When security sweeps came through the neighborhood, a buzzer in the house would signal danger, allowing the refugees a little over a minute to seek sanctuary in the hiding place. A crude ventilation system was installed to provide air for the occupants. The space could hold up to six people, all of whom had to stand quiet and still. A secret room, no larger than a small wardrobe closet, was built into Corrie's bedroom behind a false wall. The façade of the watch shop made the house an ideal front for these activities. During the war, the Beje house became a refuge for Jews, students and intellectuals. Within months, the "Nazification" of the Dutch people began and the quiet life of the ten Boom family was changed forever. In May 1940, the German Blitzkrieg ran though the Netherlands and the other Low Countries. Over the next decade, in addition to working in her father's shop, she established a youth club for teenage girls, which provided religious instruction as well as classes in the performing arts, sewing and handicrafts. In this tradition, the family held a deep respect for the Jewish community in Amsterdam, considering them "God's ancient people." Seeking a VocationĪfter the death of her mother and a disappointing romance, Corrie trained to be a watchmaker and in 1922 became the first woman licensed as a watchmaker in Holland. Faith inspired them to serve society, offering shelter, food and money to those in need. Family members were strict Calvinists in the Dutch Reformed Church. The ten Boom family lived in the Beje house in Haarlem (short for Barteljorisstraat, the street where the house was located) in rooms above Casper's watch shop. Their father, Casper, was a jeweler and watchmaker.
Known as "Corrie" all her life, she was the youngest child, with two sisters, Betsie and Nollie, and one brother, Willem. Early LifeĬornelia Arnolda Johanna ten Boom was born on April 15, 1892, in Haarlem, Netherlands, near Amsterdam. Corrie survived and started a worldwide ministry and later told her story in a book entitled The Hiding Place. Betrayed by a fellow Dutch citizen, the entire family was imprisoned. During World War II, she and her family harbored hundreds of Jews to protect them from arrest by Nazi authorities. Cornelia "Corrie" ten Boom grew up in a devoutly religious family.
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