Enigma Monument

Electromechanical ciphering machine based on the mechanism of rotating rotors. Simply put – Enigma. Everyone has probably heard of it. Many have tried to unravel the messages encrypted by it. Few have succeeded in this field. Exactly three.

This is precisely what the cryptologists' monument commemorates. A metal triangular prism stands before the entrance to the Imperial Castle in Poznań. The location is not coincidental. It was in the Castle that the Mathematical and Natural Sciences Department of the University of Poznań was located during the interwar period, and Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki, and Henryk Zygalski, who contributed to the decryption of the Enigma cipher, were participants in the cryptology course offered at the department. As some of the most talented participants, they took up work at the Cipher Bureau. The outcome of their work is well known. The breaking of the Enigma cipher undoubtedly influenced the direction of military actions during World War II, and the talented Poles were commemorated with a monument in 2007.

The monument is so closely related to the theme of their work that it is hard to mistake it for any other. The series of numbers engraved on the walls of the monument incorporates the names and first names of the mathematicians. Just next door, in a distinctive pavilion, there is an interactive exhibition where one can learn about the course of the work on solving the enigmatic puzzle and take a short course in cryptology.

When visiting Poznań, it is worth taking a stroll down one of the most famous streets in the capital of Greater Poland – Święty Marcin, to reach this interesting place and thus honour the memory of the cryptologists.

Author of the photos and text - Bogusława Bandyk