• 

·-~--- Register N'! 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

OFFICE OF THE CHrnl~ SIGNAL OFFICER 

WASHINGTON 

18 

THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM 

OF JANUARY 16, 1917 

AND ITS 

CRYPTOGRAPHIC BACKGRC)·UND 

By 

WILLIAM F. FRIEDMAN 

Principal Cryptanalyst 

Signal Intelligence Service 

and 

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CHARLES J. MENDELSOHN, Ph.D. I 

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Formerly Captain, M. I. D., G. S. 

Prepared under the direction of the 

CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER 

Declassified and appr 

n 11-01-2013 

I . DUPL!CATE' = ·~ 

~copy of thi::: d1cument , 1s cataloged in the 

NSA T ectrnical library . 

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CONFl·DENTIAL 

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THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM OF JANUARY 16, 1917, AND ITS 

CRYPTOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND 

Among t.he officio! cryptogmms which havo boon intorcoptod ond trnnslntod by govornmcntnl n.uthoritics other tlrnn those for whom they woro intended, tho most important of all 

time, eithor in wnr or poaco, is undoubtedly the one deciphered by the British Naval Intelligence 

which is known to historians as the Zimmermann telegram. In German literature it is referred to 

as the Mexico dispatch. This message, in cryptographic form, was sent on January 16, 1917, 

by Arthur Zimmermnnn, then Germnn Minister of Foreign Affairs in Berlin, to Ambassador 

von BcrnstorfT, nt 'Vnsbington, to be forwarded fo German Minister von Eckhardt at Mexico 

City. It rend, tmnsl1itod into English, as follows: 1 

We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor 

in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we 

make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, 

generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlerpent in detail is left to you. You will inform 

the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of 

America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's 

attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace. 

No account of tho stirring episodos leading up to our entry into the World War can be 

considered complete without at least a referonce to the one in which the Zimmermann telegram 

played the leading role. Even those who adhere to the theory that it was the bankers who 

pushed us into the conflict on the side of the Allies must mention it; while those who incline 

toward the theory that it was the German policy of "frightfulness" on sea and land which 

. dragged us in against them give this message even more attention. Although today it would 

certainly be too much to say that this cryptogram, through its interception and solution by the 

British, and its forwarding by them to President Wilson, was the direct means of bringing us into 

the war, nevertheless many an informed person whose memory goes back to the exciting days 

when the contents of this sensational message were disclosed in the newspapers of March 1, 

1917, would certainly say that had he been asked at that time he would have said at least that 

it was the straw which broke the camel's back. The importance of this incident is evidenced 

by the lengthy comments of prominent officials who were at that time in a position to judge 

its significance. The Secretary of State, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Colonel House, 

our Ambassador to Great Britain, and many others, give this telegram a prominent place in 

their writings on the World War. For example: 

While the Armed Ship Bill was under discussion in Congress another event occurred which caused 

the greatest excitement throughout the country and aroused the people against the German Govern· 

ment even more, I believe, than the announced policy of the submarine ruthlessness. That event was 

the publication of the so-called "Zimmermann telegram" * * *· Thus the Zimmermann telegram 

resulted in unifying public sentiment throughout the United States against Germany, in putting the 

people solidly behind the Government and in making war inevitable, if not popular, because the 

----- 1 Papera Rtlatlng to the Foreign Rllatlon1 o/lhe United Slatu, 1917. Supplement 1, The World War, p. H7. U.S. Government Printing Olll.ce 

Washington, 1931. This book will hereinaCter be reCerred to as Foreign Relatione Serles. abbreviated FRS. 

(1) 

CONFIDENTIAL 
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German Government's sinister intent toward the United States could no longer be doubted. The 

"cold-blooded proposition" of Germany's Secretary of Foreign Affairs in one day accomplished a change 

in sentiment and public opinion which would otherwise have required months to accomplish. From 

the time that the telegram was published, or at least from the time that its authenticity was admitted 

by its author, the United States' entry into the war was assured, since it could no longer be doubted 

. ·. that it was desired by the American people from Maine to California and from Miclliglrn to Texas.3 

• • * * * * * 

It (the Zimmermann telegram] roused a great deal of indignation in the States and strongly rein-

'., forced the popular backing for strong measures by the President.3 

* * * * * * * 

Wilson was waiting for what he called the "overt act" before he took further steps against Germany, 

but the possibility of avoiding hostilities daily diminished. * * * 

Misguided German diplomacy did its utmost to strengthen the growing feeling in the United 

States that war with Germany could not be avoided. On February 26, Colonel House wns called to 

the telephone by Frank Polk and informed that the British Naval Intellige11ce had received and 

deciphered a sensational telegram from the German Foreign Office to von Eckhardt, the German 

Minister in Mexico City. Signed by Zimmermann himself and dated January rn; the telegram 

announced the imminence of unrestricted submarine warfare, and instructed the Germ:m Minister, in 

case of war with the United States, to attempt to arraugc a Gcrr:nan-Mexican alliance, ou the understanding that Mexico wot1ld be assisted to reconquer New Mexico, Texas, am! Arizona. Zimrnermaun 

further suggested that Carranza should approach Japan. 

Mr. Polk fully realized that the publication of this telegram would blow American l'C8Cntmcut 

to a white heat; it would stre11gthen immeu8dy populnr 8UJlport. of the PreskknL in n11y action lie 

might take ng1d11st Germany in dcfemm of American rights on the sea. The H!lllle thought lllay luwo 

led tl1e BritiHh to p11Hs the 1focipl1crecl tclqr,mm on to W1whi1111;ton. \Vilso11 hi111Holf wn" di><L11rhell niul 

iu doubt u1:1 to whether the publicaLio11 of Lile telc1jm111 would HoL bring 011 u criHiH ho c011ld not control. 

Ho11Hc urged i111111ediatc p11blicalio11. "' * "' 

The effect of publie11tio11 wns exactly what l111d been nnticip1\ted. lVIany pcn1011s nn.t11rnlly raised 

doubts as to the authenticity of the telegram; but Lansiug formally assured Congres~, and Zimmcnuiinn 

himself confessed, that it wns genuine. Speculation was u11controlled as to how it had been iutcrcepted: 

it was rumored that the messenger had been caught by American guardsmen on the Mexican border; 

that a copy had been taken from von Bernstorff at Halifax; that it was in a mysterious box seized by 

the British on the ship which Bernstorff sailed on.t ., Hendrick} the biographer of the war-time American Arribussa<lor to Great Britain, ·walter 

H. Page, says: 

The most sensational episode of this period, however,· was the publicntion ou March 1 of a tclcgrmn 

from Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, German Foreign Secretary, to the German Minister in l\rlcxico, outlining 

a scheme for an alliance of Gern;ii.ny, Japan, and Mexico against the United States, and for the cession 

in case of victory, of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to Mexico. 

[Page's diary dated March 2, 1917.J The Zimmermann (Berlin) Mexico-Japan bomb burst today, 

the Zimmermann telegram to the German Minister in Mexico being in the morning papers. They giwe 

it out in Washington (apparently) to c:iuse Congress to give the President authority to urm mcrch:rnt 

ships, etc., etc., as he should sec fit, :md to use the armed forces of the NlJ:tio11 to protect commerce nud 

life. It had that effect. An euormons 11111jority in the House la.8t night (ncurly 500 to 131) voted in 

favor of the resolution. I am curio11s to sue the effect on the country. I have ncvel' 11lm11clo11ed thu 

belief that if the President were really to lend, all the people would follow. Whether ltu will even now 

lead remains to be seen. Yestur<luy I talked to Chiuda, the J1Lpu11ese Ambassador, about this Zimmermann tdegram. He thought it a hngc joke ut first. Today Yeates Thompson eo11fcssed that it seemed 

to him a newspaper hoax! Nobody (few people surely) yet thoroughly unllerntm1d the Gerurnn. This 

telegram will go Ronw distance surely to. i111itruct the people of the U. S. A.o 

t Lansing, ltohcrt, War Memoir•, Dobbs, Merrill & Co., lndlnnupolls, 1935, pp. 225 und 232. 

J Lloyd George, Dovld, War Memoira, p. 634. 

• Th• l11tlmute Papua of Cuto11el l101Lse, Houghton Mlffiu Co., New York, rn26, p. 451. 

• Uendrlck, Burlou J., 1'he Life u·11d /,ellers of IVull<r fl. l'aye, Doublcdny Pugo ,1i; Co., Now York, 1020. lforl'inultcr this work will he ro!om1d 

to merely ns J lmdrick. 

•Op. di, vol. Ill, pp. 321, 324. 

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The ncrimonious discussions which tho Zimmerrnn.nn telegram aroused in Congress take 

up 22 pngcs in tho Congrcsf;ionnl Hccord. Most of the debate den.ls with a resolution calling 

upon the President to furnish a formnl statement declaring whether or not the telegram as 

published in tho nowspnpors was nutliontic. Spn.co forbids extensive quotation, and the following 

t\vo statements made in tho course of tho dcbnto must suffico: 7 

Mr. T11n~tA!l. "' * * DnnM rw1; 1.111! Hc1111,l,11r frd<,1Ti111.~ to fk11ntor lfl1,1\l1nocl1l rcn.lb:u that tlro 

Jlltlilln mind 111 11-h·••nd.r i11l111111<1d, 1.h:i,(; ii; haH h"~'" i11il11111ud hy Utli< p11hll1mt.l1111 ft.Ito iJ11111uirlruu111 tolfJμ;rn111] lik" :l l>1•1l.? lh~t·n.11.~o 11{ thnt uxcit.od cn11dil,i1111 1 which wo ~11n.re, i1111~111uch ttH tho l11formntlon 

11111st lmn1 proeccded from Executive sources, rlircctly or indirectly, it is very essential that we should 

h:i.ve such in(urnu1.tion n.s may be noccssnry to cnnblo us to meet and, if necessary, to end that public 

excitement which is now sweeping all over tho conntry. 

* * * * * .• * 

Mr. SmTH. ~ * * Mr. Presic\ent, I sn.y that the situation thus created is far-reaching and 

dclicntc, frn.ught with very grc:i.t danger to the peace of the American people. * * * 

It was of course uaturnl thn.t question should be rn.ised as to the 11uthenticity of the Zimmermann telegram. Senn.tor Tillman [p. 4605] gave voice to his doubts in no uncertain terms: 

Mr. President, I wnnt to s:i.y one thing before this debate closes.· I think we have wasted a great 

deal of valuable time hero in discussing a lie-It forgery. I agreed with the Senator from Michigan 

f Mr. Smith] this morning when he said it was a forgery. The reason I think it is a forgery is this: 

\Vho can concci\'C of the .fa1mncsc consorting with Mexico and the Germans to attack the United 

States? Why, ,fapan hates Germany worse than the devil is said to hate holy water. Japan took 

possession of Kiaochow and she is going to hold it. Is it poR~ible to conceive that Japan will go to war 

with the United States in conjunction with Mexico and· Germany? I think such a proposition is 

beneath our notice. 

The New York Times Current History for the period February 20 to May 15, 1917, deals 

thus with the Zimmermann telegram: 

An important phase growing out of our rupture with Germany and the subsequent drift toward 

war was the uncovering of an anti-American al!in'.nce proposed by Germany with Mexico and Japan 

in tho event tho threatened war ensued. * * * The revelation created a profound impression 

throughout the country. The immediate effect on Congress was the elimination of practically all 

oppo~ition to the proposal then pending to authorize the President to proceed at once to arm American 

merchantmen agninst Gcrmnn submarines; it also crystnlized the conviction throughout the country 

that the German submarine blockade must be sternly resisted, even though it resulted in a declaration 

of war by Germany. 

Ambassador von Bernstorff so.ys: 8 

It has frequently been asserted that tho notorions Mexico telegram led to the war with the United 

States. I do not believe this is correct. The telegram wa,s used with great success as propaganda 

ngainst us; but the rupture of diplomatic relations-as I have already pointed out--was, in view of 

the situation, equivn.lcnt in all circumstances to war. I had nothing to do with the Mexico telegram, 

which took me completely by surprise. It was addressed, in the usual way, direct to the legation in 

Mexico, and passed through the Embassy at Washington on the same day on which I received notific:i.tion thn.t the nnrestricterl U-boat war wtts to be declared. I had neither. the right, nor was it my 

duty, to hold up the telegram although I disapproved of its contents. 

On December rn, 1927, Sir Alfred Ewing, who throughout the war was-civilian head of the 

cryptogmphic bureau (popularly referred to as "Room 40") of the British· Naval Intelligence 

Service, delivered an address before the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, telling of the 

7 Conuressional Record, 64th Congress, 2nd Session, vol. LIV, pp. 4505 and 4598, M«r. 1, 1017. 

1 von Bemsto'rlY, Collllt Johann, M11 Three. Years in America, Charles Scrlbn.cr's Sous, New York, 1920, p. 380. ·This work- will hereinafter 

be rcrcrrod tons Bermtorjf. 

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work of the :aureau. .That portion of the published account of his address with which we nre 

c<,mcerned is as follows: 9 

Besides intercepting naval signals, the cryptographers of Room 40 dealt successfully "ith much 

political cipher. The isolated position of Germany forced her to resort to wireless, and prevented 

frequent changes of the code books for confidential communication with correspondeilts ·abroad. 

Thero waR a voluminOUR stream of cipher correspondence with German agents in Madrid, and a good deal 

with North and 8outh Anierica llB well 11.11 Com1tanti11ople, AthenH, Sofia, and other placei-1. One group of 

deciphered messages threw useful light in advance on the Ea8ter Itcvolution in Ireland, another group 

on tho intrigues of tho Germans in Persia. 

Among the many political messages read by his staff was the notorious Zimmermann telegram, 

which was intercepted in the manner described in the third volume of the Page Letters. President 

Wilson was then hesitating on the brink of war, reluctant to plunge, clinging painfully to the idea of 

neutrality which seemed to be almost a part of his religion. The Zimmernumn message, which made 

a conditional offer to Mexico of an alliance against the United States, was deciphcrctl in ltoom 40. 

It was then communicated very confidentially by Lord Balfour to Mr. Page and through Page to 

Wilson, and was given by him to the American Press. Its publication was decisive in converting 

American opinion to the necessity of war. But the curtain which hid Room 40 remained undisturbed. 

And finally in his famous message (which is now known as the "war message") delivered 

in person before the Congress in joint session on April 21 1917, President Wilson said: 10 

That it (the German Government) means to stir up enemies against us at our very do.:>rs the 

intercepted note to the German Minister at Mexico ls eloquent evidence. 

More than enough has been quoted to give an indication of the importance with which the 

publication of the Zimmermann telegram must be regarded in connection with a study of the 

causes leading to our entry into the war. Indirectly, because the United States is the leading 

power on the American Continent, it also helped to bring Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, 

and Panama into the arms of the Allies. 

So important a cryptographic incident, therefore, warrants a most careful study by historians 

as well as by cryptographers, for the story of the incident is replete with suggestions for making 

the most of a cryptographic opportunity. 

Twenty years have passed since the Zimmermann telegram was blazoned on the front 

pages of newspapers throughout the world except, of course, in Germany and Austria. But 

the British Government, which was the principal actor in the incident, has still not lifted the 

impenetrable curtain of mystery behind which her able cryptographers work, so that we shall 

ha;ve to draw conclusions from accounts from other sources if we are to study the fo.cts concerning her interception and solution of the famous message. \Ve shall pass over several purely 

apochryphal accounts which appeared at the time. 11 

It is amusing to note, in passing, that one of the reasons why the Kaiser wns extremely 

cool to Ambnssador Bernstorff, who was received by the Kaiser only 6 or 7 weeks subsequent 

to Ilernstorff'.s return to Berlin after the rupture of relntions, was the monarch's belief thut the 

Zimmermann telegram hud been t1tkon from nmong tho p1iptlrB which Bernstorff curried with 

l1im on his return home on the Ji'ried1"ich VII I in li'ebrun.ry HH 7. 'l'hc ship wns detitincd at 

Hulifox for 12 duys un<l every nook und cranny wus searched. A box of dispatches which hnd 

been placed aboard the vessel by the Swedish Minister wns found by the British nuthoritics and 

e As reported In The (Edinburgh) Scotsman and Tbe (London) T1111ea for December 14, 1927. Incidentally, the Editor of The &otmrn11, In 

lauutng Sir Alf roll, said or the Zimmermann tolcgrom that lt "was 1mtrumontnl in bringing America Into tho war." 

10 FJlS, pp. IU5-203. Also, In his Plag Dau Addre•6 on Juno 14, IUJ 7, ln cl ting the numerous provocations which, ho explnlned, forced us into 

tho war, the !'resident sold: '"fhoy tried to Incite Mexico to tuko up nrms ugnlnst us and to drnw Jupnu Into u hostile nllhmro with hor-nud that 

not by lnuircctlon but by direct suggestion from tho Foreign OJ!ico In Berlin." 

11 Tt1e most fnr-Cctchcd ol thcso wu• to ttJO effect thnt the m°"sngo was found by lour sol<llera or Co111110ny O, l•'lrst lnfnntry, on the person o[ 

a spy whom thoy hud captured while he was attempting to cross the southern border Into Mt1xlco, near tho town or Progrc;;s on l"obrunry 21, IV17. 

Boo 'rbo New York 'i'imell Current IJMoru, JJCrlod Aprll JUJ7-June 1U17, vol. XI. Evon so recent a work 118 Ounthor's /11si<lt Europe (IUJO), pp. 

92-03, contains a wholly erroncowi version o[ the eplsouo. 

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the contents of some of them were published. Tho English po,pers represented the cnse as if a 

box of dispatches had been taken from Bornstorff. But the Zimmermann note was not among 

thcrn. 12 

The lirst lifting of the veil of sccl'ccy s111TornHli.11g the interception nnd solution of the 

Zimmcrmnnn telogrmn occurred in 1925, when the Novcmhor issue of World'«1 Work brought the 

linn.l instnllmcnt of Hendrick's The L~fe arul Lcflcr8 of lValter II. Po,ge. This account, from 

which n p:rnsnr;c has nlrcn.dy been cited, still fonns the principal source of our information on 

the subject. A second nccount, not so detailed n.s tho first, but containing important data, was 

published in HJ33 in Lansing's Wa,r l.fem.ofrs, also already mentioned. Another account appears 

in a book 13 by a professed German ex-spy. But since it is based almost entirely upon the 

Hendrick version, nnd because there nre cogent reasons for discounting much of the contents of 

the book as n whole, it·\vill be lnrgely disregarded in this paper. In addition to all sources inentioned, reference will be mnde to official records of the Department of State. 

The first links in the story mny be seen in the following two telegrams: u 

(1) 

LONDON, February 24, 1917, 

Rec'd 9 a. m. 

SECRETARY OF STATE, Washington. 

5746, February 24. 

In about three hours I shall send a telegram of great importance to the President and Secretary 

of State. 

PAGE • 

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(2) 

The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Secretary of State 

!Telegram] 

LONDON, Febraury 24, 1917-1 p. m. 

Rec'd 8:30 p. m. 

5747. My 5746, February 24,'8 a. m. For the President and the Secretary of State. 

Balfour has handed me the text of a cipher telegram from Zimmermann, German Secretary of 

State for Foreign Affairs, to the German Minister to Mexico, which was sent via Washington and 

relayed by Bernstorff on January 19. You can probably obtain a copy of the text relayed by Bernstorff from the cable office in Washington. The first group is the number of the telegram u., 130, and 

the second is 13042, indicating the number of the code used. The last group but two is 97556, which 

is Zimmermann's signature. I shall send you by mail a copy of the cipher text and of the decode into 

German and meanwhile I give you the English translation as follows: (Then follows the English text 

of the telegram as given above, p. 1.) 

The receipt of this information has so greatly exercised the British Government that they have 

lost no time in communicating it to me to transmit to you, in order that our Government may be able 

without delay to make such disposition as may be necessary in view of the threatened invasion of our 

territory. ' 

Early in the war, the British Government obtained possession of a copy of the German cipher code 

used in the above message and have made it their business to obtain copies of Ilernstorff's cipher 

telegrams to Mexico, amongst others, which arc sent back to London and deciphered here. This 

accounts for their being able to decipher this telegram from the German Government to their repre- -----

u Natio11alversammlun9, 1019. Untersuchuna8ausschuss llbcr die Wellkrica•verantwortlichktlt; In a series of 15 sessions, from October 21, 

mm, to April 14, rn20, a committee appointed by the G~rman Nntfonnl Coustltuent Assembly to Inquire Into the rcsponslbllfty for the war 

hold hearings in Berlin. Tho reportlJ of two subcommittees together with the stenographic minutes of one of these subcommittees and supplements 

thereto have heen translated and published by tho Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as vols. 1 11nd 2 or Official German Documtnt1 

Relatina to the World War. These two volumes nre a veritable mine of lmp0rtant Information. ·They will hereafter be referred to 118 Gaman 

Ilcarings. The statement above is taken from p. 311. · · · ~ , · ·' ·' •' , . ' 

"von .Rintelcn, Capt. Franz, The Dark Invadtr. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1933. \ 

11 The first Is taken from Hen:trlck, vol. III, p. 332; the second, from FRB, p. 147. i u. This is not the number or the telegrnm, hut the code equivalent or the number (8). 

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, eenta.tive in Mexico and also for the delay from January 19 until now in their receiving the information. 

" ·This system has hitherto been a jealously guarded secret and is only divulged now to you by the British 

Government in view of the extraordinary circumstances and their friendly feeling toward the United 

States. They earnestly request that you will keep the source of your information and the British 

Government's method of obtaining it profoundly secret, but they put no prohibition on the publication 

of Zimmermann's telegram itself. 

The copies of this and other telegrams were not obtained in Washington but were bought in Mexico. 

I have thanked Balfour for the service his Government has rendered us and suggest that a private 

official message of thanks from our Government to him would be beneficial. 

I am informed that this information has not yet been given to the Japanese Government, but I 

think it not unlikely that when it reaches them they may make a public statement on it in order to clear 

up their position regarding the United States and prove their good faith to their Allies. 

PAGE. 

. , : 'We shall not concern ourselves with the steps taken by the President .and Secretary of 

State Lansing, culminating in the publication by the Associated Press of the text of the telegram. 

Our interest will be concentrated upon the minute details of the manner in which the message 

was intercepted and solved by the British. 

The Hendrick account, immediately after the preceding two telegrams quoted above, 

continues: 

The manner in which the British had acquired this message is disclosed in Page's telegram. It 

was "bought in Mexico." That is, the British Secret Service had obtained it evidently from some 

approachable person in tho Mexican capital-a practice which, it appears from Page's comumnicution, 

had been going on for some time. An interesting additional fact is that this is not the 011ly way in 

which the British obtained this priceless treasure. The German Government was so determined to 

make this Mexican alliance that it did not depend upon a single route for transmitting the Zimmermann message to von Eckhardt. It dispatched it in several other ways. For one it u~ed the wireless 

route from Nauen, Germany, to Sayville, Long Island. 

In the early days of the war, the American Government prohibited the use of thb Sayville line 

except under American supervision; how little this prohibition interfered with the Germans is shown 

. by the use they made of the Long Island station for this, the most fateful message sent to America 

during the war. * * * · In the British Admiralty this Naucn-Sayvillc thoroughfare was known as 

the "main line"; it was the most direct and consequently the one most used for sending Gcrnrnn dispatches to the United States . 

. Hendrick cites no authority for the statement tlmt the Zimmermnnn telegram wus transmitted by radio from N auen to Sayville and there is re11son to doubt thu.t this was the cuse, as 

will become apparent when the matter is carefully considered in the light of other evidence. 

A few hours after the outbreak of the war the British, who hn.ve always recognized the 

importance of controlling communicn.tion channels as well n.s sen. lanes, took imrnedinto steps 

to isolate Germn.ny from tho rest of tho world t.hn.t lay bc1yo11d tho orcnns, by cutting- nnd diYerting 

to her own service tho two Germnn cabfos · 11cross the At.l1111t.ic Ocou.11. 'l'his loft Gor11w11y 

only indirect clumne1s of communication with her Ambn.ssndor at \Vnshiugton. 'flwso ch1trwois 

wore four in number. Tho fo·i:;t, by rtLclio lwtwom1 fi. station in Cormany 1111d two st.atiomi in 

tlao U11itod SttLtoH, WfLS known to u.nd RllfllH Vi~;11d l>y 0111' Govnr1111w11t; t.\i1) seco11d, h_v ca.hlo l'rom 

Gtirmu11y via Budi11, Stocld10l111, B11e110::1 Ait·tis, \.Y11.shi111.~t1111, w11.l'\ socnit, 11.nd t.liough t.IH1rn is 

positivll evidmtCll thnt from tho very first d11.ys or ih-i llSll it W!LS k11ow11 t.o tho British, it WllS 

/ u11HllH[J0dotl nrul mtlrnowu to onr Govor11mo11(, until long- nft111· wo Juul m1t.(1red tho wnr; tho 

tliird, vin. Ilcrli11, Copm1h1tgon, W1u;hi11gto11, w1u:1 a vory spcd11.l mot,lwd WH1d 011\y oc(~i1sionn.11y, 

with the knowledge nn<l coopcru.tion of tho American St1Lto Dnpn.l'tnrnnt; thn fourth, involving 

tho insertion of secret text in onlirniry news ffo:pntclicH, wu.H n. chmmel which wu.s of co111·st1 unknown to our Govcrrnnont, until long aftor tlio WILi' wu.s over, wlw11 it wn::i disdosml hy Bernl 

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storff himself. 16 Since we nre not concerned with this channel of communication we shall have 

no more to sny about it thnn is given in foot.note 15. 

vVe shall consider first the communications passing by rn.dio between tho German station 

n.t Nanon n.nd one or the other of two ru.dio stations on United States territory, at Snyville, 

Long Isln.nd, and Tuckerton, N. J. These stations had been erected by German enterprise 

for direct communication with Europe; they were, however, partly financed by French cn.pitn.l, 

and the legal objections which the French raised immediately upon the outbreak of the war 

soon resulted in closing both of them. Later our Government, after long negotiatiomi with 

the German Government, took over the stations and exercised a censorship over them. The 

steps leading to the imposition of that censorship need not concern us; the fact is that the Germans were unable to use the stations. until April 1915 16 and then only under supervision, in 

that messages sent by Bernstorff to N auen had to be submitted to our censor before they could 

be trnnsmitted and messages received from Nauen, addressed to Bernstorff, were carefully scrutinized before they were handed over to him. The purpose of this censorship was, of course, to 

preserve our neutrality. Messages exchanged via these radio stations were, as a rule, sent in 

a code known as "Englischcr Chiffre Nr. 9972", two copies of which had been deposited with 

our censor. This is established by the following letter: 17 

J(AISERLICHE DEUTSCHE BoTSCHAFT, 

German Embassy, Washington. 

APRIL 20, 1915. 

The Imperial German Embassy presents its compliments and has the honor, with reference to 

the correspondence with Honorable Robert Lansing in regard to the sending of wireless messages in 

cipher by means of the radio stations at Tuckerton and Sayville, to transmit to the United States 

Department of State herewith, in two copies, the key to that cipher against kind acquittance for making 

further directions. 

(Signed) J. BERNSTOR~'F. 

As stated above, all messu.ges forwarded by radio by Bernstorff had to be sent to our censor 

through the State Department and these messages were regularly accompanied by a formal letter 

couched in the following terms: 

The Imperial German Embassy presents its compliments to the United States Department of 

State and has ihe honor to enclose herewith a wireless cipher message, in duplicate, to the Foreign Office 

at Berlin for kind transmission to the Tuckerton station. Duplicate copies of the (plain text) message 

are likewise enclosed. 

11 Dernstorff, p. 154: "My roports as a matter of fact were somewhat infrequent and always short, as we bad to put all our messages into cipher, 

and this was not always possible. In oxplanlition of the Inevitable incompleteness of my communication with the Forelg'n Office, I may remark 

tbat tho telegrams oft he ·woitI and Trans-Ocean Dureaus were regarded as the main sources of Information for either side, and that I made use 

or various arrangements or words, to which tho Foreign Office alone had the key, ror the purpose or making my own views easily distinguishable 

In tbeso telegrams." Another Interesting corroboration of tbe use of this method Is to be round In the Hall affidavit. (Seo footnote 20.) Among 

the telegrams accompanying the affidavit Is one (p. 122) dated April 3, 1916, from DernstortI to the Foreign Office. It contains the following paragraph: 

"For this renson I suggest that the WolfI Dureau should be Instructed for the present to forward Immediately all Klaesslg's telegrams to the 

Foreign omco. It Is advisable that nil should be sent, because telegrams going rrom here are In code, and thernrore the recognition signal agreed 

on by us for telegrams intended for you might easily be lost. For motives of economy Klaesslg uses the Ritronsche Bureau In (an American town) 

ror such telel!rams, ns in this way It ls possible to use code with regard to tho English censorship." · 

"P. 480, German Hearings. 

11 The letter is in the files of the State Department. In handwriting on Its lower lcrt hnnd corner nppears tho lol\owlng: "Two cipher .books 

· handed to Lieutenant Noyes, U.S. Navy, Aprll 20, 1015." In telegram 79 dated April 20, 1915, DcrnstortTlnformcd the Foreign Office thnt two copies 

or Code 9072 wcro dolivcrod to tho State Depnrtmont. Ho says (Dernstorlf, p. 6n): "In these negotiations wo hnd to content ourselves with pointing 

out that whereas our oncmlcs could pnss on rnllltnry lnrormntlon to their Governments by moans or coder! cnblogrnms, we should be confined to tho 

use of tho wlrclcss station~. Finally we came to nn agroomcnt with the Amorlcrm Oovcrnmont thnt they should have a copy of tho code which 

we usod ror tho wireless telegrams. In this way their contents were kept secret rrom tho cnomy but not rrom tho W ashlngton Government. This 

course we only agreed to as " last resource as It was not suitable for handling negotiations In which the American Oovornment was concerned.". 

