The Boys Who Challenged Hitler Read online

  The Rescue of Danish Jews: The quickly organized boatlift of most of Denmark’s Jews to safety in Sweden is Denmark’s proudest moment during the war. Many accounts have been written. In particular, see Ackerman and Duvall, A Force More Powerful, p. 222; Levine, Darkness Over Denmark; and Lowry, Number the Stars.

  16 FIRST HOURS OF FREEDOM

  The factory was an obvious target: There are two versions of who was responsible for the factory arson in Naesby. One is as Knud and Jens Pedersen learned it from Knud Hedelund at the party in Odense, and has been reported in these pages. A second account comes from records of communist saboteurs working in Odense. As the resistance movement became better organized and spread throughout Denmark, activists tried to recruit members of the RAF Club because—though young—they were experienced saboteurs. Communist partisan groups—known as “p-groups”—were especially persistent. But the RAF was unwilling to be controlled by anyone, especially planners from the Soviet Union. The RAF turned the Communists down, causing bad blood.

  The two groups met quite by accident at the factory on the night of the fire. By pure coincidence, both the RAF Club and the communist p-group had planned to torch the same factory at the same time. Hans Jøergen Andersen later reported that he set the fire, accompanied by three other RAF Clubbers. Two p-group members told a newspaper reporter in 1995 that, no, it was their group that had set the factory ablaze.

  “I have given my version,” noted Knud Pedersen. “I think it is just fair to note that there is another version.”

  17 BETTER ON THE INSIDE

  Patricia Bibby had wanted to meet Knud Pedersen: Author’s April 26, 2014, interview with Patricia Bibby.

  The SOE: See Knud J. V. Jespersen’s English-language account No Small Achievement: Special Operations Executive and the Danish Resistance 1940–1945 (Copenhagen: University Press of Southern Denmark, 2002).

  “My name is Helge Milo”: Cathedral School Web site, www.aalkat-gym.dk/fileadmin/filer/import/Churchill/Kilder/kilde_16_og_17.pdf.

  Eigil found himself accepting: See Laursen, Churchill-Klubben som Eigil Foxberg oplevede den.

  His spirits plunged: Author’s April 26, 2014, interview with Patricia Bibby.

  Gertrud Pedersen, Patricia Bibby, and Inger Vad Hansen: Resistance Fund-raisers: Ibid.

  Liberation!: For more about the Danish Liberation, see Levine, Darkness Over Denmark, pp. 139–45, and Tveskov, Conquered, Not Defeated, pp. 85–91.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I thank Peggy Akers for helping me locate translators of Danish text to English. Her greatest find was her mother, Gertrude Tuxen, who at the age of ninety-six wrote out translations of dozens of pages. Thanks, too, for the fine translation work of Linda Tuxen.

  Thanks to Carol Shanesy for typing dictated passages and to Kathren Greenlaw for transcribing more than twenty-five hours of recorded interviews between Knud Pedersen and me.

  I extend my gratitude to Phebe Tice and Samuel Kemmerer, students at Breakwater School in Portland, Maine, for carefully reading the book in manuscript form and commenting extensively. Thanks to their teacher Cheryl Hart for finding them for me. I thank Dean Harrison for superb tech support, keeping me and my laptop going through several generations of change. Thanks to Mark Mattos of Curious City for emergency Web support when I was most baffled.

  I thank my wife, Sandi Ste. George, for sharing every aspect of this project. She let me read aloud to her chapter after chapter, commenting along the way, and then listened to the entire book several times. She shared my excitement as this book came to life. I am a lucky man.

  At Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, I thank Roberta Pressel for yet another fine design and Simon Boughton for his faith in and support of this project. Special appreciation goes to my editor, Wesley Adams. Creative, insightful, and responsive, Wes had an intuitive sense for the content of this book and a talent for solving problems.

  I thank Patricia Bibby Heath for kindly and thoughtfully sharing with me in a rather hastily arranged telephone interview the dramatic events and personal experiences of seventy years ago.

  In Denmark, the staff of the Museum of Danish Resistance steered me to Knud Pedersen and thus can stake a claim on the origin of this book. Niels Gyrsting kindly provided many of the images that enliven these pages and document the story. Karen Nielsen helped me find Aalborg resources. Knud’s daughter Kristine Riskaer Povlsen helped keep the project going, especially when her father was ill. His son Rasmus Riskaer Smith also contributed timely technical assistance. Knud’s wife, Bodil Riskaer, provided unwavering support of this book in countless ways. Val and B. Bach Kristiansen kindly assisted with research and translation.

  When one contacts the Art Library in Copenhagen, one reaches Mette Stegelmann. Mette shared with Knud and me the day-to-day work of this project. She was the go-to person when we needed help with photographs, contract work, or rushing a message across the Atlantic. She is a joy to work with.

  Knud Pedersen was one of the most remarkable and inspiring people I’ve ever met. The chance to work daily with Knud to tell this important but too-obscure story of World War II was a lifetime thrill. We concluded each of the hundreds of e-mail messages we exchanged with the word “love.” At least on my part, I surely came to mean it.

  ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

  Aalborg Katedralskole (Aalborg Cathedral School): here, here

  Bjørn Erikson: here

  CORBIS: here

  Estate of Knud Pedersen: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Nationalmuseet/Frihedsmuseet (National Museum of Denmark/Museum of Danish Resistance): here, here, here (photograph by H. Lund Hansen), here, here (photograph by Scherl Bilderdienst), here (photograph by John Lee), here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here (photographs by G. C. Krogh), here (photograph by G. C. Krogh), here, here, here, here (photograph by Jørgen Nielsen)

  Niels Gyrsting Collection: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Sandi Ste. George: here

  Wikipedia: here

  INDEX

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Aalborg (Denmark)

  airport at

  bridge connecting Noerresundby and, see Limfjorden Bridge

  City Council of

  city jail in (see King Hans Gades Jail)

  German Army in

  harbor of

  Pedersen family’s move to

  police in

  rail yard in

  resistance in (see also Churchill Club)

  trial of Churchill Club in

  Andersen, Arthur

  Andersen, Hans Christian

  Andersen, Hans Jøergen

  arrest and incarceration of

  death of

  German vehicles destroyed by

  Naesby factory burned by

  Arhus (Denmark)

  Astrup-Frederiksen, Eigil

  arrest and incarceration of

  death of

  first sabotage operation of

  in Fuchs Construction Company raid

  Jewish background of

  release from prison of

  sentence of

  sister of, as informant for Churchill Club

  Bach, C. L.

  Bath (England)

  BBC

  Best, Werner

  Bibby, Patricia

  Borgerlige Partisaner (BOPA)

  Boy Scouts

  Britain

  in First World War

  German attacks on

  military forces in Denmark from

  postwar army of

  radio broadcasts from

>   sabotage force organized by

  submarines of

  See also Royal Air Force (RAF)

  Brønderslev (Denmark)

  Brothers Karamazov, The

  Budolfi Square (Aalborg)

  Café Holle (Aalborg)

  Cathedral School (Aalborg Katedralskole) (Aalborg)

  barracks for German soldiers in gym at

  girls at

  Pedersen brothers enroll in

  resistance activities of students from, see Churchill Club

  return to, after release from prison

  Christian X, King of Denmark

  Churchill, Winston

  Churchill Club

  arrest of members of

  books on

  Churchill’s greeting of

  coded messages between RAF Club and

  Danish resistance inspired by

  establishment of

  experiments with explosives by

  Fuchs Construction Company raided by

  General Dewing’s meeting with

  incarceration of members of (see King Hans Gades Jail; Nyborg State Prison)

  information on police provided to

  insignia of

  luncheon honoring

  meetings at monastery of

  Museum of Danish Resistance exhibit on

  Nibe offensive of

  organization of

  rail yard raided by

  reunion of

  rules of

  secrecy of

  sentencing of members of

  trial of members of

  True Comics featuring

  vandalism by

  vehicles destroyed by

  weapons cache of

  Communists

  Copenhagen

  Art Library in

  Assistens Cemetery in

  bombing of shipyard in

  Churchill in

  court of

  German occupation of

  Museum of Danish Resistance in

  prison in

  weapons manufacturers in

  Czechoslovakia

  Danish National Bank

  Darket, Uffe

  arrest and incarceration of

  death of

  in rail yards operation

  release from prison of

  sentence of

  Darwin, Charles

  Denmark, German occupation of

  liberation from

  passivity of Danish response to

  resistance to (see also Churchill Club; RAF Club)

  See also Aalborg; Copenhagen; Odense

  Denmark’s Freedom League

  Dewing, General Richard

  Durbin, Deanna

  eastern front, see Russia

  El Alamein, Battle of

  England, see Britain

  European Film College (Denmark)

  Fersen, Count Axel von

  Finland

  First World War

  Fjellerup, Eva

  Fjellerup, Mogens (The Professor)

  arrest and incarceration of

  death of

  experiments with explosives by

  release from prison of

  sentence of

  Fluxus art movement

  Foxberg, Eigil, see Astrup-Frederiksen, Eigil

  France

  Frøslev prison camp

  Fuchs Construction Company

  Galster, Rector Kjeld

  German Air Force (Luftwaffe)

  German Army (Wehrmacht)

  in Aalborg

  in Copenhagen

  after liberation of Denmark

  at Nibe

  at Nyborg State Prison

  in Odense

  Gestapo

  Girl Scouts

  Globus factory

  Goebbels, Joseph

  Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von

  Göring, Hermann

  Great Britain, see Britain

  Great Depression

  Grunwald, Knud

  Haneken, General Hermann von

  Han Sidder ved Smeltediglen (He Sits by the Melting Pot) (Munk)

  Heath, John Moore

  Hedelund, Knud (Little Knud)

