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

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Introduction-Chapter 3

Reading Check

1. According to Hoose, what was “[o]ne of the most dramatic episodes in all of World War II”? (Introduction)

2. Who is The Churchill Club named after?

3. What was the message written on the pamphlet dropped by the German planes?

4. Why was Denmark “strategically prized by the Nazi regime”?

5. Why was Edvard Pedersen cautious of allowing his children to join scouting clubs?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who were the members of “The Churchill Club”? Summarize The Club’s purpose.

2. Who is Knud Pedersen? Describe his work as well as his interest in author Hoose.

3. Compare and contrast Knud’s interest in WWII before and after Nazi Germany’s invasion of Denmark.

4. Why did Knud and his companions assemble in the churchyard in Chapter 2? Summarize what they agreed upon during this meeting.

5. Describe what happens to Knud’s interest in the resistance after he moves to Aalborg.

6. How is The Churchill Club structured? What were some of their initial activities?

Paired Resource

“Sir Winston Churchill: A Biography”

• The Churchill Archive Centre’s overview of the former UK Prime Minister
• Based on both the above resource as well as the text, how did the former UK Prime Minister inspire the members of The Churchill Club?

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. How did Danish citizens express opposition to Nazi Germany?

2. What type of objects did The Club target during their “daylight raids”?

3. What does Knud describe as The Club’s “game” in Chapter 5?

4. Why do Jens and Hans Jøergen develop a secret code?

5. What are “Norwegian conditions”?

6. What is The Club’s goal?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe The Churchill Club’s opinion regarding the Fuchs Construction Company. What do they believe this company is a “prime example of”? What does The Club decide to do?

2. Summarize Børge and his relationship with Knud. How do the two bond?

3. Describe the state of The Club as of spring 1942. How has The Club transformed? Who is aware of the true identities of the members?

4. What does The Club steal in Chapter 6? Summarize the event, as well as the next step the group decides to take.

5. Describe what type of activities The Club focuses on in Chapter 7.

Paired Resource

“Churchill Group”

• A brief overview with pictures from Aalborg Kloster on the work of The Club
• Based on the above resource as well as the text, in which ways did the Aalborg monastery support The Club’s work?

Chapters 8-11

Reading Check

1. Which activity does Knud particularly enjoy?

2. Which activity are the three new recruits in Chapter 10 “devoted to”?

3. What does The Churchill Club reserve their newly found grenades for?

4. Why does The Club begin to live “in an atmosphere of fear” in Chapter 11?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Grethe? How does Knud respond to interactions with her?

2. What is Eigil’s sister’s employment? What does she advise The Churchill Club to do?

3. Describe the Nibe Offensive in Chapter 9. Why is Børge conflicted?

4. What does The Club consider to be their “biggest success so far”? Describe what happens, as well as why they feel a sense of pride in their Danish compatriots.

5. Summarize the circumstances surrounding The Club members’ arrests. As a result, who else finds out about The Club’s previously secret activities?

Chapters 12-15

Reading Check

1. What is the “big question” surrounding the arrest of the youth that Hoose mentions in Chapter 12?

2. What is the court’s verdict in Chapter 13?

3. What is hidden in Alf’s magazine?

4. How does Knud learn about the British bombing of a shipyard in Copenhagen?

5. What significant event happened on August 29, 1943?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who was arrested in Chapter 12? What were their charges? Describe how the group is treated in prison.

2. Compare and contrast the reactions of Danish society to the arrests in Chapter 12.

3. What do The Churchill Club members try to do in Chapter 13? Which location is their “ultimate goal”?

4. Who are Alf Houlberg, Kaj Houlberg and Knud Hornbo? Describe what they do in Chapter 14 to continue supporting The Club, as well as what happens to them.

5. Who is Denmark’s Freedom League? How is their mission connected to The Club’s?

6. Who is Mr. Worsaae? How does he support The Club’s members?

Paired Resource

“About Kaj Munk”

• The University of Aalborg’s overview of the famed Danish playwright
• Based on the above resource as well as the text, would Munk have agreed with the concept of Justified Disobedience in Wartime?

”How the Neutral Countries in World War II Weren’t So Neutral”

• This article reexamines the roles played by neutral European countries during World War II.
• Based on the above resource as well as the text, explain how the intensity of the world conflict made it difficult for countries to maintain strict neutrality.

Chapter 16-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. What does Jens take a few days before he is released from prison?

2. What place became a “safe house” in Aalborg?

3. Why does Knud find it difficult to re-enter the resistance network after being released from prison?

4. Which group does Knud eventually find work in?

5. How did Gertrud Pedersen, Patricia Bibby, and Inger Vad Hansen support the resistance?

6. What did Knud found in 1957?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What information does Little Knud tell the Pedersens upon their release from prison?

2. How has Denmark’s commerce changed in the time before and after the Pedersens were in prison? What is the reason for this change?

3. Who is Patricia Bibby? How does she help support Knud?

4. Who is Karl Moeller? How does he influence Knud?

5. Describe the role of the organized resistance movement in Denmark’s liberation from Nazi Germany. What is Knud’s role in the liberation, and what does he discover during his task?

6. Who does The Club have the honor of meeting in 1950? Summarize the circumstances surrounding this meeting.

Recommended Next Reads 

The Boys from St. Petri by Bjarne Reuter

• This is a 1991 fictionalized account of The Churchill Club’s activities.
• Shared themes include The Trauma of World War II and Justified Disobedience in Wartime.

Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz

• This 2016 young adult novel focuses on a young Irish spy in WWII Germany.
• Shared themes include Justified Disobedience in Wartime.
• Projekt 1065 on SuperSummary