Row naive Berrutoril was in respect to his Idea that the messages In Code 0072 were thus kept secret Crom the enemy wlll be seen, in a short time; 

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Thus not only did the United States have the code in which the messages were prepared; 

but messages in that code, when sent by Bernstorff to the State Department for transmission, 

were accompanied by their plain texts so that the censor could verify the lattor if he dcsfrcd. 18 

That the scrutiny of these messages was not o. mere formality is attested by the fact that 

the files of the State Department show several cases in which the Department held up and refused 

to transmit telegrams which, on being examined, were not perfectly clear, or which were even in 

slight degree questionable as regards our neutrality. In this connection Bernstorff says: 19 

As has already been mentioned, all our wireless messages were read by the American Government 

departments and it had often occurred that objection .had been raised. 

On one occasion, upon the very urgent request of the German Ambassador, the Secretary 

of State agreed to permit Bernstorff to receive a radio message from Berlin to Tuckerton pre..: 

pared, not in Code 9972, but in a code of which no copy had been deposited. This special circumstance caused Bernstorff to address a letter on January 28, 1917, to William Phillips, then 

Under Secretary of State. This letter, found in the files of the State Department, contains the 

following paragraph: 

I presume that the wireless was addressed and forwarded direct to the Imperial Foreign Office. 

As I have asked for an immediate wireless reply, my Government may answer in the same way and 

in a code not decipherable by the Censor at Tuckerton. In a former somewhat similar case when 

by mistake the wrong code was used, the telegram rcaclicd me only arter several day8' delay. Therefore, and as the answer to my ycsterday'i:; message will bo extremely urgent, I should be p:uticuhwly 

grateful to you, if you could, at your earliest convenience, have the Censor at Tuckerton itnd at the 

Navy Department instructed to let, in this exceptional case, the reply to my messuge 1mEs as quickly 

as possible. 

It is obvious that if scrutiny of messages lt11<l been 11 moro formality Bornstorff would hardly 

have gone to the trouble of begging so humbly for the permission to which l'oforouco is made. 

Parenthetically it may be stated that if the Germans' purpose in using a code for tl1eso radio 

mess11ges was to keep their contents from their enemies, they might well lmve saved themselves all the trouble they took, for Codo 9972 was extremely simple in construction and' wcLs 

solved by the British without difficulty. This is proved by n. telcgrmn thnt appcnrs in t\ public 

record which is replete with vulun.blc information, n1uncly, tho documents published by tho 

Gcrman-Amcric11n Mixed Claims Commission, which was cstnbJished in 1922. Among those 

documents is an n.lli<lavit dttte<l December 28, 1926, by Admiral Sir W. Reginald Hall, wurtimo 

chief of the intelligence department of the British Admiralty.20 This affidn.vit is accompn.nied by 

a large number of messages which were intercepted and read by the ctyptographic bureau of the 

British Admiralty. Among these decoded messages is a translation of one of these Nmzen-Sayville 

messages accompanied by the following footnotc: 21 

{British] DEPAU'l'MENTAL NoTE.-This is the first message in cipher 9972 which has been read. 

This cipher is employed in messages passing between Berlin and the German Embassy, Washington. 

In view of the strict supervision that was exercised over this N o.uen-Sayville radio route it 

appears strange that the Zimmermann telegram should have been transmitted in this way. 

We come now to the second communication channel that was used by the German Government to communicate with Bernstorff, the route via Berlin, Stockholm, Buenos Aires, Washington. This channel was made available by the good offices of the Swedish Foreign Office and it.s 

representatives abroad. Hints as to the use of this channel mu.y be fom1d in Bernstorff. For 

,. or course the con\'enlence or our censor had a part In the selection or a code In the En~llsh lnnguage. The code, however, was not corupflcd 

tor that purpose, It was alrea<ly on hand and had been used !or tho purpose of trunsmittlng Engllsh mnterlnl. 

"Bcrnstortr, p, 230. · 

"Herea!ter the Hall affidavit will be re!erred to as Ila/I. It appears as Clulmunts' Exblbit 320 of the documents published by the Mixed Claims 

Commission, and Is reprinted as Appendix 1 to this paper. 

11 Ilall, p. 95. 

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example, on page 65: "We had to foll buck exclusively on the wireless stations, when, as frequently happened, we were unable to make uso of tho circuitous routes via neutral countries." 220 

Again on pa.go 149: "Telegraphic communication between tho German Government and the 

Embassy at Washington was cn.rriod out by a circuitous route, which made it extremely slow." 

There is in the State Department files 11 telegram dntod September 10, 1917, from American 

Ambnssndor Morris, nt Stockholm, to tho Secrotn.ry of Stnto, which reads: 

Today had conference with Ilritish Minister who informs mo as follows: In tho summer of 1915 

when Great Ilritnin sent a commission to Sweden to negotiate regarding importation Into Sweden the 

Swedish Government protested ngainst Grent Britain delaying in London official telegrams addressed 

by Swedish Government to Swedish Legation, Washington. British Minister received cable instructions to inform Swedish Government that delay was duo to tho fact that the British Government was 

in possession of positive knowledge 22 ~ that the Swedish Legation, Washington, had transmitted to the 

Germnn Government through the l~orcign Omce Stockholm, message from Count Bernstorff. Swedish 

Minister for Foreign AfTnirs 11.dmitt.ed that such mcssnge hnd been sent so transmitted but gave British 

l\Iinistcr formnl nssurnncc that this would not occur again. 

W1rn.t wus the nature of tho "positive knowledge" that the British Government possessed?° 

Undoubtedly it wus based upon decoded German telegrams, as is evidenced by the following 

telegram which appears among those in Admiral Hall's affidavit: 28 

From BUENOS AIRES 

To BEitLIN 

I. Telegram No. 72 is missing. 

B. A. 67 

(transmitted) 19th June 1915 

(5950) and (13040)21° 

II. Please send cypher telegrams for WASHINGTON in such a way that they can be recyphered 

here, otherwise the Swedish facilities for wiring will be compromised and presumably withdrawn from us. 

LUXBURG. 

Note the date of this message. It is good evidence thnt the British knew of this method, but 

· there is also sufficient additional evidence in Admiral Hall's affidavit, if one studies the points 

between which tho telegrams included in the affidn.vit were sent. The fact thnt a large number 

of the messages in the Hn.11 affidnvit were sent vin Stockholm-Buenos Aires, is clear proof that 

the British were carefully watching this route nnd reading the telegrams transmitted over it. 

It is quite clear from this evidence and from the quotations cited above that Hendrick 

places too much emphasis upon the variety of routes which he says the Zimmermann telegram 

traveled, as though only this telegram had received special treatment. It is apparent that the 

transmission of important messages by more than one route was a usual procedure with Bernstorff. For example, he states: 24 "With the utmost possible speed I sent the following telegrams 

about my interview with Mr. House, by three different routes to Berlin." 

Hendrick says: 26 

The fact seems to be that the Swedish Court was openly pro-German; that popular opinion in 

Sweden similarly inclined to the German side; and, by January, 1917, the Swedish Foreign Office had 

become almost an integral part of the German organization. In many capitals German messages 

were frequently put in Swedish cipher and sent to Swedish Ministers in other countries and by them 

delivered to their German colleagues. Herr Zimmermann, in his desire to make certain that his MexiII• Italics ours. 

m Italics In original. 

"Hall, p.68. 

"• "(5950) and (13040)" Is the British designation or the code used by the Germans In sending the message. Code5D50wasanenclphermentof 

13040, and a nlessnge sent In that code had, accordingly, to be transposed Into code 13040 beroro It was read. (See pp. 4-H or Mendelsohn, Charles 1., 

Studies In German Diplomatic Code1 Emplo11td During Ult World War. Technical Paper or the Signal Intelligence Service, Waablngton, 1937.) 

" Bernstorff, .p. 373. 

11 Hendrick, vol. m, p. 338. 

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can. telegram should reach Washington, again fell back ,upon the assistance or his Swedish confreres. 

He handed his message to the Swedish Minister to Berlin; this functionary sent it to Stockholm, Sweden; 

.from this point it was cabled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and from that city cabled in turn to Wash-

• 1, ington. The journey was a \roundabout one, covering about ten thousand miles. · Yet nothing that 

· · ' ' was sent through the air or under the sea seemed to escape the watchful attention of the British Naval 

Intelligence, and this Swedish message was captured almost at the same moment as that one-which was 

going by the "main line." 

·.j.. 

It is to be noted that according to Hendrick 

Swedish cipher and sent to Swedish Ministers * 

the Swedish code. 

"German messages were frequently put in 

* *" and he implies that the British read 

Now it would be easy to believe that the British obtained and read messages in Swedish 

code, for their intercept service pretty well covered the earth. It is, however, intrinsically 

unlikely that the Germans would give the Swedes the text of a message to be put into Swedish 

code for transmission. Why reveal their secrets to the Swedish Government? It was so much 

easier merely' to ask Stockholm to forward a message in German code-precisely as they asked 

the Americans to do it, as we shall soon see. Not only, however, do probabilities point away 

from any idea that a Swedish code was used, but we have two pieces of evidence on Qils matter 

the authenticity of which cannot be questioned. 

On September 8, 1917, the State Department published the text of three code messages 

sent by the German charge d' Affaires at Buenos Aires to the Foreign Office at Berlin. These 

telegrams became notorious as the Luxburg or "sink without trace" messages. They were 

furnished by the British, for the American cryptographic bureau had as yet hardly been organized at that time. The files of the State Department contain several messages in connection 

with this episode. Among them is one <lated September 18, 1917, to Bell (Secretary, American 

Embassy, London) from Harrison (Secretary in the Diplomatic Service, assigned to the Depart-

·ment, later-1922-Assistant Secretary of State), in which Harrison transmitted the dates and 

initial groups of 22 messages sent from the Swedish Foreign Office, Stockholm, to the Swedish 

Legation, Buenos Aires and asked: "Please let me know as soon as possible if British authorities 

have copies of all these messages, if they have been successfully treated, and if so telegraph contents at earliest possible moment." On September 19, Bell replied as follows: "Numbers 4, 5, 

11, 16, 17, 18, and 22 are in Swedish code and undecipherable here." 

Moreover, we have a direct statement of the war-time British Cryptographic Bureau on this 

point. After America's entry into the war, the British gave the Americ11n Government a partial 

copy of the German code known as Code 13040, with directions for its use. These directions contain the express statements that German messages sent by Swedish officinls were in enciphered 

German code, i. e., the original code groups were subjected to a process of systematic alteration, 

and that the transfer, or retransfor, from Swedish to German hands was mnde at Buenos Aires. 

The method of encipherment employed to disguise the messages upon their tmnsfer was of such 

nature as not completely to remove certain resemblances to German :Code 13040. These 

resemblances aroused the suspicions of the British cryptographers, and detn.iled study followed. 

Once the nature of the disguise was learned, its usefulness was lost, and the Germnns might 

have spared themselves the trouble of disguising the code when they go,ve their messtiges to 

Swedish officials for forwarding. 

We have seen that the British Government once informed the Swedish Government that 

it was "in possession of positive knowledge that the Swedish Legation, vVnshington, had transmitted to the German Government through the li'oreign Office, Stockholm, message from Count 

Bcrnstorff." 'l'l111t was "in the summer of HH5." 'l'he fact tho.t tho pro,ctico was not stopped 

for 2 years or more, though the British must 110.vc boon fully awurc of it, speaks for itself. The 

British authorities must have realized soon after this protest, which was no doubt made early in 

CONFIDENTIAL 

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tho crypto~rnphic wn.r, tho.t tho informn.tion thoy wero glcn.ning frbm tho study of these messages 

was too vn1unblo l;o Ioso, even tnking inpo account tho foct that tho messages wore of considerable 

use to their enemies. It is more than likely thn.t tho informo.tion was at Ion.st as useful to the 

British ns it was to tho Gcrrnn.ns themsolvcs. In somo en.sos thore is no doubt that it wn.s even 

moro useful. 

Fina.lly, there is another important telegram in tho files of the Sta.to Department on this 

subject. It is dnted September 17, 1()17, nnd was sent by Bell to Harrison. The first paragraph is of great interest. It reads as follows: 

I am now able to inform you Zimmerman's telegram to Eckhardt instructing him to induce 

Mexico to attack us was forwarded through Swedish channels. It ]JD.cl to be sent through Bemstorff 

for his information, hut ns Swcdmi had given up transmitting German telc~mms direct to the United 

St.ates after the· British protest in 1!)15, it was 1:1ent through Swedish channels to Buenos Aires and 

there 1urncd over to Luxlmrg who repeated it to DernstorfT. The latter retransmitted it to Eckhardt. 

From Berlin to Bernst,orfI it went in a. code which the British ha.d at that time only partly succeeded 

in decipliering a.nd of which Eckhardt had no copy. Bernstorff bad to repeat it to Mexico therefore 

in another code known to the German Minister there and incidentally to the British and it is of this 

message that we obtained a copy. · 

Of certain portions of this telegram we shall have more to say later, as they are of extreme 

interest from the cryptographic viewpoint. At this point we shall merely indicate that· there 

is good reason to believe that the British authorities did not tell Bell the whole story when 

they ga:ve him the information which is contained in the foregoing telegram. Who can blame 

them for withholding their most precious secrets? 

We come now to the third and most interesting of the several channels available to the 

German Foreign Office in communicating with Bernstorff in Washington-the Berlin-Copen· 

.hagen-Washington route used with the cooperation of the American State Department. We 

shall quote from the Hendrick narrative: 26 

The German Government forwarded this dispatch to Washington in still another way. Indeed, 

. the most remarkable incident in this remarkable transaction remains to be told. Evidently. the German Foreign Office feared that transmission by wireless and cable transmission to Buenos Airesby grace of the Swedish Government-might fail them. The prohibition the American Government had placed upon the use of wireless from Nancn to Sayvillc, Long Island, might naturally cause 

apprehension as to the delivery of messages sent by this route. The cable line from Stockholm to 

Buenos Aires and thence to Washington and Mexico was a rounda.bout one, and a message transmitted that way might conceivably fail to reach its destination. 

The dispatch of this telegram, however, wns a.t that moment the most important business before 

the Gcrma.n Foreign Office and its snfc arrival in the city of Mexico must be assured at any cost . 

There was one method that was absolutely sure, though the fact that this should have occurred to 

Zimmermann must be regarded as one of the most audacious and even reckless strokes of the war. 

Humor of any kind the Germans seldom displayed at crises of this sort, yet the mechanism adopted· 

to make certain that this plot against the American people would safely land on Dernstorff's desk 

evinces an unmistakable gift-even though an unconscious one-(or the sardonic. 

The transaction reflects so seriously upon the methods of the Stnte Department that it would 

probably never have seen the light had the Germans not made it public themselves. In 1919-20 

the German Constituent Assembly held an elaborate investigation into the responsibility for the war. 

In this the Zimmermann telegram played its part. Among its published documents is a note which 

reveals one route by which this document found its way across the Atlantic.27 It says: 

"Instructions to Minister von Eckhardt were to be taken by letter by way of Washington 

by U-boat on tho 15th of January; since the U-boat Deut8chland did not start on her outward trip, 

these instructions were attached on January 16th to telegram No. 157, and through the offices 

of the American Embassy in Berlin telegraphed to Count Bernstorff by way 0,f the State Department in Washington." 

1e Hendrick, vol. ID, pp. 33S-341. . . 

"Hendrick's footnote: See Vol. II, p. 1337: "Official German Documents Relating to the World War." Translated tinder tho supervision o1 

tho Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (This work.ls rofcrrod to In the present paper as German Hearlnga.J. 

: :. 'I " ' '". 

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What this mea.ns is tha.t the German Foreign Office used the American Government as an errand 

boy for the transmission of a document that contained a plot against its own territorial integrity. * * * 

The German Government, many times in the course of the war, used the good offices of the Amer-

·' ican State Department for transmitting messages to Ambassador Bernstorff. Germany had no cable 

communication with the United States; the wireless was unreliable and not always availa,ble; occasionally, therefore, the Germans would request Washington to serve in this capacity. As all such 

messages touched England before starting across the Atlantic, the consent of the British Government 

was necessary before the favor could be performed. That the British graciously permitted the Germans to use their cable facilities may possibly have seemed, at the time, an act savoring of the magnanimous; the fact, however, that the British possessed the German cipher and read all these messages as they sped through England creates the suspicion that they may have regarded this as a way 

of obtaining valuable information. 

Hendrick makes it appear that obtaining permission to use the American State Department facilities was a rather simple matter and that many messages were sent by the State 

Department for the Germans in this way, without realization on the part of State Department 

officialdom of the possibly serious consequences that might ensue. That this is far from the 

truth will appear later. His statement, too, that "As all such messages touched England 

before starting across the Atlantic, the consent of the British Government was necessary before 

tho favor could be performed" is meaningless when one considers the matter. It is obvious 

first of all thut had tho American Government been so naive tis to ask tho Briti8h Government's consent to such a procedure tho lnttor would certainly lrnvo i·ofusod. It is likewise obviom1 

that when Bernstorff wanted to send a code message to tho Foreign Office in Berlin, the State 

Department could not simply address a telegram to the American Ambassador, Gerard, in plain 

language asking him to "Forward the following code message to the German Foreign Office." 

The British would naturally not pass such messages even though the greatest neutral country 

asked such a favor. Such a procedure is not a diplomatic possibility in time of war. If not 

in plain language, the forwarding by the State Department of German code messages hnd to 

be done through the intermediucy of State Department code. Assuming that official messages 

of the American Government to her ambassadors and ministers in Europe were not subjected 

to any study whatsoever by tho British Cryptogmphic Durc1tu (which is difficult to believe), 

it is possible that this practice might not have been detected immediately by the British. Dut 

the manner in which the messuges were actuully dmwn up was such thn.t the discovery of tho 

practice should and must have been purticularly eusy if American messuges were even hastily 

scanned. Here is an example of the plain text of such a message, copied from the files of the 

State Department: 

Am legation 

Copenhagen 

Forward Derlin 

3803 

Deliver to German Foreign Office the following message from Ambassador Bernstorff. 

(Add German Cipher.) · 

LANSING. 

Lacking a copy of the telegram as actually filed .for transmission, the form the code message 

took when filed cannot here be indicated; but we have on this point the positive stfttement of 

Mr. David A. Salmon, then as now Chief of the Division of Communications and Hecords.of 

the State Department, to the effect that the code groups of the German code message were not 

reencoded in State Department code, or changed in any way whatever: they were merely 

added to the preamble requesting the forwarding of the message. This preamble wits in codeAmcrican State Depurtment code. Now the code groups of the Amcricrm code were most 

commonly in letters, while those of the Gcrmnn code wore in figures. 23 Furthermore, the 

"In a few cases State Department code me.qsngos consisted or figure-groups bqt the !utter were luvarlnbly 0-dlglt groups, while the German 

code message:> os stated rurther 011, ~1msls~Q<I or 3, 4, and ~-dl~lt groups. 

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code groups of the Germon code were characterized by being composed of three, four, and five 

digits, whcrcns in most codes of oven those dn.ys n.ll of tho code groups uniformly contained five 

Jett>crs, or frvc fr~m:cR. Hence the subtcrfup:c wns snrc to be detected nlmw·+, immediately by 

I.ho Urif.i:-d1. Still they made no protost. Why'{ The n.nswcr rn1rn1i surely be obvious: they 

'vcre glad f,o hnve ncccss to this lcnkn.gc of vnlunhlo i11formn.t.ion1 nnd to lodge n protest would n.t 

once dry it up n.t the somcc. 

\\'11crcas Hendrick mu.kes it n.ppcn.r thn.t our State DcparLmcnt handled mu.ny messages 

for the Germnns, Lansing in his account of the matter makes it appear as though the transmission of the Zimmcrmnn telegram via State Depa.rtmcnt channels was an isolated incident, 

or ut least that this method of communication was placed at the disposal of Bernstorff only 

toward the end of the period of strained relations. Quoting Lansing: 29 

At eleven-thirty I went to the White House and for an hour discussed with the President the 

snbstance of the (7-immernmnn] telegram and the way to use it. The President said that he had been 

wondering how Bernstorff got the mcsimge from Berlin, and that the closing of secret lines of communication with his government made him a little uncertain as to its authenticity. 

I told him that I thought it could be easily explained, my opinion being that it was done in the 

following manner: During the early part of .J:muary Count von Bernstortf, at the instance of Colonel 

House, had been laboring with his government to obtain concrete terms of peace. The Ambassador 

had complained of his inability to communicate secretly and therefore freely with Berlin, which he 

considered essential in order to accomplish his purpose. In view of this reasonable statement we 

had consented very reluctantly to send [that is, in a cipher, of which the Department did not have 

the key] messages for him through our Embassy.30 This we did several times, permitting the German 

Fordgtt Office to reply in the same way. 011 .Taunary seventeenth an exceptionally long message 

(some one thousand groups) came t,hro11gh from Berlin. On the eighteenth thiR message was delivered 

to the Ambassador. On the nineteenth the telcgra·m from BcrnstorfI to Mexico was filed. From 

these facts I drew the conclusion that in the long secret message delivered to him on the eighteenth 

was the message for the German Minister besides other orders as to what to do in case of a severance 

of diplomatic relations.a1 

The President two or three times during the recital of the foregoing exclaimed "Good Lordl" 

and when I had finished said he believed that the deduction as to how Bernstorff received his orders 

was correct. He showed much resentment at the German Government for having imposed upon our 

kindness in this way and for having made us the innocent agents to advance a conspiracy against 

this country. 

Careful study of available records .shows that while this channel of communication was 

used on more than a single occasion, it was used not nearly so frequently as Hendrick implies, 

and that its employment was confined to periods of strained relations. The first was on June 2, 

1915, shortly after the sinking of the Lusitania, which occurred on May 7, 1915. Of this period 

Bernstorff says: 32 

It is certain that if I had not at this stage of the Lusitania crisis had my interview with the President, relations would have been broken off and war between the United States e.nd Germany must 

inevitably have followed. * * * During our conversation, however, the President offered for the 

first time, to permit me to dispatch a cipher telegram through the State Department, to be sent on 

by the American Embassy in Berlin.aa 

,. Lansing, p. '1:27. 

ao Drnckctcd matter so In orlglnnl. 

11 A rootnoto nt this point contains substanllnlly the same mntter as ls given in our extract from Hendrick given on p. 11, regarding the way 

In which tho Zimmermann telegram was to have boon sent by the submarine Deutuhland. 

"BcrnstorfT, p, 151 and p. 154. 

"This stntcmont is not strictly correct, for there exists In tho files or tho State Department 11 letter dated November 12, 1U14, from Bernstorll 

to Secretary Dryan enclosing a message which BernstorJI asked Bryan to send to the Oermnn Foreign Ofilco. This message was in tho Oorillftn 

code, 130.10, and, M Bernstoril told Secretary Bryan, asked "instructions from my Government for the purpose of publicly lndorslng the Belgian 

relief plan." Attached to the letter is the text of the code message which we have decoded and find to be BS described by Bernstorft. This message, 

lncldcntally; was In the same code (13010) BS tho Zimmermann telegrlllll 111 the form In Which the latter was forw!lfded bf Bernstorft to Medco 

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:' This initial instance apparently paved the way f()r several more during the same crisis, 

as is evidenced by Bernstorff: 34 

From this time onwards [that is about July 21, 1915] Mr. Lansing agreed with me that, as a 

regular thing, I should be permitted, whatever negotiations were going on, to send cipher dispatches 

to my Government through the channels of the State Department and the American Embassy in 

Berlin. It will be remembered that a similar privilege had been·granted me at the time of the Lusitania 

incident. 

. But, lest one jump to the conclusion that the State Department was careless in placing 

its facilities at the disposal of the Germans and regarded the mo.tter as being without possibility of serious repercussions, let it be noted that Mr. Lansing not only realized the full implications of the unusual procedure but also refused to transmit a message on at least one occasion 

on the ground that there appeared "to be no particular urgency for the transmission of the 

message on account of either of the subjects mentioned." 36 It must also be noted that the 

State Department transmitted messages not only for the German Government, but also for 

the Austrian, as is proved by a telegram dated February 4, 1917, from Lsnsing to Ambassador 

Penfield at Vienna.36 

Despite the questionable propri_ety of this procedure on the part of our diplomatic officials, 

it is easy to understand why President Wilson and Mr. Lansing made the State Department 

route available in the circumstances that then existed. For, with their complete control of 

cable facilities, the Allies were able to transmit any information they pleased without censorship of any sort by any other Government, while the Central Powers, lmving no cables, were 

forced to use radio, and even then had to submit their messages to a censorship exercised by 

foreign powers. 

. . . It may possibly be supposed that the Zimmermann telegram was transmitted by radio 

. from Nauen direct to Mexico, inasmuch as there was a powerful station at Chapultepec. But 

the evidence is fairly clear against such an hypothesis. The Chapultepec station was hardly in 

working order py October 1918 as can be seen from the following message:37 

From: Madrid 

To: Berlin 

No. 1220 

Oct. 8, l!H8 

JAITNKE reports from Mexico without date: Cipher telegrams 6 and 7 cannot be deciphered. 

Please send thrice each time. A wireless station has been erected. I am now trying tO get into 

communication with Nauen. * * * · 

Jahnke was a secret agent of the German Admiralty who worked in tho United Stn.tcs and 

Mexico. His telegrams were sent by von Eckhardt, the German Minister at }.fexico City, to 

Buenos Aires for relay to Berlin. vVhilo tlio foregoing mcssngo stntos tluit "Jnlrnko reports 

from Mexico without date" we can fix the dnte of the report ns not earlier than June 9, 1918, 

because cipher tclcgrn.m No. 7, mentioned in that report as being indecipherable, was sent on 

June 9.38 While it is possible to imagine that messages might have been transmitted from 

Naucn in the hope that they could be heard in Mexico City, yet tho fact that as late ns the middle 

of 1918 Jahnke was evidently having a grent deal of trouble in receiving signnls (note that ho 

asks that signals be sent thrice each time) makes it extremely unlikely that a year and. a half 

before then the Germans would have tried to get the Zimmermann telegram to Mexico City 

by such an uncertain route . 

" Ilornstorlf, J). 166. 

u FltB, pp. 83 nnd 87. 

u FHS, p, ll2, contains tho following mossngo: "Ile [Austrfnn Ambnsslldor) prosontod two mossngos to be sent through you to his Oovornmtint, 

which wero lorwurded last night In dopnrtmont's 1619, 1''obrunry 3, 7 p. m., nud 1620, J<'obrunry 3, 8 p. m. Ono moro mossugo, our 1523, }'obruury 4, 

4 J). m., wns sent at bis request this morning.'' 

11 Hall Affidavit, p. 2.54. 

11 Ilall Affidavit, p. 244. 

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We come now to n. study of tho codo used for the Zimmcrmn.nn tclegrn.m itself. The telcgrn.tn carried lhc nnmbcl' 158 n.nd wn.s n.ppondod to tolcgrn.m No. 157 which wn.s sent through 

Sl;ntn Dnpu.rl.nwnt. chn.1111clH.3g H, J.hornforo, l11.cki11~ tnlogrn.m l G8, wo could rt.Accrtn.in whn.t 

codn w::.8 usc<l for tolegnun No. ] 57 wo would lrn.vc 11.t lnnHI; rt clue U.8 to wlin.t code wn.8 used for 

the Zin1mcrmn.un tclcgmm. ll11t oven this clue is Jn.eking, for, despite most diligent scn.rch, in 

which thcro wn.s full coopcrn.tion from tho Chier of tho Division of Communicn.tions n.11d Rccorcls 

in tlw 81'.n.to Depn.rt,rncnt, we hn.vc thus for been mmble to locn.to the originn.l of teJegmm No. 157 

in t.hc files of the Stn.tc Dcpn.rtmcnt. However, tclegrn.m No. 167 wn.s only one of u series cxchnnged bcf;wccn tho Gorman Foreign Office and J3nrnstorJr via tho State Department, and 

fortunately there do exist o.t loo.st sovero.l other mosso.ges belonging to this latter series in those 

files. 40 

All these mcssn.ges n.re of vital importn.nce in a study of the strained relations immediately 

preceding the brenk between Germany and the United States which formally took pin.cc on F.ebru11.ry 3, 1917, when Bernstorfl' was lrn.nded his passport. They o.re o.11 in a code which is known 

n.s 7500, as was accrtained by a study of the messages in question in connection with their plain 

texts, as published in tho official report of the German heo.rings.40a · 

Since the Bernstor.ff messo.ges just mentioned were sent in Code 7500, the probabilities are 

very high that telegrams Nos. 157 and 158 were also in Code 7500. But the Zimmermann 

telegrnm as given to Ambassador Page by the British wo.s the decoded version of a message 

not in Code 7500 but in Code 13040. This code, 7500, is what is known to cryptographers as a 

"two-po.rt" or "cross-referenced" code. The two parts comprise (1) o. set of 10,000 phrases in 

alphabetical order and numbered from 0000 to 9999, the numbers being entirely disarranged, 

i. e., without any numerical sequence; (2) the same phrases fitted with the same numbers as 

before, but this time with the numbers in sequence und the phrases disarranged. The first part, 

with' the phrases in alphn.betical order, is used for encoding-for sending a message; the second 

part, with the numbers in sequence, is used for reading a messn.ge which has been sent by means 

of the numbers. The advantage of a code of this nature is that the identification of any code 

group by n.n outsider will yield no o.lphabeticnl clue to the meaning of any other code group 

which is .numerically in its neighborhood. Thus, 1256 might, in an English code of the kind 

described, signify "day," 1257, "book," and 1258, "shoe." The reconstruction of a code of this 

nature by mrnlysis is necessarily a much slower process tho.n tho building up of 11 code book 

in which tho o1phabetical order of tho phrases corresponds to the numerical sequence of their 

code group equivalents-wherein, for example, 1256 signifies "date," 1257 "day," 1258 "daze," 

etc. 

