Back to Show
American Experience
Elizebeth Friedman: Cryptanalyst Pioneer
Elizebeth Smith Friedman was an American codebreaker from Indiana. During Prohibition, her decrypts and testimony brought down international drug rings and liquor smugglers. Friedman’s codebreaking in WWII enabled the US to win the “Battle of the Atlantic” and smash Nazi spy rings.
Support Provided By
1:53:12
The Eugenics Crusade tells the story of the campaign to breed a “better” American race,
1:53:15
The woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.
52:03
After attempting to commit the perfect crime, would two boys get the death penalty?
1:20:50
The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement.
52:01
In the 1950's a Polio outbreak swept the U.S., devastating communities nationwide.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:49:38
The man behind the atomic bomb is put on trial for suspected communist ties in 1954.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:49:22
The final months of WWII from the vantage points of both the Japanese and the Americans.