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book1971

The Hiding Place

Disciplines:
memoir
theology

Summary

Corrie ten Boom's memoir of her family's hiding of Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland, her imprisonment in Ravensbrück concentration camp, and her post-war ministry of forgiveness.

Core Contribution

One of the great WWII survivor memoirs: the story of a Dutch watchmaker's family who hid Jews in their Haarlem home, were betrayed, and were sent to concentration camp. The religious dimension: ten Boom's faith sustained her through Ravensbrück where her sister Betsie died. Her post-war ministry: traveling the world as a speaker on forgiveness — including forgiving a former guard from Ravensbrück. The hiding place as both literal (the secret room) and metaphorical (God as refuge).

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Was nearly 50 when her family began hiding Jews — she was released from Ravensbrück due to a clerical error (a batch of women her age were released; the rest were killed the following week).
  • The moment she forgave a former Ravensbrück guard who approached her after a speech — finding that she could extend her hand and feel genuine warmth — is one of the most psychologically precise accounts of forgiveness in memoir literature.

Historical Influences

Christian Faith Tradition

Intellectual Lineage

Christian Memoir Holocaust Literature

Allied Works

Tramp for the LordEach New Day

Contemporaries & Peers

Night Man's Search for Meaning

Minds Influenced

Christian LiteratureForgiveness Discourse

Intellectual Posterity

Christian Memoir Holocaust Testimony

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The Hiding Place

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