Corrie's Tiny Room

Thanks to a concealed room in Corrie ten Boom Haarlem's house, lives of hundreds of Jews and other underground figures were saved during the German occupation of Holland in WW2. The tiny room is cleverly hidden behind a false wall in Corrie's room as shown on the picture on the left.

The ten Booms were by no means the only family to risk their lives in this way but Corrie was a deeply religious woman who later exported her brand of evangelism to the rest of the world, inspired by her wartime experiences. Perhaps this is why even now, she is better known in hundreds of Christian communities abroad than she is in her native Holland, which has become more secular with each decade. Foreign visitors make up the majority of those who come to see the ten Boom museum nowadays, a restored version of the house as it would have been during the war.

The Hiding Place

Through these activities, the ten Boom family and their many friends saved the lives of an estimated 800 Jews, and protected many Dutch underground workers.

On February 28, 1944, this family was betrayed, and the Gestapo (the Nazi secret police) raided their home. The Gestapo set a trap and waited throughout the day, seizing everyone who came to the house. By evening, over 20 people had been taken into custody! Casper, Corrie, and Betsie were all arrested. Corrie's brother Willem, sister Nollie, and nephew Peter were at the house that day, and were also taken to prison.

Although the Gestapo systematically searched the house, they could not find what they sought most. They suspected Jews were in the house, but the Jews were safely hidden behind a false wall in Corrie's bedroom. In this "hiding place" were two Jewish men, two Jewish women, and two members of the Dutch underground. Although the house remained under guard, the Resistance was able to liberate the refugees two days later. The six people had managed to stay quiet in their small, dark hiding place for all that time, even though they had no water and very little food. The four Jews were taken to new "safe houses", and three survived the war. One of the underground workers was killed during the war years, but the other survived.

Visit Corrie ten Boom Haarlem, Holland and see the “hiding place” behind a false wall in Corrie’s bedroom.