Enigma online

The sea constitutes a symbolic theme in Henryk Zygalski’s biography. It comes up in the cryptologist’s sentimental journey to his family memories from Kołobrzeg in 1917 and Hel in 1930. Thanks to Henryk’s letters and photos we are able to recreate his relationship with the people close to him.

Marynka is an informal name of St Mary Magdalene Gymnasium in Poznań. One of its students was Henryk Zygalski. Was it there that his talent for mathematics was born and cultivated? Or was this talent, which decided about his later success, inborn?

A sense of humour, a tendency to whine and be choosy, but at the same time, a healthy dose of self-mockery were all features of Henryk Zygalski’s character, which stand out when we analyse his photos and their captions from the years after the war.

At the end of August 1939, upon leaving his home city of Poznań, Henryk Zygalski said to his sister Monika’s husband ‘There will be a world war. Look after my mum and sister.’ This proves that the cryptologist was perfectly aware of the inevitability of the armed conflict with Germany.

After the Second World War many officers and soldiers who were staying abroad either did not want to or could not return to Poland.