Release Date: August 2026

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Episode Overview: Bletchley Park Trust proudly hosted its inaugural Polish Codebreaking Festival.

The landmark weekend welcomed over 2,000 visitors, musicians, and Polish community groups to celebrate wartime heroism and intelligence breakthroughs.

In this episode, podcast producer Mark Cotton sits down with a distinguished lineup of experts and historians to shine a light on these crucial, lesser-known Polish stories.

What’s Inside This Episode

• Festival Origins & Future Plans: Bletchley Park CEO Iain Standen shares the inspiration behind the festival and teases upcoming exhibitions.
• Women in Espionage: Award-winning author Clare Mulley discusses her research into two courageous women who risked everything for the Polish resistance.
• The Enigma Context: Cryptologist and author Dr Marek Grajek analyzes early Polish work on the German Enigma machine and its impact on the ultimate Allied victory.
• The Pyry Legacy: Sir Dermot Turing dives deep into the historic 1939 Pyry conference and its lasting influence on British codebreaking.
• The Overlooked Heroes: Dr Maksym Kempinski from the Enigma Cipher Centre in Poznań uncovers the stories of the Polish codebreakers who deserve wider recognition.

Special Acknowledgements

This episode features traditional music performed by the Mazury Dance Company Choir.

The Bletchley Park Trust extends its grateful thanks to the Polish Cultural Institute in London and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland for their generous support in making the Polish Codebreaking Festival possible.

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