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Enigma, deciphered victory
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3 July 2011 - 15 September 2011
A great new exhibition about the groundbreaking work of the Poles,
when breaking the Enigma codes during WW-II, will be in The Netherlands
for 2½ month this summer. The title of the exhibition is
Enigma, de overwinning ontcijferd, Polen in dienst van Europa
(Enigma, Deciphered Victory. Poland serving Europe).
The exhibition was previously on display in Poland, Belgium
and at Bletchley Park (UK). It is now the main attraction at the
General Maczek Museum in Breda (Netherlands).
Open every 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month.
First opening day: 3 July 2011.
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The Enigma machine
is commonly known for the important role it played during
WW-II. It was the major cipher machine of the German forces and its codes
were broken by the British (and later the Americans)
for the majority of the war. To express its highly secret nature,
intelligence derrived from broken Enigma messages was called Ultra and had to be protected at any price.
Historians now think that breaking the Enigma codes
has shortened the war by two years.
Not many people know however, that breaking the Enigma codes would have been
far more difficult, if not impossible, had it not been for the Poles.
Three young brilliant mathematicians, Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Rozycki and
Henryk Zygalski, managed to break the Enigma codes around 1932, long before
the British did.
A few weeks before the outbreak of WW-II, they organized a meeting in Pyry
(Poland) and gave up their secrets by sharing their knowledge with the French
and the British secret services. Five weeks later England was at war with
Germany.
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Crypto Museum has been asked to supply an
Enigma machine
and some other
goodies for the exhibition, and we were only too happy to help them
out. Although over 20,000 Enigma machines were built for the German War
machine, most machines were lost over time,
as they either went to the bottom of the ocean,
or were destroyed by retreating troups, as per Hitler's instructions.
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Also on display will be the so-called
Fialka;
the Polish version of a
Russian cipher machine that was inspired by the Enigma. It was built shortly
after WW-II and demonstrates the fact that the Russians had learned a lot
from the Enigma machine and its shortcomings during the war.
Although Fialka machines have been used well into the 1990s,
most of them were destroyed in recent years, making this machine a
very rare collector's item.
The image on the right shows a first impression of the exhibition.
In the display case at the front are the Enigma and Fialka.
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The exhibition is open from 3 July 2011 to 15 September during the normal
opening hours of the museum: every 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, between
14:00 and 17:00.
It is also open on the first day of the exhibition: 3 July 2011.
On some days, people from the Crypto Museum will be available for a talk
or a lecture (see below). Usually we will give three talks of 45 min each.
The General Maczek Museum is located on the Trip van Zoudtlandtkazerne,
De La Reyweg 95, 4818 BA Breda. A valid ID (passport or driver's licence)
is required in order to get admission.
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- Sunday 3 July 2011
- Sunday 14 August 2011
- Sunday 28 August 2011
- Sunday 11 September 2011
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Saturday, 08 December 2012 - 13:56 CET
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