Three weeks ago I blogged about an encrypted telegram that was sent from New York to Tel Aviv in 1948. This cryptogram has now been solved.

On June 5, 1948, an encrypted telegram was sent from New York via London to Tel Aviv. I covered this telegram, which was provided to me by blog reader Dr. Karsten Hansky, in a blog article in April. The telegram is noted on two forms. Here they are:

Telegram-Telaviv-1

Telegram-Telaviv-2

The recipient of the telegram was the government of Israel. Considering that the state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv, a few weeks before the message was sent, this telegram was written in an interesting time to an interesting place.

 

Peterson’s International Code

I my blog post from April I wrote: “This telegram was probably encrypted with a codebook. The easiest (and maybe even the only) way to decipher it is to find the codebook that was used.” This guess turned out to be right.

Karsten Hansky published a post about the telegram in a Yahoo expert group dealing with telegraphic codes. He received an answer from John McVey, a design professor and codebook expert from Massachusetts. John had recognized the codebook. It was the Peterson’s International Code (3rd edition, 1929). The following scan shows a page of it (taken from John’s website):

Peterson_1929

John provided the following word-by-word decryption:

Telegram #1
line 1
147 etc [heading information; can’t make out last word/cipher on line
LFRZY? not in code]

line 2
YUBRB / blank [in code, meaning to be written in]
BIKUG cable(s)
NEYBH / Sent
FIFOD / From
XADAT / Haifa, Palestine
OLUZA / 28th May
DYELN / Currency(ies) (of)
AWIAW / Board(s) (of)
LFYWI / Regret(s)
AHCRU / Unable to agree (to) (with)
KOXXE / Proposals
EGBFA / Destruction
IOGBU / Note(s)

line 3
ODVYE / Stop(s)
OJCEK / They are
KEWOF / Prepared
ONRIU / To
AMIIM [not in code, but AMIMN / Apex]
OIWXN / The
ANJYZ / Following arrangents
ODVYE / Stop(s)
IOGBU / Note(s)
ARLEJ / To be
DYRVY / Cut
GIFYK / In
FUPAR / Half

line 4
VERTICALLY
ITTYA / One(s)
FUPAR / Half
CYTUV / Consigned
OSYLO / Uninsured
OTRVO / To us
YUBRB / [blank in code, p751, to be filled in by users]
BIKUG / Cable(s)
NEYBH / Sent
FIFOD / From
XADAT / Haifa, Palestine

line 5
OIUZA [OLUZA?] / 28th May
DYELN / Currency(ies) (of)
AWIAW / Board(s) (of)
LEYWI [not in code, but LFYWI / Regret(s) ]
[]HCRU [AHCRU / Unable to agree to) (w9th)
KOXXE / Proposals
KOXXE / Proposals
EGBFA / Destruction
IOGBU / Notes
ODVYE / Stop(s)
OJCEK / They are
KEWOF / Prepared

line 6
ONRIU / To
AMIIM / [not in code, but AMIMN / Apex]
OIWXN / The
AHJYZ / Tollowing arrangements
ODVYE / Stop(s)
IOBVU [IOGBU] / Notes
ARLEJ / To be
DYRVY / Cut
GIFYK / In
FUPAR / Half
VERTICALLY
ITTYA / One(s)

line 7
FUPAR / Half
CYTUV / Consigned
OSYLO / Uninsured
OTRVO / To us
ALHDE / And if
IOGBU / Note(s)
FIFOD / From
OSYSV / Unissued
ODHMU/ Stock(s)
HSOIG [not in code : p296]
KFIYS / Preserved (by)

line 8
GIFYK / In
NFIGU / Serial(s) (No.)
IUXBX / Order(s)
OYHLI / With
HDYIZ / Label(s)
ITOXH / On
IYVIR / Parcel(s) (of)
FLAAF / Giving
GKATU / Indication(s) (of)
IOXYJ / Serial Number(s) (of)
ALEFM / And
OUDNK/ Value(s)

line 9
ERZIC / Each
AYBGV / Bundle(s) (of)
ODVYE / Stop(s)
FUPUK / Second half (of)
LWBOA / To be retained
AZWUV / By you(r)
ALEFM / And
EFZXU / Despatched
ITYHZ / Only
OWYRC / When
AFGNE /Advice(s) received (from)
LZCOE / Safe

line 10
ANMNI/ Arrival(s)
FDYAV / First
CYUWV / Consignment(s)
ODVYE / Stop(s)
AWIAW / Board(s) of
JESSA [not in code]
IXDYN / Out
AHOEV [not in code]
UPHY / * [see comment below]
IOGBU/ Note(s)

error, missing letter ?

possible :
UPHYW / We will credit your account tomorrow if holiday here, next
business day U.S. $ — for account of —

