Interview with Marian Rejewski, the first person to crack Enigma (1974) [video]

https://www.flyingpenguin.com/?p=56989

I just noticed a series of nine rare interviews were posted in June 2023 by the Polish Embassy in London.

Each has only a couple hundred views on YouTube despite significance of the subject. They feature war hero Marian Rejewski, the 1st person to crack the Enigma code, describing major breakthroughs before and during WWII (which the British rarely, if ever, gave proper credit to Poland):

1) French X, British Y, Polish Z (0:42)

2) Wiretap collection amounts needed to break Enigma (1:00)

3) Breaking the Enigma code in 1932 (0:56)

4) Enigma “banal” A-A-A, Q-W-E keyfinding (1:31)

5) The 1938 “Bomba” machine (1:16)

6) Enigma codebreaking process and how the Bomba automated the work of over 28 codebreakers (1:30)

7) Manual codebreaking with the primitive “grill method” and then the “cyclometer”, processing over 100,000 Enigma key possibilities ((26x26x26)6) in a few minutes (1:56)

Rejewski’s cyclometer generated a “card catalog” using 26*26*26 or 17,576 positions of the three Enigma alphabet rotors in a given sequence. Given six possible sequences, the catalog was 17,576 * 6 = 105,456.

8) Handing over Enigma codebreaking and Zygalski sheets to the British in 1939 (2:07)

9) Polish-British cooperation on Enigma codebreaking. Poles in Paris would send cracked German Enigma keys over wires to Bletchley Park using “almost comical” protection… encrypted with the German Enigma (1:18)

Related: 2023 biography of Rejewski

Where the Poles broke Enigma. The secret Cipher Bureau (Biuro Szyfrów) cryptanalysis operations center in Pyry forest south of Warsaw. Photo from 1938. The British (e.g. Knox) and French intelligence visited, such that Bletchley Park was then rapidly acquired by England and configured in 1939 (to continue operations after Germany invaded Poland).

Polish codebreakers (left to right) Zygalski, Rozycki and Rejewski. Photo from 1938.

Closeup of the text on a 2002 commemorative plaque to honor the first people to break the Enigma code, oddly placed under some trees and behind a brick wall in a quiet and remote spot at Bletchley Park

the poetry of information security

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  "author": "Davi Ottenheimer",
  "date": "2024-04-30T12:00:00.000Z",
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  "title": "Polish Embassy Interviews 1st Person to Crack Enigma: Marian Rejewski | flyingpenguin",
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{
  "url": "https://www.flyingpenguin.com/?p=56989",
  "title": "Polish Embassy Interviews 1st Person to Crack Enigma: Marian Rejewski | flyingpenguin",
  "description": "I just noticed a series of nine rare interviews were posted in June 2023 by the Polish Embassy in London. Each has only a couple hundred views on YouTube despite significance of the subject. They feature war...",
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  "content": "<div>\n\t<div>\n<article>\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t<p>I just noticed a series of nine rare interviews were posted in June 2023 by the Polish Embassy in London. </p>\n<p>Each has only a couple hundred views on YouTube despite significance of the subject. They feature <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/?s=rejewski\">war hero Marian Rejewski</a>, the 1st person to crack the Enigma code, describing major breakthroughs  before and during WWII (which the British rarely, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/?p=22069\">if ever</a>, gave proper credit to Poland):</p>\n<p><strong>1) French X, British Y, Polish Z (0:42)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p><strong>2) Wiretap collection amounts needed to break Enigma (1:00)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p><strong>3) Breaking the Enigma code in 1932 (0:56)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p><strong>4) Enigma “banal” A-A-A, Q-W-E keyfinding (1:31)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p><strong>5) The 1938 “Bomba” machine (1:16)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p><img src=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bomba.jpg\" srcset=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bomba.jpg 362w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/bomba-300x233.jpg 300w\" /></p>\n<p><strong>6) Enigma codebreaking process and how the Bomba automated the work of over 28 codebreakers (1:30)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p><strong>7) Manual codebreaking with the primitive “grill method” and then the “cyclometer”, processing over 100,000 Enigma key possibilities ((26x26x26)6) in a few minutes (1:56)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<figure><img src=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rejewski-Cyklometr-500x345.jpg\" srcset=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rejewski-Cyklometr-500x345.jpg 500w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rejewski-Cyklometr-300x207.jpg 300w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rejewski-Cyklometr.jpg 740w\" /><figcaption>Rejewski’s cyclometer generated a “card catalog” using 26*26*26 or 17,576 positions of the three Enigma alphabet rotors in a given sequence. Given six possible sequences, the catalog was 17,576 * 6 = 105,456.</figcaption></figure>\n<p><strong>8) Handing over Enigma codebreaking and Zygalski sheets to the British in 1939 (2:07)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p><strong>9) Polish-British cooperation on Enigma codebreaking. Poles in Paris would send cracked German Enigma keys over wires to Bletchley Park using “almost comical” protection… encrypted with the German Enigma (1:18)</strong></p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\"></iframe></p>\n<p>Related: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/?p=49767\">2023 biography of Rejewski</a></p>\n<figure><img src=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BiuroSzyfrau-500x297.jpg\" srcset=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BiuroSzyfrau-500x297.jpg 500w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BiuroSzyfrau-300x178.jpg 300w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BiuroSzyfrau-768x456.jpg 768w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BiuroSzyfrau-1536x911.jpg 1536w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BiuroSzyfrau-2048x1215.jpg 2048w\" /><figcaption>Where the Poles broke Enigma. The secret Cipher Bureau (Biuro Szyfrów) cryptanalysis operations center in Pyry forest south of Warsaw. Photo from 1938. The British (e.g. Knox) and French intelligence visited, such that Bletchley Park was then rapidly acquired by England and configured in 1939 (to continue operations after Germany invaded Poland).</figcaption></figure>\n<figure><img src=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/polish-cryptanalysts-1938-500x468.jpg\" srcset=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/polish-cryptanalysts-1938-500x468.jpg 500w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/polish-cryptanalysts-1938-300x281.jpg 300w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/polish-cryptanalysts-1938-768x719.jpg 768w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/polish-cryptanalysts-1938-1536x1438.jpg 1536w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/polish-cryptanalysts-1938-2048x1917.jpg 2048w\" /><figcaption>Polish codebreakers (left to right) Zygalski, Rozycki and Rejewski. Photo from 1938.</figcaption></figure>\n<figure><img src=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rejewsky-memorial-bletchley-339x500.jpg\" srcset=\"https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rejewsky-memorial-bletchley-339x500.jpg 339w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rejewsky-memorial-bletchley-203x300.jpg 203w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rejewsky-memorial-bletchley-768x1133.jpg 768w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rejewsky-memorial-bletchley-1042x1536.jpg 1042w, https://www.flyingpenguin.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/rejewsky-memorial-bletchley.jpg 1085w\" /><figcaption>Closeup of the text on a 2002 commemorative plaque to honor the first people to break the Enigma code, oddly placed under some trees and behind a brick wall in a quiet and remote spot at Bletchley Park</figcaption></figure>\n\t</div>\n\t</article>\n\t\t<h2>\n\t\t\tPost navigation\t\t</h2>\n\t\t</div>\n<div>\n\t\t<h2>the poetry of information security</h2>\n\t</div>\n\t\t</div>",
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