On 11 December 2007, Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander, Director, National Security Agency (NSA), Chief, Central Security Agency; Minister Wojciech Flera, Charge D'Affaires Ad Interim; Lieutenant Colonel Pawel Lechowicz, Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency, unveiled the new Polish Enigma exhibit at the National Cryptologic Museum located in Ft. Meade, Maryland.
In December 1932, three Polish mathematicians, Marian Rejewski, Henryk Zigalski, and Jerzy Rozycki, accomplished an impressive cryptologic feat. Through mathematical analysis and months of hard work, they determined the wiring, stepping motion, and set up of the German's tactical level cipher machine, Enigma, and solved a cipher system the Germans believed was unbreakable. They also designed a machine of their own, the Bomba, to rapidly find the Enigma's daily key set up in a timely fashion. Due to the Polish mathematicians' dedication and cryptanalytic skills, Enigma enciphered messages were read by the Allies throughout much of World War II allowing unprecedented access to Germany's plans and capabilities.
On the 75th anniversary of this event, and in recognition of the work done by Rejewski, Zigalski, and Rozycki, the National Cryptologic Museum proudly presents "Brilliance and Perseverance: Poland's Cryptanalysts and the German Enigma."
For more information about the new Polish Enigma exhibit, please visit NSA's web site, www.nsa.gov. Media interested in pictures of the unveiling should e-mail the National Security Agency's Public Affairs Office at nsapao@nsa.gov.
NOTE: Media outlets interested in receiving photographs from the ceremony or additional information should contact the NSA Public and Media Affairs Office at the number above.