The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Chapter 15–Epilogue

by Phillip Hoose
In 1940, a group of Danish teens formed a secret resistance group called the Churchill Club in order to oppose the Nazi regime. In this nonfiction account, Phillip Hoose traces the development and accomplishments of the club.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction–Chapter 3, Chapters 4–8, Chapters 9–14, Chapter 15–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
    In my thoughts I convinced myself that I had done the right thing by taking part in the fight against the Germans. But in the many lonely hours came the doubt anyway, often very insidious.
  2. languish
    experience prolonged suffering in an unpleasant situation or place
    The Churchill Club remained a potent symbol of resistance in Denmark even as its members languished behind bars.
  3. nemesis
    a personal foe or rival that cannot be easily defeated
    The day after that, while we were cleaning up, the chubby guard who was my nemesis watched me silently as I pushed my snow sculpture over to a far corner.
  4. upheaval
    a state of violent disturbance and disorder
    The sounds the Churchill Clubbers heard outside their cells on August 29, 1943, reflected an upheaval in Danish society.
  5. stint
    an unbroken period of time during which you do something
    My cousin Hans Jøergen, who like me was eighteen years of age now, had written to us all the way through our jail stint in Aalborg, exchanging coded war bulletins with Jens.
  6. populace
    people in general considered as a whole
    They chose the night of the Hans Christian Andersen Nightingale Festival to attack, on an evening when Odense’s entire populace was absorbed in celebrating Denmark’s most famous author.
  7. stigmatize
    condemn or openly brand as disgraceful
    Shop owners who had sold goods to German soldiers in the old days now stared through the windows of empty stores. Others stood out front and swept the sidewalks, looking left and right for a German customer. They were stigmatized as traitors now.
  8. covert
    secret or hidden
    The Special Operations Executive (SOE), a British covert group, worked with all European resistance movements.
  9. confidant
    someone to whom private matters are told
    Karl and I became friends, but we could not be confidants. He never said where he was going when he left the house each afternoon, and I never asked.
  10. liaison
    a means of communication between groups
    In early 1943, a liaison office in Stockholm, Sweden, was set up to link the Danish Resistance and the SOE.
  11. laud
    praise, glorify, or honor
    My title had been cursed and lauded in thousands of living rooms and kitchens and workplaces during Denmark’s bleakest hours.
  12. unprecedented
    novel; having no earlier occurrence
    Just before Christmas 2013, a week went by with no word from Knud. This was unprecedented, and ominous.
  13. ominous
    presaging ill fortune
    Just before Christmas 2013, a week went by with no word from Knud. This was unprecedented, and ominous.
  14. rehash
    discuss again; go back over
    The group rehashed it from every angle but remained deadlocked.
  15. erratic
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
    His behavior became erratic.
Created on Sat Jan 04 12:07:39 EST 2020 (updated Thu Aug 07 17:59:29 EDT 2025)

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