Code 7500, which n.s stated was a two-pn.rt code, was one of a ·series of such codes which 

the Germans employed. The code indicutor for one of these codes uniformly consists of two 

significant digits followed by two O's. The two significant digits always show an arithmetical 

difference of 2. A skeleton reconstruction of Code 9700 and one of 5300 arc in the Government 

files. Code 8600 was used by German officials in South Americo. during the war, Code 6400 

also was in use during the war. The existence of a code known as 4200 was predicted because 

of tho existence of tho others, and was later confirmed from a French source.40& 

Code 13040 wns an old German diplomatic code of tho partially disnrranged type: The 

nlphabetic vocabulary is broken up into fractions and these a.gain into smaller fmctions boforo 

the numeral code groups u.re attached. By this process tho original elphabetical sequence of 

31 German Uenri~gs, p. 1337. 

"Some of these mcssa~cs arc ncmstorff's Nos. 104 nnd 156 or November 21; lfli or Dccemher 1; 169 of December 4, 1916; 212 of 1anuaty 18; 222 

of 1anunry 21; 228 and 22ll ol Jnnunry 23; nnd 2.19 ol J1muary Zl, 1017. 

•O• See Mendelsohn, Charles 1., An Rnclpherment of the Germnn Dfptomnllc Code 1JOO, 'rcchnlcnl Paper of the Signal Intelligence Bervlci!, 1938 • 

... See Doucard, Robert. Article In Gringo/re, Paris,. Feb. 5, 1937. \ 

93733-38--3 
10. 

the words and phrases is only partially destroyed. In the case of 13040 the method of dividing 

the vocabulary int<> fractions was such as to leave very generous traces of the alphabetical 

arrangement and proportionally to facilitate the process of decipherment. Once begun, the 

decipherment of such a code becomes progressively easier as more groups are identified. 

When Ambassador Page sent his telegram containing the English text of the Zinimcrmann 

message, he said: 41 

I shall send you by mail a copy of the cipher text and of the decode into German 

These were sent from London on March 2, but of course could not have reached Washington 

in less than a week. In the meantime, still worried about the authenticity of the telegram, 

Washington asked for a copy of the German code, as is evidenced by the following telegram: 42 

' 

WASHINGTON, February 28, 1917-8 p. m. 

4493. Your 5747, February 24-1 p, m. Please endeavor to obtttiu copy of German code from 

Mr. Balfour, decode following messages and telegraph translations. All three messages are dated 

January 17, signed Bernstorff, and addressed to the German Legations at Bogota, Port-au-Prince, 

and Santiago, Chile, respectively. 

[Here follow code messages.) 

Effort will be made to secure copies of all German cipher messages as far back as possible and if 

the Department were in possession of the code there would be a great saving of time and expense. 

Contents of messages decoded here would of course be communicated to the British Government. · 

Publication of Z[immermann]'s telegram to Mexico tomorrow. 

Page replied: 43 

LANSING. 

LONDON, March 1, 1917-11 p. m. 

[Received March 2, 12:30 a. m.) 

Your 4493, February 28-8. p. m. The three· messages were deciphered to-day and are practically 

identical. They contain instructions to the three legations to use a certain variation of the cipher code 

when communicating with Berlin. The one to Santiago was to be repeated to other missions in South 

America. The question of our having a copy of the code has been taken up, but there appear to be 

serious difficulties. I am told actual code would be of no use to us as it was never used straight; but 

with a great number of variations which are known to only one or two experts here. They can not 

be spared to go to America. If you will send me copies of B[ernstorff]'s cipher telegrams, the British 

authorities will gladly decipher them as cn1ickly as possible giving me copies u.s fast ns deciphered. 

I could telegraph texts or summaries in matters of importance and send the others by pouch. Neither 

Spring Rice nor Gaunt know anything about this matter. 

,, : I!~ I ' ' PAGE. 

--,·J.\ Mt. Page's informant was misinformed or was misleading Mr. Page. The code used is 

described by Mr. Page in his original announcement concerning the 'Zimmermann telegra.m:H 

,, 

The first group is tho number of tlrn telegram, 130, [sc. in tlrn Germ1m numbering and cl11t.i11g code, 

in which tho group 130 menus "Number 3"; the Zimnwrmnnn telegram wns therefore message No. 3 

from WnBhington to Mexico CityJ, nnd the second is 1:3°'1:!, indicating the number of the code used, 

The last group but two is 9755G, which is Zimmerman n's sig1iat11re. 

1, ·.·This description tallies exactly with tho copy of the telegrnm as socurod by Mr. Polk from 

the Washington telegraph office. (See frontispiece.) The mcss11ge was in straight unenciplwred 

German code, and could be read by any one in possession of both the telegnnn and the codo 

book. Not only was the Zimmermann telegram as sent from Washington to Mexico City in 

this unenciphered 13040 code, but a wholo multitud~ of rnessnges botwecn 1Vnshington nnd 

Berlin were sent in the same way. 

" Bee mc:;sage quoted on p. 6, 

" l' Hfl, p. 162. 

" F ItB, pp. IL7-l~. 

" Bee rue'"ugo quoted on J>. 4, 

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Admirnl Sir Rcginn.ld }fall, in his nJfidnvit boforo tho Mixed Claims Commission, said of 

this codo (Cln.imn.nt's Exhibit 320, p. 77G): 

The Germn.n cipher book covering this system of ciphering is in our possession, it having been 

cnpturcd by tho British unthoritics in tho baggage of a German consul named Wusmuss who was 

stationed at Shirn.:r. while \cVasmusa wn.s engaged in n.n cndcn.vor to cut a British oil pipe line. 

It seems unlikely thnt a Germn.n consul ongn.gc<l in nn oxpedition to cut a pipe lino should 

cnrry n. diplonrn .. tic codo hook in his bnggngo. Moreover, tho British copy of 13040 is fmgmcntn.ry, n.nd gives ovory ovidonco of lmving boon grndun.lly reconstructed in a cryptographic 

bureau through tho decipherment of messages. A glnnce at tho copy given by the British to 

the United States after America's entrance into the war will demonstrate this fact. This copy 

contains about half the vocabulary, but is not a transcript of part of the code book, since it 

comprises some words and phrases from all the pages. Some of the identifications, too, are 

marked doubtful. An nctual copy of a code book would certainly not exhibit missing and 

doubtful sections. 

On the other hand Admiral Hall's recollection was probably only partly at fault. The 

British mny very well have found in Wasmuss' baggage not a copy of a code book but a copy of 

one or more telegrams with the code text accompanied by the corresponding clear.· From this 

start they would then proceed to build up the code book. As already indicated, the nature of 

the structure of Code 13040 is such that a comparatively smaH amount of decoded material 

together with a number of telegrams in code will enable skilled cryptographers to reconstruct 

the book. 

How did the British obtain the 13040 version of the Zimmermann Telegram? Page was 

told that it was "* * * bought in Mexico." While the British, for obvious reasons, 

insisted upon the Mexican source of the message, we may have our own opinion as to whether 

or not they procured another copy from the files of the Western Union Telegraph Office in 

Washington. 

The following questions now may be raised with the hope of finding accurate answers: 

Why was the Zimmermann telegram originally sent from Berlin to Washington in Code 7 500 

a.ncl not in Code 13040? What routes were really used for its transmission? If several routes 

were renlly used, when did the telegram first reach Bernstorff? Why did Bernstorff forward it 

in another code? When did the British first intercept the message, if it was sent by more than 

one route? Wero they ablo to decode it at once, and if so, why did they wait more than a month 

before communicating its contents to Ambassador Page for forwarding to Washington? And 

which version did the British Government hand Page, the one in Code 7500 or the one in Code 

13040? 'l'hc answers to these questions are vital points in this study. 

The Zimmermann telegram was prepared originally in German code 7500 because that was 

the code employed for these special communications between the German Foreign Office and 

BernstorfI for direct cornrnunicntion via State Department chnnnels nt the time in question. 

The Germnn hearings contain extremely interesting testimony on this point, for the Zimmermann 

telegrnm episode wns diScnssed with some detnil at thpse hearings, and the printed record contains sufficiently iiitoresting testimony on tho circumstnnces surrounding the disclosure of the 

text of tho telegram to warrant quotn.tion. 45 

Dclcgl\tc Dr. ScuUCKINO. Wns there-and this "iR I\ much more important mnttcr--an investigation into the fate of the Mexican dispatches? · · 

Witness CouNT V. BERNSTORFF. Yes, an investigation did take place in that instance . Delegate Dr. ScHttCKING. And what was the result of this hivestlgatlon~ so far as your activities 

came into question? · · ·:; ,. . '· · · ... · '· .. 

---- tt German Htarln91, pp. 31Hl6; 4'1&-481. ·• 1: 

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18 

,;· Wltness.CfouN'l' V .. BEBNBTORFP. So far as I know, no result was· accomplished by the investi-

,gation. But subsequently I came to have no doubt upon the point that all our dispatches were decoded 

by the British and placed at the disposal of the Americans. 

Expert Dr. BONN. By this, you mean to say that this dispatch was caught between Germany and 

the United States, and that the decoding was not the result of transmitting the message to Mexico from 

the United States by land? 

Witness Count V. BERNSTORFF. According to what I knrncd lat-Or, I assume that tho BriliBh 

decoded all the telegrams which came over the English cables. 

Expert Dr. BONN. We shall have to go into this matter more carefully later on. 

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, but for the present we will close the matter here with this.· 

Delegate Dr. SPAHN. Secretary of State Zimmermann will give us information later concerning 

·the question of the box. ~· The statement which 've have received from him on the point differs 

.. . . , . · . from yours, your Excellency. But he will tell us tibout it himself. . 

. . So far as concerns the dispatch to Carrauza, the complaint has been made that there was no 

'· 

1·.\ 

•. 

.change of code, and timt the old cipher WUH used, which had been known for a long while; that it was in . this way possible for the dispatch to be decoded. How about this? 

Witness Count V. BEnNSTORFF. Naturally, the code was changed much less during war time than 

was otherwise the case, but that was due to the fact that it was impossiblo to send us new ciphers.'° 

The last time I received new ciphers was by way of the U-boat Deitlschland. * * * Twice, on 

both the trips of the U-boat Deutschland I was sent new ciphers.47 

* * * * * * * * 

Expert Dr. HoETZSCH. May I be permitted at this'point to ask a question concerning the ciphers 

1 ! :·t : , and cipher keys? 

The CHAIRMAN. That would seem to be connected with the poi'rit ·at issue, and in any event we 

'" , ·• '. ~. 

". 

'~. 

shall hardly have an opportunity later on to go into it. 

Expert Dr. HoETZSCH. I would like to ask Count Bernstorff to make us a brief.statement covering 

·" the use of the ciphers, the key to the ciphers, etc. It is well known that complaints have been made in 

respect to. the use of the cipher. The Count said something with regard to the matter during the 

first session. · 

Witness Count V. BERNs·ronFF. It is readily understood that, under the conditions which I have 

described, the.ciphers were not changed as often as would have been the case under normal conditions. 

· '· · In all probability, if communications had not been interrupted, we would have received new ciphers 

;:;;,, every month or every other month, so that they could not have been compromised so easily. To the 

·extent that my memory serves me, the only occasions upon which we received new ciphers were on the 

two trips of the Deutschland. To the extent that it was possible to do so, we operated the available 

ciphers by means of keys; but I learned later, as I already stated in giving my first testimony, that the 

.j 

,·,j 

British deciphered all our telegrams. · 

Expert Dr. HoETZSCH. How do you explain the fa~t that the English were able to get such a. 

· knowledge of them? 

Witness Count V. BEUNSTORFF. I am no cipher expert, but the· cipher experts now state that 

there is absolutely no cipher which they cannot decipher .. J do not know how right they arc in this, 

but, in any event, the experts say that there is absolutely no cipher which they cannot decipher, provided 

they have before them a sufficimit rmmlJer of tclegramR. And thiH. rcHult, particularly in the case of 

the United States, was probably due to the fact that circumstances were such ns to force w1 to make 

use of an extraordinarily large number of ciphered messages, and we oftcn."Sent our reports and telegrams in double or triple form, in the hope that in some way they should reach Germany. Consequently, the British must hv,ve han an cnormons a.mount of material in the way of cipher dispatches 

of ours, and in this way it was possible for them to break down our various ciphers. 

Expert Dr. HoE-rzscH. So that, according to your conviction, the question of treachery or carelessness is not involved in the matter? 

Witness Count V. BERNs·roRFF. I cau state under oath that I do not believe that there Wtts any 

treachery or negligence. 

"•'floe w•,rrl "'"•<" l'"' rofor"'"'" t1o tloe •ll'l"''d1 lH1X wlol1)1 the llrltl.<h lou111l nn•I sofr,e1l on the bo11L nn which llernsJ.orlT t••t.11rm•1l to fl1Jr111nny 

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ltvm JJ~rJhJ LI) Wu..o..;)JjJ,1.~LVJ). VJJ1y the titflJJIJ,JJ l..li)YCJ'JHHl.:Hl lfi1t JJ•JL 1;Ji;HJ~t) JIH.; t;1;dt.: fflJW w·1J.,J,jHHl!1H ,,, J\'Juk1) .(:Hy ti:w;iiW:i H dildh:. f'f1~ 

bQrdor wu.s not carefully KUHrdod oveu ulter we ~ntern<I the wur. 

•1 On Its first voyage, the Deulachland docked at Norfolk on 1uly 9, 19lfl, on It.a second voyuge, ut New Loudon un Novowbo; 1, !016. 

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A study of available messages, exchanged between Bernstorff n.nd tho Foreign Office in 

Borlin during the period of strained reln.tions indicates tho.t Code 7500 was one of the two received 

by Bernstorif via tho Dcutschla,nd, and this code wn.s apparently reserved for messages of the . 

highest importance. Code 130,10 was nevertheless used concurrently with Code 7500 as well as 

with other codes. Code 13040 wn.s very old; in fact it used the old German: orthogrnphy and 

wheren,s it contained words like "vclociped" it failed to list such n. word as "U-Boot," except 

in a supplement, and was not sufficiently up-to-date for foreign communications. 

As to the routes really used for the transmission of the Zimmermnnn telegram, all the evidence thus Jn.r cited indicittcs tlrnt two routes were certainly employed, even if tlie wireless was 

not used. 'l'he first was the State Department route, an<l it is clettr that the telegram was sent 

on January 16, 1017, via that channel. The second route, according to the statement contained 

in the cablegram from Bell to Harrison quoted above (p. 11), was via Swedish channels, and since 

Bell told Harrison that the British had succeeded only partially in decoding the message, it may 

be assumed t.lmt it too was in Code 7 500. If the wireless was used, the same code was almost 

certn.inly used. The British in the foll of 1917 u.ppn.rently saw no harm in telling Bell that the 

Germans hnd employed Swedish channels for the Zirnrnermnnn message because the subject 

of the moment was the famous Luxburg "sink without trace" message which had been sent via 

those same chnnncls. However, Bell was not told that the British had intercepted the Zimmermann telegram sent via State Department channels for reasons which will presently become ~M. . 

The British undoubtedly intercepted the State Department message which served, so to 

speak, as the envelope for the Zimmermann telegram, on January 16, 1917, or, at the latest, the 

next day. Were they able to decode the German code text contained within the State Department's message? The answer to this question is of great cryptographic interest. They were 

able to read it-but only partially. The evidence for this is fairly clear cut. Not only have we 

the Bell to Harrison cablegram referred to above, which specificnlly states that "from Berlin 

to Bernstorff it went in a code which the Britisb had at that time only partly succeeded in 

deciphering," but we may nlso note some corroborative evidence for this statement in Hendrick's 

version reading as follows: 48 · 

On the 16th of January 1917, the ever-watchful ears of the British wireless operators detected 

the characteristic spluttering which informed them that another German message was speeding through 

.the air. When decoded, the British found that they possessed .this somewhat disjointed but still 

extremely valuable document: . 

"Zimmermann to Bernstorff for Eckhardt W. 158. ~ 

"lGTII JANUARY, 1917. 

"Most secret for your Excellency's personal information and to be handed on to the Imperial 

Minister in ? Mexico with Tel. No. 1 * * * by a safe route . "\Ve purpose to begin on the 1st February unrestricted submarine warfare. In doing so, 

however, we shall endeavor to keep America neutral. * * * ? If we should not (succeed in 

doing so) we propose to (? .Mexico) an alliance upon the following basis: 

"(joint) conduct of the war 

"(joint) conclusion of pence. 

"Your Excellency should for the preHtmt inform the Presirlcnt secretly (thnt wo expect) wnr 

with the U. S. A. (pOl!Albly) ("' • • ,fopl\n) and at tho same t.imc to n11~oliatt,o between UR and 

Japnn "' "' "' (Incleciphernblo sentence mcnning plell!:!o tell th() l'rn;idcnt) thnt * * * our submarines * * * will compel England to peace in a Cow months. Acknowledge receipt. . . ZIMMERMANN." 

" Hendrick, vol. III, p. 336, 

o In Admiral Hall's nffidavlt It Is explained that In the Dritlsh files a letter followed by a number Indicated the point of origin and serial number 

or the message. "B 120," for example, means Berlin's message No.' 120 to 11 given destination. While the number "158" Is correct.as the serial num· 

ber of the Zimmermann telegram the "W" {I. e., Washington] prooedlng It Is an error, and should read "B" fl. e., .Berlin.]· . . .: • ' . . ' I··; 1.I • 
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·This somewhat coilfused message gives an idea of the difficulty of picking up wireless symbols 

sent across the Atlantic-at that time-in midwinter. But there is a conspicuous discrepancy between 

this telegram and the more complete and finished one sent to Bernstorff by way of th~ Washington 

cable office and by him relayed to the city of Mexico. The plan for dismembering the United States 

and making President Carranza a. free gift of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona docs not appear in it. 

Whether this omission was the result of defective wireless work or has another explanation is not yet 

clear. 

We have reason to doubt that the Zimmermann telegram was sent by radio. When on~ 

examines the text of the message as given by Hendrick and compares it with the German text 

of the original Zimmermann telegram as published in the German hearings one sees immediately 

that this partially decoded text quoted by Hendrick is that of the original Zimmermann telegram 

as prepared in Code 7500 and transmitted via Stat<-' Department channels. The "give away" 

is contained in the opening sentence to the rnessnge: "1fost secret; for Your Excellency's personnl information an<l to bo lumded on to the Imperi11l 11inister * * * " This forms the 

preamble to the actunl Zimmonnann telegram as it left the German Foreign Office. It is naturally not contained in the version which Bcrnstorff sent to von Eckhardt in German Code 13040 

and which the British obtained in Mexico. The lacu1111e in the first solution obtained by the 

British are there because the British had only partially succeeded in reconstructing Code 7500. 

Hendrick, specifically calling attention to the omission of the plan for dismembering the United 

States and making President Carranza a gift of Texas, New Mc.xico, and Arizona, raises the 

question as to whether this omission was the result of defective wireless work or has another 

explanation. Does he wish us to infer that Bornstorff added this interesting feature to tho 

message'? How absurd! 

The real explnnation is cryptographic in nature. Such names as Texas, New Mexico, and 

Arizona would not be included in making up a small code like 7500. In fact, the name of only 

one of these States-Texas-is included in the much larger code 13040. These names, if they 

occurred in a message, would have to be bliilt up syllable by syllable by the use of several code 

groups; and unless these code groups were used frequently in other messages a cryptanalyst 

who was solving the messages by analysis would have no way of establishing the meaning of 

these groups in the Zimmermann telegram. Code 13040, as has been pointed out, retained· 

decided traces of its original alphabetical arrangement, and had, moreover, been in use for a 

long time. Code 7500, on the other hand, had no trace of alphabetical arrangement, and had 

been used between Berlin and Washington for a short time only. It had been brought to America 

(cf. note 47) by the submarine Deutschland on either July 9 or November 1, 1916, and the earliest 

7500 message which the present authors have been able to find is dated November 16. In these 

circumstances the British reconstruction of 7500 had not reached the point where it wus equal to 

the complete decipherment of tho Zimmermann telegr11m. \Vhen, however, the 13040 version 

was obtained, the entire message was read without difficulty. 

When all is said and. done, the decipherment of the 7500 version of ~ho Zimmermann telegram, even to the degree given in the Hendrick version, approaches the unbelievable. This 

statement is not to be understood as in any way questioning tho skill of the British cryptographers. With the greatest skill in the world, however, cryptography is a science nssisted by 

nrt, an<l is not in any sense clairvoy1mcc. There arc only about a doz<'n 7500 messages in the 

American files. If we assume that the British had twice tluit number to work with their feat 

remains astonishing; for it must always be kept in view that 7500 is a code in which one identification gives no alphabetical clue whatever to another, and that this complete absence of 

alphabetization likewise makes it impossible in many cases, even where the gcmernl meaning of 

a code group is apparent, to choose among n numher of synonyms nny one of which will fit 

equally well. A lacuna of five or six code groups, not to mention longer ones, renders decipherI 

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mcnt not nrnrc1y cxt.rcmclydifficnlt, but litcrnlly impossible, for the simple reason thu.t there are 

nn inflnil.o numhor of wnys in which such n. ln.cuna may bo filled. 

It mny ho tJ1at Codo 7500 wns in uso by tlio Germn.ns for other traffic thnn the Germ11nAmericn.n, nnd thnt tho British, as a consequence, h11<1 ncccss to a vm-y large numhcr of messages. 

Tho employment of 11 code in different parts of the world is not unknown in German practice; 

we know that Codes 13040 and 18470 wcro so used. In this way tho British may have made 

considcrnblc progress in tho sohition of tho code before the Zimmermann telegram was scnt.49" 

Nevertheless, the infomrn.tion which tho British obtained from this partio.lly solved message 

wns nppn.rcntly clenr enough nnd of sufliciont importance to·wnrrnnt their disclosing it to tho 

American Govcrnnrnnt at once-if they wished to. Still, they did not do so. V\11y? Why did 

they woit from the. middle of January until February 24? One astute student 0 raises the 

pertinent question n.s to the motives of the British in handing Ambn.ssador Page a month-old 

tclcgru.m: 

Them is no doubt thnt Pm~idcnt \Vil:mn wns profoundly shocked by this revelation or the fact that 

one could not. go to war with Germany without hnving the Gcrmnns fight hnck. It dici not even occur 

to him to question the authenticity of the documcut or the motive for the production of a month-old 

tclcgmm at just that momcnt.31 At once the President cabled back his thanks for "information of 

snch inestimable value" and his "very great appreciation of so marked an act of friendliness on the 

part of the British Government." No suspicions crossed his mind. The cable arrived on Saturday 

evening. It was some time on Sunday that President Wilson abruptly concluded that an appeal to 

Congress for authority at least to arm American merchant ships was unavoidable. On Monday he 

went again before the joint Houses of Congress. '.'Since," he told them, "it has unhappily proved 

impossible to safeguard our neutral rights by diplomatic means * * * there may be no recourse 

but to armed neutrality." 

Millis is, of course, quite correct in sto.ting that "It did not even occur to him to question 

tho 11.uthcntieit.y of tho document * "' "' " Tho evidence on this point, based on a study 

not only of J_,nnsing's Memoirs 62 hut also of tho communications which .wore exchnngod between 

Lansing and i~nge before the text of the Zimmermann telegram was made public, on March 1, 

1917, is most .conclusive. 

Let us briefly review the chronology of the case: 

January 16, 1917: The telegram is transmitted in Code 7500 (via State Department chan-

. nels) from the Germon Foreign Office in Berlin to Bernstorff in Washington and is to be forwarded by Bernstorff to the German Minister in Mexico City. On January 17 it is received 

by the State Department, und on the 18th it is delivered to Bernstorff. (Lansing, p. 227.) 

January 19: Bernstorff forwards the messo.ge to Mexico in Code 13040.53 

"• FO:il!ng some such explanntlon tl1e whole situation calls to mind a Wnr-tlmo Incident that occurred In the American MllJtnry Intelllgenoe 

Code nnd Cipher Section (M. I. 8). Those entrusted with tbo dociphennent or cryptographic documents or one country in that section usually 

kept their own counsel and did not communicate overmuch with thoso who were busy with tho messages of another country. One day It was 

learned that a certain group was rending messages In a code that hnd been a scaled book a day or so before. Later It was definitely ascertained 

that a copy or tho code Inn "omcwhat different enclphormcnt hnd been procured from outside. At the timo of the lent this was surmised by some 

of those not In the secret, and ono cryptographer In discussing tho situntiou snld emphatically, "They're not doing any miracles around be.re." 

"Millis, Walter, Road to War: America 1914-1917, New York, 1935, pp. 403-404. 

"Mi11is' footnote: Mr. Balfour, It ls true, had been careful to tell Page that the telegram had only just been reeelved. Actually, If one may 

bdlie\·e Mr. Page's biographer, the British lntclligcnco service had intercepted and deciphered the document oven before lt bad reached Mexico 

City, and bad been holding It since then for the time when It would have tho maximum ofToct. 

u Op. Cit., p, 227: "About ten o'clock [morning or February 27, 1917] Polk camo Into', my office and we talked over the substance or the telegram. Ile told mo that on its nrrlvnl {8:30 p. m., Saturday, February 24; appnrently lt was not decoded and handed to Polk untll Monday, Feb· 

ruary 26] be had at once taken it to the President, who had shown much indiwnatlon nnd was disposed to mnke the text public without delay. Polk 

advised him to await my return, which he had a~reed to do." • • • (p. 228). "I told tho President that I thought It would be unwise for the 

Department to give out tho telegram officlnlly at this time as it would he charged that it was done to Influence opinion on the bill Cor arming merchr.nt vessels, but I thought It might indirectly be made public alter we had confirmed the sending or the message by Bernstortr. To this the 

President agreed." 

" This date is rertnin from the copy of the telegram. Dcrnstorf! says (p, aeo) that "tho" Zimmermann telegrnrn passed through the Embnssy 

at Washington on tho same day on which I rceeived tho notification that the unrestricted U·boat war was to be declared"; and In another place 

(p. 358) be says: "On the 19th or 1aimary I received the offlclal notlce that the unrestricted U-bont campaign would begin on February lst • • •." 

or course, Bemstorff's phrase "passed through" Is ambiguous, and does not categorically say the messnge was forwarded on tho very day It was 

received-It may only have been started on lts way, for It required rooncodlng, and that would take some time. 

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February 24: Ambassador Page cables the President and the Secretary of State the English 

text of the message as received by him in London from Balfour. The message is received at 

8:30 p. m. on that date. 

February 27: In Lansing's absence, Polk brings the message to the attention of the President, who wishes to publish it at once, but is persuaded by Polk to await Lansing's i;eturn. 

Februnry 28: (1) Polk obtains a copy of the original message filed by Bcmstorff at Wushington to the Germun Minit:1tcr in Mexico City. 'l'hc code text wits not cabled to London for 

vorifictttion but the texts of throe other code messages sent by Bcrnstorff to German Legations 

in South America (apparently obtained from tho Washington telegraph office at the smne time 

the copy of the Zimmennann telegram was obtained) were sent for decipherment. The message 

forwnrding these texts lrns already been quoted (p. 16). 

(2) Lansing communicates a paraphrased version of the text of the Zimmerma.nn telegram 

to the Associated Press at 6 p. m., for release after 10 p. m. 

March 1: (1) The English text is published in the morning papers in the United States 

and the message is discussed in Congress, where doubts are expressed as to its authenticity.53a 

(2) Lansing cables Page, in telegram No. 4494, at 8 p. m., as follows: 64 

WASHINGTON, March 1, 1917-8 p. m. 

4494. Some members of Congress are attempting to discredit Zimmermann message charging 

that message was furnished to this Government by one qf the belligerents. This Government has 

not the slightest doubt as to its authenticity, but it would be of the greatest service if the British 

Government would permit you or someone in the Embassy to personally decode the original message 

which we secured from the telegraph office in Washington and then cable to Department German 

text. Assure Mr. Balfour that the Department hesitated to make this request but feels that this 

course will materially strengthen its position and make it possible for the Department to state that it 

had secured the Zimmermann note from our own people. Matter most urgent and I hope you can 1 

give it your immediate attention. The text of code message secured from telegraph office here is as 

follows: 

[Here follows code message.) 

LANSING. 

(3) Page replied (11 p. m.) to Lansing's cable of February 281 referred to above, stating 65 

that, 

"The question of our having a copy of the code has been taken up, but "' "' "' I am told actual 

code would be of no use to us as it is never used straight, but with a great number of variations which 

are known to only one or two experts here .... 

March 2: (I) The telegram is published in the London papers (Hendrick, p. 324), which 

criticize the British Intelligence Service under the misapprehension that t.he decipherment has 

been made in America . 

.,. 'J'ho dobnto on this 11uostlon takes up 13 full pngos of tho Co11gresslo1111l Record (pp. 469~-1606), tUJd mukcs most lut<•rnstlug rnu<liug. 

