Corrie was not subtle, sophisticated, or clever. How, then, could the Beje become a meeting place for need and supply?

The Beje receives its defining feature, when Corrie goes to the Underground meeting with Pickwick. At the gathering, the workers validate Corrie as a key player in the Dutch Underground. She also learns that “Mr. Smit” represents every anonymous resistance worker. The particular Mr. Smit who builds the secret room, provides the eponymous hiding place for the biography. However, the physical location presents only one side of the hiding place’s meaning. Corrie later learns the necessity of having an emotional hiding place.