WW2: Spies & Ties

As the Allies advance further into Germany, they turn their eyes to a new objective: recovering as much of the Nazi science and as many of the scientists as they can. Advances in jet fighters, chemical and biological weapons, rockets, all of these will be useful in the inevitable future confrontation between East and West.

So, you think you know the Enigma Story? The Poles, the French, Bletchley Park, Alan Turing, and daring raids on sinking U-Boats. Well, there's one figure you may never have heard of. Today, Anna and Astrid tell the story of a German Double Agent named Hans Thilo-Schmidt and his vital but forgotten part in the Enigma story.

On a snowy night, two tall men are walking along the highway on the coast of Maine. They could hardly be more suspicious. They wear light European coats, no hats, large suitcases, and they leave a trail of footprints down to the beach… These strange men are German spies on the hunt for America's biggest secrets!

Astrid and Anna take a break from tales of espionage to bring you one of international cooperation. Developed by a small group of highly driven individuals working in top secret, Proximity Fuzes are the new Allied super weapon changing the face of warfare forever. They're just one of many impressive new developments which are helping the Allies win the war. Defeating the Axis is a righteous cause of course. But at its core, so much of our scientific progress is in the service of finding more effective ways to kill one another. What does this mean for our future?