Code Breakers – The Story of Enigma

This show by Dr. Mark Baldwin is one of the Second World War’s most fascinating stories is that of the Allied Codebreakers, who deciphered a vast number of German secret messages and used the intelligence so gained to hasten Allied victory. The Germans had entrusted their secret communications to an ingenious ciphering machine the Enigma, which was portable, easily operated, and could be set up in millions of ways. The codes were used and each one was changed every 24 hours.

This fascinating talk includes the life and work of the great mathematician, computer scientist, philosopher, and theoretical biologist Alan Turing OBE FRS.

The Allies gained invaluable information about troop and aircraft dispositions, orders of battle, U-boat movements, technical development, military intentions, and tank and artillery strengths. It is generally reckoned that the intelligence from Enigma shortened the war by about two years.

Dr. Mark Baldwin has made a detailed study of the Enigma machine, the code-breaking work at Bletchley Park, and U-boats and has built up a unique collection of slides that illustrate the main features of those important facts of the Second World War.