The Hiding Place

Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie were imprisoned in the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp in Nazi Germany. Corrie was eventually released due to a clerical error shortly before the war ended, surviving the harrowing conditions that claimed her sister's life. Ravensbrück was primarily a camp for women located north of Berlin.

The hiding place was a secret room located behind a false wall on the top floor of the ten Boom family's watch shop in Haarlem, Netherlands. This concealed space successfully hid several Jewish refugees during SS raids before the family was betrayed in 1944. The house in Haarlem is now a museum open to the public.

The family was betrayed to the Gestapo in February 1944 by a Dutch informant who posed as someone needing shelter. The arrest led to the imprisonment of Corrie, her father Casper, and her sister Betsie. Casper died shortly after his arrest, while Corrie and Betsie endured months in various prisons before being sent to Germany.

The 1971 book was actually co-written with authors John and Elizabeth Sherrill, who helped pen Corrie's oral accounts into a structured narrative. The Sherrills were highly influential Christian writers who also helped found the Guideposts magazine. Their collaboration brought ten Boom's story of forgiveness to a global audience.