Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark by Deborah Hopkinson (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark by Deborah Hopkinson Elizabeth Bush Hopkinson, Deborah Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark. Scholastic, 2015 [352p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-545-59220-8 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-545-59222-2 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5-9 Tween and teen readers who thrilled to the wartime drama of Hoose’s excellent The Boys Who Challenged Hitler (BCCB 7/15) can expand their knowledge of Danish Resistance activity in Hopkinson’s latest title. Following the exploits of three young men who believed their leaders capitulated too easily to Nazi occupation, Hopkinson observes the various paths of each that led to resistance work, and the network of committed collaborators and everyday citizens who supported their efforts. Niels Skov was a saboteur, launching small-scale attacks on Nazi materiel with the aid of a close friend; Skov was the sort of rogue troublemaker that worried Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) as it attempted to coordinate resistance activity across occupied Europe. Tommy Sneum, an ex-military pilot who happened upon a German early warning system that sighted RAF fliers, was willing to work with the British government but was caught up in inter-agency communications problems that put him in peril from the Allies themselves. Jørgen Kieler started resistance work in the relative obscurity of an underground press but later stepped up his game to sabotage, ending up in prison with Skov and barely surviving internment in a concentration camp. Hopkinson draws much of her source material from first-person accounts, many of which carry the polished tone of formal interviews conducted shortly after the war. There is no real question, though, of the daring and bravery of the featured surviving heroes and their colleagues as they embraced, with varying degrees of enthusiasm and reluctance, to carry out personal acts of war of which they could hardly believe themselves capable. Black and white photographs are included, as well as source notes, bibliography, timeline, list of persons highlighted in the text, notes on Danish language, a map (unfortunately buried within the back matter), and an index. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois