Operating a German Enigma Machine

The Enigma machine was a crude mechanical computer that the Nazis used during WWII to send and receive coded communications. This example is owned by the National Cryptologic Museum in Ft. Meade, MD.

TO ENCRYPT:
1. Write down beginning rotor settings. [There are three rotors on the machine]
2. Type name or short message slowly (Plain Text).
3. Write down each letter as the light comes on (Cipher Text).

TO DECRYPT:
1. Return rotor settings to original settings.
2. Type in Cipher Text.
3. Write down Plain Text as lights come on.

You can't see it clearly in the video, but I set the three rotors to 01 01 01 initially. I wanted to encode the word "CODE." Typing this into the machine, it output "NKIC," and each time I typed a letter, the rightmost rotor advanced a notch until the final rotor setting was 01 01 05. [My cell phone then rang. ] Resetting the rotors to 01 01 01, I then typed "NKIC" and got "CODE" as the output. Hence, the same machine can be used to encrypt and decrypt the same text messages, provided both teams know to use the same rotor settings.

One disadvantage of the Enigma was that it required a three man team to be quickly operated (one guy had to type the message out, the other had to watch the lights and write down what those were, and the third did something else). In theory, it could all have been done by one person, but this would have been really slow and tedious.

But the biggest problem with the Enigma was that the Allies had cracked its code early in the war. People really don't realize how enormously superior logistics, supplies and intelligence helped the Allies during WWII.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Enigma
• Enigma Machine
• German
• Nazi
• code machine
• Ft. Meade
• MD
• Maryland

[mojo2600]

And it plays music when it finished encoding! The Germans know how to have fun

[ScrumptiousStrat]

Unfortunately, this video tells us nothing about how the machine works! In the Search bar at the top of the screen, type in: LFraserS. That will take you to a series of videos made by one of the people who works at Bletchley Park. Look at: Bletchley Park Tour - Part 3A", that REALLY tells you how Enigma works!!!

[myron558]

hi pppl

[dandelily1]

My mistake! Funkers sent and received messages in morse code over the radio. Radio signals were UKW (ultra-kurz-welle = ultra short wave) or LW (lang-welle = long wave.) After receiving a message the enigma machine was used to decode it. Then it was re-encoded if it had to be transmitted to a distant receiver.

[dandelily1]

Great video; Thank you! My Dad was a funker (radio-operator) with the luftwaffe. (He was NOT a Nxzi) Part of his job was using this machine to send/recieve messages. The messages were about repairing the aircraft in his unit, numbers of engine parts to be replaced) He lives in Baltimore, so I hope to bring him to the museum in Ft. Meade to see the machine you videoed.

[Rambokala]

@mojo2600 I wonder if the gas chambers played music too, after the jews were dead.

[papoocanada]

they were clumsy machines really.......the old TYPEX with 5 rotors + + were much better

[forallpurposesonly]

@TitanicMatthew I have an Enigma simulator in my Palm handheld

[aaronrf18]

/watch?v=JJm4-lqRJDc Link to video that REALLY tells you how the Enigma works. Thanks @ScrumptiousStrat

[cceessaarr234]

Nice on how to operate it. Does not matter if it does not tells about how it works but knowing how the machine operates its easier to understand how it works. :P