The Boys Who Challenged Hitler Summary
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose is a nonfiction, adventure novel. The story centers around a young teenaged boy named Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club which was a group of Danish teenagers who started the Resistance against the Nazi occupation of Denmark during World War II. The adventure began on April 9, 1940 when the German warplanes dropped leaflets all over Denmark. These leaflets notified the Danes that the Germans had invaded and were now residing in Denmark to protect them from the evil Allies. The Danish people were angry and stunned but unsure of what action to take since their country neighbored Germany. Unlike the Norwegian citizens who refused Germany’s occupation, military attacks on Norway ensued that very day. Within two months, most of Norway was reduced to rumble and they had lost over 1,300 citizens due to their refusal. Yet, Germany invaded their country anyway.
A few days after the Germany’s occupation of Denmark, the King, Christian X, and the Prime Minister Stauning signed a proclamation that allowed the Nazis to reside in Denmark. However, the Danish people were allowed to govern themselves and their lives should go on as usual. But, life was not as usual. German soldiers were pouring into Denmark. They were taking over buildings and adding German signs to direct the new soldiers to barracks, offices, and training sites. At first, Danish merchants relished the extra business. Although, it soon became apparent that the Nazis thought that they were running the country. Knud Pedersen and his older brother, Jens, were ashamed of their country. They felt that if the adults were not going to defend Denmark, it was then up to them and their cohorts.
The summer that Knud Pedersen graduated from eighth grade, the Nazis were occupying all Denmark. Knud, his brother-Jens, their cousin-Hans, and friends-Harald and Little Knud were all sickened by their government’s lack of action. In the city of Odense that summer, the boys started a club called the RAF Club after their heroes, the British Royal Air Force. At first, the boys were overwhelmed by number and power of the Nazi soldiers. Yet, the RAF Club realized that they could do little things to delay or throw the Nazis off their games. The boys changed the German signs around town so the soldiers arrived at the wrong destinations. They cut telephone lines between the barracks and the military headquarters. The boys had to do these things during daylight hours because of family curfews and on their bicycles. Soon, there was a bounty on their heads. Hitler offered 300 Danish kroner for information leading to the boys’ arrest. “Clearly we had their attention: three hundred kroner was three months’ wages in a factory back then.” (Hoose 23)
In the spring of 1941, Knud’s father who was a Protestant minister accepted an assignment in Aalborg, Denmark’s fourth largest city. The Pedersen family moved 150 miles away and the boys had to leave the RAF Club behind but they swore to keep the Resistance alive. “The RAF boys laughed in their faces. ‘You’ll never keep up with us,’ they vowed.” (Hoose 25) Though by Christmas of 1941, Knud and Jens had found a few of their new classmates shared their ideals and passion that the German soldiers must go. This network of teenaged boys became the Churchill Club named after their admiration for the British leader Winston Churchill.
The Churchill Club got to work immediately. They continued with the vandalizing of German signs and telephone wires. In addition, the boys stole guns, ammunition, grenades, and supplies. They set fire to the Nazis’ cars, offices, and rail cars. The Churchill Club always left behind their blue painted symbol, claiming responsibility for their actions. Their most dangerous adventure was on May 2, 1942. The Churchill Club broke into the Aalborg Railyard. The boys found a train car containing airplane wings and they set fire to it as well as three other cars. This venture was also the Churchill Club’s last because they were captured May 8, 1942. None of the boys’ parents knew about the Churchill Club’s exploits and all but one of the boys was sent to prison. Knud and Jens received the same and the longest sentence of 3 years at Nyborg State Prison. This adult prison was 200 miles away from their family’s home. Knud had the difficult time adjusting to prison while Jens threw himself into his studies. Both brothers were released after serving 2 years and one month of their sentences. Jens left home for college shortly after his release. Knud found himself joining the Danish Resistance.
The arrest of the teen boys in the Churchill Club ignited a spark in the adults of Denmark. Whether the adults were ashamed of their inaction or motivated by their children’s undertaking, the Danish Resistance commenced. Even the Pedersen parents joined in. They hid and aided Resistance members during the rest of the war. World War II ended on May 4, 1945 and Denmark was liberated from the Nazis. Thanks to the Churchill Club, Denmark had her pride and dignity on that day.
BIBLIOGRAPPHY
Hoose, Phillip. The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2015.