Projekt 1065

Chapters 1-25

Reading Check

1. A Nazi; a loyal member of the Hitler Youth (Chapter 1)

2. Mein Kampf (Chapter 3)

3. Ireland became independent from England just before WWII started. (Chapter 5)

4. “German look,” or the moment a person takes to make sure that no one else is listening before they say something against the Nazi party (Chapter 6)

5. “When you fell down, it was over.” (Chapter 11)

6. A camera for reconnaissance photos (Chapter 19)

Short Answer

1. Kristallnacht, or “the night of broken glass” in German, is the night in November 1938 when Germans begin to arrest Jewish people and destroy Jewish-owned businesses in the city. Michael is walking home with his parents to the Irish embassy when they witness the destruction. He is confused and angry with the Germans for not protecting the Jewish community. (Chapter 2)

2. Michael is looking for evidence against the Nazis at the dinner party. After finding what he is looking for, he is almost caught by the butler. Michael’s mother uses chloroform on the butler so both she and Michael may leave unnoticed. (Chapters 3-5)

3. Their teacher announces that Berlin is now officially “Jew-free” and that all 17-year-old Hitler Youth members can be drafted directly into the Germany army. (Chapter 8)

4. Michael struggles with joining the fight because he wants to defend Fritz from the bullying Horst, but he also does not want to draw too much attention to himself and jeopardize his secret mission. In the end, he intervenes in their fight but does not fight back when Horst punches him. (Chapters 11-13)

5. Acrophobia is the intense fear of heights. Michael almost faints as he climbs a ladder to search for the pilot, but Fritz saves him. (Chapters 15-16)

6. Simon is the British pilot whom Michael helps save. He also happens to be Jewish. Michael’s parents hide him in their home, and Simon reveals that he is following the Germans’ plan to build high-speed planes, called Projekt 1065. (Chapters 18-25)

Chapters 26-49

Reading Check

1. Michael has a photographic memory. (Chapter 26)

2. “We are born to die for Germany.” (Chapter 32)

3. “Western European white people” (Chapter 33)

4. “Invading defenseless countries” and boxing (Chapter 39)

5. He gives Michael a hug. (Chapter 43)

6. He reads British and American mystery novels (i.e., banned books). (Chapter 48)

Short Answer

1. During the “Blitz” (i.e., Blitzkrieg or “Lightning War”), Nazi Germany dropped successions of bombs on many European countries, including Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and France. (Chapter 27)

2. Simon wants to help Michael with his fear so that Michael can pass the Hitler Youth exam, continue to stay close to his friend Fritz, and ultimately learn more about Projekt 1065. Simon helps Michael by taking him to the roof and distracting him with jokes about England and Ireland. (Chapters 28-29)

3. The Edelweiss Pirates are a resistance group of youth in Berlin who oppose Nazi Germany. Their group’s name refers to edelweiss flowers, which grow only in high altitudes and are viewed as hearty survivalists. (Chapter 30)

4. In this lesson, Melcher does not preach the Nazi German propaganda; instead, he remarks that most of the leadership of Nazi Germany do not possess the Aryan features, and that most scientific developments were not created by the Aryan race. The class receives this information with silence, and Michael imagines his classmates are wondering if they should turn Melcher in to the authorities. (Chapter 33)

5. As Michael prepares to jump into the water, he realizes that he cannot overcome his fear. Fritz gives him words of encouragement, but they do not help Michael. In the end, Fritz pushes him off the platform into the water, ultimately leading to both boys being accepted into the SRD division of the Hitler Youth. (Chapters 44-47)

Chapters 50-76

Reading Check

1. By denouncing his parents to the Gestapo (Chapter 50)

2. Melcher’s son died fighting in Stalingrad. (Chapter 53)

3. She has a crush on Michael. (Chapter 59)

4. “A secret Allied operation to recruit—or kidnap, if necessary—Nazi scientists” (Chapter 66)

5. The “science team” that will go to the conference in Switzerland (Chapters 68-69)

6. They plan to leave their posts as diplomats in Germany and return to Ireland. (Chapter 74)

Short Answer

1. Fritz is called “quex,” which is short for the German word for “quicksilver.” It is a compliment among the Hitler Youth because it was the nickname of a famous former Hitler Youth member. (Chapter 51)

2. Fritz and the rest of the SRD team decide that Melcher is not loyal to Nazi Germany and is no longer fit to be their teacher. They attack him and, despite Michael’s calls to the police, are successful in bringing him to the Gestapo. Michael and Melcher share a moment of understanding between them that neither is a loyalist to Nazi Germany. Michael says nothing, not wanting to interfere with his plan for Projekt 1065. (Chapter 56)

3. After overhearing some of the boys, Michael realizes that “science team” is code for plans to assassinate a scientist, and that Fritz and his friends are the assassins Michael’s parents have been looking for. He learns that the scientist’s name is Hendrick Goldsmit and that the SRD boys will pretend to be a science team to infiltrate a conference in Switzerland and kill Goldsmit. (Chapters 62-67)

4. After the Edelweiss Pirates attack the SRD patrol, Michael is late to his rendezvous with Simon and fears the worst. As Michael leaves for another raid, he finds Simon on the street, injured. (Chapter 68)

5. Michael realizes that the four boys chosen to be on the “science team” were not chosen for their ability to speak English but because of their fanaticism for Hitler. Simon suggests that to get on the team, Michael should turn Simon in to the authorities. (Chapter 73)

Chapters 77-101

Reading Check

1. That his parents are spies (Chapter 77)

2. Michael beats up Horst, pretending it was the fault of the Edelweiss Pirates. (Chapter 78)

3. Behind a loose brick in a wall outside the resort (Chapters 84-85)

4. A bomb (Chapter 86)

5. Fritz, with the bomb in the suitcase (Chapter 92)

6. Michael is afraid of heights, and they are standing on top of the cable car. (Chapter 96)

Short Answer

1. Michael, Fritz, and the other members of SRD intercept Simon as he is “escaping.” However, Simon diverts from the plan and runs away from the SS officers. One of the officers shoots him dead. (Chapter 81)

2. The plan is to signal a false avalanche warning to bring all the conference members to the basement and then detonate the bomb there. Michael rushes to alert the Swiss guards about Ottmar and Erhard, only to realize that they tricked him because they suspected he was a traitor and that Fritz really has the bomb. (Chapters 87-88)

3. He realizes that Fritz saw him hide the plans for Project 1065 in the brick wall and told the other boys that he was a traitor. (Chapter 91)

4. During Michael and Fritz’s fight, the suitcase with the bomb is knocked from the cable car into the snow. It detonates and causes an avalanche. Michael braces himself and survives, and Goldsmit is safe in the car; however, Fritz is gone. (Chapter 99)

4.After bringing Goldsmit to the Irish embassy in Bern, Michael is reunited with his parents. They first fly to London, where they are debriefed and Michael reconstructs the plans for Projekt 1065 from memory. After they learn they will be posted in the US, Michael is saddened to learn that he must keep this adventure top secret, as revealing it would expose other undercover Irish agents in Nazi Germany. However, he is pleased to know that despite Ireland’s official neutral position, they have assisted in the fight for freedom. (Chapters 100-101)