About the Episode
Behind the scenes of the vast conflict of World War II, another war is being fought, one that will be critical to the fortunes of the Allies: the war of deception, intelligence, and codebreaking. At Bletchley Park in southern England, a team of maverick thinkers led by computer pioneer Alan Turing races to create a machine that will break the supposedly unbreakable German Enigma code. Their success will mean unprecedented insight into Nazi Germany’s war plans and help to save Britain from invasion during its darkest hours in 1940. But as the codes change, the Allies are forced into ever more desperate operations to find new ways to break the cipher—and intelligence blackouts make them vulnerable to everything from German U-boat attacks in the Atlantic to terrorist plots on the mainland United States.
The National WWII Museum was proud to support HISTORY's work on this series through historical research, educational outreach, and archival footage, as well as on-site interviews with WWII veterans that will be featured as part of the network’s “Save Our History” initiative.
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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
The National WWII Museum is a dynamic educational resource that engages and inspires students, teachers, and lifelong learners of all ages and backgrounds around the world. Explore distance-learning programs, curriculum guides, and classroom-ready digital content featuring Museum educators, primary source materials, and other resources.
Secret WWII: Spies & Special Ops
World War II was fought on battlefields all over the globe. But it was also fought in the shadows—in covert operations that didn’t make the headlines, both at home and overseas. In this series hosted by Museum Senior Historian Bradley W. Hart, PhD, hear from expert historians and listen to the stories of the people who were there to uncover the secret World War II.
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