally inspiring ! Couldn't stop reading it ,you'll love this book tremendously

The narrative is compelling and deeply moving, blending the suspense of a wartime espionage thriller with the profound depth of spiritual discourse. Corrie's account of her and her family's efforts to hide Jews, their subsequent arrest by the Gestapo, and the harrowing experiences in concentration camps, including Ravensbrück, are recounted with honesty and emotional depth. The story is not just about the darkness of humanity during war but also about hope, forgiveness, and the indomitable strength of faith.

El testimonio de esta mujer es uno de los que más atesoro en mi corazón porque retrata el amor incondicional de un Dios vivo y que no es indiferente a NADA de lo que pasa en este mundo. El ver cómo Dios predestinó cada situación en su vida, la acompañó, guió, fortaleció y usó. Es de gran gozo y bálsamo para mí. Lo recomiendo mucho para encontrar fortaleza en la misión que Dios haya acomodado en la vida del lector, y para entender más a Dios mismo.