'l'h<oro woro, or course, muny questions ns to how tho lotter, tolcRrnm, ruessu~o. note (It wns culled by vurJqus numcs) cnmo Into possession or 

the United Sta.tc:J, a:nd quc::itlous 119 to Who t·urnod it over to ouruutborJtlcs, und w/,at were the MctJua. IJcroo.rosomo cxccrptt:1 Crom Sena.tor Stonu's 

tGml'rkS (p. 41i~3): ' 

... • • '!'Ills nllogod loLtcr wns made public ror somo purpo.so. • • • I cannot 11nd wlll nut undcrtuko to s11y whnt thnt purpose wos rur· 

. thor thon to cx1irc.~s tho oplulon thut It wns glvun publicity to n/Ject either JIUbllo opinion or lcglslollvo opinion, or lmth, tu tho Uultod Stutc•. 

• • • Mr. l'ru~ldunt, l wont to know tbu f11cts 11bout this Mtor bororo being swept otr 111y foot, or ~m•Jn~ others s\\'<'l'l otr thdr lcot, by tl1ocli11uor 

or lingoes. • • • I um ustdng only to bo lnloruml, to bu odvlscd whothcr the lnforntutfou lu tho JlOSSOS>lun or our Stuto D<•Jlltrlllleut Wt\$ d,•rlvud 

lrom one of tho bolll~crcnt Oovornmo11ts. l!'or 01mm1ile, did this lnforu111tlon comO:from J.ondon? WuH It glvon to us by tllllt Oovcrumontt" II }<'HS, p. JM. 

" For compleLo text, see Pogo's cable of March 1, 1017 (p. 16 of this pnpor). 

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(2) Page, replying to L11nsing's telegram No. 4494, sto.tos: M "Your 4494 followed with 

absolutely satisfactory results," nnd follows this with o. long messa.ge: 

LONDON, March 2, 1917-4 p. m. 

(Received 10:45 p. m.] 

5789. My 5784 of today. Ilell took the ·cipher text of the German message contained in your 

4494 of yesterday to the Admiralty and there, himself, deciphered it from th.c German code which 

is in the Admiralty's possession. The first group, 130, indicates BernstorfT'11 number of telegram. 

The second group, 13042, indicates the code to be used in deciphering the cipher tclcgrnm. From 

the third group onwards, message rends as follows: 

Auswacrtigcs Amt tclegrnphicrt Januar 16: No. 1. Ganz gchcim sclbst zu cntziO'ern. Wir 

beabsichtigcn am ersten Fcbruar uncingeschraenkt U-Boot Krieg zu beginnen. Es wird vcrsucht 

werdcn Vcrcinigt(') Stan.ten von Amerika trotzdem neutral zu erhalten. Fucr den Fall <lass dies nicht 

gelingen sollte, schlagen wir Mexico auf folgend Grundlage Buendnis vor. Gemeinsam Krieg fuehren, 

Fricdcnschluss. Reiehlich finanziell Unterstuetzung und Einverstaendnis unsererseits dass Mexico, 

in Texas, Neu Mexico, Arizona frueher verloren Gebiet. zurueck erobern. Regclung im einzelnen 

Eucr Hochwohlgeborcnc uebcrlassen. Sie wollcn vorstchendes dem Pmesident strong gcheim erocffnen, sobald Kricgsausbruch mit Vereinigtcn Stnaten feststeht und Anregung hinzufuegen Japan von 

sich aus zu sofortig Beitrn.chtung [Bcitratung?J einzuladen und gleichzeitig zwischen uns und Japan 

zu vcrmitteln. Bitte den Praesident darauf hinweiscn, dass ruecksich~lose Anwendung unserer UBootc jctzt Aussicht bictct, England in wcnigen Monaten zum Frieden zu zwingen. Empfang bestneU1~cn. Zimmermann. 

P1111ct1111tio1111 nro given as ln German text. I am sending decode into German, group by group, 

by tomorrow's pouch. 

PAGE. 

March 3: Zimmermann o.cknowledges the o.uthenticity of the telegram.67 

This chronology proves the accuracy of Millis' comment on the President's trustful nature, 

for thus far the chronology shows that the President caused the text of the Zimmermann telegro.m 

to be given to the press before steps were to.ken to authentico.te it. In passing, we may note, 

however, that the Secretary of Stnte was a bit troubled by the question of authenticity: 

The next morning [Friday, March 2] Polk brought me a brief telegram from Page saying our 

copy of the [Zimmerm11.nn] cipher message obtained from the telegraph company had been received, 

t.Jmt instructions had been followed with success, and that text of deciphered message would follow. 

While I had never doubted the authenticity of the translation sent, this corroboration by our own 

people was a relief.68 

Returning again to Millis, and especially his footnote raising the question o.s to British 

motives in producing n. month-old te]egram, we find comment on this important matter of delay 

in a work of o.uthentic nature, as mo.y be seen in the following quotation to.ken from Blanche 

Dugdn.le's biogro.phy 59 of her uncle, Arthur Bn.lfour: 

Ever since the middle of January, however, a piece of information had been in the possession of 

the British Government, which would move, if anything could, tho vast populations behind the Atlantic seaboard States, who still read of the European War with as much detachment as if it had been 

raging in the moon. This was the famous telegram from Zimmermann, the German Foreign Minister, 

to the German Minister in Mexico, instructing him, if and when the United States should enter "the 

war on the Allied side, to propose to Mexico an alliance which would restore to her, when peace came, 

her "lost territories in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico." 'i 

The method by which this information had reached the British Intelligence Service made it 

impossible for some time to communicate it to the United States Government. Therefore for over a 

· oo FRS, p. 158. Tile Zimmermann telegram as It appears in FRS contains some errors which we have not corrected. For example, the word 

Beitrachtunu Is followed by Beitratung in brackets with a query. or course, neither is an authent.!c word. For the correct rendering see "Version 

II" on page 25. Incidentally, Bell's consultation or the code book certainly showed him that the statement that the code "Is never used straight" 

(cf, p. 16) was not true. Either be did not inform Page or this fact, or Page failed to mention It. 

11 New York Times Current Hlalorv, vol. XI, pp. 66, 236. 

" !.ansing's Memoirs, p. 229, 

1t Dugdale, Blanche, E. C., Arthur Jamu BalfOIJr, 1006-1930, New York, 1937, pp. 137-138 • 

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month Dalfour read in his despatches from Washington of the slow wakening of the American will to 

war, but could do ~othing to hasten the process. Till-at last-information about the Mexican 

plot reached London through channels which enabled the Intelligence Service to cover up the traces 

of how it had first been got. 

Joy was unbounded in Whitehall, and the Foreign Secretary himself was unusually excited. "As 

dramatic a moment as I remember in all my life," he once said, referring to the scene in his room at 

tho Foreign Office on Fobnmry 24, 1917, when ho handed to tho American AmbaHllitdor tho sheet of 

paper eonlululng the dt:codcd · 111c8Bagc. By tlw ceremony of thi1:1 net the BriUtth Government gnve 

ittl pledge tlmt tho commuuication wuB authoutic, · Noverthclcs1:1 tho American Nutiou not unrmtumlly 

took a little while to 1:1uti1:1fy itl:lclf that tho tolcgnun wus not part of some giguntic hotLX. It might 

have taken longer, had not the German Foreign Office, within a few days of the publication, admitted 

the message to be genuine. 

Note the very significant remark: "The method by which this information had reached 

the British Intelligence Service made it impossible for some time to communicate it to the 

United States Government. * * * Till-at last-information about the Mexican plot 

reached London through channels which enabled the Intelligence Service to cover up the traces 

of how it had first been got." 

We cannot suppose that the British Government was merely desirous of hiding from the 

United States Government the fact that its Intelligence Service was able to decode German 

code messages, and that this was the reason for the delay. Their action in providing a decode 

of the Zimmermann telegram as sent by Bernstorff to von Eckhardt negatives that hypothesis. 

The reason for the delay must have involved a much more important secret than that, or at 

least there must have been other, more weighty considerations. 

Moreover, whenever it is found that there is much beating around the bush in making 

an explanation, there is room for wondering whether there is not something in a situation not 

apparent on the surface. For instance, let us note how Admiral Hall attempts to evade the 

answer. In November 1925 the World's Work published Hendrick's article on the Zimmermann telegram. In the April 1926 issue of this magazine 60 appears an interesting editorial 

comment on the story, from which the following is extracted: 

It was only natural that Mr. Hendrick's chapter on the real story of the seizure of the famous 

Zimmermann telegram, which appeared in the November issue, should have created a sensation in 

all countries which had a part in the war. 

* * * * * • * 

The London correspondents of the metropolitan American dailies reported that he [i. e., Admiral 

Hall] would say nothing, but a week after the World's Work printed the chapter of revelations the 

Daily Mail of London did manage to squeeze an interview out of him. 

* * * * * * * 

The British Admiralty, he explained, knew all the movements of the famous German submarines 

Deutschland and Bremen, and the British Government allowed German messages to be sent over 

British cables. What the Germnns did not know was that the British possessed the German secret 

code and deciphered every message as it was sent across~ . 

"This one thing sholl's the difference between tho British and Gorman ·mentality," ho rcmnrkcd. 

"I am sure, if the position had been reversed, the British would never have been so stupid as act to 

have suspected that the messages were beiug deciphered. If I had disclosed tho actunl wording of 

the Zimmermann telegram the Germnns would have suspected something at once. I had to wait until 

we got a copy of the telegram actually sent, which was differently worded from the one from Berlin. 

"It was Bernstorff's telegram that I exposed. The Germans actually thought that there had 

been a leakage between Bernstorff and Mexico, which was what I wanted. Right until the end of 

the war I do not think that the Germans suspected that we knew as much as we did of their intelligence 

service." 

• Pp, 67&-579. 

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Here we have, presumably, Admiral Hall's explanation for the delay in communicating 

the contents of the Zimmermann telegram to the United States Government. He says: "If I 

had disclosed the actual wording of the Zimmermann telegram the Germans would have suspected somctbin.-r nt once. I hnd to wo.it until we got a copy. of the telegram actually sent, 

which was differ~ntly worded from the one from Berlin." To put it charitably, this is hardly 

an ndcquato statement, ns can be seen by compn.ring tho text of the telegram as sent from 

Berlin to Washington (as cited in the official German documents) with that sent from Washington to .Mexico City (the .latter being: the ,pne that the British furnished Page) 0011 : 

VERSION I 

Tclcgrnmm Nr. 158 .· 

Gn.nz gehcim 

Zu Euerer Exzellenz ausschlieszlich persoen1ichen Information und \Veitergabe an Kaiserlichen Gesn.ndten Mexiko auf sicherem Wege: 

"Telegram Nr. 1 Ganz gcheim Selbst entziffern. 

Wir beabsichtigen, am 1. Februar uneingesclm1enkten U-Boot-Krieg zu beginnen. Es 

wird versucht werden, Amerika trotzdem neutrnl zu erhalten. 

Fuer den Fall, class dies nicht gelingcn sollte, 

schlngen wir .Mexiko auf folgender Grundlage 

Buendnis vor: Gemeinsnme Kriegfuehrung. Gemeinsamer Friedensschluss. Reichliche finanzielle Unterstuetzung und Einverstaendnis unsererseits dass Mexiko in Texas, Neu-Mexiko, . ' 

Arizona frueher verlorenes Gebiet zurueckerobert. Rogelung im einzelnen Euer Hochwohlgeborcn ucberlassen. 

Euer Hochwohlgcboren wollen vorstehendes 

Praesidenten streng geheim eroeffnen, sobald 

Kriegsausbruch mit Vereinigten Staaten feststeht, und Anregung hinzufuegcn, Japan von 

sich aus zu sofortigem Beitritt einzuladen und 

gleichzeitig zwischcn uns U:nd Japan zu vermitteln· . 

Bitto Praesidenten darauf hinzuweiscn, <lass 

ruecksichtslose Anwendung unserer U-Boote 

jetzt Aussicht bietet, England in wenigen Monaten zum Frieden zu zwingen. 

Empfang bestaetigen. 

ZIMMERMANN" 

VERSION II 

Auswaertiges Amt telegraphiert Januar 16: 

No. 1. Ganz geheim selbst zu cntziffern. Wir 

beabsichtigen am ersten Februar uneingeschraenkt U-Boot Krieg zu beginnen. Es wird 

versucht werden Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika trotzdem neutral zu erhalten. Fuer den 

Fall dass dies nicht gelingen sollte schlagen wir 

Mexico auf folgcnd Grundlage Buendnis vor; 

Gemeinsam Krieg fuehren. Friedenschluss. 

Reichlich finanzielle Unterstuetzung und Einverstaendnis unsererseits class .Mexico in Texas, 

New Mexico, Arizona frueher verlorenes Gebiet 

~urueck erobert. Regelung im einzelnen Euer 

Hochwohlgeboren ueberlassen. Sie wollen vorstehendes dem Praesiclenten strong geheim eroeffnen sobald Kriegnusbruch mit Vereinigten ' . Stan.ten feststeht und Anregung hinzufuegen 

Japan von sich aus zu sofortiger Betrachtung 

einzuladen und gleichzeitig zwischen uns und 

Jn.pan zu vermitteln. Bitte den Praesidenten 

darauf hinweisen, <lass ruecksichtenlose An· 

wendung unserer U-Boote jetzt Aussicht bietet, 

England in wenigen .Monaten zum Frieden zu 

zwingen. Empfang bestaetigen. Schluss der 

Depesche. Zimmermann. 

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No, that is not the reason for the delay. Probably the reader has already guessed the reason 

or; rather, the reasons, for undoubtedly there were several. To our mind they may be listed 

as follows: 

1. To disclose the Berlin-Washington version of the Zimmermann telegram, which it will be 

recalled was sent via State Department channels, would have necessitated revealing the fact 

that the British Intelligence Service was intercepting and solving not only Germ11n code messages 

but also intercepting and perhaps solving diplomatic messages of the American Government-a 

power whose aid they were desperately seeking at the time. 

2. Even had the foregoing not served as a powerful argument against a prompt disclosure of 

the message, the fact that the solution presented several lacunae and doubtful spots would have 

detracted a great deal from the diplomatic and military value of the document. Undoubtedly, 

frantic efforts were made by the British cryptographers to fill in the lacunae-but the solution 

of a code of the two-part type, such as Code 7500, is aJways a slow, difficult process unless there 

is a large volume of text on which to corroborate hypotheses. This requisite volume was lacking., 

Proof that the British had not succeeded in reading entire messages in Code 7500 is neatly shown 

by the phrase "at that time" (referring to January 16, 1917, the date of the Zimmermann telegram) in the Bell to Harrison cablegram of September 17, 1917, quoted above on page 11. 

Of course, the British might have furnished the translation of the version which, according to Bell's cablegram of September 17, 1917, was sent via Swedish channels. But we have, 

in the same cablegram, Bell's statement that "it went in a code which the British had at that 

time only partly succeeded in deciphering and of which Eckhardt had no copy." In all probability the code used for the message transmitted via Swedish channels was Code 7500. Possibly it wns some other code. The sending of a message in more than one code is iL capital 

crime in cryptography. True, it was a crime that we know the Germans to have committed, but 

in the present case every reason for supposing such a transgression, whether by accident or 

design, is lacking. Even if, by some remote chance, the telegram was sent from Berlin in some 

other code, th:it code was certainly not 13040, and hence this point is immaterial. The fact 

remains that the British could not offer iL partly solved message of such vital importance 

regardless of which version was available. 

3. In a note dated April 18, 1916, following the sinking of the American vessel Sussex, the 

American Government had presented an ultimatum to the German Government couched in 

the following unmistakable language:61 

If it is still the purpose of the Imperial Government to prosecute an indiscriminate warfare against 

vessels of commerce by the use of submarines without regard to what the Government of the United 

States must consider the sacred and indisputable rules of international law and the universally recognized 

dictates of humanity, the Government of the United States is at last forced to the conclusion that there 

is but one course to pursue. Unless the Imperial Government should now iuuncdiatclv drclare nud 

effect an abandonment of its present methods of submarine warfare against pnssenge~ nnd frcightcarrying vessels, the Government of the United States can have no choice but to se,·er diplomatic relations with the German Empire altogether. This action the Government of the United States contemplates with the greatest reluctance, but feels constrained to take in behalf of humanity and the 

rights of neutral nations. 

On January 9, 1917, Kaiser Wilhelm held a council at Pless, at which the irrevocnblc decision was taken to stake everything on another trial of unrestricted submarine warfare, to commence on February I. . On January 16, Bernstorff was notified of this decision (in telegram No. 

II FRS, p. 106. 

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157) but wns directed uot to inform tl10 Americnn Government until the evening of J11nunry 

31. Bernstorff's words n.re inte.rcsting: 62 

On .forrnn.ry 31~t, nt r; o'clock in tho nfkmoon, I h!mrled Mr. J,n.rrning the oflicinl cornmunicntion 

nlm11L t.lw lJ-hoiit wnr. 'J'h.IH w11.H my 111.1.t, }loliLiiml i11terview In Arnmir!n, Wo hoih knr!w ihrLt tlrc end 

hn1l come, bnt wn 1lid 1101; nilmit the fact to c11ch 01.lter. The Sccrdr1ry of St11te corrterrtcrl hin1~clf with 

rcplyi11p: Urnt he would submit my comm1mien.tio11 to the President. I cherished no illtrnions regarding 

the expected outcome of this interview, for the 11ltirnnt11m of April 18, 1916, no longer allowed of any 

chance of prevcnt.inl~ the rupture of diplomntic relations. 

If on Jn.nun1·y 31 this news come 11s n. profound shock to President Wilson, who wns then 

cngngcd in his second nnd most promising nttempt town.rd mediation, it could hardly havo 

tn.ken the British unawares, for they must have had definite knowledge of the Pless decision from 

nt least two sources: One wns undoubtedly their pnrtin.l solution of telegram 157, in which 

Bernstorff wns instructed to inform the Amcricn.n Government of the reopening of unrestricted 

snbmnrine wnrfore; tho other wns their solution of the Zimmermann telegram of January 19, 

which we lrnvo seen wns telegram 158, and was tucked on to telegrnm 157. (See p. 15.) 

Consequently, the British must have felt quite sure as early as the, third weelc of January 1917, that 

the United States w011lcl soon join the Allies, if our ultimatum of April 18, 1916, meant anything at 

all. 63 All they now had to do wn.s to hold on for a few <lo.ys or weeks longer and the United States 

would be on their sido. Sure enough, on Februnry 3, diplomo.tic relations between the United 

Stntes and Germany were sovcrod.61 But as tho weeks wont by there was no declaration of war, 

for tho President, in nn nddrcss to Congress on Fobruu.ry 3, statc<l: 66 

Notwithstanding this unexpected action of the German Government, this sudden and deeply 

deplorable renunciation of its assurances given this Government at one of the most critical moments 

of tension in the relations of the two Governments, I refuse to believe that it is the intention of the 

German authorities to do in fact what they have warned us they will feel at liberty to do. I cannot 

briBg myself to believe that they will indeed pay no regard to the ancient friendship between their people 

and our own or to the solemn obligations which have been exchanged between them and destroy 

American ships and take the Jives of American cith:ens in the willful prosecution of the ruthless naval 

programme they have announced their intention to adopt. Only actual overt acts on their part can 

muke me believe it even ·now. 

How much this waiting for some "actual overt acts" must have irked the British mny be 

imagined if they irritated Page sufficiently to make him write: 66 

The danger i~ that with all the authority he wants (short of a formal declaration of war) the 

President will again w:i.it, wait, waitr-till an American liner be torpedoed! Or till an attack is made 

on our coast by a German submarine! 

Something had to be done to stir up the President. and the people of the hinterland beyond 

the Mississippi. 

In the country at large the situation, as Spring Rice reported that day, was "much that of a sodawater bottle with the wires cut but the cork unexploded." The failure of shipping to sail had produced 

"a stoppage of trade, a congestion in the ports, widespread discomfort and even misery on the coast 

and inland, even bread riots and a coal famine." All this, nevertheless, was not "spectacular enough;" 

the West was still against war and the President was still fighting for peace. 1 But on Saturday, the 

24th, the British themselves were able to supply something "spectacular." Mr. Balfour deftly gave 

the unexploded cork a push.67 

•• P. 379. 

11 Even DcrnstorlT, immediately on receipt a( telegraph 157, replied (German Hearings, p. 1021): "War unavoidable II we proceed es contem· 

plntcd." A few dnys later, In his despernte attempts to stove oft n rupture In diplomatic relations, he cabled the Foreign Office agnln (German 

Hearings, p: 1047): "If the U-boat war Is commenced forthwith the President will look upon this as a slap In the face, and war with the United 

States will be nnn,·oldablc." Bernstorff's tcleb'Tllms to the Foreign Office are most Interesting, No one who reads them can remain unconvinced 

of his absolutely sincere desire for peace between the United States and Germany. 

" FRS, p. !Of>. . ; 

" FRS, p. 111. 

0& Hendrick, pp. 324.:.32.';, quoting from Page's diary • 

II MIUla, op. cU .. p. 403. 

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The "push" was, of course, the communication to Page of the contents of the Zimmermann 

telegram. By this time the British Intelligence Service liad the full text, which had been "bought 

.in Mexico," and they must have felt that the time had come to make the most of their opportunity. They were not wrong. . 

But Mr. Polk at the State Department knew of the waiting bombshell so kindly supplied by Mr. 

Balfour. The Zimmermann telegram, he believed, would produce a blast of popular emotion that 

would sweep the armed ship bill through against everything. So did Colonel House, who had now seen 

the text, and who was urging the President to "publish it tomorrow." So, no doubt, did the Presidcntto whom it must have been plain enough that the first effect of Senator La Follettc's pacifism would be 

to deliver Mr. Wilson himself into the hands of the intrnnsigeants. On Thursday, March 11 the headlines were shouting from_ the morning papers: 

GERMANY SEEKS AN ALLIANCE AGAINST US; 

ASKS JAPAN AND MEXICO TO JOIN HER; 

:FULL TEXT OF PROPOSALS MADE PUBLIC 

It was a stupendous sensation. The ltcadlincs, it is to be observed, were not always precisely 

accurate. Germany had not actually sought au alliance as yet; the text of the telegram expressly 

.instructed the Minister in Mexico to initiate the move only in the event that the United States should 

declare war, which the German Government would itself endeavour to prevent. It was not a proposiil 

for an aggression against the United States, but merely a conventional, though rather blundering, 

diplomatic preparation against a probable American attack upon Germa11y. This, however, was far 

too fine a point for the hot passions of the moment; and the telegrnm was everywhere seized upon as 

final proof of the complete and fathomless treachery of the German. 

What made it partienlarly shocking, of course, was the suggestion that the Japanese (with whom 

we were about to beco1i10 allied) should be invited into the American Continent, or that the principle 

upon which many Americans had dcmaudcd the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine (because they had been 

acquired by force) should be applied to California and Texas, which we had forcibly detached from 

l\foxico. Informed Americans understood perfectly well that the Allies had bribed Japan, Italy, and 

Rum::mia into the war with the promise of slices from the enemy carcass; but they were sincerely and 

profoundly horrified by the thought that Germany could be sci base as to bribe Mexico and Japan with 

the promise of slices from the flanks of the United States. The Zimmermann telegram became a major 

German disaster. Not its least useful aspect, moreover, was the fact that it gave the Northeastern 

fire-eaters their first direct lever upon the pacific sentiment of the Southwest. If a Gernrnu triumph 

threateucd the annexation of California. and Texas to Mexico-! The German Foreign Secretary's 

innoceut cablegram had exploded with its maximum effect at precisely the point where it would do the 

Allies the greatest good.&7a 

It is interesting to note, incidenta.lly, that Millis mistakenly speaks of the projected restoration to Mexico of "California and Texn.s. 11 The Zimmermann telegram makes no mention of 

California, but s11ys that Mexico Wtts to "reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New :Mexico 

and Arizon11. 11 Is it possible that the Germ11ns were reserving California as bnit for Jnpnn? 

If what Millis says is valid, if the facts which we have presented in the foregoing pages 

reolly constituted the motives which caused the British to withhold from the United States 

Government so weighty a secret as was contained in the Zinimermnnn tefegrmn, we can take a 

ehnritable view and say that the circumstances justified their course of nction. Certninly we 

must give them credit for knowing when to play their cryptogrn.phic trump cards. '~Thich brings 

us to the u.dditionitl compliment thitt. they not only knew when to play n. trump cnnl, but nlso 

how. Note the dextrous rruumer in which they got the maximum benefit from the plny 11rithout 

disclo~ring to their ndversn.ry whore or how they hn.cl obtained the trump! Not only that, but in 

order to make sure tliat the source of their information should not be disclosed, thoy even took 

pains to insure that so for us the world outsi(le was concerned, the cretlit for excellent intelligence 

work sl10ul<l go to another country-the United States! And to 1,lo tlin.t, they were not content 

to let nuturul inference t11ke its course, but contrived with the help of British newspapers to 

•'•Millis, W. C. 

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throw bbme on their own intclligenco servico for letting those mero novices in intelligence work.-

the Americnns-ben.t them at n. gn.mc in which they themselves (i. c., the British) were gcncrnlly 

supposed to be preeminent! For in the interview alren.cly referred to (p. 24) Admiral Hall said: 

Of course; our wliole oqjcct wns to prevent the Gcrmnns from giving us very much credit for i11tel- · 

ligence. When President Wilson published the famous Zimmermann telegrnm containing the German 

overtures to Mexico, I was very anxious that there should be no suspicion in the German mind that we 

had anything to do with it. 

It was then that the Daily l'vfail, at my request, published a stinging leader passing severe reflections 

on the British Intelligence Service. 

In a letter dated Decembor 1, 1927, addressed to the secretary of the Edinburgh Philosophical 

Institution, giving his regrets for not being able to be present at the meeting on December 13, 

already referred to, Lord Balfour, Wartime Foreign Minister of the British Government said: 63 

* * * To" Tioom 40," where he (i. c. Ewing] wn.s the lending spirit, the conn try owes an immense 

debt of gratitude-a debt which, at the time at least, could never be paid. Secrecy wus of the very 

essence of the work, and never was secrecy more successfully observed. 

Only one link remains still to be found before the story of the Zimmermann telegram can be 

regarded as complete: tho originnl ve.rsion as filed in Berlin. As nlrcady indicated, diligent 

. search has foiled to locate it, and we fear that it is now too late. The State Department files in 

Washington, in Berlin, and in Copenhagen have been scoured, without success. There remains 

only one more place where it most certainly can still be assumed to be peacefully reposing: the 

World War files of the British "Room 40 0. B." 

In a letter 69 to President Wilson, dated March 17, 1918, Ambassador Page, referring to 

Admiral Hall, wrote as follows: 

* * * Han is one genius that the war has developed. Neither in fiction nor in fact can you 

find any such man to match him. * * * He lock's up oerta'i~1 documents "not to be opened till 

20 years after this date." I've made up my mind to live 20 years more. I shall be present at the 

opening of that safe * * *. 

Tl10 "20 years" n.re up. Admirnl HnU is now o. retired officer, but he still hn.s the papers, 

if we 1uc to believe the statements contnincd in a book by n. recent author.70 Relating tho details 

of the efforts on the part of the representatives of certain American claimants to establish the 

validity of their clnims, Landau tells how Mr. Amos J. Peaslee, leader of the American claimants, 

visited Admiral Hall on August 27, 1925, at Hall's London residence: 

* * * He found Hall in full sympathy with the American claimants, and so commendatory 

wiis Admiral Sims' s letter that he ended up their conference by saying: ''Copies of the decoded German 

cables are stored away 1n several tin boxes in the basement. I scaled up these boxes with instructions 

that they were not to be opened up for 20 years. You have caused me to change my mind, however. I 

will open up the boxes for you. Copy such of the cables as you think will be useful to you. Make 

yourself at home. The servants will look after you." His rapid and sweeping decision was typical of 

the man. Fortunately he was retired from the Navy and was, therefore, his own master. 

Hall topk Peaslee down to the basement, spread the cables before him, and took his leave to catch 

the tmin for Scotland. Pea.dee found over 10,000 cables, radio mesmges, and letters which Hall had 

intercepted and decoded. Twenty-six different codes had been used in sending these messages. 

Attached to the originale was a translation in clear, also the "recognition group," or number of the code 

used. 

So Admiral Hall can, if he will, tell the whole story. It will be interesting to see if he docs. 

The time for its tolling has arrived. Ambassador Page unfortunately did not live out the 20 

years as ·he promised himself to do, in order to be present when Admiral Hall finally opened his 

safe. The present authors are curious and anxious, too. ·Let the safe be opened 1. 

"Tbe (Edinburgh) Scotsman, Dec. 14, 1927. 

60 Hendrick, vol. III, p. 361. 

10 Landau, Capt. Henry. Th• Enem11 Within. O. P. Putnam's Sons, Now York, 1937, p. 166. 

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APPENDIX 1 ! ,. 

Exhibit 320.-AFFIDAVIT OF ADMIRAL SIR w. rrnGINALD HALL, K. c. M. G., c. B., D. c. L., L. L. D •• 

FORMERLY CHIEF OF THE INTELLIGENCE DEPAltTMENT OF THE BRITISH ADMIRALTY, 

VERIFIED DECEMBER 28, 1926, WITH ANNEXED COPIES OF GEilMAN CABLEGRAMS, WIRELESS AND OTHER MESSAGES INTERCEPTED :CY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT DURING THE 

WAR 

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, 

LONDON, ENGLAND, 

CONSULATE GENEUAL OF THE U. S. OF AMERICA l

ss: 

Admiral, Sir W. Reginald Hall, K. C. M. G., C. B., D. C. L., L. L. D., being duly sworn, deposes and saya: 

l. I reside at No. 63, Cadogan Gardens, London, and am at present a retired officer of the British Navy 

and am a member of the British Parliament. 

2. During the recent war with Germany and her Allies I was Director of the British Ntwal Intelligence 

Service for the entire period from October 1!}14, until the Armistice in November 1919. 

3. In that capacity it wus my duty and the duty of my staff to intercept and decipher, as far as possible, 

cable and wireless messages and other communications sent between German oJficials in Berlin and German 

officials at Embassies and Legations and elsewhere in various parts of the world. 

4. During the period from the commencement of the war in August 1914, until the Armistice in November 

1919, we intercepted a large number of such cable and wireless messages and other communications. This was 

done by tapping the cables over which the messuges were being sent, by picking up the wireless messages, and 

through the capture of written communications and documents in the post and in the possession of German 

officials aud agents who were apprehended by our authorities. 

5. Almost all of these communications, insofar as they were cablegrams and wireless messages, were sent 

in cipher, a number of different German ciphers being employed for that purpose. \Ve were able to read substantially all of the cipher messages which were intercepted, partially by reason of the fact that we succeeded in 

capturing from German submarines and other sources sorue of the original German cipher books, and partiully 

by reason of the fact that our cipher experts were able to decipher the German t•.iphcrs wherever, us was the 

case here, a large number of different messages in the same cipher werl:l available fur study and comparison, aml 

in many instances the same message was sc11t through different channelil iu two or irrn!·e different German ciphers. 

6. The annexed file of cablegrams and wireless mcssugmi 1.md dcsp1.itches marked ".Exhibit A," set forth 011 

pages numbered consecuti~cly from No. 2 to No. 2u7, nre true and correct deciphered copies of cablegrams and 

wireless messages and other despatches which were int.crccptcd and deciphered by the Intelligence Department 

of the British Admiralty through officers working under my immediate supervision. The work was considered 

of a most highly confidentisl character nnd I exercised the closest personal contact with all its· details. It was 

my sole duty and responsibility and I watched and checked the work with the greatest care to m:1kc certain that 

we were recording the true import nnd meaning of the German communic11tions. l\fony of the original German 

ciphers in which the communications were transmitted arc still in our possession. 

7. The numbers which appear in parentheses near the tops of some of the pagf)S on which the messages 

are copied (exhibit A) are numbers of a particular system of German cipher, which 'numbers usually appeared 

in the body of the cables or wireless communications themselves, and were known to us as the "recognition 

groups." For example, Nb. "(89734)" at page 2, No. "(5950)" at pages, 3, 5, G,,S, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, IS, 20, 

21, 22, 23, 28, 32, 37, 38, 39, 42, 45, 49, 53, 57, 58, G5, 68, 70, 72, No. "03040)" at pnges 7, 11, 13, lli, 2;3, 27, 29, 

30, 31, 33, 34., 85, 41, 43, 44, 50, 52, 54, lil, G2, G:l, C4, GC, GS, 71, No. "(OOG4)" nt 1rngl'S .lO, .17, SO, 11·1, 13'.?, 

No. "(G400)" at pages 48, 55, 5G, !;.fJ, No. "(OMO)" at pnge GO, No. "(9972)" nt pa~t~s lil, 73, 9:3, No. "(595·1)" 

at pnge 67, No. "V. B. 718" at paec 75, No. "S. 13." nt pnge 9.2, No. "(9S17ti)" at piigc 113, No. "(S7!JG2)" at 

page 113, and No. "(Hll 77)" at page 172, 11.ll refer to different German cipher systems. 

8. The word "Naucn," appearing at the tops of pn,ges 69, 76, 130, 135, 217, 223, 24.4, 245, itnd 259, of exhibit 

A, refers to the German wireless station located at Nt:.uen, Gennany, froln which many comnumie11.tions were 

despatched. Many of the other communications of which copies appear in exhibit A were also sent by wireless. 

The communications passing between Madrid and Berlin wen), prnctic::tlly in nll i11sta11ceg, by wireless. In 

(30) 

GONFID,ENTIA-L 

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making copies of some of the messn,ges, pnrticulnrly during the latter part of the war, and in cases where the 

snme cipher system wns bci11g employed in a series of messages, as, for example, a series of communications to 

\Vnshi11glon n.nd the wireless communications between Madrid and Berlin, the "recognition groups" were sometimes omitkd Crom our file copies. This ncco11nts for the absc11cc of cipher n11mbcm1 at pages 24, 2G, 52, 77, 78, ..... ..-

7\l, 82, 83, 87, 88, 80, \JO, \ll, 03, 01, !l8, 101, 105, 108, 110, 115, 121, 12~, 12G, 128, 131, to 171, inclusive, 173 to 

21G, incl11sive, 218 to 222, inclusive, 22,l to 213, incl111:1ivc, 216 to 25G,' inclusive, 2GO to 2G6, inclusive. The 

"recognition groups," however, appe11r in the original German cipher meRs11ges in every instance. The wireless 

messages which passed between l\·fodrid and Berlin were sent in almost every case in cipher No. "OOG4" or some 

combitmtions or modificntfons of t1mt Gcrmnn cipher system. 

0. The dates 11.ppcaring at the tops of the pages of exhibit A represent tho dates when the messages were 

intercepted, which were coincident with the elates of the sending of tho rpcssnges, although in a number of instnnces it will be noted thnt the mesmt~e which we picked up was one which wns bci11g relnyed from onr: point to 

unot.licr. In such cases the date will be the date of the rclny of the message, but not ncceimarily the date when it 

wns 11cnt·from its originnfpoint of origin. These dntes nre indiciitcd either by n complete statement of the month, 

<l:iy nnd ~·cnr, or by figures such ns "2G.G.1G.'', which mcnn1:1 the twenty-sixth <lny of June, lVHi. 

10. The ~ourccs nnd dcst.inn.t.ions of the cables nre indicated by the wor.cls "From" and "To." For example, 

on page 2 the words "From l\,•rlin'' me:in that the cable or wit·eleRs messnge was sent from Berlin. The signature 

indicates the name of the omcinl or dcpnrt.mcnt which sent the en.hie, wireless mcRsagc or communication, as 

such signataire wn.s nctually contained in the mcssnge. The words "To Wa~;hington" on page 2 mean that the 

mcssngc wn.s r,ent to the German Embassy in Washington. The communications between Berlin and America, 

insofor as we intercepted them, were limited almost exclusively to communications with the German Embassy. 

11. The letters nnd figmcs appearing at the tops of some of the pages in exhibit A, such as "B. No. 24" at 

pnge 2, "\V. ·146" n.t page 3, hnve reference to a particular series of German numbers as they appeared in the 

contents of the communications. "B" means a series of communications from Berlin; "W" means a series of 

communications from \V ashington. 

12. The message set forth at page 35 of exhibit A, numbered "B. No. 103," dated January 26, 1915, and 

signed "Representative of General Staff Zimmerman" was a message sent from Berlin to Washington by cable 

via the Swedish Foreign Office. It was intercepted by us en route to Washington. We considered this cable of 

particular importance n.t the time and we furnished a copy of it in the original cipher, together with the English 

translation of it, to the American Stn.te Department through the American Embassy in London. 

13. This message, it will be observed, was sent in cipher No. "(13040)." The German cipher book covering 

this system of ciphering is in our possession, it having been captured by the British authorities in the luggage of a 

German consul named Wasmuss who was stationed at Shiraz while Wasmuss was engaged in an endeavor to 

cut a British oil pipe line. 

14. These German communications were intcrccp~cd and deciphered by the British Admimlty through the 

same system which we employed in the interception and deciphering of the well-known "Zimmermann" cablegram of January lG, 1917, from Herr Zimmerman to Count von Ilcrnstorff for transmission to the German 

Legation in Mexico, advising it of the plan to commence unrestricted warfare and proposing an alliance with 

Mexico in the event that the United States shonld enter the war, which cablegram we called to the attention of 

the American State Department, and which was published by the United States Government, and which Herr 

Zimmermann in a statement made in the German Rcichstag admitted to be correct and authentic. Some further 

J1istory of thnt cablegram will be found in the third volume of "The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page" by 

Burton J. Hcn<lricks, at pages 331 to 364. 

l!i. The German cnlJlcs, wireless mclisttgcs and other commuuications set forth in exhibit A are a comparntivcly sm111l portion of a much larger collection of snch mes~:agcs which we intercepted dnring the war and which 

are still in om posRcssion. Owing to the pnrmnount importnnce of our hnvinf?; for the use of the llritish Navy tho 

information co11tnincd in the meRsngcs regarding the movement of German ships it wns imperative thnt wo should 

n.void if possible, disclosin:; to the Germans the fact thn.t we were reading their coznmunicntions to this extent. 

Hence it was impossible for us nt the time to mn.ke full usq of nil the information which was bcforo us. The 

American Amhnssador in J,omlon, Mr. Pn.~e, was in 011r constant confidence, however, rcgnrding the Gcrmn.n 

communicatio11s affecting America during the war, but it wns necessary for all of us to exercise the greatest 

caution regarding the messnges. 

16. As head of the British Nnval Intelligence I also had charge of the detention and examination of Captain 

Franz vein Papen, the former Military Attnche at Washington upon his arrival at Falmouth about the first of 

January, 1916. We took from Captain von Papen at that time a number of documents which were found upon 

his person n.nd among his luggage, and which in our judgment were being carried in violation of his rights under 

the safe conduct which he had been given. Copies of some of these papers were published at the British Government Stationery Office and presented to both Houses of Parliament as a "British White Paper," Misc. No. 6, 

CONFID,EN'TIAL ·r-, 
: ... 

'··.! 

·i:'·.·. ·' )• 

1 

.~- ·, 

' 

32 

1916, entitled: ''Selections From Papers Found in the Possession o,f Captain von Papen, Late German Military 

Attache at Washington, Falmouth, January 2 and 3, 1916." A photostatic copy of that British White Pa.per is 

attached to the exhibits in this case as exhibit No. 46. I personally saw at the time and examined the originals of 

these documents and know of my own knowledge that the documents of which copies appear in that British 

White Paper, of which exhibit No. 46 is a photostatic copy, a.re true, correct and authentic, including the records 

from Captain Von Pa.pen's check books. 

17. I also personally interrogated Horst von der Goltz at the time of his arrest by the British authorities. 

Von dcr Goltz was examined by the of[icials at Scotland Yard under my direction and at my request. He made 

certain amdu.vits before those oflicials of which copies arc set forth as exhibit 53 of the exhibits of this case. I 

have cxamiued this exhibit 53 and it accords with my recollection of the contents of the originnl nffiduvits though 

I have not examined recently those afiidavits which are presumably in the records at Scotland Yard uulcss they 

were sent to the American Government in Washington. 

18. I also had charge of the arrest and imprisonment of Franz von Rintelen by the British authorities. He 

was apprehended by us at Ramsgate on the steamer Noordam in August 1915, while he was apparently trying to 

return to Germany from the United States. He was traveling on a Swiss passport under the name of "Gasche." 

We put him in Donniugton Hall, which i1:1 the British prison for enemy officers and he remained there until 

shortly after the United States entered the war, when we sent him to America uuder guard at the rcquci;t of the 

American authorities and turued him over to the United States Government. 

(1:1d) \V. R. HALL. 

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33 

APPENDIX 2 

GROUP-BY-GROUP DECODEMENT OF THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM AS SENT BY AMBASSADOR 

HERNSTORl"F TO GERMAN MINISTER VON ECKHARDT IN MEXICO ON JANUARY 19, 1917 

130 Nr. 3 . f 1381) 1 stop 1sr,01 hinzufucgcn 

130J2 441:\8 gcmcil1sn111cn li22G2 .fopu.n 

l.'HOl Auswncrtigcs Amt 17149 }i'ricdcnAAChluss la10 VOii 

SiiOl tclcgrnphicrt 14471 stop 22019 sich 

115 vom 16t.cn Januar 6706 rcichlichc 13339 aus 

3528 colon 138(10 finnnzicllc 11205 zu 

41G Nr. 1 12224 Untcrstuctzung 22295 sofortigcr 

17214 Ganz geheim 6929 und 10439 Bcitrctung 

6491 Sclbst 14991 Ein vcrstaendnis 14814 cinladen 

11310 zu 7382 unsercrseits 4178 infinitive with zu 

18147 cntziffcrn 15857 dn.ss 6992 und 

18222 stop 67893 Mcxiko 8784 glcichzeitig 

21560 Wir 14218 in 7632 zwischen 

10247 beabsichtigen 36477 Texas 7357 uns 

11518 am 5870 comma 6926 und 

23677 ersten 17553 Neu 52262 Japan 

'13605 Fcbruar 67893 Mexiko 11267 zu 

3494 un 5870 comma 21100 vermitteln 

141)36 cingeschro.enkten 5454 Ar 21272 stop 

980()2 U-boot 16102 iz 9316 Bitto 

5()05 kricg 152.17 on 955{) den 

11311 zu 22801 a 22404 l1mcsiclcnton 

10392 beginncn 17138 fruchcr 15874 darnuf 

10371 stop 21001 vcrlorenes 18502 ·hinwciscn 

0302 Es wird 17388 Gebiet 18500 comma 

21290 versucht 7446 zurueck 15857 dass 

5161 werdcn 23638 erobert 2188 ruecksichtslose 

39G95 Vereinigte Staaten von 18222 stop 5376 Anwendung 

Amcrika 6719 Rcgclung 7381 ursercr 

23571 trotzdcm 14331 im 98092 U-boote 

17504 neutral 15021 cinzclnen 16127 jctzt 

11269 zu 23845 Euer Hochwohlgeboren 13486 Aussicht 

18276 erhaltcn 3156 ucbcrlassen 9350 bietct 

18101 stop .23552 stop 9220 comma0 

0317 Fucr den Fall 2209fi Sie 76036 England 

0228 <lass dies 21604 wollen 14219 in 

17694 nicht 4797 Vorstehendes 5144 wenigen 

4473 gelingen 9497 dem 2831 Monat 

22284 sollte 22464 Praesidenten 17920 en 

22200 stop 20855 streng 11347 zum 

19452 schlagen 4377 geheim 17142 Frieden 

21589 wir 23610 eroetfnen 11264 zu 

67893 Mexiko 18140 comma 7667 zwingen 

5569 auf 22260 so bald 7762 stop 

131)18 folgender 5905 Kriegs 15099 Empfang 

8598 Grundlage 13347 ausbruch 9110 _bestaetigen 

12137 Bucndnis 20420. mit 10482 stop 

1333 vor 39689 Vereinigten Staaten 97556 Zimmermann 

4725 stop 13732 fest 3569 stop 

4458 Gemeinsame 20667 steht 3670 Sohluss der Depesche 

5905 Kriegs 6929 und 

17166 fuehrung 6275 Anregung \ 

0 \ 
·~ 

; 

·-----------;r--

... ',.\ ..... ': .~ .. ";!"~_::),,.:;"ff~! l •;: I \o!f't Register Ng 

WAR DEPART:MENT 

l 

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER 

WASHINGTON 

THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM 

OF JANUARY 16, 1917 

AND ITS 

CRYPTOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND 

By 

WILLIAM F. FRIEDMAN 

Principal Cryptanalyst 

Signal Intelligence Service 

and 

CHARLES J. MENDELSOHN, Ph.D. 

Formerly Captain, M. I. D., G. S. 

