Ready Reference Treatise: The Hiding Place

By Raja Sharma

“The Hiding Place” revolves around the life of Corrie ten Boom. It was published in 1971. Corrie ten Boom wrote this book together with John and Elizabeth Sherrill.

While John and Elizabeth Sherrill were busy doing their research for the book “God’s Smuggler,” they got the idea of a book on Corrie ten Boom’s life. They were doing their research on Boom’s fellow Dutchman, Brother Andrew.

Ready Reference Treatise: The Hiding Place
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: May 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310055713

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: The Hiding Place

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: The Hiding Place

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

Smashwords Edition

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Hiding Place revolves around the life of Corrie ten Boom. It was published in 1971. Corrie ten Boom wrote this book together with John and Elizabeth Sherrill.

While John and Elizabeth Sherrill were busy doing their research for the book God’s Smuggler, they got the idea of a book on Corrie ten Boom’s life. They were doing their research on Boom’s fellow Dutchman, Brother Andrew.

When John and Elizabeth Sherrill heard about Corrie ten Boom, she was already in her mid-seventies. She used to be Brother Andrew’s favorite travelling companions. Many of Brother Andrew’s recollections were about Corrie ten Boom.

The Hiding Place was later adapted into a movie of the same name. It was also adapted into a comic book.

The title of the book The Hiding Place refers to both the physical hiding place where Corrie ten Boom’s family had actually hidden Jews from the Nazis, and it also refers to the Scriptural message found in Psalm 119:114 which states, Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word…

Brother Andrew and Corrie had travelled together to Vietnam during mission trips. Corrie was a Dutch Christian who was devoted to aiding Jews during the Second World War.

In 1968, John and Elizabeth Sherrill met Corrie at a church service in Germany. She was in her mid seventies then. During the service, the victims of the Holocaust were speaking. Corrie gave a message of peace and love, although she had also witnessed large scale destruction.

After the church service, John Sherrill and Elizabeth Sherrill met Corrie and asked her about the book. Corrie agreed to have a book published. She wanted to tell her story to a wider audience.

John Sherrill and Elizabeth eventually visited the Beje with Corrie. She took them into an old tiny house. They went to several other important places in Corrie’s life. They also visited the house where she had fallen in love. They went to the house where the Dutch Underground met secretly.

There were several difficulties while getting the information from Corrie because it was difficult for her to remember the details such as the size and color or a room, however, John and Elizabeth worked through the difficulties.

Although Corrie is the narrator of the book, she would not have been able to write it without detail-oriented ghostwriters like John and Elizabeth Sherrill. They filled all the details in her story by interviewing several people who were Corrie’s contemporary and who had good memories.

The rest of the story they created on the basis of photographs and their visits to the physical locations described in the book. Since Corrie’s mother tongue was Dutch, John and Elizabeth helped her through this language difficulty.

The Hiding Place details the story of Corrie’s early life and experiences during the Second World War. While narrating her story, Corrie did feel a very strong sense of purpose. She thought that through her book she could bring the message of God to the world.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The ten Boom family has their family watch and watch repairing business. As the book opens, the family happens to be celebrating the 100 years of their business.

Casper, the elderly father, now runs this business. The business had been set up on the ground floor of the family home, the Beje. Casper lives in that house with his daughters Corrie and Betsie. Both of them are unmarried. They take care of the house.

It is a big party and it seems that everyone in the Dutch town of Harlem is present at the party. Several relatives are also present at the party.

Willem, her brother, and Corrie’s nephews Peter and Kick are also present there. Willem is a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. He has brought a Jewish man with him. He has also escaped from Germany.

It transpires that the Jewish man’s beard had been burned off by some thugs. It keeps reminding him of what was happening just to the east of the Netherlands.

In the following few chapter, Corrie describes her childhood. She also describes her infirm but jovial mother. She also talks about her three aunts who once lived in the Beje.

It transpires that Karel was the only young man she had ever loved. She talks about him as well. She reveals that Karel eventually married a woman from a rich family.

Finally, both Nollie and Willem marry. When Corrie’s mother and aunts pass away, Corrie, Betsie, and their father settle down into a pleasant domestic life. In 1940, the Germans invade the Netherlands. The Nazis begin their atrocities