Mathematician and cryptologist, Enigma cipher breaker

Marian Adam Rejewski was born on 16 August 1905 in Bydgoszcz, where he graduated from high school. He studied mathematics at the University of Poznań and at the same time was invited to a secret course in cryptology organised by the Chief Staff Cipher Bureau of the Polish Army. He also studied in Göttingen. Since 1930 he had been employed at the University of Poznań as a lecturer and at the same time worked in the Poznań branch of the Cipher Bureau, and after its dissolution in the Central Staff Cipher Bureau in Warsaw. Together with Henryk Zygalski and Jerzy Różycki, he worked mainly on breaking the encryption codes of the Enigma. Since the Enigma machine was regularly modified by the Germans, the results of their work were communicated to the British just before the onset of the war. Rejewski also worked with French and later British cryptologists. After the war he returned to Poland, and for family reasons and due to the political situation in the country, he made his living by taking jobs far below his qualifications. His involvement in breaking the Enigma code was not revealed until 1973. It is believed that the work of Polish cryptologists greatly contributed to the defeat of Hitler. He died on 13 February 1980.

The exhibition was prepared by students of the Polish Army Complex of Electronic Schools in Bydgoszcz.