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    In The Secret Place
    In The Secret Place
    In The Secret Place
    Ebook74 pages1 hour

    In The Secret Place

    By Peter Van Woerden

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    Peter Van Woerden, Corrie Ten Boom’s nephew, began his career in the Dutch underground in 1942. He was the organist of the Reformed Church in Velsen and was at his regular post on the bench one Lord’s Day morning as he recounts:

    “On this particular Sunday, as I sat and mused, I suddenly realized that exactly two years before, on the 10th of May, the Nazi invasion of Holland had begun. As I looked over the congregation I decided that something should be done, something on this Sunday morning to demonstrate that we still were real Dutchmen at heart, something to express our faith and hope in a day of victory when we would again be a free people. The sermon over, I pulled extra stops out on the organ, then firmly and distinctly played the first chords of the Wilhelmus, the national anthem of the Netherlands. There was a rustling downstairs. People stood to their feet. One voice began to sing, then another, and others; and soon, like a mighty sea, the glorious old hymn rolled forth from the overflowing hearts of hundreds of Hollanders as tears streamed down their faces. For that one moment we were a free people in the midst of a dark world full of oppression and persecution.”

    That gesture landed Peter in prison where, in turn, he experienced, for the first time in his life, a deep hunger for God. After years in the church he met Christ and was truly converted. And thus an adventure in which Peter evaded the Nazis many months until the night he went to grandfather and Aunt Corrie.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBorodino Books
    Release dateJun 28, 2017
    ISBN9781787205260
    In The Secret Place
    Author

    Peter Van Woerden

    Peter Van Woerden (January 7, 1924 - September 6, 1990), also known as Pierre Van Woerden and “Onkel Peter,” was a Christian musician, author and composer. He is the author of the first German Christian children’s audio series, Onkel Peters Kinderstunde (Uncle Peter’s Children’s Hour). Born the fourth of six children into an evangelical teacher family, he grew up in Haarlem, Netherlands. At the age of 17, he became an organist in an evangelical church in Velsen; however, during the occupation of the Netherlands by German troops, his career came to an abrupt end in May 1942 when he had played the forbidden national anthem, Wilhelmus, during a worship. During his subsequent imprisonment, he converted to Christianity and decided to devote his life to his new faith. After the war, he began theological studies at the Swiss Bible School in Beatenberg, from where he was then sent to France and Belgium and later also travelled to the USA and Canada. In Germany, Van Woerden became a well-known music producer for the Christian music record label “Frohe Botschaft im Lied,” in particular as “Onkel Peter” in his audio series, Onkel Peters Kinderstunde (Uncle Peter’s Children’s Hour). Together with Margret Birkenfeld and her Wetzlar Children’s Choir he presented biblical stories and performed Christian songs. As the first child-friendly show with varied dialogues, songs and stories, the series soon developed into a children’s classic within the German Christian scene. He appeared as an arranger and session musician on numerous productions of a variety of artists of the Christian music scene throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. He also published some solo albums playing the Hammond organ. Van Woerden died in 1990 at the age of 66.

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    • 5/5
      It was such a blessing and encouragement to read this testimony of God's kindness and faithfulness. It caries a call to follow Jesus. God bless him and those who read this book!

    Book preview

    In The Secret Place - Peter Van Woerden

    This edition is published by BORODINO BOOKS – www.pp-publishing.com

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    Text originally published in 1954 under the same title.

    © Borodino Books 2017, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

    Publisher’s Note

    Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

    We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

    IN THE SECRET PLACE:

    A STORY OF THE DUTCH UNDERGROUND

    By

    Peter Van Woerden

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Contents

    TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

    DEDICATION 4

    ONE 5

    TWO 7

    THREE 8

    FOUR 14

    FIVE 16

    SIX 18

    SEVEN 20

    EIGHT 22

    NINE 25

    TEN 30

    ELEVEN 33

    TWELVE 35

    THIRTEEN 38

    FOURTEEN 40

    REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 42

    DEDICATION

    To my MOTHER who never ceased to pray for me who went to be with the Lord in 1953 to join my grandfather and the others gone before and who now awaits the Great Reunion

    He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Ps. 91:1)

    IN THE SECRET PLACE

    ONE

    nnnnnnnnnnn the low drone of great metal birds detached itself from the early morning sounds and approached with a gradually deepening roar. Across the little land wedged between Germany, Belgium, and the ever-threatening sea, the people of Holland stirred restlessly as the strange sound shattered the dawn. With a strange feeling of foreboding, some awakened from their last peaceful sleep for several years to hurry to a window. Below them, crowds of early risers stood in the streets, talking excitedly and gesturing angrily, forgetting the chill draft and the hour.

    The war has begun! The Germans are invading our country! blared every radio newscaster. The date was May 10, 1940.

    At last it had come. All of Hitler’s threats were to be a reality. Like a flood, proud arrogant soldiers goose-stepped across Holland, suppressed the desperate resistance of a brave little army, and occupied the land.

    Only a short time after the first news of the invasion, we watched with frustration as the tanks rumbled down the narrow cobblestone streets of the old towns. Young, healthy-looking soldiers with triumphant smiles on their faces drove the powerful machinery. All but the very young understood what this occupation was to mean. The stories of cruel concentration camps, the brutal persecution of the Jews, and the activities of the German secret police, the Gestapo, had been front-page news in the daily papers for some time. A great bitterness enveloped the hearts of many who had fought, or whose parents had striven, to regain this small land from the sea only to have to turn it over to these marching men who sang their songs of victory as they paraded past. This was to be the beginning of five years of occupation, years when a godless ideology was to be imposed, years when freedom of thinking and action would be forfeited, years when these staunch people would become the slaves of a German tyranny.

    Just a few miles outside of Amsterdam is the quiet city of Haarlem. It is a typically Dutch town, with canals and quaint gabled houses surrounded by flower and vegetable gardens. In the center of the town is the Groote Market plaza on which stand the seventeenth-century Meat Hall, holding national archives; the church of St. Bavo; and the town hall. The church, a fifteenth-century structure, has a noteworthy organ presented by William I. It is still one of the world’s finest and largest. The town is the birthplace of Lourents Coster, said by the villagers to have been the inventor of movable type. His statue is in the square, and all visitors are proudly told of his great contribution.

    Haarlem is the center of world trade in flower bulbs. The surrounding countryside is entirely given over to the cultivation of tulips, narcissus, anemones, crocuses, japonicas, and hyacinths. Here also railway carriages, printers’ type, cotton fabrics, and paint are manufactured. There is trade in cheese, butter, and cattle. Printing establishments produce Dutch bank notes and postage stamps. There are also breweries and textile mills.

    A short distance from the plaza is a little brick gabled house, just like its neighbors. This is the home of the schoolmaster, Mijn heer van Woerden. Within the walls of this home, the family included Fred, 21; Bob, 20; Aty, 18; Cocky, 14; Elske, 9; and Peter, 16.

    Peter was at home with his family the morning the Germans marched through the city. He was slight for a boy, with dark brown hair that would not obey the struggling brush, and fair light skin. He had slightly protruding ears, a quaint pointed nose, and a wide crooked grin that suggested a mischievous personality. His outstanding feature, however, was his eyes. They were large and luminous; and if one took time to notice, they suggested the soul of an artist or a musician. As

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