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Quiz about Noor Inayat Khan  Unlikely Heroine
Quiz about Noor Inayat Khan  Unlikely Heroine

Noor Inayat Khan - Unlikely Heroine Quiz


Born in Russia, raised in Paris, a member of a royal Indian family, and post-humously awarded the George Cross for gallantry Noor Inayat Khan was an unlikely WWII heroine. Hers is a fascinating story and deserves to be more widely known.

A multiple-choice quiz by tan72. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
tan72
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
305,798
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
9 / 15
Plays
303
- -
Question 1 of 15
1. Noor came from a family that was well-known in Mysore, India. Her father was descended from Tipu Sultan, a famous ruler. Which mystic branch of Islam was her father a teacher of? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. Noor's parents met in America, but Noor was born in Russia. Which city was her birthplace on January 1, 1914? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. In which European city did Noor live for several years before her family moved to Paris? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. Noor completed her studies in Paris. Which university did she study at? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. During her life, Noor displayed a strong love of music, and she studied music at the Sorbonne. She composed several pieces of music. Name two instruments that she composed for? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. Noor had a strong interest in children. What other area of interest did she study at the Sorbonne? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. As well as being a talented musician, Noor also wrote for newspapers and magazines. She also wrote fiction. What kind? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. From which port did Noor and her family escape when the Germans invaded France in 1940? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. After arriving in England, which branch of the services did Noor join? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. Which organisation recruited Noor to work in France in 1942? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. Noor joined the SOE in 1942, and her training was cut short in early 1943. Was she the first female operative that the SOE 'dropped' into France?


Question 12 of 15
12. Noor worked in the Parisian area as part of the 'Prosper' network. Was she the last of this network to be captured in October 1943?


Question 13 of 15
13. Were the Germans able to use her notebooks to keep transmitting false information to the British?


Question 14 of 15
14. There was a class of German prisoners that were regarded as highly dangerous and categorised as 'Night and Fog' prisoners (this meant that no records of them were to be kept and that they could be shot at any time, without further ado). Was Noor classed in this category?


Question 15 of 15
15. In which infamous concentration camp was Noor executed in 1944? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 08 2024 : Guest 81: 8/15
Mar 03 2024 : Guest 49: 9/15

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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Noor came from a family that was well-known in Mysore, India. Her father was descended from Tipu Sultan, a famous ruler. Which mystic branch of Islam was her father a teacher of?

Answer: Sufism

One of the lessons that Noor learnt from her father was pacifism, which made her decision to join the forces in WWII even more interesting. Her mother was related to Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science movement.
2. Noor's parents met in America, but Noor was born in Russia. Which city was her birthplace on January 1, 1914?

Answer: Moscow

It is part of the Noor legend that she was born in the Kremlin. There is no evidence to suggest that this is true, and her first biographer, family friend Jean Overton Fuller, does not mention this claim in her book.
3. In which European city did Noor live for several years before her family moved to Paris?

Answer: London

The family moved there in 1914 when she was only a few months old. This was not to be the last time that Noor lived in London, as she and her family relocated there again after being evacuated from France. There is a campaign to have her house become part of the Blue Plaque scheme (where the houses of prominent people are identified with a blue plaque showing the dates that they lived there).
4. Noor completed her studies in Paris. Which university did she study at?

Answer: The Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is the oldest university in Paris, with the first college being founded in 1253.
5. During her life, Noor displayed a strong love of music, and she studied music at the Sorbonne. She composed several pieces of music. Name two instruments that she composed for?

Answer: Harp and piano

There is a photo of Noor with one of her harps at the following link:
www.harpcolumn.com

One of her harps is also on display in her former family home in Paris.
6. Noor had a strong interest in children. What other area of interest did she study at the Sorbonne?

