Three Polish mathematicians are the first to crack the sophisticated Enigma code used by the Germans just before the Second World War. They build replicas of the Enigma machines and manage to get two of the machines to the British and French code-breakers before the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and ask that recognition be given to their work at the end of the war. After the invasion, the Polish cipher bureau escapes and continues their decoding in Algeria and unoccupied France. Despite being tortured, they refuse to divulge their knowledge of the Enigma to the Germans.—Will Gilbert

In 1933 three Polish civilian mathematicians (Rejewski, Rozycki, and Zygalski) led the way in cracking the "unbreakable" Enigma code used by the German military from 1928 to the end of the Second World War. They secretly worked for the Polish military Cipher Bureau (Biuro Szyfrow headed by Langer) which devised working clones of the Enigma machines as well as other code breaking devices. The Cipher Bureau sent two Enigma clones to the French (Bertrand) and British (Knox, Denniston, and Menzies) cryptologists just two weeks before the German invasion of Poland, September 1939. Amidst the invasion chaos, the Polish Cipher Bureau escaped to Bucharest, eventually receiving help from the French. They continued their secret decoding for the Free French under the nose of the Vichy French, until the German occupation of Vichy forced the Polish decoders to scramble to escape. Despite torture, the military cipher officers refused to divulge their knowledge of the Enigma to the Germans. At war's end, Churchill indicates his desire to keep the Polish cipher work secret. This movie (made just at the end of the life of one of its main heroes) is the first of the recognition of their great contributions. Sold in North America as "Enigma Secret"—rm from dc