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Enigma machine used by the Nazis during WWII to be auctioned

A rare three-cipher rotor design Enigma machine (M3) used by the Germans during World War II (pictured) will be auctioned online on May 30, 2019. Germany used the Enigma machine from 1934 until the conclusion of the war in 1945. The Enigma machine could scramble the letters into any one of 17,576 combinations except the use of its original letter. As featured in the critically acclaimed film ''The Imitation Game,'' British scientist Alan Turing's efforts to decode the enigma system allowed the Allies to deconstruct many of the German ciphers' coded communications. Enigma machines are now very scarce, as Germans were ordered to destroy them to prevent them from falling into Allied hands. Sir Winston Churchill ordered all Enigma machines to be destroyed at the conclusion of the war. Only about 250 Enigma machines used during WWII are now believed to still exist. Machines having matching parts, such as this example are scarcer. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

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