Answer: Child psychology

Noor had a long-term interest in humanities and studied child psychology alongside music in Paris. Some sources report her as having attained a degree in child psychology. Her later cover story for her resistance work was that of a child nurse.
7. As well as being a talented musician, Noor also wrote for newspapers and magazines. She also wrote fiction. What kind?

Answer: Children's stories

Shortly before the outbreak of WWII, Noor published a book of twenty fairy tales named 'The Jataka Tales'. It is still in print though difficult to track down.
8. From which port did Noor and her family escape when the Germans invaded France in 1940?

Answer: Bordeaux

Noor and her family were lucky to escape from France. As they held British passports, they were able to leave on the last British ship from Bordeaux.
9. After arriving in England, which branch of the services did Noor join?

Answer: WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force)

Noor joined the WAAF, training as a wireless operator. Amongst the skills she learnt was that of Morse code, which was to be essential for her work in France. This, along with her fluent French, made her very valuable.
10. Which organisation recruited Noor to work in France in 1942?

Answer: SOE (Special Operations Executive)

After working as a signals operator for several months, Noor became bored and applied for a commission. It is during this process that she came to the attention of the SOE (France) branch who were just beginning to train female operatives. One of the criteria that they searched for was the ability to speak French as a native speaker. Noor certainly fitted this criterion as she was raised in France.

Winston Churchill, then Prime Minister, was opposed to the idea of using women as undercover operatives, but it was done nevertheless.
11. Noor joined the SOE in 1942, and her training was cut short in early 1943. Was she the first female operative that the SOE 'dropped' into France?

Answer: Yes

There were concerns about Noor's emotional stability during her training. One activity was a mock interrogation, to help operatives appreciate the difficulties that they faced. Her examiner reported that she was 'blanched' and 'shaking' at the end of this process.

As the SOE were short of trained operatives, it was important to get as many people into France as possible. As a result, her training was cut short and she was 'dropped' into France on 16/17 June 1943.
12. Noor worked in the Parisian area as part of the 'Prosper' network. Was she the last of this network to be captured in October 1943?

Answer: Yes

Unfortunately, Noor did not last very long in the field. Her network was infiltrated by the Nazis quite early and she was the last of her network to be captured. It is believed that she was betrayed by either a double agent (Henri Dericourt) or by the sister of a Prosper network member (Renee Gary).

Her story was later pieced together by Vera Atkins, who worked for Colonel Buckmaster, the Commander of the French section of the SOE. Sarah Helm has written a book outlining Vera Atkins and her determination to track down the women who disappeared in France ('A Life in Secrets').
13. Were the Germans able to use her notebooks to keep transmitting false information to the British?

Answer: Yes

Unfortunately, Noor kept a copy of all her transmissions in a notebook. One theory is that she misunderstood an order to 'file' all communications. The Germans were then able to use this notebook to transmit false messages as Noor. Even though there were annomalies in the messages, including a code that Noor was told to use in the event of capture, London did not investigate these anomalies and this probably led to the capture and death of more operatives.
14. There was a class of German prisoners that were regarded as highly dangerous and categorised as 'Night and Fog' prisoners (this meant that no records of them were to be kept and that they could be shot at any time, without further ado). Was Noor classed in this category?

Answer: Yes

The Gestapo responsible for capturing and interrogating Noor reported that she put up a struggle upon her arrest. She consistently refused to respond to interrogation and once attempted escape with two other captured British operatives. When she refused to sign an agreement not to attempt any more escapes, she was transferred to a prison in Germany.
15. In which infamous concentration camp was Noor executed in 1944?

Answer: Dachau

Noor, along with three other captured SOE operatives was executed at Dachau concentration camp on September 12, 1944. It is rumoured that Noor's last word was 'Liberté'. It took several years for her full story to be pieced together and for Noor to be identified as one of the four operatives executed at Dachau. There is a memorial plaque located in Dachau commerating Noor and her colleagues (Madeleine Damerment, Yolande Beekman and Elaine Plewman).
Source: Author tan72

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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