DVD
The codebreaker
Languages
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
Narrated by Kate Burton.
Publication Information
[Boston, MA] : WGBH Educational Foundation, [2021]
Physical Description
1 videodisc (approximately 60 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Audience
Not rated.
Added Uniform Title
Summary
The Codebreaker tells the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst whose painstaking work decoding thousands of messages for the U.S. government would send infamous gangsters to prison and bring down a massive, near-invisible Nazi spy ring in WWII. A suburban wife and mother who led a secret double life, her remarkable contributions to the science of cryptology would only come to light decades after her death when classified government files were unsealed. But together with her husband, the legendary cryptologist William Friedman, Elizebeth helped develop the codebreaking methods that led to the creation of the powerful new science of cryptology and laid the foundation for modern codebreaking today.
Notes
Based on the book The woman who smashed codes by Jason Fagone.
Originally broadcast on PBS as an episode of American experience in 2021.