Enigma Museum

06/27/2025

Enigma Museum is again in the southern German city of Friedrichshafen for the eleventh annual Enigma Forum. The Forum takes place within the annual Ham Fest. Thousands of collectors and enthusiasts come from around the world for this amateur radio event. We set up our tables in the huge flea market and invite exhibitors to show their crypto related equipment. This year we had three original Enigma machines as well as a variety of replica Enigma machines. Another great turn out in Germany!

06/30/2024

Enigma Museum again found itself in the southern German city of Friedrichshafen for the annual Enigma Forum. The Forum takes place within Europe’s largest amateur radio event. Thousands of radio enthusiasts visit to see the latest radio equipment as well as the flea market with hundreds of vendors selling antique radio equipment dating back to the earliest days of this technology. Our assembled tables are home to many antique cipher machines and spy gear. One highlight of the event was the appearance of an Enigma D. This Enigma variant preceded the well known Enigma I used by the German military durning WWII. Only a few examples of this 1926 Enigma are known to exist.

06/16/2024

A creative way to make yourself a working Enigma machine! This construction kit is called an Erector Set in the US.

As far as model construction sets go, LEGO is by far the most popular brand for building not only pre-planned models but whatever the builder can imagine. There are a few others out there though, s…

06/04/2024

An interesting auction ending on June 12. RR Auction has a number of cipher machines for sale as well as a war-time Enigma machine manufactured in 1943.

Ultra-desirable, fully functional World War II-era three-rotor Enigma I electromechanical cipher machine built for the German military by Heimsoe

07/07/2023

Enigma Museum will be giving a presentation on the Enigma machine at the Madsonian Museum of Industrial Design in Waitsfield, Vermont. The presentation will be Wednesday, July 12 at 7pm. The address is 45 Bridge Street Waitsfield, Vermont. There is a $5 admission fee for this presentation. Proceeds support the Madsonian Museum.

07/03/2023

Every year Friedrichshafen, Germany, hosts Europe's biggest armature radio convention. Enigma Museum as well as many collectors, historians, and others with an interest in antique cipher machines gather to share new finds and hunt for more crypto items in the giant flea market. The attendance was good this year. and we were able to display a rare variant of the Russian M-125 Fialka cipher machine as well as an original Enigma machine manufactured in 1938. Also on display with our fellow exhibitors was an exact working replica Enigma machine and a 3-D printed working replica.

07/21/2022

A friend just gave me 4 Enigma machines!!
What a great gift!!!
Schilling Beer Co. in Littleton, New Hampshire is still brewing this IPA. The beer includes Enigma hops.
Cheers, Thom! Many thanks!

06/28/2022

After a two year pandemic break, Enigma Museum was again back in the southern German city of Friedrichshafen, where Europe holds its largest amateur radio event. The huge indoor flea market allows dealers and collectors from all over the world to exhibit and trade in antique communication equipment, scientific instruments, and early electronic devices. Enigma Museum hosted the annual Enigma Forum, and we were joined by fellow exhibitors Cryptomuseum.com, Enigma R/D/E, Klaus Kopacz, and others. Many collectors, historians, and enthusiasts joined us as well. Two newly discovered Enigma machines were on display. A spectacular 4-rotor M4 Kriegsmarine Enigma was one of the stars of the show. This machine was found in the attic of a house in the Netherlands. The metal case of the machine had been locked shut since the end of WWII in 1945, and the rotors were in the positions they were in when the machine was last used at the end of the war. The other machine was a 3-rotor Wehrmacht Enigma that had been used from 1943 to 1945 by the German military and then post-war by the West German border police. The Enigma R/D/E organization exhibited a very fine 3-D printed Enigma. The PDF files will be available for anyone who would like to build their own Enigma from 3-D printed parts. Contact Enigma R/D/E for more information. The attached pictures show some of the interesting items at the show.

03/30/2022

We are finally able to inspect Enigma A00673. This machine was added to our collection in 2021. The ID tag on this machine reads "A00673/bac/43E". This tells us that the machine serial number is A00673 and that it was assembled by Ertel-Werk in Munich in 1943. Ertel-Werk is known to have made a limited number of Enigma machines for the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). These machines were issued with armored metal transport cases known as Panzerholz cases. Enigma A00673 is one of the machines made for the Luftwaffe, and it retains its original Panzerholz transport case. Few of these machines were produced, so finding one in good condition with its original case is rare. This is a fine example of an Enigma I Luftwaffe machine. Note that the metal plate is for use in front of the plugboard to assure that the plug cables are fully inserted into the machine while in use. If they are not fully inserted, the machine will not operate correctly.

12/11/2021

Enigma Museum has just wrapped up a 6 week project providing technical assistance to Jared Owen, a YouTube creator. Jared has created an animated video that shows the inner workings of an Enigma machine. Check out this fun and informative 20 minute video at

Let's use 3D animation to go inside the Enigma Machine!Go to https://brilliant.org/jaredowen to sign up for free. And also, the first 200 people will get 20%...

11/12/2021

Enigma parade float on the streets of Poznań, Poland during St Martin’s Day parade. Thanks to Marek Grajek for sharing this picture.

05/01/2021

Enigma Museum had the opportunity to be on set with a Russian M-125 Fialka cipher machine for the filming of Season 8, Episode 15 of the TV show "The Black List". This episode can be seen on NBC. Here is a picture of James Spader and Harry Lennix deciphering code with the Fialka machine.

View photos from The Blacklist The Russian Knot on NBC.com.