We had the incredible experience of visiting the house where Corrie ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, and her family hid Jews during WWII. The house is in Haarlem, a 30-minute drive from our hotel in Amsterdam. I (along with my parents and brothers) had just read The Hiding Place, so it was amazing to be able to put images to the descriptions in my head while relearning the story through the tour guide. She showed us through the whole house, pointing out the spot under the stairs where the ten Booms hid extra ration cards; the workshop where the family repaired clocks and watches; and the most important feature of the house: the hiding place. The hiding place is behind a false brick wall in Corrie’s room, specially designed with brick to reduce the hollow sound when knocked upon. During the war it held up to six people at a time, for as long as 48 hours in a row; we packed all six members of our family in and grew uncomfortable after only a few seconds! I would highly recommend reading The Hiding Place to learn more about the ten Booms’ story of overseeing a network of safe houses and saving approximately 800 Jews during the Holocaust! It is an incredibly inspirational story that details how God uses His faithful children to carry out His good work.
I have read The Hiding Place and really enjoyed your post and the pictures. I had pictured the entrance to the secret room a little different in my head and it is pretty incredible to see it in your photos. Thank you for sharing! Blessings on you and your family as you continue your adventures!
Thank you Mrs. Hakkarainen! I pictured it differently as well…it would be interesting to read the book again knowing what the whole house looks like.
Thank you William for sharing the details of this woman’s life in words and photos. Incredible! Now we’ll read the book!
Enjoy the book!
The Hiding Place is such an amazing book and true story. Thank you for bringing it even more to life through your account as you got to visit such an incredible historical site!
Thanks Mrs. Shimada! Yes, Corrie Ten Boom led a really amazing life.
What an amazing place to visit! I love her story! I was blessed to hear her speak on one of her final speaking tours. I was a student a SPU in Seattle. Though she was elderly, she was an energetic and amazing speaker. I love her faith in God. She spoke of her life as a weaving ~ how we see only the back side of the weaving with our flaws, but God sees the finished side filled with golden threads. What a great blessing for your family! Thank you for sharing these precious moments!
That’s so neat that you got to hear her speak! I would love to have heard her speak. We saw a picture of a weaving that she made in the house; on the back it looked all tangled but on the other side there was a golden crown. So cool!