Robert Spier on Sun, 2 Apr 2000 23:40:14 -0400 (EDT)


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Enigma Machine Stolen


phl.pm was there.

-R (courtesy of /.)

"Enigma Machine Stolen"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_698000/698804.stm

	       Station X security
               cracked

               Bletchley Park: Thieves may have
               struck during open day
               An Enigma machine used by the
               Nazis to send coded messages
               during World War Two, has been
               stolen from the code-cracking
               Station X at Bletchley Park,
               Buckinghamshire. 

               The machine, worth about
               £100,000, is one of only three in
               the world. It was brought to the UK
               after the war. 

               It looks like an old-fashioned
               typewriter, but the codes it
               produced were so sophisticated the
               Germans believed they were
               unbreakable. 

               Bletchley Park Trust director
               Christine Large said: "This is a
               selfish act, calculated to deprive the
               visitors and students at Bletchley
               Park of the chance to enjoy and
               appreciate a unique piece of
               history." 

               She added: "This
               is a devastating
               theft and has cast
               a dark cloud over
               Bletchley Park.
               We would liken it
               to the theft of the
               Cezanne at
               Oxford's
               Ashmolean
               Museum." 

               Thames Valley police say the
               machine was stolen on Saturday
               afternoon, when the centre's
               museum was open to the public. 

               Officers believe it was lifted from a
               glass display cabinet, where it
               formed the centrepiece of the main
               public display. 

               It is feared the thieves may try to
               sell the machine on the internet. 

               The author of the book Station X,
               Michael Smith, called it a
               "devastating blow", but said he did
               not believe the machine had been
               stolen to order. 

               'Beggars belief' 

               "The trouble someone would have in
               selling this would be immense," he
               said. 

               "I believe it's just a very stupid act
               by somebody and really beggars
               belief. I just hope it's returned
               safely." 

               The site was already protected by
               24 hour security guards, said Ms
               Large, but work to install
               state-of-the security at the site has
               now been speeded up. 

               "The Trust will be
               deeply grateful for
               any information
               that may lead to
               the return of the
               machine," she
               added. 

               The codebreakers of Station X are
               credited with shortening the war by
               several years. 

               The top secret site employed teams
               of mathematicians, linguists and
               chess champions. By the end of the
               war 10,000 people were working
               there. 

               Its work was so
               secret that even
               after the war its
               existence was not
               revealed. It was
               not until 1967
               that details were
               made public, and
               some of its
               former workers
               later appeared on
               a television
               documentary
               about the
               station's historic achievements. 

               Winston Churchill had dubbed the
               staff as "the geese that laid the
               golden eggs, and never cackled". 

               The codebreakers included
               mathematician Alan Turing, seen as
               a genuis whose pioneering work
               paved the way for modern
               computers. 

               The site was eventually scheduled
               for demolition, but a farewell party
               brought together 400 codebreakers
               whose stories were so fascinating it
               was decided to try to save the
               building instead. 

               Hollywood blockbuster 

               Not only was that goal achieved,
               but the story of Station X is being
               turned into a £90m Hollywood
               blockbuster starring Harvey Keitel
               and Jon Bon Jovi. 

               Rock star Mick Jagger is a Bletchley
               Park enthusiast, and even owns an
               Enigma machine, but of a different
               type from the one stolen. 

               Police have appealed to any
               members of the public with any
               information on the machine's
               whereabouts to contact them. 
-- 

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