Prepared under the direction or the 

CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFPICE 

WASHCNGTON: 1938 

\ 

~~~ 

31 -'.. Al~''" 
·'' 

-• 

. REF ID :A491080 . ".~·~ 

THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM OF JANUARY 16, 1917, AND ITS 

CRYPTOGRAPHIC. BACKGROUND 

Among the official cryptograms which have been intercepted and translated by governmental authorities other than those for whom they were intended, the most important of all 

time, either in war or peace, is undoubtedly the one deciphered'by the British Ne.val Intelligence 

whieh is known to historians as the Zimmermann telegram. In Gennan literat\ire it is referred to 

u '4~. M~x,:ico dispatch. This message, in cryptographic form, was sent on January 16, 1917, 

by ~~!t.f .Zimmermann, then German Minister of Foreign Affairs in Berlin, to Ambassador 

von Bernstorff, at Washington, to be forwarded to German Minister von Eckhardt at Mexico 

City.· It read, translated into English, as follows: 1 

We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor 

in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we 

make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, 

generous financial support and an undel'lltanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The settlement in detail ia left to you. You will inform 

the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of 

·America is certain and add the suggestion tlfat he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherencere.nd at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's 

attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now ofiet'B the prospect of compelling England in a few nionths to make peace. 

No account of the stirring episodes leading up to our entry into the World War can be 

eonaide.red complete without at least a reference to the one in which the Zimmermann telegram 

__... played the leading role. Even those who adhere to the theory that it was the bankers who 

· . · pushed 1iB into the conflict on the side of the Allies must mention it; while those who incline 

toward the theory that it was the German policy of "frightfulness" on sea and land which 

dragged us in against them give this message even more attention. Although today it would 

certainly be too much to say that this cryptogram, through its interception and solution by the 

British, a.nd its forwarding by them to President Wilson, was the direct means of bringing us into 

the war, nevertheless rne.ny an informed person whose memory goes be.ck to the exciting days 

when the contents of this sensational message were disclosed in the newspaP.ers of .March I, 

1917, would certainly say that had he been asked at that time he would have said a.t least that 

it was the straw which broke the camel's back. The importance of this incident is evidenced 

by the lengthy comments of prominent officials who were at that time in a position to judge 

it.s1 significanoo. The Secretary of State, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Colonel House, 

our Ambassador to Great Britain, and many others, give this telegram. a. prominent place in 

~eir writings on the World War. For example: · · 

While the Armed Ship Bill W8B under discussion in Congreas anothe:r event oocu:rred which cauaed 

the greatest excitement throughout the country and aroused the people against the German Government even more, I believe, than the announced policy of the submarine ruthlessness. That event was 

the publication of the so-called "Zimmermann telegram" · • • •. 'Thus the Zimme1:_1Dann telegram ( 

· resulted in unifying public sentiment throughout the United States against Germany, in putting the 

people solidly behind the Government and in making war inevitable, if not 'popular, because the 

---- 1 Papen .RelaU!ii to the Fureian Relatlona of~.Unlled Sta!u, 1917. BupplemeDt 1, The World War, p.1'7. U. B. Oovenunent Printlllg 01!1.oe 

WllShlngton, 1931. Thill book wlll hereinafter be re!erred to as Foreign Relatloria Sttles. abbreviated FRB. 

(1) 

• 
REF ID:A491080 

2 

German GovernmenV• liaiste>: ~- :toward the U:iJied mates could. no longel' be doubted. . Tu; I 

"cold-blooded proposit.fonH of Gen1lllllii'tf"5 Secretary <Jf Pureigi:: Affairs in one day a.coomplished a cha1~ . L 

in sentiment and public opinion ~'I would otherwi..~ M\'\.'. required months to accomplish. Froi.r.. 

the time that the telegram waa pubdfhe(!, or at lea.at from the time that. it& 10uth.enticity was admitttll1.' 

by its author, the United 8ta008' ~.n.try lnto the war W!WI 0.8\'ured, since it could uo longer be doubt&{ 

:'. ~ vhat;_ij :was ~ bf ~hef~ J~to~Jrom,.Mrtiine to California and from Michigan to. T•,g\s.• 

• • ~»~J·~i.~i'.{~~:1:." •·':j: :. ':i.~ ,,t·~ ~f~:~ ~·· • 

It [the Zimmermann telegram) roused a great deal of indignation in 

, , . : f~: the 'populari,baekbig ·~or1strong measures· by the President.• 

• • 

the StMes and strongly rein· 

lr. .. ~ ~ ;:···;'. •· ·~.- ~···· ~ :-:~· }\., ... ,.;1t:··· ;.\; ·····t;.· '"". '•: '.: *· • ..: .• J,(1.11~ 

~-:>i_ ·; ·.. : · : · , ' · Wlliioa:,w&s,.kit1ntf'tn•,~~t lie called the '!overt aet'' before he took fu~Uler ~ps agai n«f Getnanf~ 

t" l , . - ·but the .poaaiblllty ,;of;&;oidbig hostilities daily diminished. • • •, " · ,>,-; 

, ;,: ~ed. OenijlNl;,.<liPloi;naqy did its utmost to strer.gthen the grow:iog J~ling m .~ \l,~i~ 

Staks that mv with ~y eou14 1.1:r>t be avoided. On F~bruary 26, C..kiu~J Hotttll'· ~-~ .~ 

ftie ~by :~.M Mo"1 wf".lro~t.tha.t thit" 9-1Hi•>!1 N~v-~ lnte!lig~<c::e hai-t ~~·· ~ 

~A j) ·-~:··:-. .a ~"'<rli· ·~; :':;.M'~ ~ ... ,~~:r. o~~ t(> .. .,n h?kharot., Thti 

Munater i.., M..,;a;.~J> Ct-;r. h..,. ~'1.illl""$1?J.rffl.I>"'" i '"''"""'~v :.<,.,, ·i~ J:il.r.t~i\..""Y rn, tht! ·.~ 

¥μoUDced t.b=. ~ ~ U<Dil~~:Y"-'t~ i<~:»MIW"..,r '<fftllifW·' 4-~'' ,~·•.tN'1'~i1 ti,,.; ~ffi1·umi; Minim.~r, in 

~ Ot war with the United~. t<"J ~tWS.\'~•t !-0 IWT&ll8'f! a Gcr11ta.n-?rl~i1J11n a.ilia.nee, uh ~e widerstanding that M~iio :wi>.~ be ,M&i.sted to reconquer New Mtj.xico, Texas, a.ud Arizon&. ZimμieYmann 

. , further suggested tiu~t-Carra.nza. should approach Japan. · . . 

~', . . . Mr. Polk fully ~~ed;t~t 'th~ 'publication of this _telegram would blow American r~entment 

.to a 'white, he:&t; it,,_w,ould etr,ellgthen immensely popular support of the President in. ariy action be 

might take against ,~Y Jn defense of American rights on the sea. The ~me thought may have 

,led the British t<i pan,the;,deeiphered telegram on to Washington. Wilson himself we.a disturbed and 

in dQUbt &8 t9 Whether-~he J)U~μ~ion 0( the telegram WOUid not bring O~ a crisis he could not control. 

-.'' 

r.il- • 

House urged immediate publication. • • * 

The effect of publication was exactly what had been anticipated. Many ~icrsons naturally raised 

doubts as·to ·the;authenticity of.the telegram; but J.ansing formally as1rnred Con:rre88, and Ziinmerinann 

.-:himself confessed, tha.t it was-genuine. Speculation waa uncontrolled as to how i\ had been intercepted:· 

,·;,; , . -it was rw,nored. that t.he messenger had been caught by American guardsrn..,,n vll ·th.e Mexican bo.rd~~ 

. that a copy had been taken from von Bernstorff a.t Halifax; that it was in ·a. m>rlerioua bos .. aeized by 

the British on the ship whlch Bernstorft sailed on.' ·. . ; , .. 

\' 

, He~driok, 5 the biographe~ of the war-time American Ambassador t.o GNmt. Britain, W~l~ H'. P~e, says: . · ;•·, :,~.J.· 

The most aensatfonal episode of.this period, however, was the publicati<:;u on March 1 of.a telegratti 

,;.•,.from Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, German Foreign Secretary, to the German Minister in Mexico, .outlining 

· a scheme for an alliance of Germany, Japan, and Mexico against the United Statt:.-s, and for the cewon 

'· In case of vi~tory, of Texa.B; New Mexico, and Arizona to Mexico. '. ..·"' ·• . 

,;· . . :. ; ' [Page's diary dated Match 2, 19i7.] The Zimtnermann (Berlin) Me:dco.Japan bomb bu.rat to~y~ 

.i · , •the Zimmermann telegram to the German Minister in Mexico being in the mon1ing papers. They gave ~j· '_, i ":it out in Washington· (apparently} to ea.use Congress to ~i\'e the President a•:thority to arm lnerchant 

'·" ~- ships; etc., etc., as he should~see 1.it, and to uw thP. armed fur<.'~s of the Nntior. to protect commerce and > · . · life.' It had that effect. Al!l enorm<1us maj.)rity In the Hotisc last night. (nuarly ~I,) voted.in, 

favor of the resolution. I am curious to sec the effeet on the country. I have never abandoned the 

belief that if the President were really to lead, all the peuple would follo?C. Whether he .wlll even ~diJ 

:····. lead remains to be seen. .Yesterday I talked to Chinda, the Japanese Ambassador, abo.ut this Zimmer..: 

mann telegram. He thought it a huge joke at first. Today Yeates Thompson confe!!!led the.tit seemed 

to him a newspaper hoax! Nobody (few people surely) yet thoroughly understand the German. This 

telegTIUll will go .somt> di.-sianee surely t-0 iustruct t.he people of the U. S. A.• 

• 1-if!I, Robut, War Ma...lr•, Bohl», M~ f: •~. t"'4\anapollz, l~. Pt>. ~'211 and 232. 

• Ull9d Georg@. Btivld, WOT Alnnoin, p. Ilk. 'TM lsU~ ~ <( C~ llOKM, H~<lOI ;\t&:I.£ >'.:;. ,_..,.,. )'..,,._\!Qi, 1>. tl,l 

•Rendffclr, Bunal'~ Tiit ut-•M iAttarf/t..._. ii. I~ ll>.>Ul'--1· l':ldlll>.tt"o,. ~;.,..,,, Y•.-rl: ·~"!!l ;~,..,..,,,,._'l:;;r :)'°' <t.,;t'l..-illbe~ 

Clo merely• l~. 

• ap. tll. "4ii!. m. pp. m. au. 

/ 

7 

.. 

wu:r"'l..J'··· 

(~ 

~---X:..',..) 
REF ID:A491080 

3 

"· The acrimonious discussions which the _Z,immemiann telegram aroused i;n Congress take 

, up 22 pae,~s in the Congressional Record. (Most of the debate deals with a resolution ·calling 

upon the President to furnish a. formal statement declaring whether or not the telegram as 

published in the newspapers wt1s authent:ic.'.J Space forbids e;ictensive quotation, and the following 

two statements made in the course of the debate must suffice:7 

Mr. THOMAS. * * * Does not the Senator [referring to Senator Hitchcock] realize that the 

public mind is already intlamed, that it has been inflamed by this publication [the Zimmermann telegram! like a bolt? Because of that excited condition, which we share, inasmuch as the information 

must have proceeded from Executive sources, directly or indirectly, it is very essential that we should 

have such information as may be necessary to enable Ull to mee.t and, if 1lecessary, to end that public 

excitement which is uow sweeping all over the country. · 

• * • • • • • 

Mr. SMITH. * . * • Mr. President, I say that the situation thue created is far-reaching and 

, delicate, fraught with very great danger to the peace of the American people. * * • 

',______ ·- ·It was of course natural that question should ho raised as to the authenticity of the Zim~ 

-;;rlh~~;telegra~;.~ Senn, tor Tillman [p. 4605] gave voice to his doubts in: .no uncertain terms: 

·

1

/• .. Mr. Presid~nt,,.I want to say one thing before this debate closes. I think we have w'asted' a great 

deal of valuable time here in discussing a li~a forgery. I agreed with the Senator from Michigan 

\j [Mr. Smith) this morning when he said it was a forgery.:] The reason I think it is a forgery is this: 

Who can conceive of the Japanese consorting with. Mexico and the Germans to attaclt the United 

States? Why, Japan hates Germany worec than the devil is said to hate holy water .. Japan took 

possession of Kiaochow and she is going to hold it. Is it possible to c'onceive that Japan will go to war 

with the United States in conjunction with Mexico and Germany? I think such a proposition iii 

beneath ollr notice; 

The New York Times Current Histor?) for the period February 20 to May 15,.1917, deals' 

thus with the Zimmermann telegram: · 

Au important phase growing out of our rupture with Gerllui.ny 'and the eubsequ~nt drift, tows.rd 

\\'ar was the uncoverh1g of au anti-American 'alliance. proposed l>y Gerinany with Mexic~ and 1apari . in the event the threatened war ensued. • * • The revelation created a profound imp~rl 

throughout the country. The immediate effect on Congreu,.·wu.the elimiriation of practically all 

opposition to the propoeal then pending to authorize the President to-proceed at once~ arm Ameri~ 

merchantmen against German submarines; it also crystaliz~ the conviction throughout the ,coun\ry 

that the German submarine blockade must be sternly resisted, ,even though it resulted. hi. a declaratio'h 

of war by Germany. · ' · · .,, ·.· · 

.. ::. 1·--wf5. Ambassador von Bernstorff says:8 

1, ••• ._.J· ··:.. ·••· '. \ ... rV 

It has frequently been asserted that the notorious-Mexi'lCJ ~~led to the ~ .. wi~:th~IUJ?,i,~4· . . States. I do not believe this is. correct. The telegr&m :was u~ y;ith ~at ~~~ ~,propaganda 

against us; but the rupture of diplomatic relations-as I hav:e alniady pointed out-:-'waa, μi view of 

•the situation, equivalent in all circumstances to war. ·I had nothing·to do With the 'Mexico teJ~~ 

which took me completely by surprise. It was addressed, in :the :usual ·way, .direct to the legation 'ill 

Mexico, and pa.seed through the Embassy at W aslli.ngton on .. tbe·ll&li;le day, on whiob I ·l'tltleived notUJ; 

. cation that the unrestricted· U-boat war was: to- be deel~·-··-.<I had ueither the right, nor was it.;~ 

duty, to bold up the telegra~ although I disapproved of its' conte:qf.e. . . ·. - , ' ~ r _ . . -,::.:;; . · . ' : _ · '··. '; · : ::_kt~~: r' •· ~; - ,'r .· . , . r: !~'j.!:JJ... 

. , , On December 13, 1927, Sir Alfred Ewing, who ·,!.hrQ.lJgho~L!!~~..!!'/~- ~l!ili~ b~ of:~ ,~11•t.·'1 

cryptographic bure1tu (popularly referred to as ''lioom 40") of .the Bri~ .. Na~~ ~telli~ '/ 

Service, delivered an address before the Edinburgh Phifos0~~al .InStituμon.; ,tilfuig~of. the, -----. . . . · .. ·, ,. . . '-..' .. ~!·t\." .... -1 ConareHlonal Record, &4th Congress, 2nd S-ion, vol. LIV, pp. 4595 and 45118, ld!lr· 1,,191?.. ,. . ' .. _. , ,, , , .. 

Ivon Bernstorll', C01wt 1oh1.nn, ,VV TMee Yeara In Amtrka, Oharies :Bm~11,l!om. NeW ;York.,l?'JO..:P, 380. Tbll work w11J .~ 

be referred to as !Jumtorf!. , ~:, ,:,,, · . , . ; . ·· 

.:. ' " ~ . ,,. ,, 

, . 
work of. the Bureau. That pQRion t!iff tlta:O published ac<-..;~.1.mt of hlg address with which we ~•~· 

concerned.is as follows: 11 

Besldes in~us BAva\-. ~ t.be cryptograpbfm. of Room 40 de!\lt succeBBfully with m~~ 

\;.. ·political cipher. The isolated ~· of· Germany fore€<! h~1l' to resort t-0 wlreless, and prevenW:iil 

frequent changes of the code ~k.9 fur oonfidential communication wnb. c~pondents abroad; 

There was a volumin6us stream of cipher correspondence v.;th G~.rman agent6 In M iodrid, and a good dO!llit 

with 'North and South America 88 well as Constantinople, Atheus, Sofia, and other -1.-'ls.ces. One group <Ii 

deciphered uiessage" threw useful light in advance on the Easter Revolution in htetand, another grou;p 

on the hitriguee ot the· Gei'm&ns in Pend&. · 

Among the many polltfcal messages read by his staff WSI! t.he notorious f;bum0n.nann t.e~ 

.which waa intercepted in·tbe manner described in. the third vr1lume of the P~ Wtere. Prea!de;;.!!.11-

Wilson was then hesitating on the brink of war, reluctant to plunge, clinging ;:•oinfo\ly to tke idea. \'II 

neutTauty which seemed k> be almost a part of his religion. 'l!ie Zimrnenua:•1 meFMIOi" . ..-~made 

a conditional offer to ~of an alliauce 11.(t&irw the f.'.nit•"<'I States, was °"""'Ph•ITT.rl li.i1I R .. 111$1 @. 

It· WJl8 then eo!ll1nun~ 'fl!r1 11!(1.Qfid~y by Lt~!d t~lr.rnr to Mr. P~., ~nd l.~ ~ ~ 

Wilecm. and .waa pvoo ~ bho W ~Ju~-·~ }"~. h,., y1blication WM t}ccisive ifl co~~~ 

Ameriean opinion to th!.> ~«I ~ ~~ ~~ ~!~ '"'~'" ll ;1id Room 40 remained 11tld~~ 

. And finally in his fa.mow ~ (w·bich if oow lowwu tMl the "war n1essage"} deliv.ered 

in :Person before the Congress in joint session on April 2, Hl'l7, President Wilson said: 10 

That .ft (the German Government) means to stir up enemies against us at our very doon the 

hitercepted note to the German-Minister at Mexico is eloquent evidence. 

; .. · .. More th.an enough has ~ quoted to give,~· indication of the importance with which the 

publication .of the Zimmermann telegram must be regarded in connection with a s~udy of the 

causes leading to our entry into the war. Indirectly, because the United States is the lea.ding 

power on the AmericRil Continent, it also helped to bring Algentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, 

a.nd Panama into the arms of the Allies. 

A•'..-A . .:-.L;~),-<.,l.: So important a cryptograp~c incident, theref~re~ w. arr~nts a most .careful, stu?y by histori~s 

(if"o"- Q - r ~ well as by cryptographers, for the story .of the mc1dent 18 replete with suggestions for making 

t:he most of a cryptographic opportunity. . 

r/ 

~/ .. 

· Twenty years have passed since the Zimmermann telegram wru:; bla.zc>oed on the front 

p .. a.g~ ~f. newspapers throug~out the worl~ e~cept, of c?urse, ~n ?erm1my 11.n? Aus~a .. ·But ~-.. · 

!he Bl'ltish (';r0v~ent, which was ~e p~c1pal actor m the tncident, haR still not lifted the · -· . . .~ 

rmpenetrable curtam of mystery behind which her able cryptographers wor.k, so that we shall 

have to draw conclusions from accounts from other sources if we are to study the fa.cts con- . 

ce~ter interception and solution of the famous message. We shall pass over several plll'ely 

apoc hal accounts which appeared at the time.11 

. · It is amusing to note, in passing, t.hat one of the reasons why .the Ka.iser was extremely 

cool. to Ainbassador Bernstorff, who was received by the Kaiser only 6 or 7 weeks subsequent 

to Bernstorff's return to Berlin after the rupture of relations, was the monarch's belief that the 

Zimmermann telegram had been taken from among the papers which Bemstorff carried. with 

hint on his return home on the Friedrich VIII in February 1917. The ship was detained at 

Halifax.for 12 days and every nook ·and cranny was searched. A box of dispatches' which had 

been placed aboard the vessel by the Swedish Minister was found by the British authorities and 

'AB reported bi TlN (Edmwr(//I) Scotmacz• and n. (LotldOft) Tlmu for December 14, 1927. Incidentally, the Editor of Tile &otmu!w, ID 

land!q Bir Allred, ll&ld of the Zlmmennann.teiearam that It "was Instrumental In bringing America Into the war." 

It FRS, pp. 191Hl08. Aleo, In bis Fl04 ·Da, Ad<trno 001 Juiw 14, 11!17, in cit.in11 the numerotL• provocations which, be ex~ned, forced us Imo 

\11<> war, tile Pres!dmt said: ''They tried to hldt4 MG!rit<> lb ta.ke up arms aeolnst 118 8Dd to draw Japan into a hostile alllauee with her-and that 

DO'; tyy·indtftllltion but by direet auggestton l'.rtl!ll the.,~ o~ In Berlin." · 

ti The most fru'.fatelled of u- was to tbe efteei I~ the~ ..... ll>lutd by fomo «>hl.i.or. of Curo!J"OY G. f'ifq ~.OD thepenoa flt 

a •I»' whom tbay'htid ~aiid while he wu "*'°rittDI to~ the sOGt.ber» ~tit~"' .\1•••·"'· -.r ii ... :inni ~ !'¥~ na l!'ebruary lit, W>tt. 

Bee 1'be Now York 1-- Otu«•"' Hl61M1/, poriod Aprtl 1917-11:1.M 1111~. ~~ XI lh·"" "" """"" • '"""'it >.; 1c,,1ti4b,!r'1 ~ Europe (103e), fll>· ~. -tatm •wholly~ Terllloll of l.bt episode. 
-.,-~~~';&<.O.:'~'.;< .. :~;·.~,,.:;,,.);;-.:<!~:..;;.:.~~~·a 

· REF ID:A491080 

. ~ 

t 

" 

5 

the' content,s of some of them were published. The English papers represented the c• as if & 

box ·a1: dispatches had been taken from Bernstorff. But the Zimmermann note .was not among 

them; 11 · · · · 1 . , . 

The :first lifting of the veil of secrecy· surrounding ·the interception and solution of the 

Ziinmermann telegran!,g~curr.e~_.iJ!J925, when the November issue of World's Work brought the 

final installment of Hendrick's The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page:..]This account, from 

wh.iol a passage has already been cited, st.ill forms the principal source of our info~ati.on on , 

the wbject. A second account, not so detailed as the first, but containing important data, was X· 

-pubMlhed in 1933 in Lansing's War Memoir8, also alree.dy mentioned. Another account appears J. '· 

in a book'' by a professed German ex-spy. But since it is based almost entirely upon the 

HeadiiOk version, and because there are. cogent reasons for discounting much of the content.a of 

tbe,beok asa whole, it will be largely disregarded in this paper.1 In addition to:all soitree&'mentioned, reference will be made to offieial records of the Department·of State. ·.·, • ' '·' . 

"· 'The. first links in the story may be seen in the following two telegrams: 1

' . " 1 ''.' · , 

." .S:mcUTABT or STATE, Washington. 

5746, February 24. 

(1) 

.·~ • 1·1 ... ~~.,:·(·.:~; ~·~r 

. ' . LoNDo~, Pebrua,.i"l,t '1917. 

Rec'd 9 a. m. .· 1 

Jn &bout throe hours I shall send a telegram of great importance to the President and Secretary 

.of St6te .. 

PAGE. 

• * .. ', .• , ... . • • 

(2) . /.- The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the •Secretary of State', • ' 

1Tilecrani1 ; . ' . ,.h. t ' ' ", !'! 

.,. Lo11oott,. Febroury 14,· 1a1f.· ''1 p. m. · ' " · ·' ·Rec'd s:·ao p. m; . · '•· ,;,: , 

5747. My 5746, February 24, 8 a. m .. For the President arid the Sec~ta;ry of State. 

B&lfour has handed me the text of a cipher telegram from Zhnmermann; Germai:(&icretary of . 

. State for Foreign . .A1fairs, to the Germ~ MinμJter· to Mexico,. whjcJJ., ~. ~t.; vfa W~n .ud . '. rel&Yed by Bernstorff on JaU:uary 19: . You can. Probably ,oh~ ~:~PY. ,9Mbe .text, ,relaje~,''.lly ~ · atorff from the cable office in We.sh~n. The first. grou:p _Ip ~e. ~umbe~ of the te~ ~,° 1~~ 'AA~ 

the second is 13042, indicating the number of the code used. ~'l&st'group but t"W"c>'ls·0'15~6~ Wbloh 

Is Zimmermann's signature. I shall send you by mail a eop~ of the Cipher ~t·~d or .thef'd'&dd.e h}~ 

·German and meanwhile I give you the English .transll.tioll ·as.foUows: (Then follows ,~~EDglfah. teit 

-: .. 

of the telegram SB given above, p. 1.) .. ·;·· · :· 't··~' ,.-.~ f .1· · ··;;1:.i!'·><' . .. : 

· The receipt of this information has so greatly e~:i.¥,:Brttiah Gav~.that. thoy ,~ve 

· · ·_lost no time in communicating it to meto tr~~t.~,~51~u; lii)~~t~,(t~~ o.uf.9?.~ent:.ID:li1_00.~le . ·"' · without delay to make such disposition as may be nebes.sary i.n VieW of the thri!atienW InyaSloJ:t of Ottr · - ·i1'{:. -·.territory.· · ,_ - .. ~ . · ·., ... ·/·.lr:-' · .":/; .. ~-.~·J";;\L. · .·,; ~ . T ~· ;d'J"<.=u . .':· ... ~r.;~~~: ;~ r~~~ 

. ; . : .. · "i. · ., . Early In the war, the British Government obtained poaeg10n ofA copy of .the Germa1uif)he#·eotte 

. '.- . used. iD the above message and h&ve. ~e it ~ ~~~ ~:Ob~~· «>p~'~ ~~a.,~ 

; telelJl'81DB tp M~xico! amongst othen,, whi~h.~re. ~t.i~_.t;o,~~p.,~n4 ,~P,~~ 4~.;·.~ accounts for their bemg able to decipher this te~ tr9m:the G~an. Gov~t tot~~ :· ·- ". · .~ ·-~-~; .. ~v~=M'..····~t~ ~ :." .... ! · : .• 1, ··-i.;1 ... ..1· - ·.1 · 1 -.JJ!· 

. · "N~a<JmUIJ-. 11111. Unkl'wc.hungaauucluu tlblr. did WtJUrll~ . lo. a series. cif ,111 ~iln>~ ~·~• 1919, to AprU 14, 1920, a committee appointed by the Oft'lllllD NaUonel ~·.Aaemb17 ·to lnqulr'I mto tbe."'6'0llisl.blllti lor tl!,e . ...., 

l'leld 

thereto 

bearinp 

have been 

tn Berlin. 

t~lated 

The 

and 

reports 

published 

or two subcommittees 

by the Carnegle,EndQwineid.;f!lr.~ 

~.Wit11'ihi•~PJde minimli·of ~~yols. omi-otU-~;lilld 

l ~4 2:~·.91f'f'8'.~'!-~~ 

~ 

R&tinQ to tll• World Wu. These two rolumll:!I are a veritable m~:~.~t-~ ~wlllheri!lafter:ll_e~.SOM.:.~ Hearb1111. Tbestatementabovalstaken!romp.311. " " ·. · ·,. :· i, I> '.,,~>;, .. ,,.;.•\ti • · . • :111·-.'. "'!. ·t. ,,r,;~;:(:i~~ "vou Rluteleu, Capt. Franz, The Dur• Inuad<r. The Macmillan Co., New Yort,.a , ·· ·• ... 

tt The fl?st ls taken from Hen~rlck, vol. JU, p. 332; the second, from ll'Bs, p. HT. 

"• TllJs ts not the number or the telogmm, but the code equhralen' ol tbe nmnber (I). 

·, . 

. ! 

~ _•( 0 ' H~ '~·: '. 

;:::·,./~~~~[>:· ;.>: .. 0 .... d. 

rm_~ 

~·:· 

.. 

" ' 
s:;:::;m+ .? . . ~~-:~~_..";...__..""':"'....,. __ .. : .. · .. · 

.. ~.· 

q 

•, "f 

' 

,•' 

· ';ili kl'i .-,~~e,~ M~~~,,.~,~~:Qe.~,~rn J~U!KY 19 u.util now i..n iheir reoeirrnig Yle info~~­ ~··n•i-~:-r ;-'.J11is~:r~-~~~~;&.~ly gt.tarded secre~ and 18 on_ly d~vulged no~ to you by the Brf~ ' · • · OOTin11Dlent iinrtew· of CM ~1" cireumstanMt and their friendly feeling toward the Urd:t~ 

States. They earm:stly r:equed "'11C· yw. will keep th.a source of your inform11tton &nd the BrJj$h 

· · ·•; 1 : . GOv~Dt~ ~.ehA"9.._~11rofoundty·secret. but they put no prohibition on the publi~ 

'!, '.!; ·J~.Zitnnl~ .. ~'i~·::-·!· ' 

"cl.:! _'; i .. : , 1 .. ~·C?opi.ea of tlUs;~*er~··~;re not obta.inediu W ashingtou but Wt~ bought in M~_~· 

. ' I.,'. . " r~xe t~ ~~ ~OJ'~. serv:ice. ~ Gov~ment has rendere~ us ond Eruggeat that 8 ~n~t i•: • "·oftici6J:lnessage·of~tlianke·from oltt-Oovernment to him would be beneficial. . · · 

1.':; · ,,._. -~ ¥i J:am•ir:if~i,~rthudnformation 'hae not yet been given to the J11pa.n~ Governmefti;;~l.I 

. ~:·,: ·, 'ji: •. tbinkit·not;\ilWlre\y ~t,when!itireaChes them· they may.:make a public statement <lb it in•o~·­

"'i.1.J tiw 9P"~;~Jl,;tl!!:l~t~ V..Nt~lt~tat,esiand prov,e their good faith tothelr Allies;" ·.r.~-.:~:,' '"' 

li:-~ .;.,f,·~·~*·i'1r' · ~'·'·'it.· .,t.1 · .. --·/ ~\""f' -t.·~~ ... :;: ~-'4i.•.1,:"·!'"~ ..... : ·' :: · .• · •. : '.?j·l · '~~~,'.fl' 

-.:';i:0·w.:~[~~~ ~;:~l~~;,~tkthe ste~:~en by t.he PrMident and,~.~ State i.asing, culmiu.~the pu~ ,by the ~t(l;f} Press of the ts.d of the~ 

Our 

we.a intemepted 

mW.St will 

and 

he cc:ull. 

901*'"1 11•eoct~ ·111!iii· ~~ 

•-~.ut• ~.i.9 of the manner 

. 

in 

. 

wirich the ~ 

· 

~e . ._ji~~ ~~~~~the pri:~dii~ two tel.tlgn.nlS quoted&~ 

:eontinμes: , .. ri. ,: ., •··. 

The manner in whlc,b the .British had acquired this message is disclosed hi Page's ·tel8gram. It 

was."bOught in Mexioo." .. ''l'hat is; the British Seoret Service had obtained it evidently from some 

·'.''~'""· .· . :'appr0achable·r>ereon m.,.the .. Mexican capital-,,a· practice which, it appears from Pa.ge~s communication, 

had been going on for' some time. An interesting additional fact is that this is not the only way in 

> ;wJdoh the British obtained this priceless ~reaaure. The German Government was so determined -to 

mak,e tbi8 Mexican alliance that it did uot depend upon a single route for trdnsmitting the Zimmer-

~ message to von EckhB:rdt. It diBpatched it in several other ways. For one it used the wireless 

·route from Nauen, Germany, to Sayville, Long Island. 

' In· the early days, of the war, the. American Government prohibited the use of this Bayville line 

except under American· supervision; how little this prohibition Interfered with the Germans· is shown· 

.S•t ,\;bY. tile l;l&e !h~ ~~of ~he Long IiilBnd station for this, the most fateful message sent·to America 

during the war .. • •,. • , ,:In the British Admiralty thiB Naucn-Sayville -thoroughfare was known as 

the "main line;•; it' was. the most.direct and consequently the one most used tor sending German cijsL .: . :·~t-i~~-t;o.·th~ uni~'et:a~a. : ·: · ·. · ,, , · · 

i ... ).. Hendrick .ci:tes no· authority.·for ·the' sta~ment tb'at· the Zimmermann t.elegra.m was trana. 

;m.i~ ~y.· radic>·-~o~ N:~:uen +o,_'SaY'f.ill~ ~nd there 'is r~ason ~ doub~ that t:h.is was· f p;e case, as ;~;~me app~n~ .'\V.:~lf; P..~.1nat~r.,1s C!l-l'ef ully consldered. m the light of other eVIgence ... 

... ·' :,~ few ho~ .afw .~~- Ol!.~bre'* .of. t,li.e. war the British, who have always reeog.Jlized the 

~:rta.nce of contr.olling• eo:inm.unicati()n channels as well as sea la.nee, took immediate s~ps 

