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

Why does Knud go against the wishes of the Danish authorities by telling the truth about the Churchill Club’s intentions for the stolen weapons? In what other instances in the book does he act similarly?

During the course of The Boys Who Challenged Hitler, we see the boys of the Churchill Club change and mature—most notably Knud, since his first-person account forms a large portion of the book. Chart the course of these changes. How does the occupation, the boys’ resistance work, and their time in prison affect them mentally and emotionally?

Hoose chooses to use a mix of first- and third-person for the book, providing narrative interspersed with Knud’s personal accounts. Why do you think he chose this structure? What affect does it have on the story?

The Danish writer Kaj Munk wrote to Knud’s parents: “Of course what [the boys] have done is wrong; but it is not nearly so wrong as when the government gave the country to the invading enemy. […] Now it is time that good people in our Lord Jesus’ name must do something wrong” (103). What does Munk mean with these words? Were the vandalism and theft that the Churchill Club committed justified? Can you think of other examples from history or fiction when people have had to do something “wrong” for the greater good?

Eigil is the only Jewish boy of the Churchill Club. How are his experiences with the Churchill Club different than for the others?

What do Great Britain and Norway symbolize for Knud? How do their wartime actions contrast with those of Denmark?

How does Denmark’s reaction to the occupation transform throughout the war? What are some pivotal moments in the book that show changes in Danes’ attitudes?

Why does Knud call then secretary of state Thune Jacobsen “the worst kind of Nazi collaborator” (129)? Discuss Thune’s attitude toward the Nazis.