Corrie’s older brother. The only one of her siblings to receive a university education, he attends seminary and becomes a pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church. He marries Tine, a family acquaintance, and has four children including Kik, who becomes an integral helper in Corrie’s underground network. As part of his ministry, Willem is assigned to proselytize to Haarlem’s Jews, but instead of worrying about conversions he founds a nursing home for elderly Jews. In this capacity, he’s the first family member to become aware of Germany’s persecution of its Jews; he’s also the first to start hiding Dutch Jews in his house, and provides Corrie with necessary contacts and advice when she starts sheltering fugitives as well. Arrested at the same time as Corrie, Willem is not sent to a concentration camp but released after several months; however, his health declines so much in prison that he dies months after the end of World War II.
Willem ten Boom Quotes in The Hiding Place
The The Hiding Place quotes below are all either spoken by Willem ten Boom or refer to Willem ten Boom. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Chosen Books edition of The Hiding Place published in 1974.
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The Watch Shop
Quotes
Willem shook his head. “It’s very deliberate,” he said. “It’s because Christoffels is old. The old have no value to the State. They’re also harder to train in new ways of thinking. Germany is systematically teaching disrespect for old age.”
Related Characters:
Willem ten Boom (speaker), Corrie ten Boom, Christoffels, Otto
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Hiding Place LitChart as a printable PDF.

Willem ten Boom Character Timeline in The Hiding Place
The timeline below shows where the character Willem ten Boom appears in The Hiding Place. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The One Hundredth Birthday Party
...at every meal, but now only Father, Corrie, and Betsie use it. Her older siblings, Willem and Nollie, have married and left home, and Mama and her aunts are dead. Father...
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Still, Corrie wonders when Willem will arrive. Although they’re both grown up now, Corrie feels “a great deal of little-sister...
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Willem is a preacher of the Dutch Reformed Church, and his job is to reach out...
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Just then, Willem arrives, along with his wife Tine and their four children. He’s also leading a young...
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Karel
...teenager, Corrie is attending one of Mama’s impromptu parties when she meets Karel, one of Willem’s friends from seminary. She takes one look at him and falls in love. She’s content...
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Two years later, Corrie and Nollie travel to Willem’s university to visit. His friends soon arrive at his apartment, Karel among them. Corrie is...
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...help of the doctor’s sister and nurse, Tine. While she gets used to this task, Willem returns home from university; his presence cheers everyone, as does his pleasant voice as he...
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Two months after Willem’s ordination, he and Tine get married. Corrie is especially excited because she knows Karel will...
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Four months after Tante Jans’s death, the family travels to watch Willem’s first sermon—a huge milestone and point of pride in the Dutch Reformed Church. Friends and...
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One morning, Willem corners Corrie and gently tells her that if Karel has implied that he’s serious about...
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The Watch Shop
...the 1920s, the ten Booms take in a series of foster children. Meanwhile, Nollie and Willem are having their own children, so the Beje is full of young people. Nollie’s son...
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...hears about it on the radio, but it’s hard to take the threat seriously. Only Willem, with his connections to the Jewish community, is steadily preoccupied.
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...seniority, but Otto never lets him go by first or helps him with his tools. Willem explains that Nazi Germany encourages people to disrespect the old, who “have no value to...
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Invasion
...an old cart roll across the square. She herself is inside it, alongside Father, Betsie, Willem, Peter, and family friends like Pickwick and Toos. She feels that they should get off...
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...Betsie, and Corrie begin to discuss what they can do to help Jewish friends. Already Willem is finding hiding places for the young Jews living at his house. She has to...
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Corrie hurries out to Willem’s house, where she finds Tine and their adult son Kik and gives them the Amsterdam...
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The Secret Room
Corrie visits Willem to ask for advice. He seems stressed and tired, and his beard is turning white....
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Corrie asks Willem if he can help her get three ration cards, but he says he’s already being...
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One night the doorbell rings and Corrie runs downstairs, expecting another refugee. Instead, it’s Willem’s son Kik; he tells her to get her bicycle and come with him, even though...
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Storm Clouds Gather
Willem frequently visits Haarlem. His own work is making him stressed and almost desperate. He’s been...
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The Raid
Unsteadily, Corrie gets dressed and goes downstairs. In the front rooms people are gathering for Willem’s service. Nollie is passing around makeshift coffee and Peter is playing the piano. At the...
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...or come outside. He orders everyone to get their coats. Corrie is saddened to see Willem, Nollie, and Peter emerge from another room, caught up in the raid as well. Father...
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Scheveningen
...her. Eventually, she finds that while Betsie is still in prison, Nollie, Toos, Peter, Pickwick, Willem, and everyone else from the raid has been released. Only about Father is there no...
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The Lieutenant
...family members must be present. Stunned, Corrie walks into his office to be embraced by Willem, Nollie, and Betsie for the first time in months. Willem says that Kik has been...
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Willem quietly relays the information that Rolf and another underground police officer helped the Jews escape...
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After some minutes, the Lieutenant curtails the reunion. Before leaving, Willem leads the group in prayer, thanking God for bringing them together and for the influence...
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The Three Visions
...arranges for Corrie to get a ride south on a food truck. She arrives at Willem’s house at dawn, to be enveloped in embraces by her brother, Tine, and their children....
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Corrie spends several days in Willem’s house, which is full of elderly people and young men hiding from conscription. Still, she’s...
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