History Happy Hour: Cryptology and the Allied Victory in WWII

Museum Member: $15, Non-Member: $20
Veterans and active duty military are invited to participate at the Museum member rate. The discount code can be obtained by calling 301-774-0022.

One of the vital but undisclosed factors in the 1945 Allied victory over Germany and Japan was the ability to read secret communications from the enemy. This included messages scrambled on the German ENIGMA machine and those sent by Japan’s senior admiral in the Pacific. By breaking the cipher codes of these messages, cryptanalysts provided details about troop movements and attack plans, giving U.S. and British commanders unprecedented insight into the military situations they faced. But to succeed, code breaking had to remain the most closely-guarded secret of WW II – and the generals weren’t talking.

Hear the fascinating story of how cryptology helped to win the war.  Speaker Dr. David A. Hatch is the Historian at the NSA’s Center for Cryptologic History. He holds a Ph.D. from American University, is the author of numerous classified and unclassified articles on the study of codes, and is a commentator on history documentaries.  Dr. Hatch served for several decades at the National Security Agency.

History Happy Hours include happy hour drinks and snacks.  History Happy Hours are sponsored by Therrien Waddell Construction Group.