Why Was Hitler’s Enigma Machine So Hard To Crack?

Deciphering Hitler’s Cryptographic Masterpiece

Jules
5 min readApr 7, 2023
Photo by Christian Lendl on Unsplash

The Enigma machine was created in the early 20th century and was used to transmit coded messages through the enormous German war engine. It is a sophisticated encryption tool. Nazi Germany’s military communications relied heavily on it during World War II.

The Enigma machine’s encryption complexity made it very challenging for the Allies to decipher. Still, the machine’s secrets were revealed thanks to the tireless work of a group of passionate codebreakers. In this piece, we will examine the causes of the Enigma machine’s illustrious image and how it became one of the most notorious cryptographic tools in history.

What was the mystery surrounding the machine’s mechanism?

The Enigma machine was very good at its job. It was composed of a keyboard, a lamp board, rotors, and internal electrical circuitry, among other components. Some devices, like those employed by the military, have extra features like a plugboard.

The devices had a typewriter keyboard for message entry and a light board for displaying the encrypted form. Each Enigma user had a book of codes; one for each day of the week that explained how to configure the device. After…

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Jules

Psychology Expert | MSc Social and Cultural Psychology