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

Knud, a “lanky school boy,” (6) is 14 years old when the Germans occupy Denmark. Growing up in the city of Odense surrounded by a large, loving family, Knud has a happy childhood: “It was like growing up in a cocoon” (13). Before the war, Knud pays no attention to politics. He is a good student, often gets into fights at his all-boys school, and is passionate about drawing and painting.

After April 9, when the Nazis invade Denmark, Knud becomes politically aware: “He was at once outraged by the German invasion, inspired by the Norwegians’ courage, and ashamed of the Danish adults who had taken Hitler’s deal” (6). The occupation reveals new emotions and characteristics in Knud. He shows a strong sense of patriotism, integrity, and leadership skills as he starts the RAF Club and later the Churchill Club. In his sabotage work he proves himself to be brave and idealistic, though he can also be reckless and messy, traits that lead him to clash with his more collected brother Jens. Knud is strongly individualistic, which leads him to struggle with the discipline of prison and the hierarchal, official resistance.

Although not the academic star of the family, like Jens, Knud is also intelligent and inventive; for instance, Patricia Bibby later recalls that Knud translated Paradise Lost into Danish while in prison and “had an idea every two minutes”(146), such as for suitcases on wheels and toothpaste tubes.