When most people think about major contributors to the Allied victory in WW2, what likely comes to mind are the names of Generals such as Eisenhower or Zhukov or the names of the physicists who helped develop the first atomic bomb such as Oppenheimer. However, often left out, yet equally important, were the ones who worked behind the scenes in jobs such as codebreaking.
One of these people was Alan Turing, a British mathematician who, along with a team of expert codebreakers, managed to crack the Nazi Enigma Machine, an encryption machine so complex, that the only way to decrypt a message sent from one was to know the exact code out of quintillions of possibilities that the encryption was set to. Through his actions, Turing and his team at Bletchley Park likely saved hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives.

Yet, after the war, Turing was persecuted by his own government that he had worked for, and would be found dead due to cyanide poisoning just a few years after the end of WW2, with evidence heavily pointing towards a suicide. In this episode of Beyond the Textbook, join Ethan Zhao as he explores the story of Alan Turing, the Enigma Machine, and the Injustice Turing was dealt after the war.

All 3rd party audio was open source

Audio Sources:

Intro music was “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” a popular British wartime song throughout the First and Second World Wars.

“Typewriter Typing” by freesound_community

“Podcast Jazz Music” by Denis Pavolov Music

“Mysterious Dark Background” by Universefield

“Silver Wind” by Top-Flow