How Did The Hubermanns Survive In The Hiding Place

James Hillstrom
2/2/23
LA8 accel

The Heroes of the Holocaust
During the Holocaust, an estimated 26,000 people hid Jews in their basements, attics, and anywhere in between. In the Book Thief and in the chapter “The Secret Room” in the novel The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom many people risked their lives to help the Jews. Nazi Germany was a very dark and horrific place during the Holocaust. There, Germans had all the power and Jews were treated inhumanely. Many of them could not even show their faces or they would be punished. In both the Book Thief and “The Secret Room” certain characters sacrificed their lives to help and protect the Jews during the Holocaust.
Both of these stories included people that had to make sacrifices and

The Hubermanns were a poor family that were just scraping by, but they believed in saving the Jews. They took the risk and hid Max Vandenburg which was not an easy task. They had to sacrifice money and time to feed and protect him in their basement: “What he predominantly saw was Rosa Hubermann, practically slinging an armful of soup into his mouth” (Zusak 318). The Hubermanns really did care for Max and without them he wouldn’t have survived for as long as he did. In “The Hiding Place” the ten Booms also had to sacrifice their time, energy, and money. On a couple of occasions, they were housing multiple Jews: “We have three Jews staying right at the Beje” (ten Boom 464). The ten Booms were incredibly involved in hiding the Jews. Likewise, both families lived in constant fear and worry about being caught. Both families were breaking the law and if they made just one mistake it may have led to them being arrested. Liesel was very clever and

In the Book Thief, the Hubermanns hid Max in their basement because that's where they thought the safest place was: "He was a Jew, and if there was one place he was destined to exist, it was a basement” (Zusak 207). The Hubermann's had to make sure they kept the basement in good enough condition for Max to live in so he would survive. On the other hand, the ten Booms housed the Jews in an attic: “You want your hiding place as high as possible. Gives you the best chance to reach it while the search is on below'' (ten Boom 468). The ten Booms thought the attic was the safest place to hide them. Corrie had to give up part of her bedroom for the “secret room”. The other difference is about stealing. Liesel and Rudy stole for personal reasons and excitement but the ten Booms stole to help other people out. Liesel and Rudy stole mainly books, apples, and other types of foods: “Either of you ever stolen before?’ ‘I've stolen two books'' (Zusak 151). Liesel and Rudy steal the food because they're practically starving. In comparison, the ten Booms steal ration cards to help out the Jews: “Willem, if people need ration cards and there aren't any counterfeit ones what do they do?’ ‘You steal them'' (ten Boom 465). Fred sacrificed his job to help out the ten Booms and he was a very brave person to even go as far as getting beat up to stage the