American cryptologists who, per John Kiriakou, broke the Nazi Enigma encryption largely by exploiting a single known fact: every German communication ended with 'Heil Hitler' — sometimes spelled out, sometimes abbreviated 'HH.' Working outward from the letters H, E, I, L, T, R, they cracked the code one letter at a time. Their work led directly to the founding of the National Security Agency. Both are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Per Kiriakou, the Friedmans broke the Nazi Enigma encryption largely by starting from a single known fact: every German communication ended with “Heil Hitler,” sometimes written out in full and sometimes abbreviated “HH.” Beginning with the letters H, E, I, L, T, and R, they worked outward one letter at a time until the code was broken. Their work led directly to the founding of the National Security Agency.[1][2][3]