  Himmler, Heinrich

  Hitler, Adolf

  attempted assassination of

  confiscation of bicycles ordered by

  derisive songs about

  extermination of Jews as goal of

  photograph of, in Fuchs office

  rebuilding of German economy by

  Russia invaded by

  in telegram crisis with Danish king

  Hitler Youth

  Holm, Harald

  Holy Ghost Monastery (Aalborg)

  chemical laboratory at

  Churchill Club meetings at

  Churchill Club reunion at

  safe house at

  weapons at

  Homer

  Hornbo, Knud

  arrest of

  escapes from jail

  mortar grenades stolen by

  sentence of

  Horsens State Prison (Denmark)

  Hotel Phoenix (Aalborg)

  Houlberg, Alf

  arrest of

  death of

  escapes from jail

  mortar grenades stolen by

  sentence of

  Houlberg, Kaj

  arrest of

  death of

  escapes from jail

  mortar grenades stolen by

  sentence of

  Houlberg, Tage

  Hurup (Denmark)

  Ibsen, Henrik

  Jacobsen, Thune

  Jensen, Henning

  Jensen, Vagn

  Jews

  Danish, rescue of

  Kierkegaard, Søren

  King Hans Gades Jail (Aalborg)

  conditions at

  escape from

  transfer to Nyborg State Prison from

  King’s Badges

  Kristine pastry shop (Aalborg)

  Liberation Day

  Limfjorden (fjord) (Denmark)

  Limfjorden Bridge (Aalborg)

  Lindholm (Denmark)

  Luftwaffe, see German Air Force

  Lutheran Church

  March of Time, The (radio series)

  Marie Antoinette, Queen of France

  Marxism

  Memory Park (Copenhagen)

  Milo, Helge

  arrest and incarceration of

  first sabotage operation of

  in Fuchs Construction Company raid

  release from prison of

  sentence of

  weapons hidden by

  Milton, John

  Moeller, Karl August Algreen

  Mortensen, Orla

  Munck, Ebbe

  Munk, Kaj Harald Leininger

  Museum of Danish Resistance (Copenhagen)

  Museum of Modern Art (New York)

  Naesby factory arson

  Narvik (Norway)

  Nazis

  collaborators and sympathizers with

  Danish government taken over by

  Denmark occupied by (see Denmark, German occupation of)

  executions by

  hate-filled ideology of

  Jews persecuted and killed by

  Norwegian resistance to

  propaganda of

  registry of opponents of

  surrender of

  See also German Army; Gestapo; Hitler, Adolf

  Nibe offensive

  Niels Ebbesen (Munk)

  Noerresundby (Denmark)

  Norway, German invasion of

  resistance to

  slaughter of civilians and soldiers during

  transport ships for

  Nyborg State Prison (Nyborg Statsfaengsel) (Denmark)

  art supplies provided at

  censorship of prisoners’ letters at

  conditions at

  German takeover of

  library at

  prisoners released from

  school at
>
  stages of sentences at

  transfer to

  Odense (Denmark)

  police in

  resistance in (see also RAF Club)

  Oliver Twist (movie)

  Ollendorff, Børge

  arrest and incarceration of

  in Fuchs Construction Company raid

  German vehicles sabotaged by

  in Nibe offensive

  and weapons thefts

  Ollendorff, Preben

  Operation Weserübung

  Ottesen, Elsa

  Paradise Lost (Milton)

  Pedersen, Edvard (Knud’s father)

  church services of

  letters from prison to

  moves family to Aalborg

  and sons’ arrest

  and sons’ release from prison

  Pedersen, Gertrud (Knud’s sister)

  Pedersen, Holger (Knud’s brother)

  Pedersen, Jens (Knud’s brother)

  arrest and incarceration of

  in Churchill Club

  coded letters sent to

  death of

  in India

  moves to Aalborg

  in RAF Club

  release from prison of

  sentence of

  at university

  Pedersen, Jørgen (Knud’s brother)

  Pedersen, Knud

  arrest and incarceration of

  art interests of

  beginning of resistance activities of

  Bibby’s friendship with

  book on Churchill Club by

  Børge’s friendship with

  Budolfi Square mission planned by

  at Churchill Club reunion

  Churchill’s encounter with

  competition between Jens and

  on day of German invasion and occupation

  death of

  enrollment and reenrollment at Cathedral School of

  and establishment of Churchill Club

  explosives experiments described by

  in Fuchs Construction Company raid

  German vehicles destroyed by

  Hoose’s collaboration on book with

  information on police provided to

  in King Hans Gades Jail

  at meeting with General Dewing

  Moeller and

  moves to Aalborg

  Nibe offensive planning by

  in Nyborg State Prison

  obsession with Rørbæk of

  Odense family life of

  and parents’ resistance activities

  in RAF Club

  in rail yard raid

  released from prison

  sentence of

  in SOE K Company

  trial of

  vandalism by

  weapons stolen by

  Pedersen, Margrethe (Knud’s mother)

  letters from prison to

  and sons’ arrest