
The story of the Jewish codebreakers who helped win the war - js2
https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/features/jewish-codebreakers-who-help-ed-win-the-war-1.431345
======
dm319
I sit uncomfortably with the article's emphasis on a specific ethnicity. Great
things were done at Bletchley during the war, and I think there is a good
argument that diversity (or should we say lack of anti-diversity?) was
helpful.

This is a great documentary on the lorenz cipher[1][2] (sadly fairly garbled
to avoid it being taken down - though doesn't seem like you can buy it
either), which was a more secure encryption method than enigma and didn't
require an operator. It was thought to be unbreakable by Nazi high command,
and the breaking of it has only recently been declassified.

The documentary points out the diversity at Bletchley - race, country, gender,
disability and sexual orientation, which was quite the opposite to the Nazi's
intelligence employment requirements.

[1][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD0l8aAOiJI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD0l8aAOiJI)

[2][http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00l9j0v](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00l9j0v)

~~~
myth_drannon
It's not about the ethnicity, it was about people who were reading secret Nazi
massages about mass murder of their own people, quite possibly their own
relatives and not been able to talk to anyone outside about it .

~~~
vasilipupkin
exactly

------
45h34jh53k4j
What an interesting story and credits those who may be missing from the
general narrative of codebreakers in WW2.

The impact of breaking NAZI codes and learning about the murder of your people
-- without being able to act -- is a terrifying position for any human to be
in.

------
Overtonwindow
On a related note, if you ever find yourself near the south of Baltimore, the
National Cryptologic Museum at NSA is free, open to the public, and absolutely
fascinating.

------
arcanus
Jewish scientists were instrumental in the United States Manhattan project,
where notable scientists such as Richard Feynman, Robert Oppenheimer, Hans
Bethe, etc., made significant contributions to the discovery of the fission
bomb.

~~~
geodel
And contributed to Bombing of Hiroshima or that point we blame politicians,
military-industrial complex etc?

~~~
metaphorm
"It is with appreciation and gratefulness that I accept from you this scroll
for the Los Alamos Laboratory, and for the men and women whose work and whose
hearts have made it. It is our hope that in years to come we may look at the
scroll and all that it signifies, with pride. Today that pride must be
tempered by a profound concern. If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons
to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of the nations
preparing for war, then the time will come when mankind will curse the names
of Los Alamos and Hiroshima. The people of this world must unite or they will
perish. This war that has ravaged so much of the earth, has written these
words. The atomic bomb has spelled them out for all men to understand. Other
men have spoken them in other times, and of other wars, of other weapons. They
have not prevailed. There are some misled by a false sense of human history,
who hold that they will not prevail today. It is not for us to believe that.
By our minds we are committed, committed to a world united, before the common
peril, in law and in humanity."

J. Robert Oppenheimer, Acceptance Speech, Army-Navy "Excellence" Award (16
November 1945)

------
yesbabyyes
Interesting, I had no idea about this. I lament that this story went from #1
to #43 in no time; what happened?

------
Zaheer
>Today, our strong partnership with our Israeli counterparts in signals
intelligence is protecting people from terrorism as I write.

This article celebrates the intelligence / defense community which after just
coming back from a trip to Israel & Palestine I feel obliged to add an
asterisk to. What goes on in Israel under the pretense of security is
horrifying to say the least. I don't mean to undermine the great
accomplishments of the codebreakers. But I do want to address the modern
context this article mentions.

Information on US-Israeli security coordination and how it transpires into
police brutality in the U.S:
[https://deadlyexchange.org/](https://deadlyexchange.org/)

General Israel-Palestine 101: [https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/israeli-
palestinian-conflict...](https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/israeli-palestinian-
conflict-101/)

~~~
Zaheer
If you're down-voting me, please explain why.

