The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club

Introduction-Chapter 3

Reading Check

1. “[...] the famous Danish boatlift of most of the nation’s Jewish population to Sweden in late 1943, just before German forces could round them up and pack them by rail to death camps.” (Introduction)

2. The Club is named after former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “whose fighting spirit they admired.” (Introduction)

3. “[T]hat Denmark had become a ‘protectorate’ of Germany” (Chapter 1)

4. Its geographic location meant that it could provide transportation and farming land, as well as a buffer from the UK. (Chapter 2)

5. Because he was afraid that it would transform into a pathway for the Hitler Youth (Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. “The Churchill Club” was a group of schoolboys from northern Denmark who “got the resistance started.” They would carry out attacks against German property, as well as steal German weapons. (Introduction)

2. Knud is one of the original members of The Churchill Club. At the time of writing, he managed The Art Library, where a person can rent a piece of art (similar to a library). After a previous writer drops out, Knud invites Hoose to write his story. (Introduction)

3. Before the invasion, Knud was “only dimly aware” of Nazi Germany’s advances on its surrounding neighbors, as he was more preoccupied with his daily life in Odense, Denmark. After the invasion of Denmark, as well as the subsequent changes of the school curriculum to more pro-Nazi propaganda, Knud notes that it “was easy to see that it was all crap.” (Chapter 1)

4. Disgusted by their government's approach, they discussed whether to form a resistance group against the Nazi German invaders. After agreeing on the formation, they selected the name “Royal Air Force” (RAF) Club, a reference to the British air force. They began to wreak havoc on Nazi German property in broad daylight. (Chapter 2)

5. After moving to Aalborg with his family, Knud initially halts his resistance activities until he finds a new group he can trust. Later that year, Knud, his brother Jens, and some of their younger like-minded classmates determine that they should form a club to “fight the Germans as fiercely as the Norwegians were fighting.” Together, the group dubs themselves “The Churchill Club.” (Chapter 3)

6. The Churchill Club is structured into three departments of propaganda, technical, and sabotage, with their main weapon of choice being blue paint to write their logo on the spaces of Nazi sympathizers. They eventually include a “passive department” for those peers who want to support the cause in a more low-profile manner. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. “[B]y making gestures of national pride” (Chapter 4)

2. “[D]irectional signs” (Chapter 4)

3. Arson (Chapter 5)

4. To send war bulletins with Knud’s cousin in Odense (Chapter 5)

5. “[T]he courage to resist” (Chapter 6)

6. “To awaken Denmark” (Chapter 6)

Short Answer

1. The Churchill Club believed that this company is a “prime example of everything the Churchill Club hated about the Danish government’s compliant posture” since they collaborated with the German government to develop the Aarlborg airport for German use. The Club decides to “set it ablaze,” ultimately burning design plans for new airport hangars. (Chapter 4)

2. Børge is a member of The Churchill Club that Knud becomes close to, and usually worked with in two-man operations. Knud notes that although he looked innocent, he loved action and was committed to the cause of The Club. (Chapter 5)

3. As of spring 1942, The Club had almost 20 active and passive members. At this point, the Pedersen boys try to keep their operation a secret from their family. (Chapter 6)

4. The Club steals a rifle from an open window at the Nazi barracks. Although some passersby see the event, The Club members are not caught and are able to safely retreat to the monastery with the weapon. The accumulation of a rifle raises a significant question: Should The Club continue to focus on defacing property, or instead shift to focus on weapons training and accumulation? They choose the latter. (Chapter 6)

5. As Aarlborg becomes a city of transit in Nazi-occupied territories, The Club grows its arsenal of weapons from soldiers moving from the eastern front. While these soldiers rest, such as at eating establishments like Kristine’s, the boys take the opportunity to steal their weapons, such as a pistol and a machine gun. (Chapter 7)

Chapters 8-11

Reading Check

1. Painting (Chapter 8)

2. Model airplanes (Chapter 10)

3. “[D]estroying the German vehicles that lined the streets of Budolfi Square” (Chapter 10)

4. Because the police have identified their school as a source of sabotage activities (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. Grethe is a girl he is attracted to at his school. Although he becomes too flustered to speak to her in person, he fantasizes about impressing her with his heroic actions. (Chapter 8)

2. Eigil’s sister works with the Aalborg police. She advises The Club to “lie low,” as the Nazi German command had put pressure on the Aalborg police to identify the perpetrators. (Chapter 8)