Telegramm #2
line 1
ITRSY / On our
APMON / Bank(s) (of)
BYOLX / Certificate(s)
IPUWP / Of the
OUDNK /Value(s)
IPULF / Of
DAEZF / Content(s)
CK CFN /[?]
ALHDE / And if
IOGBU / Note(s)
FIFOD / From
OSYSV / Unissued

line 2
ODHMU / Stock(s)
HSOIG / [not in code; HSOIT / Cable when you receive our letter of 20th]
KFIYS / Preserved (by)
GIFYK / In
NFIGU / Serial(s) (No.)
IUXBX / Order(s)
OYHLI / With
HDYIZ / Label(s)
ITOXH / On
IYVIR / Parcel(s) (of)
FLAAF / Giving
GKATU / Indication(s) of

line 3
IOXYJ / Serial number(s) (of)
ALEFM / And
OUDNK / Value(s)
ERZIC / Each
AYBGV / Bundle(s) (of)
ODYYE / [not in code; but ODVYE / Stop(s)
FUPUK / Second half (of)
LWBOA / To be retained
AZWUV / By you(r)
ALEFM / And
EFZXU / Despatched
ITYHZ / Only

line 4
OWYRC / When
AFGNE / Advice(s) received (from)
LZCOE / Safe
ANMNI / Arrival(s)
FDYAV / First
FX [?]/
CYUWV / Consignment(s)
ODVYE / Stop(s)
AWIAW / Board(s) (of)
JEBSA / Will pay
IXDYN / Out
ANOEV / On arrival (of)
FUPHY / First half (of)

line 5
IOGBU / Note(s)
ITSRY / On our
APMON / Bank(s) (of)
BYOLX / Certificate(s)
IPUWP / Of the
OUDNK / Value(s)
IPULF / Of
DAEZF / Content(s)
1227P /
AYBGV / Bundle(s) (of)
ARLEJ / To be
CEFCO / Checked

line 6
HEINL / Later
ALEFM / And
APMON / Bank(s) (of)
LUWGY / Responsible
FEMGA / For
NRYEH / Shortage
IUTCG / Or
FEWOP / Forgery
ODVYE / Stop(s)
BIVYP / Cable whether
PALNE / You
AHAHO / Agree(s)

line 7
KMEUI / This procedure
ALHNO / And if so
AKVCA / Exact amount (of) (for)
GZUAT / Involved (in)
ODVYE / Stop(s)
M /
BTIES / This cable
HAAYE / is being
NEYBH / Sent
ERTUA / In duplicate (of)
ITTYA / One(s)
ACVIP / In accordance (with)
FRIEDBERG

line 8
BIKUG / Cable(s)
ONRIU / To
YUBXD / [not in code; YUBXH to be filled in, p751]
IPULF / of
OLW / [? OLWAX / not earlier than May / OLWBY not later than May; other
OWL– June, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9June]
=
BIKUG / Cable(s)
OLBLY / Time
AWYKB / Both (of)
LBCEY / Received
-ANGLO /
PALESTINE /

line 9
BANK /
AYBGV / Bundle(s) (of)
ARLEJ / To be
CEFCO / Checked
HEINL / Later
ALEFM / And
APMON / Bank(s) (of)
LUWGY / Responsible
FEMGA / For
NWYEH / [not in code]
IUTCG / Or
FEWOP / Forgery

line 10
ODVYE / Stop(s)
BIVYP / Cable whether
PALNE / You
AHAHO / Agree(s)
KMEUI / This procedure
ALHNO / And if so
AKVCA / Exact amount (of) (for)
GZUAT / Involved (in)
ODVYE / Stop(s)
BTIES / This cable
HAAYE / Is being

line 11
NEYBH / Sent
ERTUA / In duplicate (of)
ITTYA / One(s)
ACVIP / In accordance (with)
FRIEDBERGS /
BIKUG / Cable(s)
ONRIU / To

 

The cleartext

Based on John’s decryption, Karsten Hansky reconstructed the following cleartext (he omitted several parts, as they are redundant):

Cable sent from Haifa, Palestine 28th May Currency of board regrets unable to agree with proposal destruction of notes – They are prepared to accept the following arrangements – Notes to be cut in half vertically, one half consigned uninsured to us and if notes from unissued stocks are preserved in serial orders with labels on parcel giving indication of serial numbers and values, each bundle is to be retained by you and dispatched only when advice received from safe arrival of first consignment  – Board will pay out on arrival of first half of notes on our bank certificates of the value of contents 1127P bundles to be checked later and bank is responsible for shortage or forgery – Cable whether you agree this procedure and if so exact amount of involved – This cable is being send in duplicate of one in accordance with FRIEDBERGS cable to ANGLO PALESTINE BANK.

Apparently, the cleartext is about some notes (security papers?) that are to be destroyed. I don’t know exactly what this means. Maybe destroying security papers is a common process in economy. Maybe a reader can tell us more about this.

Thank you very much to John McVey and Karsten Hansky for providing me and solving this crypto mystery.


Further reading: Three encrypted letters: Who can decrypt them?

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13501820
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/763282653806483/

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Kommentare (7)

  1. #1 Thomas
    5. Mai 2017

    Concerning “notes”: In 1948 the Anglo Palestine Bank issued new banknotes of the Palestine Pound for the Israeli Goverment. A certain amount was shipped from Haifa to New York : https://archive.org/stream/americanjewishti10unse#page/n108/mode/1up

  2. #2 Thomas
    5. Mai 2017

    The picture of the banknote is on the previous page: https://archive.org/stream/americanjewishti10unse#page/n107/mo

  3. #3 Thomas
    5. Mai 2017

    The old banknotes had to be destructed. The redemption was in the hands of the Anglo Palestine Bank,
    https://books.google.de/books?id=TKqCko2OjpIC&pg=PT36

  4. #4 Klaus Schmeh
    5. Mai 2017

    Bart Wenmeckers via Facebook:

    Good solve

  5. #5 Klaus Schmeh
    5. Mai 2017

    @Thomas: Thanks for this information.

  6. #6 Klaus Schmeh
    6. Mai 2017

    Karin Isberg via Facebook:
    Fascinating!

  7. #7 Klaus Schmeh
    6. Mai 2017

    Jhuam D. Aliz via Facebook:
    Woooooow great!