VE Day 2020: Bletchley Park Reveals Last Decoded Nazi Message

The final encrypted message from a German military communications (Brown) network that was intercepted by the codebreakers at Bletchley Park, has been revealed by GCHQ.

The final message was revealed to mark the 75th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day on 8 May 1945. But the war against Japan continued to wage until VJ Day on 15 August 1945.

Last month an extraordinary video that is only known wartime film footage of a secret site connected to Bletchley Park was released. The mostly black and white video is a compilation of footage and shows members of MI6 Section VIII at Whaddon Hall, Buckinghamshire.

Final message

The final message that Bletchley Park intercepted was broadcast on 7 May 1945 by a military radio network making its final stand in Cuxhaven on Germany’s North Sea coast, the BBC reported.

With British troops closing in, a German officer who is identified only as Lieutenant Kunkel sent out a statement.

“British troops entered Cuxhaven at 1400 on 6 May – from now on all radio traffic will cease – wishing you all the best. Lt Kunkel”.

This was immediately followed by: “Closing down for ever – all the best – goodbye”.

“These transcripts give us a small insight into the real people behind the machinery of war,” GCHQ historian Tony Comer is quoted as saying.

“While most of the UK was preparing to celebrate the war ending, and the last of the German military communicators surrendered, Bletchley staff – like today’s GCHQ workers – carried on working to help keep the country safe,” he added.

It is among the release of a number of never-before-seen messages which give an insight into the final hours of a German communications network, according to GCHQ.

The activities of Bletchley Park were so top secret, that even its existence as a code-breaking centre only emerged many decades after the war came to an end.

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