Introduction

Return to the Hiding Place is a 2013 film based upon the factual accounting of Hans Poley’s World War II encounter with Corrie ten Boom, his involvement in the Dutch resistance and its wartime harbouring of Jewish refugees. A non-Jewish fugitive after he refused to pledge his allegiance to the Nazis, Poley was the first person hidden from the Nazis in the Ten Boom House, which is today a museum in Haarlem, Netherlands.

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The film is adapted, in part, from Poley’s book, Return to the Hiding Place (1993), personal recollections, relayed to screenwriter Dr. Peter C. Spencer, and research from the Dutch National Archives.

The film is neither a prequel nor is it a sequel to the 1975 film The Hiding Place, instead, it is a congruent accounting of the Dutch underground’s resistance efforts from Poley’s perspective.

Also see War of Resistance (2011).

Outline

On 15 May 1940, German occupation of the Netherlands begins with the nation’s surrender, food and materials are rationed and evening curfews are imposed, gradually tightening from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Persecution of the Jewish population also is gradually implemented, starting with the requirement of wearing a yellow star bearing the word “Jew” and attacks against Jewish businesses and places of worship and culminating in the mass transport of Jewish citizens to unknown locations. Conspiracy theories begin to emerge on the fate of those being transported to the concentration camps.

Corrie ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) and her family are actively involved in the Dutch underground, invite the persecuted to live in their home and create a hidden room to conceal them during searches.

Hans Poley, a young Christian, is the first guest and benefactor of the ten Boom family’s extraordinary hospitality in May 1943.

Cast

• John Rhys-Davies Eusi.
• Mimi Sagadin Corrie ten Boom.
• Craig Robert Young Piet Hartog.
• David Thomas Jenkins Hans Poley.
• Rachel Spencer Hewitt Aty van Woerden.
• Stass Klassen Colonel von Laeman.
• Joanie Stewart Betsie ten Boom.
• Suzy Brack Nollie ten Boom van Woerden.
• Joshua Patrick Atkinson Boris.
• Gary Moore Lars.
• Max Van Bel Frans van Hasselt.
• Slate Holmgren Kris Holmstra.
• Louie Lawless Board Member.
• Steve Christopher Laurent Mathijs.
• Leo Wyndham Leo.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): Peter C. Spencer and Josiah Spencer.
• Producer(s): Anna Armstron, Mike Arnold, Robbert Becker, Jane Bradley, Stephen Bradley, Jeff Canavan, Harold Cronk, David Thomas Jenkins, William Matthews, Thomas Moorman, Petra Spencer Pearce, Betty Sinclair, Dustin Solomon, Josiah Spencer, Maria Spencer, Amanda Thompson, and Brittany Yost.
• Writer(s): Peter C. Spencer and Bart Gavigan.
• Music: Kyle Robertson.
• Cinematography: Philip Roy.
• Editor(s): Josiah Spencer.
• Production: 10 West Studios.
• Distributor(s): Spencer Productions and 10 West Studios.
• Release Date: February 2013 (San Antonio Christian Independent Film Festival).
• Running Time: 123 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.