Check This Out: Code Girls by Liza Mundy

Code Girls by Liza Mundy

"The first American to learn that World War II had officially ended was a woman" reads the first line of the Smithsonian article lauding the release of Liza Mundy's book Code Girls about the amazing women who helped break codes for the United States during WWII.

We all know the story of Alan Turing, the code-breaking computer scientist that created the machine to crack the German Enigma code during World War II. You've maybe seen the hit movie The

Alan Turing

Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightly. The British code-breaking operation at Bletchley Park is well known, but few people know about the American counterpart, and fewer still know about the women that were integral to the success of its mission.

The Code Girls by Liza Mundy beautifully chronicles their story. From their origins in mathematics and physics classes at college during a time when women typically did not pursue higher education, or as teachers in schoolhouses across the country, these women earned the opportunity to do something extraordinary when they were selected by the US Army or US Navy to become crypto-analysts for their country.

Women were integral to US codebreaking

The move to Washington was, for many of the girls, the first time experiencing city life. They worked long, challenging hours handling top secret information. They produced top notch work. They were unable to tell anyone, even their families, what they were doing for the military. Many women relied on the stereotypes and sexism of the day to say they were secretaries doing menial, thoughtless labor. Little did their families and friends know they were the brightest minds in the country. Even after the war ended they were not permitted to discuss what they had done, since it remained classified.


Through the long hours and secretive work, the women built amazing and lasting friendships. Many still keep in touch, only recently able to reveal to their loved ones what brought them together.

But the work was not easy. Many women acutely felt the weight of the importance of their job. Many women enlisted because they had brothers overseas, or because their families had no sons and they wanted to do their part. Their efforts saw the creation of WAC and WAVES, the first real enlistment options for women for the Army and Navy respectively.

Working as code breakers opened countless doors for these women, in addition to the important contribution they made to the Allies' victory. They are incredibly bright women that too long have they been left out of history.

Check out Liza Mundy's book Code Girls on Amazon or wherever else you get your books.