The Enigma typewriter machine that was so instrumental in the intelligence battle of the Second World War. I've been a fanatic of the Enigma and its various cinemagraphic representations. Oh so romantic, the last manifestation had as lead heroism none other than the delectable Kate Winslet. The thinking man's slightly cross-looking chica.
So, I went to Bletchley Park and signed up for Membership, went on the tours, consumed their library of associated literature on the subject. Three observations; firstly the administrative tasks for which they were removed from Oxbridge, transplanted to Bletchley propelled them to the Heads of Intelligence post war, secondly, the enigma machine and the incredible complexity of code-breaking were a deciding factor in WWII and finally, that the credit has never been given to the real masterminds behind Enigma, the Poles who handed it to us plus a crude solution for which people truly suffered and in one case, the wife of the lead Polish code-breaker smothered her own baby to avoid capture by German soldiers.
We wax so lyrical about the achievements of Bletchley Park, whereas a quick tour informs us that the site was purchased by the equivalent of today's Head of MI6 personally because government at that time saw fit to leave code-breaking school down the Embankment where they could await those
friendly bombs. Even now UK government contributes not one penny to the upkeep of the place. Instead, Bletchley was prepared for War privately by some Heads of Intelligence, finally being commandeered by the State on the outbreak of WWII. Before that is another matter entirely, and the subject of rare scrutiny. Unlike the glory seekers of Bletchley, the polish contribution from 1930 to their invasion in 1939 and their subsequent activity overseas gave British Intelligence an 'in' to enigma. It may have been too late or insufficient for Poland but the enigma decryption was pivotal to British Interests |
in WWII. The Enigma encryption machine can be described crudely as an analogue electro-mechanical device resembling a typewriter
but based on banking security technology in the 1930s. Interestingly that device was in use in neutral country's banking systems even at that time before receiving the massive injection of Nazi Swag. Polish intelligence correctly identified that the German encryption system was a developed military variant on the banking equivalent. This is a key step in encryption identifying the device used is the first 'in' and in encryption circles this is highly guarded knowledge. Essentially breaking a code requires the correct identification of a system of variables the first of which was the method used. Impressively electrical engineers working by day for radio companies were working at night for Polish Intelligence
throughout the Weimar Republic. While the British and French indulged ourselves in the nonsense of interwar Weimar Politics which I studied at University together with the talking shop of the League of Nations, forerunner to the even more toothless, Will-less United Nations (you could just as easily leave out NATO, Brussels, and the European Parliament which is rarely ever shown on British Television). Don't be fooled, the world is run by the Permanent Security Council and increasingly unilaterally by its Western Members. Known during WWII as the Allied Command who ended up camped out in Potsdam Berlin. Meanwhile the Poles were being useful conjuring up an Enigma copy from the scant knowledge they received about its method of operation as early as 1931. Instead of the Anglo-French detente referred to above, the Poles had turned a Military Communications Officer called Hans Thilo Schmidt. Not content with getting their first 'in' to German comms which like all their other engineering to this day was sadly much superior to what we churn out. A Brigadier stood up and declared at a recent Conference we Chaired that the problem today is the same as it always wasWhilst we may have broken into enigma occasionally in WWII, the Germans may as well have had transcripts sent to them from 10 Downing St., given their efficiency in breaking our encryption. We may as well 'Superior German Engineering’ |