to isolate Germany .from the rest of the world that lay beyond the oceans, by cl:ltting a.nd•diverling 

t.O her"ow:n ·servfoe the·· two Germ&i{eables· a.cross the Atlantic Ocean. This left Germany 

plllf .. ~~~f~~n;~.;of.rid~(iriicatfun.:with her Ainpiissador at Wa.sl.U.Ogton. 'fhese chaiinels 

"!~~JQ~ .iP .. ~~.b§r. The ~t, by radio between a. station in Gemumy and two s.ta.tions·in 

the United.States, was known to and supervised by our Government; tile ~_<mnQ., by cable frqm 

'Germany via J)etlin, Stockholm, Buenos Aires, Washington, was seeret, and though there is 

·positiV:e eviderice'that from·the·very first days of its use.it was known to the Btjμsh, it was 

1.tiisl.ispecl.ed ii.h'Cfhnkri.o"7n to 'our Government until long after we had entered the war; the . 

~'· .. via ~~ill; Copenhagen,.111..Washington, was a very special.method used only o~o~ally, 

with. the .knowledge and cooperation of the American State Department; tl1:e f?2!.!h; invo1vin:f; 

·th~.~~n ·otsecret text in ~fdirJ;aiy i~ws r.ll!patches, was a. channel w.hieh was of 'oo~ unknown to our 'Government, until long M.frer the wa.r wae over, when it WM di!S<?Josed, by Bun• 

. i c i r, , r · . · · · . ,\i•' 1' \\ -\.·.•·'· ... """{- J 

\ '\ ',\ i \ . 

!£"''(1ii'J 

. ' 

' 

.t 
'· 

REF ID:A491080 

st.orlf himself.16 · · Since we a.re not concerned with thiB ~hannel of commuillca.tion we· !lhaJl' have 

no·mOre to say about it than is given in footnote 15. ·,.-···.· ·.: .· ._ 

We ·shall consider first the communications. pa.ssibg by radio :~tween the Germane station 

at Nauen and one or the other of two radio stations on Unite<f States territory,· at: &:fville, 

Long Island, and Tuckerton, N. J. These stations had been erected· by ·German entei-pri@e 

for direct communication with Europe; they were, however, partly fuitiinced by French capita.I; 

and the legal objections which- the French raised immediately upon the outbreak of the war 

soon resulted in closing both of them. Later our Governmen.t; after long negotiations with 

the German Government, took over the stations and exercised 8. censorship over them .. The 

steps leading to the imposition ofthat censorship need not concern us; the fa.ct is that ,the .Ger- ! 

Jl).all.S we~ una.~le .lio use the stations until April 1915 16 and then oi:μy under supervision, in \J 

that messages sent by Bernstorff to N a.uen had to be submitte.d to our _ce;usor before they ce1ul4 

be tra.nsmi~ted and messages received from N auen, addr~d to Bernstci>rff; w~re carefully sc~ti"! 

. ID;~ befor~ th~y were handed over to him. The purpose of this censorship was, of coul'.se, tQ 

preserve our neutrality. Messages exchanged via these radio stations were, as a. rule, sent in 

a co<le known. as "Englischer Chiffre N r. 9972 ", two copies of which had been depoSited with 

oiir ~r. ···Thia is established by the following letter: 17 

KAISEBLICHE DEUTSCHE BOTSCHAFT, 

German Embassy, Washingt011. . ,.. APRIL 20, 1915. 

The Imperial Germ.an Emb!!-€BY presents its compliments and has the honor, with reference to 

the correspondence with Honorable Robert Lanslng in regs.rd to the sending o! wireless meBB&ges iu 

cipher by means of the radio st.ations at Tuckerton and Bayville, to transmit to the United States 

,: ·Department of State herewith, in two copies, the key to that cipher against kind acquittance for ~ng 

· further directions. · 

(Signed) J. B~RNSTOlWF. . . ' \ ~ 'i~ < , ! '. . ' ' . . . ' . . ' . : ; . ~ ~ . 

. : ·, As:st~ted above, all messages forwarded by radio by Bernstorff had fo be sent to our CellS9f· 

UlrOUgb $e State ])epartment and these messages were regularly a.ccomparlied by a. forma.l lettJ 

eoμehed' m, the following terms: . 

The Imperial German Embassy presents its compliments to the United· States Departmen.t"of 

. , , State and has the honor to enclose herewith a wireless cipher m~e, in dupli~te, tO the Foreign.OffiCe 

, . . ·at Berlin for kind transmission to the Tuckerton station. Duplicate copies of the (plain text) messa.ge are likewise enclosed. · · , · · · · · · '· · · · · '•', ! _1 ;· l 

. . 

. t~ ~ p. l54: "My reports aa a matter o! fact wefll somewhat infrequent and alwa:vs short, 111 ·We bad to· Pllt all our Diell8ageS Into cl plier, 

ud ib.la·wu llOl alwa;vs J>OSBible. Jn explanation of the lnevltablelnr.oD1pleteness of my communlcalfou,wltb tpe ForeJ/tn omoo.,I.~r,~ 

ti ·UM; teteiirama of the Woll! arid TrBnS-Oooan Bureaus were regarded as the 'main sources o! !nforma'1ilil rot tlthel' Stdii, and that'! iiiide Mi 

oi vvtous arrangemeuts or words, to which the Foreign Office alone liad the key, !or the pu,rpose o! me.kin&.~ ciwn vl&'wseas!Jy.dlsttngUJsbabbi 

1:11 &bo9se telegrams." Another Interesting corroboration of the use o! this method Is to be found In the Ball .aflldavlt. (See footnote 20.) Among 

&lie~ ~(lllDyJng &he al!ldavlt Is one (p. 122) dated April 8, 1916, from Bemstorft to the Forelp' OUlce. It contaiDs ·the folloW!ng parapaJ>h:': · :'. v· : .• 1 J •• ~ • • : '· • -

"h tbla f\!880n I suggest th&t the Woll! Bureau should be Instructed for the present to tor.ward tmmedlat9ly Bil Klaesstg's ~ to the 

F~,Olloe;; It.Ii ..SW!ible that all should be sen~. because telegrama gol:Dg froin tlere are·ln code; ·aaa ~the l'OOOllllltlon qlljijeinied 

OD by GI..,,~ intended (or y~u mlght easily be lost. .For IllO~Ve8~ econ~y Xlaes&lg, ~\II~ W~ !i~U ~ (l!,ll+~,~~ 

for llUllh ~. 88 In this way It 18 possible to use code with regard to the E11gl!sb ceDSOrSblp." _ ·.. , . , • '·. :.. :'~·- P.. 411),'. Ge!rmaa"Bearings. . , . .. . ' . . /~, .. f . .,.' .• - . ~-~·. > :,'i·J. ~. ; . '.~ 1 · ~. I :i ,; ... 

I / 

t..l 

...- . , !'.~~:la ill the ftlm of the State Department. In bandwrW.ug cm its lower left baa~ ~:~ .. t~!~J#-;:''.~,c!ptier, ~ haniled to l.~t Noyes, U. S. Navy, April 20, 1915." In telegram 79 dated April 20, 1915, Beriistonrli:alonDed the Foreigu OtCoe that two coJlleis 

of Code.99n'W81'1l deliver1!d to the State Departme11t. He says (Bel'IlStot1f, p. 66): "In tbeae 11egottauoti! . ....., bad tO content Ourselves w"tth polnitili 

011t th8t w~.our enemies could PDBB pn mll!tary Information to their Ooverlllll6Dta .llY moons of ooded !'lib~."".~ ~pould ~ OIJl>/la!!,!i:it!l.~i!e; 

use of the w1rilless stations. Finally we came to an agreement wltb the Amerle&n Government that they should have a copy of the Clll<fe wblcb. 

we used f.of the wireless telegrams. In this way their contents were kept secret.from the enemy but not croiD. tbe.Wilablnstoo. Governmilnt.·: ~ 

~ we.emly aireed to as a last ~as It was not suitable for~ ~o1lfl in ll'iqctq!le~ qOv.ernment WJIS ~~'.~, a-lllllve Bmlatorff wa8 In respect to his Idea that the me8Sages In Cod9 9972 were thus kept secret froin the enemy will be~ hl.a.ll;loRttme. 

~ '"i"., ·' J. ~ 

' .. 1' • ~ • • 

"";, ~:. . 113733-38--2 

~'-~__:--'- .----me-=-= 
. I \j 

; 

I 

\I 

j 

.. ..-·-~ ~,,.·.,..,.- •• ''• i--

REF -ID :A491080 

'" 

8 

··~,:Tb.us not only did, t.be. ~.,S&atee bave ~ ood.e ia which the mess~ were prepa.1~ 

but messages in that cod@: ~ ei.mt by BemetQdf to the State Department for Lransmiss~~ 

~.~mpaoie4 by theil' plaia .~so ,iw.t the eeosor could verify the latter if he desired.18 

,.,. · -Tbat· the scrutiny of \bieae.,~ea was n.ot a mero formality is attosted by the fa.ct t;~ 

the files of the State Depar:tmen:i sh.ow several cases iu which the Department held up and :ref~ 

~transmit telegrams whie~ .on. b~ examined, were not perfectly clear, or which were even ··:000 

slight degr.ee q_uestionable as~~~ our .neutrality. In this connection Bematorfi says: 1ll 

" ,,,Jd has ah'eady been mentloned. 1all our wireleBs· tnessagea were read by-tM American Go~~ 

, de-partments and it :bad oft6ni.<iecu:rred ·that objection. bad been raised. - · 

: On,'0ne ocea.Sion, upori tlie ~eey mgen.t'request·of the German Ambaissu.dor, the~ 

of State &greed to permit 'l~ernstorff to 1!Ceive a radiO m~~ irom Bertin to Tucltert~:p~ 

~d, 11oll ~ Code 9972, but_!n • code of wru~rul.,.~E,,!i~J?~!~~·. This ~· ~ cumsta.nee caused~ ro J.~M~-1i.tter oo J1.n11ary 2~. 1917, to Wilham :PhilliPlt,, th .. 

Under Secretary of Stat~. ·'f!¥v :~. ~ i11 the tn~ of t,lw State Depai.rtment, eontmtA!i ·~ 

following' paragraph: · 

'. ' ~ ·1';reeume that the witt1iN! was sddressed aud forwan\00. •.liroot to the Imperial Foreign bttWe: 

As I have asked for an immediate wircle.ss reply, my Government. may allliwer in the same wa~; arid 

in a· code not decipherable by the Censor at Tuokerton. In a. former somewhat similar case when 

by mistake the wrong code was used, the telegram reached me only after several days' delay. There-

·fore, ·and as the answer to my yesterday's message will be extremely urgent, I should be particularly 

grateful. to you,• if you could, at your earliest convenience, have the Censor at Tuckerton and at the 

Navy Departm~~ instructed to let, in this exceptional case, the reply to my mewiage pai;s BS quickly 

SB possible.. · 

It is obvious that if scrutiny of messages had been a mere formality Bernstorff would hardly· 

have gone to.t~e trouble of begging so humbly for the permission to which reference is made, 

Parenthetically it may be stated that if the Gennans' purpose in using 1t code for these radio 

messages was·to· keep their contents from their enemies, they might well have saved themselve8 ;all the ·trouble they took, for Code 9972 was extremely simple-in aonstruction and was 

sohed by the British without difficulty. This is proved by a telegram that appears in a ·public 

record which is replete with valuable information, namely; the documents published by the 

German-American Mixed Claims Commission, which was established in 1922. · Among these 

docutnent8 is an· affidavit dated December 28, 1926, by Admiral Sir W. Rep,-inald Hall, wartime 

chief of the intelligence department of the BritishAdmiraity.20 This affidasit is accompanied by 

a. large-number of messages which were intercepted and read by the cryptographic bureau of the 

British: Admiralty. Among these decoded messages is a translation of one of these N auen.$11.yvjlle: 

inessagea accompanied by the following footnote: 21 .. ' . 

(British] DEPARTMENTAL NoTE.--This is the first me111mge in cipher 9Sl72 which has been.'~. 

Thia cipher is employed ill meaaages passing between Berlin and the German Embassy, Washington. 

. In view ~f the strict supervision that was exercised over this Na.uen-So.yville radio route it 

<'~~. -: ap~ strange that the Zimmerinann telegram should have been transmitted in ihis way. · 

~ -~e come now to the second communication channel that was used by the German GovernPJV,-"' ment to communicate with Bernstorlf, the route via Berlin, Stockholm, Buenqs Aires, Wash!p~-~ 

'\; ton. This chflJlD.el was made available by the good offices of the Swedish Foreign Office and its 

representatives abroad. · Hints as to t.he use of this channel may be found in Bernstorff. For 

· · It Of'eouna·tbe coaventenee of oar eemor bad a part In~~ or a code ID the English language. Tbli -it>, however, WllS not ClO!ll'Pllld 

tor· that.~ It - lllree.d;y an band and bad been 1"'9<f ,_.~he V"'pooe at uammittlng Englloh materlul 

ii B4ftatolft, 11. m. II Heniatter tb1o Hall aftldavlt will be referred to as H1111. H appet>N .ao ClalIDOl>V' li!.l:blbil Cl or tl>e •1_.._, publlished by Che KlXlll4 Oll.tull 

Commission. and Ill rsprlllted as Appeadb 1 to this paper. 

II Hall, p. 1J6. 
REF ID:A491080 

9 

example;. on page 65: 11We had to fell ha.ck exclusively on the wireless stations, when, as fr~ 

quen.tly happened, we were unable to make use of the circuitO'UB rO'Utea via neutral eountries." no 

Again GO page 149: "Telegraphic communication between the German Government and the /J ... .>-t\_, 

~~ a~ ~ashington was carried out by a circuitous route, which made it extremely sl~w·~-c~~..,,,.,~- . n.. ism the State Department files a. telegram dated.September 10, 1917, from American -- · 

Amb~or Morris, at Stockholm, to the Secretary of ~tate, which reads: 

Today had conference with British Minister who informs me &a follows: In the summer of 1915 

when Great Britain sent a commission to Sweden to negotiate regarding importation into Sweden ihe 

Swedish Government protested against Great Britain delaying in London official telegrams addressed 

by Swedish Government to Swedish Legation, Washington. British Minister received cable instructions to inform Swedish Government that delay was due to the fact that the British Government was ·~ possession of po11iti11e knowledge n& that the Swedish Legation, Washington, had transmitted to the 

German Government through the Foreign Office Stockholm, message from Count BernstorJf. ·BwedJah 

.Miniater for Foreign Affairs admitted that such message bad been sent so tranaml\ted but gave British 

Minister formal assurance that this would not occur again. . 

What. cwa.s the nature of the "positive knowledge" that the British Government possessed? 

Undoubtedly it was baaed upon decoded German telegrams, as is evidenced by the following 

telegram which appears among those in Admiral Hall'l!l affidavit: 31 

· Ft-om BUENOS AIRES 

To BERLIN B. A.67 

{traDllDlitted) 19th June 1916 

(5950) and (13040)11• 

I. Telegra19 No. 72 i8 missing. . 

II. Please send eypher telegrams for WASHINGTON in such a. way that they can be recyphered 

'· · here, otherwise the Swedish facilities for wiring will be compromised and presumably withdrawn from us; 

LUXBURO. :· 

Note the date of this message. It is good evidence that the British knew of this method, but 

the~ is also· sufficient additional evidence in Admiral Hall's affidavit, if one studies U,.e points 

between which the telegrams included in the affidavit were sent. , ·The iact .tha~ .!t large .number 

of the. messages in the Hall affidavit were sent vi~ Stockholm~Buenos Aires, is clear proof that 

the British were carefully watching this route and reading the telegrams transmitted. over. it,,. 

It is quite clear from this evidence and from the quotations cited above that. Hendrick 

~es. too ;much emph«Uris upon the variety of routes which h~ ~ys the Zimmermann telegra.rit 

wav,elflld. a~Lthough only this telegram bad.received special treatment. It is appareμ.t that the 

~oμ of important messages by more than one route was 'a usual procedure \\'.ith.Bern~ 

uotjf.. For. example, he states: " "With the utmost possible speed I senHhe following.:telegra.ms 

-.f)(>u~ lllJ:_~terview with Mr. House, by three different rout'3S to ~.'.' · . 

Ben<Jriclc says: 1&. , ;,., 

;":.The fact seems to be that the Swedish Court was openly pro-Geniwi; that popular opinion in 

. S_weden similarly inclined to the German side; a11d, by January, 1911,..~,~edh!h Foreign Oftl"'8 ~ 

. . '. ·' ., 

, 'nre become frequently 

almost an 

put 

integral 

in f!weciish 

part 

cipher 

of the 

and 

German 

sent t.o 

organization. 

Sw~di~h ~~-·it! 

In .many 

ot}ier 

capitals 

countries 

German 

ancf 

~ 

by t.heDi 'IJ ,, ,. delivered to their German colleagues. Herr Zimmerma.nn·; in hii dfisire w Di.ak~ eeriaiD tha.t'~·Mexf:. .. , .i ~ ~ . . ••I\aUooon. , .. , . · '·n• 1'8lliil In or1g1na1. · "· '• , , -"·. 

·"BaJ.l..p.68.. . . ·~ ~~: .. "·'·~:~~.:::.: -;, a."(~ 811() (13040)" Is the British designation o! the code·QSed.by the GenwmalA~tllQ.IJltllAIG. OodellllShraaan~~of 

ISMD, and a 'meisaa:e aent In that code bad, accordingly, to be transposed Into code 13040 before fi'wDS·~ . (See pp, ._14 of MendelliohD. Obadta i.~ 

SIUW ill Gafll41l DIPlomatk Codu Emp/Ofed During IM World WO>'. Teohnkal Peper orthe SJ;mil ~ Servloa, Wuh!DPml.11837;) r'; 

.. Berusilll'll', p. 873. . ' . 

• Belldrlclr, vol. lII, p. 338. 

. ' 

..... : 

·:.:: .... ' .. '" ... ~ " .. , . 

_,,,===----~~--·~·_':. __ ·:~~::··~='''"&~1')~;'~.,; ~0 .. 

~­

~~"'' ~ 

. .. ~ ... ,,. 

. ,t 
,· 

·~. 

'., .· ·REF ,):D: A491080 

10 

··''I'\ 4,> , cau1 tele~.abtuW.~ W.Uh~nt .agaii¥. fetl back upon the 888ist&Dce .Of hiJI Swedish ·cO~ 

,.·; '·.1-~i·:P:e~~;"lm'l\f!l~.~.Stwe.•M~to.&rllti; i.ws functionary sent it to &ock~Jm, Bw. · · 

• , : . 1. ,. "fro~ Jllia P¢.nt i~ ~ ~d ,to .B~oo Aires. Alpntina, and from that city cabled in tilrn, to ~ 

.'.-'' ',""!'ii~n:. TJi8')9~r,·waa a· ~1tfone; covofing a\,.rnt ten thousand xuflea. Yet not.Jil~ • '

1'. ;:; ' "'-Walt~~erii'tfilbugb t~~~'6i uiidelihe sea :Seemed' to es~pe the watchful atten'Uon c<f the Briiisb'N '~ ,, • .. , '.:>J';;tnteJl~ei;; ·'ud' tbir.SWedi'sli'~:was captured almost at the sain:e moment as that one whkb -

· going ·by the "mala<lhW~·~,~-:J :· . '!!.} /'.::~ \ . u,,,. . " ~" f, 

:, ; " ! ·It is;:to· be, nof.ed ·that ·accordin~f~to .Hendrick· "German messages were frequently put, ~ . 

.S\vedishrciphe,: jnd SlfHlt · t,oi;Swedish:iMinisters · · • • · ·*" and he implies that the British ..a 

"' 

the sweaieti'·ooae. i·,-i:.,\',:.; ;;,,f;;_'j,_"' ". ·'' ·' ·:>'' ,_, '· .... ·.~ .; .. " , · · · · · ;.-·. 

'°.=* -.·~· -~_· .. -.. -....-·. . .... t .,. :~i' "'~t"i;l':i:,.' ·.~.II~ ~l~·±~- .;· h .. t th~ B ~.;i.:_.h-. 'b•-:~ d d d ,·-.,,tr:t-;...~ ·~-~- , F. . •• J.,p-,::,~~.~~~ "'° .. ~'~i'~'~' w.i& . e :nwc o wu.ue au re.a mes.<Jages Jl;lia:nr~ 

code, f~f !,~~i4'.!-e.~--~~ p~tty well' coyerec\ the _earth. It is, however, int&iidii~ 

I 

<· .... «' J.. 

-·-· ; 

~y ~;Oennane.woJJld giv:e the Swedes'- the text of a message to be put inl.D!'8we1Wl 

Codtdor-tr~.~"Wb:Y·im-e&l their secrets to the Swediah Government? It W.• m*' 

easier merely to ask ·Stockholln to forward a ·~ in German code-procisely a:s tli'ey Miid 

the America.ns 1to.do#; uwe'&be.ll soon•· Not only, however, do probabilities .. ptti:rit1iany 

fronMU1y idea that a: Swedish. code was used, but wt\ have two pieces of ev~lence on. thia:m&ttef 

the authenticity of which cannot be questioned. . : -d"J 

On &pt.ember 8, 1917, the State Department published t.he ,tex;t of three· cod~:mess&g'es 

sent by the German c:harge d' Ajfaires at Buenos Aires to the Foreign Office at Bedim· These 

telegrtims"~eiurie :notorious as the Luxburg or. "sink without trace" messages. They were 

furnished by· the Britisli;"for the American cryptographic bureau had as yet har.dly been or- · 

g~zeQ_,,at t~t ~e ... _.:A~.files <?f. ~he State Department co11tain several messages iii connection 

~~ thittepispde .. : An.w~.~smi~_one dated September 18, 1917, to Bell (Secr~tary, American 

Embassy;<Lcmdon) from Harrison (Secretnry in the Diplomatic Service, assigiled to the Depa,rl. 

meμt, later-1922-Assistant Secretary of State), in which Harrison transmitted the dates alid 

ji:iiiial"gri>tipsi'of 22· inessft.g~: sent from the Swedish Foreign Office. Stockholm, to the Swedish Legation~ :Bueri<>s .Aires''B.nd -asked: "Please let me know· as soon as possible if British authorities 

he.~e; ~pies of'all these mes8ages, if they have been successfully treated, a.nd if so telegraph co.,£. 

tents·; at 'earliest possible moment." On September 19, Bell replied ¥ foHows: "Numbers 14; 5; 

1'i~:16;-,~Y~-.rs,·~d22~e'ID:~w~~.,e.arid.!!£lc!~.!P.,Perab~~ •• fil:t~·"~; .·· " ' .·· · ._: , .. ~: .. ·~.0Jle~ffl'1 we~ a direet·statement of the war-tune Bnt1sh Cryptographic Bureau on this 

,• 

·C •. ·"[:pbjn~~~iAft.er America's·ent~.into·the war, the British$~ve the AmeriC,!l-J!.Q.9!~!!!~'B1.!lli~Ji.'1 

.' ~4fit<5f~'?e !l~~~~twA;AA;-0..,QJ;l~la,QJ.Q,.~w,ith.dii;e.r;tio.J;!§"fa!:..~,t.~ .. U~:.-. Th. ese_ ~ee .. ~~':15 COJ1• , , . · ,. ,tam~ he· eXpress statements that German mes.§.!!g~~~~~ "j· · ~a~·.e.,lth~_origin~ code groups we~e subjected to a·procei-;s of systematic·altereiiion;. . _£ 

\. 

'. 

" 

' 

The 

a.nd that 

method 

the 

of 

transfer, 

encipherment 

or retransfer, 

employed 

from 

to 

Swedish 

disguise 

to 

the 

German 

messages 

hands 

upon 

WRS 

their 

made 

transfer 

at Buenos 

was of' 

AireS. 

su~ ~ ' 

lla.ture"e.s· not completely ~ remove certain resemblances to Garman Code 13040. The~.· 

resemblances aroused the suspicions- of the British_ cryptographers, and detailed study,followed. 

Ohce"the"nature of' the disguiSe was learned, its usefulness was lost, e.nd the Gerinfins might 

)iave" ~par~ 'thelllselves ,the t~ouble of disguising the code when they gave th~ z:ne8Sages to 

Swedish officialS for forwarding. / · · · · · · · ·" .. 

/

. · We ~e" seen that the British Government once informed the Swedish Government tllat 

. , · it was ·"in possession of positive knowledg~ that the Swedish Legation, Wa.shington, ha~f trans-

/ D;Ut.~d to.the.German Government through the F'oreign Office, Stockholm, message from Co~t '..J Bemstorift.' ,,,That was "in the summer o! 1915:"' The fact that the pradlice was not stopped " 

for 2 years Ol' more, though the British must have been fully a.wue. of it, lfpeaks for itself~ .?he 

British au. tho •ties must ha.ve realize~ soo~ 11.~er this~r..)~t, whid1 11.-o.s no doubt ~de .early in~-.---- • · <;"<>1 ' 0 _I '\.('J • ..,_.~ ~' .. ·'£rr,:, ' 1 ~-. , · -"1f ' - '"'O..Jt 1 "'·1:..' .~ .• ,) ', • (J,_ _fi_ .... -+ ' ·i· ::P"1"."''. 4'"'· ' .; .. .P. \):''"""' ·, · .]Ale_ ,!JX,-tJ!/)_ ,/;.;;,;,:_,, k·~-~ }~1 -+;,.,..,,,;.r ,,'r-'f.a i "'~ cv~ _., · ~•vu. -.. 

:~, ... ~c....1tt-, v"- -1!- "~.'ft'?);p_~ t?-4- ~.~-r, __ . ~ w~~, w ~ ~~,1 :a..~t" -· . . . __ v~ .- . Xd. ~ :.iP , ' - fO~ ? "~ < ..... ·.- •· . , ... ·. ~a..) .• ~.1,..., (:a-~ -·, ·' ',,.t ...... I t'.ft,--v.lt1~ \,l.'c~._t0.i;( ~«.-0... - ' ' . " ~:: i 

I) ' -,,. ... 

-··-~ -;w,~~f"~,.~.c~,';r·T~T:~7.,. 

__ .. __ ._ 
. REF ID :A491080 ... 

· tbe·crypLl2,,,~ ··wo.r, th•t the mlormation th:: were gle•ning from ~study of these messages 

"w&s too·~t.o lose, even taking int.o account the fact that the messages were of considerable 

'liSe to their' enemie8: It is more than likely that the information was at·Iea.$t as useful to the 

''~ij't.is~ u ft was to the Germans themselves. In some cases there i8 :μo doubt. that it .was even 

~o~ Uieful. ', .i: ·.Finally, there is another important telegram in the files of the State Department on this 

subject.·· It is dated September 17, 1917, and was sent by Bell tO Harrison. The first paragraph .is i;>f great interest. It reads as follows: · 

. I am nlrw able to inform you Zimmerman's telegram to Ec,khardt instructing .him to induce 

Mexico to attack us was forwarded through Swedi$h channels. It bad to be sent through. Bernstorff 

ll '~ for.his information, but as Sweden had given up transmitting Gem1an telegrams direct.to the United 

~.;-~ r\,,-,.'~fi .}~after the British protest in 1915, it .was.sent.through Swcdis~ c11Ani1els to. Bi.i~nos'Af~11 and 

.,,~-9 ,,J, ~,_.. · ':~~~ turned over to Luxb~rg who ~epeated it to Bernstor~ .. · The latter reti:ansmitted it to Eckhardt. 

~VS""'·· ~;0; '. ·.::;Fidm ~n to Bernsto~ it went m a code which the Br1tiab. had at that tune _only. partly, succeeded oArt; 1 ,;~ i:tt>': fn_decipherlng and of which Eckhardt had no copy. Bernstorff bad to ni~~ it to Mexico: therefore 

•. ,, , ; . . : h:1 ano~er oo.de known to. the German Minister there and incidentally to. th~; Brftish,. and it. is, of this . .. ' . message' that we obtained a copy. ' ' ,· ,, ' ' . ' ' ' ' . • ~; • • 1 :,}" • •. , '. :-. • • • • ' • • , • , ' ~ • r • . . , ;'/!.- • · ·' ~ ....; , 

... Of ~ta.in .portions of this telegram we shall have more to say la.tez:, es. they, a.re of. ~xtre~e 

.!_n~ f1;o:m ~he crypt.ographic viewpoint. At this point we .. "h'HLnier~Iy .. indic_ate·:1Jie.t there 

~:-~· ~~ ~.believe that the British authorities did not tell ~μ ~~ "':pole .stvry .when 

'"theJ, g'y~·Jiμn t4e in.formation which is contained in 'the foregoing telegr~ .. Who. CJ:lfl bJ.~e 

.fl..\~_fo~.wit~~diDg their most precious secrets? . . ! . . ·i: . /,7 ,.: • · • . :~ 

· y•:;;we ,C()1ll8'll<>~ to the thir~ and most interesting of the ~v~ c~tμμi~ availabl~;to -~~ R~""' 

,Qe:rman:.F.oreign Office in communicating with .Bernstorff in W~h~-tlie Berlin:~opeμ· .CJ 

:~-W~ton .route u~ed with the cooperation of the Amer!ctl.11 ~~a.te,D.ep~~nt., .. ,;We 

.sh~ill:iquo~.b'om the Hen4rick narrative: 2

·

6 .• ·, ': ,, . ,, ,:,i 

' '~ . The Getman Government forwarded this diep&teh to w llllhington· hi· still another way: ' ' Indeed, 

,.., , :·· '" .. the, ~ost remarkable incident in this remarkable transaction rem&lna ~ ~ t:ohH E,v.,14ently, ~ :G,er:• 

.:~ i:•:(,.: ~ ,Foreiipi Office f~ed that trai;ismissi()n by ~relees and ~ble ~ra~~m~~ tp ~μe~9s ,Ai.res;T , by grace of the Swedish Government-might fail them. The prohibition 1

;tbe · Anleiic8.n Gov.em~ 1 

"' • fuerit had placed upon the use of wireless from N auen to Sayville," 'Lenig Iel&na,: ~ight hatur8.lly ca'1ae .... ; 1 ~ , apprehension as to the: delivery or messages sent by this route .. ··The c1ao1e:MR~J~~lnllto 

,j» ·.. ·Buenos·:Aires and thence to Washington and Mexico was a roundabQUt;one';t.tand.A'm~·tlane­

::{~:\ 't .. • _3,;m.it~d £hit way might co~ooi,vably fail to reach its destination •. ·' '·' . ·:, ,·t,. ; · ' 7\ .·.,_,;<·:<,.·: '· · 

: ·.· The dispatch of this.telegram, however, was at that moment the moat impq~t:busine$S_Qefore 

· · r. · ·~·German Foreign Office and its safe arrival in the city of Mexico must be1 assure<! 'at'·~y.'~ . . . ·. The.re was one method that was absolutely sure, though the fact that this ehouldihave·occurred to 

.• ,, Zimmerma.nn. must be regarded aa one of the moat audacious and even recklesa·.strokes of the war. 

Humor of any kind the Germans seldom displayed at crises of this sort, yetrthe;ineohanisfu &doPf,ed 

tO ·make certain that this plot against the American people would safely lAnd on Bei'ruifbrff's desk 

eviilees-:cn 'unmistakable gfft--even though an uilcolisaious on&-"'"for t~olitck .·>f'' ""· · 

~ ·' The transaction reflects so seriously upon the methods of · tltEi :State:· DePaitment that it would 

.;, ,~,·. :pfi)ba'bly never have seen the light had the Germs.us not made it publlo tbemselvet1. In 1919-20 

,-: ... ·. ',$'I ~.Ae~ ~nstituen~ A.ssembl_y held an. eμi.bo~~ inv~tig~t~o~,.,,~~~ .. ;~~ ~psi~ffit1 ,~o; ~-~Ill'· · · .tn .Ws the Zmunermann telegram played its part. Among its putlllSh~a dooument1qs a note which ·,. ':'..;~;;7'rev~ o~e route by which thi11 document found.its way-'aoi'O~ the <Atl&:niic;it'"~It says: ;"l".;,i !' h,.:. 

''<.-.·;A.:,~~' <'<' "Instructions to Minister von Ecktui.rot·"'werido be•taketi'by'letw!byr.~ay'of•Wai!hington 

/' •.::.•by U-boat on the 15th of January; since the U~boat D.e~ml·~d no~ate.rt.,onher out~ trip, · 

( .,:, . .,., , these instructions were attached on January ~6th to .W~.l'fo.,,l~~t &tlfl. tbJ'ou~ tll.e,-,ofti~ 

of the American Emba.ssy in Berliu telegraph~ to ~un~ Beriistorif ~y ~1. .of t~e State De~rt- 'ment in Washington." · ··· .. , .. ,, .... F' ·''~ .. ,;•·· '"·"'~"··'" · , •• ,. •• ,._,_.,. 

------ ... . ~..t-t-·'.... -::~:,,:;·t·)-=:-'f!,1"~~ !, . ',.- ·~;i'. 

: =~==;s~:t:l>~Il, p. 1337: "Official Gennan Oooumenta"~~ io tb;\'w(,'i.~ W~'.J"·~iei1 ~d~ t~'.iti,i).i#J81o~'l;, ,tbl!,Caimesle El;ado~t lof Intemational Peace. [Thill work iB referred to ID ~~~per,ss O~,.f.I~:I .:.·~· ,.,· :~:. -~ ~~' '.·-· 

·' 

,,· ·. ,.· ···~:..._ 

.. -; . ___ _._.__.l!_;_~-~~~--
!', 

= i·'"1<' 

12 

· · · ·· · · What Um *28* i&._t the ~ Fomgn Office u.sed the Amerieao GQ,·~.ment as an ~ 

. ; ' : .. : ._: · , }:~y for the ~,Ol'a dOC'11Dl61'1Hhat cantaii:ied 11 plot against its own territorial integrity. • .~·,1 • 

·"· ·• . .. 1 .. · The~- ~emment, m&ncY times l:c the course of the war, used the good offices of the A--

.· . i~ B~te. De~t .tor ~itting ~~ to Amha.ssador Bernstorff. Oertwlny had no+ 

COininunica.tion With the Unit.ed States; the Wireless Wail unreliable and not always available;-~ 

