My primary reason for wanting to visit there is because it was the home of Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman whose family hid Jews in their house during World War 2. Her father was a clock maker, and their house was above the clock shop on Barteljoristraat in Haarlem. Here is a picture of me standing in front of the ten Boom clock shop, and in Corrie's living room:
Corrie, her sister Betsy, and their father opened their door "to anyone who knocked". They were deeply devoted to God, and to sharing His gospel with anyone who listened. Part of that included caring for the Jews that were being tortured and murdered by the Nazis. They built a secret hiding place in Corrie's room, which was at the very top of the tall, narrow house. Most of the Jews that were in Corrie's house were only there a short time, waiting to find a more secure place to live outside the city. At any given time, there were between 5-7 Jews hiding in their home. One of the more difficult parts of the task was to provide food for all those people. Since ration cards were in use at that time, they had to obtain them from a sympathetic provider, and they kept them hidden in this small space under a stair step:
Here is a photo of Corrie's room, and the hiding place against the back wall. The hole in the wall was put there so visitors could see inside the hiding place more easily.
The false wall was constructed out of brick, in hopes that anyone searching for it would think they had uncovered the outside wall of the house. It worked, as you'll read below. The space behind the false wall was only about 18 inches deep, so it was a very cramped space, with only minimal water and supplies stored inside. Here are pictures we took of the hiding place, one of me standing inside, and one of Mike crawling through the original entrance to the hiding place.
The day they were raided, there were 6 Jews in the home. They all made it to the hiding place safely. The Gestapo found the ration cards under the stair, but not the Jews in hiding. Corrie and her family were arrested for having illegal ration cards, and sent to concentration camps. The Gestapo suspected there were people hiding inside, but could not find them. The house was locked and put under watch for 4 days. During that time, the people inside the hiding place had to remain completely silent, and as still as possible, to avoid detection. At the end of the 4 days, the guard watch was taken over by two "SS" men that happened to be working for the underground. They helped the Jews to escape safely, and they lived out the rest of their lives. Corrie's father died ten days after arrest, her sister died later, and Corrie was released as a result of a "clerical error" just a week before all women her age were sent to be exterminated. Corrie spent the rest of her life sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and talked endlessly of her time in Holland, and of her time in the concentration camp.
Here is the surprise! Corrie eventually moved to the US, and lived out the remainder of her days in Placentia, CA, the same small town that Mike and I both lived in from the time we were 12. As it turns out, the mother of a friend of ours, Sharon Lightfoot, lived directly behind Corrie and spent time taking care of her (Sharon was a nurse) during the last months of her life. What a small world!
The photo below is the Dutch Reformed Church in Haarlem where Corrie and her family worshipped. It was beautiful inside!
We really enjoyed Holland, and I hope that you have enjoyed this armchair visit along with us! Next trip we take will be to a cousins reunion in Minnesota. All my first cousins from my mother's family will be there -- it should be a fun event! Then, Alaska and the Arctic! It will be a fun summer.
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