Review of The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place
• Genre: Auto Biography
• Author: Corrie Ten Boom
• Overall rating: 9 of 10
• How I heard about it: School reading requirement
• Suggested Audience : Anyone really




The Hiding place is another tearjerker. It is the account of basically the entire life of the author who just as the author of the next review I post grew up in Holland in the 1930s. Her father was a Dutch watch maker and she briefly tells the story of her childhood. Within the first few chapters the Nazis invaded Holland and then she discovers the purpose the Lord had placed her on earth for.


As the book progresses she tells the story of the underground smuggling of Jews from all over Germany, Poland and Holland to escape to freedom. The book gets its name from the Small secret room that was built in her home for the purpose of hiding Jews in the event of a Nazi raid. The book takes the reader through the process of sidestepping the evil that was the Nazi government and being the hand of Christ that the underground system was in those times. She makes many friends that give her supplies, ration coupons, forged paperwork and other contacts that she uses to help facilitate the transport of the Jews to safety.
Eventually she is captured and is put through absolutely inhuman conditions the seeming eternity she spends in the concentration camps. This is the point where her relationship with Christ is so beautifully expressed. She is forced to absolutely trust him with her entire being and during this time she shows such faithful passion and perseverance for the God she has been trusting all along. Even during this time she was used by the Lord in such a powerful way to help out so many people. She showed extreme selflessness in a place most people felt lucky to merely survive.


This book was so inspiring and motivating. Another one of those stories that makes you feel guilty any time you even consider feeling bad for yourself. This is a Biography of a complete saint and there is so much wisdom to be gleaned from reading her story and studying her life. Her attitude throughout her life was so God honoring and selfless. She made trusting God a total priority in her life and it was so inspiring to read about how she stayed faithful, humble and most importantly forgiving throughout all the unfairness she was put through.
Overall it was a very good read. The language was easy to understand and the author did an excellent job of keeping a reader’s attention. The book while inclusive and detailed was relatively short and easy to follow. Some caution might be taken in that there are a few more mature elements to the content of this book. As with Jesus Freaks the very nature of being in a concentration camp involves some things that are graphic and uncomfortable. Just as I said in