An authentic Second World War Enigma machine is now on display at the City of Waterloo Museum, along with information about the University of Waterloo’s special connection to decoding Nazi messages.
Dr. Scott Campbell, lecturer, Systems Design Engineering and director, Centre for Society, Technology and Values (CSTV) shared the history of Waterloo's own code breaker, Bill Tutte.
“There were literally hundreds of other mathematicians and whether they'd be assigned to the project and able to do this --- I don't know,” said Campbell.
Tutte, a math professor, is credited with saving millions of lives through his cryptanalysis work in London during the war. His work is also said to have laid the groundwork for modern cybersecurity.
“This simply solidified the importance going forward for the security agencies in Canada, the United States in Great Britain and around the world,” added Campbell.
An Enigma machine retrieved from a German submarine is on display at the City of Waterloo Museum. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV Kitchener)
The Enigma machine is part of the Cipher I Decipher exhibit on display until December 29, 2023. Campbell was interviewed on this exhibit by CTV News.