According to an article by BBC News, millions of documents stored at the World War II code-breaking center, Bletchley Park, are set to be digitized and made available online.
During World War II, Bletchley Park was the site of the United Kingdom's main decryption establishment, the Government Code and Cypher School. Ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted there, most importantly ciphers generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines.
During World War II, Bletchley Park was the site of the United Kingdom's main decryption establishment, the Government Code and Cypher School. Ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted there, most importantly ciphers generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines.
The high-level intelligence produced at Bletchley Park, codenamed Ultra, provided crucial assistance to the Allied war effort and is credited with having shortened the war by two years, so saving many lives. During the war, it was home to more than 10,000 men and women who decoded encrypted German messages. Bletchley Park is now a museum run by the Bletchley Park Trust and is open to the public.
Most of the documents stored at Bletchley Park are too difficult to view or handle. As a result, few have access to them. Many of the records at the once-secret center have not been touched for years. Digitizing the documents and placing them online should open all the records to all historians and genealogists alike.
Hewlett-Packard donated a number of scanners and people to provide technical expertise to the project.
The first phase of the project is expected to take at least three years. Simon Greenish, chief executive officer of the Bletchley Park Trust, said the plan was for the center's entire archive to be digitized.
You can read more at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/10239623.stm