3. The Nibe Offensive was a plan to kill three German soldiers who were in charge of a remote outpost outside of Nibe. Although originally a proponent of the plan, Børge becomes conflicted after conversing with the soldiers. They originally move ahead with the plan, but eventually abandon it after deeming it to be too risky. (Chapter 9)

4. Before the ultimate mission of destroying German vehicles on Budolfi Square, The Club does a test on train cars filled with German equipment. The test is a success, and The Club is especially proud to see Danish firefighters stalling to put out the flames, considering it a form of resistance against the Nazi German occupiers. (Chapter 10)

5. After being identified by a waitress at a cafe where they regularly stole Nazi weapons, the boys are arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned at a local jail. As a result, The Club members’ parents finally find out about their children’s ­­activities over the past six months. (Chapter 11)

Chapters 12-15

Reading Check

1. Which country would conduct the trial (i.e., Denmark or Germany) (Chapter 12)

2. The six Club members are all found guilty as charged, receiving sentences between 1-5 years, depending on their ages, to be served at the Nyborg State Prison. (Chapter 13)

3. A hacksaw (Chapter 13)

4. From a prisoner offering library books (Chapter 15)

5. Nazi Germany took over the Danish government. (Chapter 15)

Short Answer

1. Six of The Club’s members (Knud Pedersen, Jens Pedersen, Eigil Astrup-Frederiksen, Helge Milo, Mogens Fjellerup, Mogens Thomsen) are arrested and “charged with sabotage against the German Army.” In the local jail, they are treated very well, both by the guards as well as the outside community. (Chapter 12)

2. The initial reactions from the Danish community were mixed; for example, while some were embarrassed and worried it would cause more damage in the long term, others were inspired by the boys’ actions. (Chapter 12)

3. The Club members try to find ways to escape from jail, with their goal being to flee to neutral Sweden. (Chapter 13)

4. Alf and Kaj Houlberg and Knud Hornbo, three factory workers in their twenties, are the three remaining members of The Club in the local jail. Using the escape system in the jail, they are able to continue The Club’s acts of resistance during the night. After almost a month of night-resistance activities, they are caught, tried, and receive a sentence of more than 10 years, resulting in the foreseeable end of The Club. (Chapter 14)

5. They are a group of schoolboys, also from Aalborg, who were arrested for similar acts of resistance as The Club’s. The League reports to The Club that “resistance was growing.” (Chapter 15)

6. Mr. Worsaae is a tutor who comes to support the boys’ learning in prison. Unlike the guards, he “spoke to them like humans,” also encouraging Knud’s interest in art. (Chapter 15)

Chapters 16-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. A written examination for university (Chapter 16)

2. The monastery (Chapter 17)

3. Because he was considered a “‘security risk’” (Chapter 17)

4. Special Operations Executive (SOE) Kings (“K”) Company (Chapter 17)

5. By collecting funds for the underground movement (Chapter 17)

6. He founded “the world’s first art lending library.” (Epilogue)

Short Answer

1. Upon their release from prison and their arrival in Odense, the Pedersen brothers learn that their first resistance movement, the RAF Club, had expanded and continued resistance activities in the city; however, the RAF Club’s members were eventually also sent to prison. (Chapter 16)

2. Before their imprisonment, most of the Danish stores were thriving from business with Nazi German soldiers; however, in the years that the Club members were in prison, Denmark transitioned into a resisting society, and Danish people “were stigmatized as traitors,” ultimately resulting in the loss of business with Nazi German soldiers. Similarly, Danish police now refused orders from the Germans. (Chapter 17)

3. Patricia Bibby is a girl whom Knud meets on his vacation and whom he connects with and speaks to often. Although Jens and Knud both fall in love with her, she does not become romantically involved with either, and eventually she helps Knud work through his depression. (Chapter 17)

4. Karl Moeller is a university student who sends codes to the British covert group called the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Knud deeply admires Karl’s work and wants to be a part of the organized resistance; however, Karl keeps his work separate to protect Knud and his family. (Chapter 17)

5. The organized resistance movement helped Denmark transition back to a “Danish-run government.” In particular, Knud was responsible for overseeing the transition of management at the Aalborg airport; however, he discovers that the airport is still managed by Germans and is unsuccessful in his attempt to expel the Nazi German leadership. (Chapter 18)

6. Five years after the liberation of Denmark, The Churchill Club quickly convened to meet Mr. Churchill, who heard about their work during WWII and showed interest in meeting The Club. (Chapter 18)