sionally, therefore, the Oerrwws would requm WMhington to serve in thit capacity. As all·~ 

· , DUl8iages touched· Eng)a.nd before starting IW1'0lt8 the Atlantic, the consent of the British Gov · · 

· .·.w~.necess&ry .. bete1re tjle f&vor .could be performed. That. the British grooioua.ly permitte4 tlie 

. m&na to use their cable facilities may possibly have seemed, at the tim~, an atJt s.vor411_ of ~he.~ 

~us; the fact, however, that the British posst:·ssed the German ciphel' and read all these ~ 

· ~:·as they sped through England creates the suspicion that they may hav-e regarded thie &11 a ... 

· '' 'ti.:·: of'obti.hliog valUAbie information... , · 1i'', · 

·~ makes it appear th&t qbtaining permission to use the American $i&te De~ ment fadlit.ies was a at.her aimple ma.tter and that many messoges were sent bt the ~ 

·Department for the ~ in this way, without reu.lization on the part of State ~t 

oflicl&ldmn'of ~ ~ seri&us c.~~ that might ensue. That this is far i'l?Om Ote 

truth·\rill appear l&ter, ·mi·statement, too, that "As all such messages touched England 

before s~ acroBS the Atlantic, the eonse~t of the Britil'h Government was necessary Wore 

the favor t.ould 'be 'perfonned" is meaningless when one considers .the matter. It is obvious 

·firSt ·c)f,'Bn 'that had the Ai:llerican Government been so naive n8 to ask the BritiSh Ooveni- 'lrleiit's·cb~t to such a· procedure the latter would certainly have refused. It is likewise obVioils 

tliat;When Belnstorff',wanted 'to send a. code message to the Foreign Office in Berlfu, tlie siate 

, Dep~lllent could not simply address a telegram to the American Ambassador, Gerard; in plJin . '~'larigu~'88king him to "Fof\iVai'd the following code message to the German· Foreign ,dmee," .. ~1,Jie British' would naturit.Ii.y'.' not pass such messages even though the greatest neu~raF~unt¥y 

asked·· SU.ch 'a favor. Such a -proCedure is not a diplomatic possibility iii time of vtar"':- If.not. 

in plain language, the forwarding by the State Department of Oerm&.ll code messages h~cFto 

be .. done through the intermediaey of State Department code. Assuming that official meSsa.ges of the .American Government to her amba.ssad·ors and ministers in Eutope were not subjeeted __ ___ 

·w any study whatSoeveFby the British Cryptographic Bureau (which is difficult to belie~;~ 

'li'iS posSibie that .. this practice might not have been detected immediately by the British. ·Buf ··· · ·: 

:the manner.in which them~ were actually drawn up was such that the <ilscrovery of the 

practice should and must he.ve been particularly easy if American messages were even hastily 

scanned.. Here is an· example of the plain text of such a message, copied from the files of the 

State' D~partinent: . . · . .. . · . '. , ' . ,: ,i'. 

Amleption . , 

Copenhagen 

Forward Berlin 

3803 : .. Deliver to German Fonlign Office the. following mee.suge from Ambaamador Bernstortr. 

(Add German Cipher.) 

LANSING. 

,l.Aeking a copy of the telegram as actually filed for·transmission, the form the code message 

took when filed cannot here· be indicated; but we have on this point the positive statement of 

Mr. David A. Salmon, then as now Chief of the Division of Communications and Records of 

. the State Department, to the effect that the code groups of the Ger:man...&.Q.de ~~L 

reencoded ·in State Department ~or changed in any way whatever: they' were ?JW'ely -aaaea to iiie preairi6le ,;qu;ihigthe forwarding of the message. This ~amble WU in code--

American State Department code. Now the code groups of the Ame.rie&n e-Ode w.ere moat 

:C9P1D.lOnlY. ,in letten, while those of the Oermu cw;H.\e were in ~urea.• Furth~,),Jie 

a ID a few C88eB &ate ~ oode messages consisted of ~ ~ ti"' :Si!"' ,._ ie-=tably ~lglt grvtlJil. wt!bl·llli9 ~ 

aoda-.... as stMed turtber on, ~of a, f, and 6-dlBlt groups . 

. ~ ~ ~'. ".:". ·/ :-~./·~:--;..:-·"'!~~, .... ·::;;7;:yf..~""'-~-~'..,...~~':'"::·.~;~.'l~t·:<..:. ·. !f'l!JKltt- ) •"""lllolO!ll.'""!!':l~~~.,..~ ... ----~--....••------'"!"V•;"-.~...,_.,._,_-.,';...._...--.::_!...•..;,,...,_~~-·-· ·., '._l .... ~ 
. •, REF ID:A491080 

13 

eode groups of·the German code were characterized by being composed of three; four, and five 

digits, whereas in most codes of even those days all of the code groups uniformly contained five 

letters; or fivedigures .. Hence the subterfuge was sure to be detected almo..+, immediately by 

th:e ]3rltish. · Still- they made no protest. Why? The answer must surely be obvious: they 

were gltld: to have access to this leakage of valuable information, and to lodge a protest would at 

once dry it up ·at the source. 

Whereas Hendrick makes it appear that our State Department handled many messages 

for the Geim8.ns; Lansing in his account of the matter makes it appear as though the transmission of the Zimmerman telegram via Stat-e Department channels was an isolated incident; flat· So ..,.. 

or .·at least that this method of communicatio~ was placed at the disposal of n~~;torff ~y 

tow~ the en.d of the period of strained relations. Quoting Lansing: 29 

' .''.At. eleven-thirty I went to the White House and for a.u hour discussed with the President th~ 

: : . . '· · ··~ubi:~ce of the (Zimmermenn) telegre.ni a.nd the way to use it. The Pitkdent said that he had be8ri . . . ': . wonderin& ·how Bernstortl got the message from Berlin, and that the closing of secret. lines '.of oom-

. -.,,,,,' 111unication with his government made him a little uncertain e.s to its authenticity. 

I told him that I thought it could be easily explained, my opinion being that it wa.s done ~ ,t.Jie 

" following manner: During the early pa.rt of January Count von Bernstorff, at the instance of Colonel 

· House, had ·been laboring with his government to obtain concrete terms of peace.. The Amba.Ssador 

· ·· · bad eoinplained of his inability to communicate secretly and therefore freely with Berlin, which ·he 

· ' considered. essential in order to accomplish his purpose. In view of this reasonable statement we 

·, i< " • bad eonl!etited very reluctantly to send that is, in a cipher, ·of which the De artme,!U.d~!J, q,o!,,h&ve 

'J'. 

.. \ ~ 

~e.l.J messl\gee for-him through our Embe.ssy. .- 11 we. did se_yemLtimes.,penI?-itting the~­

Foreign Q.jtice to reply in the same way. On January seventeenth an exceptionally long :m~ 

(some one thousand groups) came through from Berlin. Ou the eighteenth this meesage was delivered 

to .the Ambassador. On the. nineteenth the ~legram from Bernstortl to Mexico wa.s tiled. . From 

these facts I drew the conclusion that in the long secret message delivered to him on the .eighteentl>. 

wa.s the message for the German Minister besides other orders as to w~t .to do in ·ease of a sever~ 

't: <;( .. ol diplomatic relations.Bl " , :, . ,. , 

. The President two or three times during the recital of the .fore.going exclaimed ''Go~ Lordi" 

and when I had finished said he believed that the deduction a.a tO 'b.ow Bernstortr rooelved blS or&r8 

W'ae correct. He showed much resentment a.t the German Government for having imposed upon ~ 

kindness in this way and for having made us the inuocent agents to advance a consj>iracy againat[ 

. this country. · , · · · · 

. :. Qar~faj. stμdy of available records shows that while t4is ~ha~el, .of -communication was '" 

used«00.nl<;>1-e than a single occasion, it was used npt nearly so fr~ue.ntly as_:g_~driek'.i~!Ul~, .. __ itt 

and that~1m.Ur~ ... ~rifined .~~2£~J:aj.!,~~~'Fhe first was on June 2, 1.:91,5,:~rtly ~ter- the sinking of the Lusitania, which occw:red on M;a.y. 7, U~15. Of this period 

~f.Q.rft ,B&y&~ SI ' ' . ,, , ; , ;, -~· : : r 

., It is 'Certain that if I had not at this stage of the Lumania eri8is ·Jiad l:srl(:lllterview with the Prem~ 

: • .. ': · · /'.den,t, ~tions would have been broken off and war between. the Unit<l4_ Stat.es and Germany ~ust 

. , ,,.(Mvitably have followed. • • • During our conv.ersa.tion, bowever;·~ .. Preaident offered for the 

• ! I' ~~'.-~e ,to p~rmit me to dispatch a. cipher telegram thro~SJ?., the Sta~ J>~~eut, t.O. be. ~t :011 

"···. "ifiyitJie'.Kni.erlcanEmbassyinBerlin.aa ·•l • · .d~- .. • · ·· · .,.,,,., 

. ~: ... ~---· ... ~--~(~ ... ~,:·r~ · . r . :~·:! · .... :·~. .~~\r~~;;.r<).«~:~f::-·\~ .. ~. ,:. ... -r.,! ·.~ •• :~~ 

'.:~~·=ii.rsotnorlglnal. '·· ':1ii -"·'· .·-.:.;<?"".i··"~ .,, -... ;..:Ji 

j · · a· A tootnolll at thla point ooutallls substantially the same mauer BB IB·gtven tn our extiaoMrom R~ elnn-.h· i'>:;1J1 ~·the 'ltll)' 

1.11_ w,~_tbe Z~ telegram was tohftve been SCDt by thesub.warbie.~114!· , .~ , . . .. __ ;. ·' . ·. • · • • ·n Beritstorft~ p. lftl and p: 154. . · ' " i" · . ·· ·' • -.· r · ·~··· . . ._ .l'>\t '.· ::;.- ·Y'. .. 

n This statemllllt Is not strictly com>ct, for there exist.! In the ft1ss of \he. Btat.e Department a lettilr ,date4'.November·l2, 1'.11',.Crom 'Benlslonr 

to Secretary Bryan encloa!Dg a message wblch Berns1.ortf asked Bryan kl Blllld to the Oemwi Forefin Oftloe. Th.ts meesage was In the Oermsn 

oode, 13040, and, as BernstorfJ told Secretary Bryan, 6Sked "Instructions from my Oonrnment for the purpose of publtely ludorslng tl!e.BeJglan 

reli&t plan." Atloched to tho letter Is the teit of the code message which we bave deooded an411nd to be u de8lllfbed by Bernlltarll. Thlo ~. 

lneldwtaily, wail In the same oode (l;w.aQ) &11 the Zlnunennruw teleiram lu the Jono 1n· wb!cb \be latW 111'111 fGrwarded bf ·Benlatodt to ·Meidoo 

OitJ. ., . .-;· .. l ~- , '. : " '· .. · · , " ... · "·.,.,.. 

' ' .. ·.~ ··. 

.... ·-' '• .. _j. 

.. ·•, ... '/-: ·-·~·-· .-£: _ _;,_~w.L~ ~~·£;~.~~\:. -~~~~ 
·'."<.'. T~.·initW..· • ·. ~in~. .. J'·~~t,Jy IJ&fed ~h~.way for several more during th(! sa~e c.r.W., 

as ;as;ev1d~~ by- Bemstafff,;. ~ ... . . · · .: 

·! :.1··.,.·:ii, From thls:th.u .. co:i'#'t.rd. [tha.t;···about July 21, l9lf>I Mr. Lansing agreed with me' that,~,~ 

·t:,;r'.t -~,Jejjular thing.,I ebo# bet l)liilr'mlit~v9'bat8T~,.iuigotia.tions were going on, to llelld cipher ~s 

l ,, . · 11 ,; -¥>;P1Y ~verapiet).~>~JOUIJ~. th! c~neJ.s ol}-~ei State Department and the .A.meric:an Emb~ iD 

Berlin. It will bo remembered that" similar pi-ivilege had t-een granted me at the time of the L~ 

incident. . .. · · , · ·. " ''"' ·- -,.\ .::.,..~-ZB~~.s:J ~ .• ;..· . .:.· . .,~;~,,: '!:''1·.~ ·:-.if··~·_:: i ." ·-.1, . .·: (",.~=: 

_ l'{-(.~·_g, ,.. . .;,,~q~~,i~].o~ i'1m,P,,~}J~e ~~usion .that μie State Department wae carele8s)~ pl~ 

--..;. j' ·~?~~?0£C ?Y.. th~ ~ t~at .• 

the~ ~d· J.:t~~E~~:~~~~ "to. be no pa.rticUia.r u~ency for the trans~ Of·-~e ~~·on,8.C®'1Dt Of "$~~of the aubjetts mentioned.";it' It must also be noted tl*t ihe 

&~~(.:be~t. ~ ~ not only fi>r the Gennan Govemmeμ~, .bu& ~-:1Qr 

~· iv \'4A>-- Plfufield 

the.Al!!-~. atiViemia:~' ,..as.· is~~. J ·&,-a.telegnm1 

• · • • 

dated February 4, 1917, 

. 

from I.ianeing . • tio' · ~r . 

: -· • ~ '.":'·ij.~wt:.e:~ qn~onal)le p~priety of t~ ptoc.edure on the pa.rt of om diplomatic offici8ls, - if i$'.:"~~'tp. undel'Stim:d. wlij .Pn\sident Wilson and Mr. Lansing ma.de the State Department 

W:ti~'.~$V:a.ila.ble in tlie CircW:iista.nees that then existed. For, with their complete control of 

ca.ble' facilitie8; the Alliea were· a.hie. to tre.nsmit .any information they pleased without censor-.·' 

ship' of ·a.riy sort ;by .iiiy other Government, while the Central Powers, having no cables; were 

forcoo·J.t()tise "radio, and ·ev~n then had to submit their messages tO a censorship 'exercised by' ~p~~~gn'.'P9:Wer,s. .· , . '. . . . . . .. ' . , . . . . . . .. ,, . . .. ,~ 1 ~;;I~ ... ~y; posi;i~y be . supposed :t):uit the . Zllnm.ermann telegram was transmitted .. by radio . 

from,Nauen direct to Mexico, inasmuch as there was a powerful station at Chapultepec. But 

~e eri~enc~ is fairly clear a.g~s.t such an hypothesis; The Chapultepec station ~9.s hardly in' 

wor~ order' by OCtober '1'918' as can be seen from the folloWing ril~e:87 , ~·;·.·}T'r.:·:; ~· ':-' :· .·"· .. ~.. . ... - ·.-: .. _· . ~ ,, · · " " . . ·~ ,, 

";.; , " ; 11rom:_. Madrid . . , . 

· .. :;· ~· To:,. Berlin , •.. ~~o .. Oct. 8, HHS . . . 

'"·r.· ·r ' · 'JAHNKE repoitB frotD. Mexico without dat.e: Cipher telegrams 6 and 1 eannot'·be deelp~red. 

· .. :'· '-Pleaseeend'tlll:io8:each·ttme:· A wireless station has been erected. I am now trying•to·~t:~ 

• · · communication-with Nauen. • •. • .. " : ·; ·:;, \: ,. ·.•: 

Jiilinke was a secret agent .of the German Admiralty who worked in the United'.~StaiA!s;'ltil.d 

5' .--f ,;,J)_ Mexico. His telegrams were sent by von Eckhardt, the German Minister e.t Mexid{Citytto 

--=· o T v~ ~ Bue:nos· ·~for :·rel,!'.! f.9~_!!n-:--Wliiletllirfofegomg-messagesta.teatliatt'Janxike rej)orts 

-~ ~. ~ from M~hout date"! we can fix the da.t~ of the report as not earlier than June:'9, 1918, 

§. ~ ~ b~_ause·ciphe~ tEiI.~am; N~. ·1, me~tio~ed in that report as ~eing indecipherabie:, w.8.$. sent on 

-=::;;· 8 A ~ June 9. 118 While it is pOS81ble to· unagme that me888.ges nught have been tran~nutted from 

=-~ ;;.. ~-~ Nauen in the hope that.they could ~e heard in Mexico City, yet. the fa.~t _that !l's late as the mid~e, 

--~ ,;~. ~ of 1918 Ja~ke was evidentlr haVlilg ~great deal .of trouble m re~eivmg Signals (note. that he_ 

-: ~ '.tf. asksLthat·Blgilals be sent thrice each time) makes it extremely unlikely that a. year. and ·a.· half · 

-; iJ.. ~ L,,._, before then the Ge:ma.ns would have tried to get the Zimmermann telegram to Mexicp City - "~ r· - b-y~au~an 1mcertain rout.e. . . , .. 

:~ ~ 7,d. .:,,.~~tarif,p.160. . 

--;~ 

-~ 

. ,..-,JfUrDJ>. Bllend frr;· . -

. ' ,'."J.ae; p. 111, C!O!ltainll tile tollowlag me1!S1119: .'"Be (ADlltrlaa Ambaaaadcrl s--1«1 •o m-..ie to be -t ~ Pl! to Isla ~. 

whlGb _,, furwalded last rupl In departmmt'3 l&ID, Februlll)' a; 7 p. m . 6Dd wa JP111>N~ a. 'f'- m O<n aiore -.,a. - 11i2l :febtuar1'.f> 

' p; m., ·Wll 8111lhl his reqQ8St \bit momllll&." 

" Kall A111davtt, p. 234 . 

.. BaD A4ldaYtt, p. ~-

. . 

'.~ :~·~-;-~.---~~~'--".~~~.~~~~._,,·::~_:.:·-,,~·- .. ,:i\... 't'W~-~ ·~,~~-Ltd·-.:-: __ ·-
"b. 

ll 

\·"· .. w:e,oome•now. to a study of the code used for the Zimmerman:il'telegram· itself, The telegtem;~ lh:s number. 158 and was appended to telegram No. 157 which• ·was •sent through 

Sat~ Department cha.nnels.89 If, therefore, lacking telegram 158,. we could ascertain what 

code was ued.1:for telegram No. 157. we would have a.t least a clue as to what code was.useq for 

the•.Zimmerm.ann telegram. But even this clue _is· la.eking, for, despite most diligent search, in 

which there was full cooperation from the Chief of the Division of Communications a.nd Records 

in the State D~partment, we have thus far been unable to locate the original of telegre.m No. 157 

~,~~~~ ~(t~e ~t.ate Department: However, telegr~ No. 157 ~8:8 only one. ;o.f a,~ ex-

-~ . ."~tw'een the German Foreign Office e.nd Bernstorff via. the State Department, and 

.f~~ .t~ do exist at least several other message.a belonging to. t\lis lattel". seriesin).hose IJM.'9 : . . . . . . . ..... · 

· ",.,.;~·~··~ese' nielisages are of vital importance in a study of.~ stra~ relations μnmedia.tely 

Ji~<Iμig:~e .. breal(between Germany and.the United States whic;h fo~y.took p]~ on Febru-

•i3t .19.l-7" when Bero.storff was handed his passport, . They are ell in.a.code which is known 

as 7600, 88. was aeerta.ined by a study of the messages in question in·eonneetion with their pla.in 

·~ts;·~ published in the official report of the German hearings.•. · . : 

> . . ·$m~:μl~'~eniSrorff m0868.ges just mentioned were sent in CQ'de 7.500. ~~ p11>habiijties are 

·veey_~~b; ~i ~egrams Nos. 157 and 158 were also in Code 7~9,Q. -~ut. t)ie ~erman.n 

telegram. as given to Ambassador Page by the British wa.s the deco4ed version of a message 

not in .Oode··-7500 but in Code 13040. This code, 7500, is what is known to cryptographers a.a a 

"t~art" or "cross-referenced" code. The two parts comprise (1) e. set of 10;000 pliraSes in 

alpha't;>etie~ ,o~er.' and nμillbered from ·0000 to 9999, the numbers being entirely disarra.nged, 

ii;·~~.';'~~o~\~! i:m~er~.cal sequence;. (2) the 8'μne phras,e~ .ti~~d .~t.,b- :t~~ sapie.numbers as 

~q~ )>,~t .~ time with- the numbers m sequence and the plμ-ases ~~ed. 'I'~ first part, 

w.ith1th6~.in alphabetical order, is used for en~ior,sending·a message; the second 

p&ri;,with-the:Iiumbers in sequence, is used for reading a. message which has·been sent:by means 

#f 'fJie'.;,rJ.Utri,~. · The advantage of a code of this nature is th&t· the identificatfon' of any code 

·~~lf~f. -~ .~~t$ider -~l yiel_d no alphabetical c~ue to ~e .m~,.~t~iotli~ ~o4e ~up .y,r~;.1!!11n~i'lca.lly m its neighborhood. Thus, 1256 rmght, m -~ :~~ ~e 9{,,~e kind 

described, signify ·"day," 1257, "book," and 1258,."sl:ioe." The recoilstruct.ion·:of &.®de of this 

nature by analysis is neceasa.rily 8. much slower process than the build.ihg·up'··.bf ~a;oode book 

-int wiii.di 'the alphabetical order of the phrases corresponds to the numerical sequence Qf their 

'cOd~~group:equivalent.&-wherein, for example, 125& signifies "date," ·1257: ""day/', 12'58 "C!&ze," 

:etc:~t.~·r:-~/···i; .r:·~> .. · ... ,. .{.; ·~··~·:..:§l~- ~: ~ .. t: :··:t_::·'•.,.!'3"· 

.·~~-." :i,~~f15QO, ,which as stated was a two-part code, was _one Qf,I,\. se~ . .Q~ .su~ codes wbieh 

~~ans employed. The code indicator for one of these codes!·tinifQl',Olly, consists of two 

~ant·digits followed by two O's. The two significarit digit.8 ahvay~~ehow an:· ar,ithmetical 

,~oo of 2.· A skeleton reconstruction of Code 97()0 and one.'of'5300''attHn'the·OoV16rnment ·~:: .>Co.O.e:~8600 was :used by German oftfoials '.in South .Am~:duiingi :the .. waro:.~,;~·6400 

lMsoJW;,a in: user during the wa.r. The existence Of. 8,l code ·Imown.;'88 ·4~!iW8.S" predie~d;,beeaus'.e 

-of:.thme:xistence of the others, a.nd was later -00nfinned·.fromra,JPrencli' eoμrce.~;i.,;;;1o::• ·":~;: ,,;: 

,.,,, ._(l,ode,ii3040, was an old Gennan diplomatic .eod~ tohtb:ei.tparthllyidisarrailged tjpe:./Fhe 

alph&be.tio'vocabulary is broken up into fractioDB and'these1~f.inro_:stμaller fraeti0ruPbefore 

the numeral code groups are attached. By this process tli~ .origina.tralphaootieo.l· se:quence' of 

"German Hearings, P. lS.17. ·' /. ~ · ·v · : .!~ r: ; · ·~;,~~'. · }>.": · :~ ·• , •.. ~ • 

.o Some of these messages are BernstorlI"• Nos. 154 and Hill of Novamber 21; llU of Deoember l; lelfof.'December •· 1919; 212of1amia'1·1S: m 

of Jmilary 21; 228 and 229 o! JQnuary 23; and 23U of Je.nuary 'rl, 1917. .., i ".-!.~Vi'· "' 

- Bee Mendelsohn, Charles J .. An EnclpAtrment oftAd German IJlplomatlc Code 7500, Techlltcal Paper of theiSlg:JJlll I11teUlge»te'BervtCe.'l838. 

... 8418 Bouc&Td; Robert. • .. rtlcle In <trlflllOirt, Par!~, Feb. ·'· 1937. 

98783-38--8 

.. ~\" 

L ,& 

... :: <": .. ~~:~~L~_:: -l.. ...... }. ·. 

/ v 

. ;-:·. 

\. 
-~. 

-• 

' 

the:wof'dli &lid phl'11819 idonly-:pal!f.WLyiiesttoyl!ld~· In the cnse of 13040 the method oi diw~ 

the ~bulary· int.O·ftacfio:bs WM"&llcb ~ t4:> m~ ver:· generous trooes of the olphabetW4· 

attilllgeiri.~t· and propert.idaaDy to. fe.cilit&tie me f.'1'0C6Sil of decipherment. ()nee hegUn1 -

. debiphmment :of ·•11eh & e.b4le beoomes progresei.vel:y easier a.s more groups are identifiech 

~-------:---m,en ~~o~ ~~-.~t ~.·t.RSgr&m ~~taining thl' English text of the Zimme~~ ..., message, htH!!O.id. ·· · .. ,., · · · ,,. ·'~. . .. 

· / .: 1

• .. -t:l!OJill ~d ,W by·:nlAil IL·li<>PJ'~f t'b~ cipher te,ct and or the decode int() German · 

' Me'~~t~~;li>tJ\hn:bi1.Mhl-e}i 2', but Of course could not have reached W~: i~J~ 't.hati'.l\' ~k.! '.::~''iji4d:n~ii!tlie~'still 'woi'ried about the' authenticity of the:;~~~: 

'Wa&hin~:_fisked' tof·if~f bf th~ 'G'eim.an ti>de;; ~s is evidenc~d by the follo'Wi~ W~~ 

· . . •·. --· ~ ,. •· . , . . WABIUNG'CON, FebruoQI 28, 1917-6.p. m: ,· 

(" '..:"~: · ~'.'Y0tfr drt;~tjti~'U:.-1 p. m. Please endeav<1r to obtain copy of Oe~ cod'e ,.._. "'· "*:.·.~. ~·-~ ~lMI and tc~aph traru.ls.tions. ·All tluoee messa.g',J.;a#"-

' · .! ~ ·U', ~d ~r~d a.dd*8ed to ·~ Germ- Lef!atlons at &g'!lta; Po,....KQ..~ ,; .· .. ''}' ... ~ Ohne. ~tlNly. . ._,. .··.:. . ' · [Here follow code~.). . ,, . . _ . 

. . . . ·,: ,. Mort will be-ma~ to ~ure eopiea of all German cipher messages a.e fa.1 back as peiBi,b~.:.Od U• '.~' ~ ·:: ~;\li~ bei;attffihlit' we~ ~ .. ·~iWoh of the ~~e t)l~ would be a. great saving of time and ~J18EI. 

'·"1 ":·':·•otnWentoti:-ot ~~ ~dei:t·h~re would of counlt\ be 1iohim\.mlcated to the· Btitlsh Oovernntl!l\t .. ··· / 

1r:; c: ·-·rt ' Pl.tbll~~M. cif·~rm~nilfa:teJ\?~mft6 M~iii~o tomortOw. · · ,:, ~ 

~~· ..:i· ~·. ·.:;~-~; ·.. ,·:,":.• · ·LA·NSINO~: :~·(·!~ 

.·.; :<g,•npliedt4 ., . ·~ .r: : : . , ,, .,. : 

~;··:~.o:.-: :: !·, 1 •• ~ , •• LONDON, March. 1, 1917--"-_1~~1'"1 .• ·~·i -.f:·, . " Z~·'!l'~' _ , _ ·: , . " . , [Rec~ived March 2, 12:30 ~;~.]. "'". f • Yolit 4493, Februaey ~8. p. m. The three messages were deciphered to-day and ~ practiciillY.· 

( L"I '. ' 1ctehtlcii.1. 'They futit&i!i inllttuctlons to the three legations to use ll ceftAih variation of the' iifll,h~r 1!6dit ~ ,;1~ <': ·."/ ffhlll1 ·ct)mtbUnicat1n~ with Berlin. The one to Santiago was to be reJ)t!ated to other n'lil!Slotu1·ib; ~' 

·.r.• •'· Atnm:iea. ~l'be qlieetiod of OUJ" having a copy. of the eode has beeu taken ttp, but there awear .ti> be. 

,,,. . ~~ous difficulties. ·.I am toid' ao~ual code would be of no use to us e.a it Wl\4 never used straight; :b~~ 

With a. great .n.um\>eT .~I ·variations whlch are known t,o only one or two experts here. They ~n nQ~ 

be 8'parea to go ·to Alfleilei. if you w'm send me copies of Hfernstorlf)'s cipher telegrams; the llrltiaiH 

:Suthoiitieii Will ~tadly deelphet thetn as quickly· as possible giving me copies 11.R fast 11.S d~ip_het'llct 

1· could \eJegratJh tettt or wbtinii.ries In ma'ttets of importance ai1d send thl' otht'TR by pouchi · ·.Neltih&'t 

. . ,. Spring Bioe n~ Gaunt kno'.w anything about this :tnatter. 1\,, 'H: 

. • • . . PAGE •. ,:~~ 

described 

, .Mt. ~~s 

by Mr. 

inform!Ult·was. 

Page in his original 

mie:iiiformed 

announcement 

or was misleading. 

concerning 

Mr. 

the 

Pago. 

Zimmermann 

The ~ 

telegram\~ 

U8ed ~ ~' 

'' · .. : ;. ·, 1'h'e iitst ltro\\t> hl the number o'i the telegram, 1'30, [sc. in the German numbering a11d da~\rig:code, 

; °',. b~·Whl'Ob tbC grt>up' 130 ml!lllns "Number 3" ;·the Zimmermann telegram wM therefore ~'-t-1<» '3 

: ,, "·. ,.,; trom Washingtun to Me~co, CityL -nd the second is 13042, indicating the number of .the· co00· used. : '.: .. ~, ,.'l'~e bs~ !Jroup but,two i!' 97~56, w~ch is Zimmermann's signature. · . .. . • . . _, ·: •. ' 

· · · ni& description tallies exaetly with ,the copy .of the telegram as secured .by Mr-.<J?Olk !Mfu. 

the W~iugton telegraph office.· . (See frontispiece.) The message was in straight unenciphefeii 

German code, attd could be read ·by: any one in possession of both the telegram and:the code 

bobk ... Not only wM the Zimmen'nahn telegratn. as sent from Washington to Mwoli1City in 

tibia lirumcipheted 1304-0 code, but a. whole multitude of messages between Wasmngtoh and 

~- Berlill' wer& sent in the same .way. . :.·:· .· . . ... 

~- .::.~quotedonp.S. ~~/;~~~~~ {Ul.JJ 

• FBB, pp. m-w. r v'1r' L l;V Y"-17 v. ~ or"'~.:' ...... · · 1'( .... 8llt 11111118M!t ,,...i oa »· a. 

·.~ . . ~-· '.. 
'· 

" - •· " .:J "\ .. ;-: • - ,~_, -, ·'"-'-

REF ID:A491080 

17 . . 

. ·-'r~ ... ·Atimil'll Sir ·Reginald Hall, in his affida\rit before the Miftd Claims ConuniMion, Aid of ~ <J ... thi8 &>ti~ (Chl.iliiant's Exhibit 320, p. 776): · · · ... · ' 

l i~ · •. , . '·The. German cipher book covering thls system of ciphering is In our possesaion, ·1t having been 

-i ;~.ooptured .by the British authorities in the baggage of a German oooaul, named WasmWls who was 

stationed at Shiraz while Wasmuss was engaged in an ende&vor to'~ut a British oil pipe line. 

' ·· .; 1Jt seems· unlikely that a German consul engaged in a.n expeditioti to cut a pipe line should 

carry a diplomatic code book in his baggage. Moreover, the British eopy of 13040 is fragmentary, and gi~~ every evidence of having been gradually recon{:lthic~q·in·~ ·cryptographic 

~~:.through the· decipherment of messages. A _glance a.t the copy .. gi've11 by the British to 

t.ha:lf~ St.ates. after America's entrance into. the we.r will demonstrate this faot. ·Tb.is copy 

eontame about ha.lf the vocabulary, but is not a transcript· of part of 'the· code book, since it 

~i~~~t>i,woi'ds and phrases from all the pliges .. Some o~ .the',identifieations, too, are· 

:ihartfea 'doubt¥w. ·" An actual copy of a code h9ok would cert.a.inly, not exhibit missing and 

d

. :<.'ktf~·· . . . . . . . . . . ' f)~ . ~ 8"qOM-; . .· ; . I ·:. ' ••.· --,,,.----=-M 

"' .':;.(ln the other hand Admiral Hall's recollection was probably only partly a.t fo.ult. The · 

BriiWtmay very well h&ye foun~ in 'wasmuss' h&g~ not a: copy of .. a._~e ~~ ~ut a copy ~f ,.2 "- ·. 

one ot more telegrams with the code text accompamed by the c-ottesp0nd1nt cleat. Ftom ·this j;,>"'1~ · 

etart_'they. would then proooed to build up the ~ode bo.ok. . As already indice.tetl, ~he nature .of fLJJ.~ . ' .1 

the';fftruauNH)f Cod~ 18040 is such that a comparati~ly small• a.m&un~ :of deooded material &e/71/l. · 

tlie' 

~~r.~th,.a. t>Ook,' .' number.of 

. telegrams in code . . . 

wilJ .enable 

• skille~ . . . ~17P~~Ph,~ " .. "·I .· ·. o• : , " "• " 

~·ieconstruct ~·. . , ".., ' . ~ 

,·; ... How, dμJ, the British 6btajn the 13040 version. of the Zimm~. Tel.am? · Page was 

Whhthat ·it; 'Wll.8 ' 11 • .· • • bought· in Mexico." While the Brlti&h,, for1; obvious :t'easone, 

in'Siat.ed bpoti:the Mexiea.ti soure~ of the message;' we may ha~e our OW'll' opinion IS tA> whether " 

o~~~*Jhey P.~cured another copy from the files of the Western Un.ion Telegtaph··bffice in W~ton.'""'· ·. -~ \ ~· ~-. ~'+- · 

~~·>::·:fb.eiJohO~ questions now may be~~i~ Z:.h.o~,;t~·~A~·:!Ulswers: -·>§ .. ~:~:; Why\'w~\the ,zimmermann telegram originally sent· from• Berlin to· Washington ·in Code 7 500 '" 

ia\th~.<Wili 'OC:me· 1'3040? What routes were really used for its trehslnission"t ·n senral routes 

~.• :~~i' .. 4~/ ,when did· th~ telegram first reach Bemst'brff? ·Why 'dtd. B~r:nsionr:~ohVa.rd it 

m &tihth~r ~·e? When did the British first intercept the message, if.it,wii.8 ~t by:more than 

000,.o.rout.e't.· Were they able to decode it at once,.and if 80, why did they :w,a.μ; ~ore t.hali ii month 

before communicating its contents to Ambassador Page for forwa.r.dingA.o:Waehiilgton? And 

wliich'V~fon did·the British Government hand Page, the one in Code~rsoo or the 1one in Gode 

1.~.t' -~lEi:t1.f.ui~e~ tt? these questions are vitaJ point~ .~.this~,!M~i~,\·:!:/'., ... · .. : ·f -~·~·~: .. ".··. 

•. ..ll\~ Zun~ermann telegram was prepared ~ngmally)n G~lll! ~¥e 7~9\)~~~- that was . ~·-oode employed for ·these special communications betweeth~b&-: Q~. Forejg!).. ~.and 

,., 01 ~. .. · rtl:fo~r<!ireet communication. via State Department' eh11:~~·ai·th~.-μroe.in·"'1Uestion~·'. 

0-.i,A-~ 'I'he'~'ti~Tihgs :c01;lUfui·extremcly intere$ting testirb()ny 6tt 9';poi,11~,'f6t >~· ~ermann 

ti-~t· .· tel~n\·.episo'de was"'a~ussed, With some d;e~ail'~t t.h~.11~~ '~d, t\.'.";'.P@t~~f~~rd con-

~: ... )ii taips. ~~cieu,tJ.y .intE).l'estirig ~timony. on $.e ~μJIIB.~~~ Jui'tQ~wf;~ ~y;sure. of the 

text of the telegram to warrant quotation." · · ... : ,,, -;; ·.: .·.,.,..,~,iq,~ i ,,.-. : ..... , . ·~< ·. 

.. . ·'. Delegate Dr: Scatt~~JNG. Was ther~e.nd 't~flj ~ a· tt;·ueh "rtrorldm~t ·m~~~~. ~v~ti- . gatiou into the fate of t.he Mexic&n dispatches?. '·· ·. ·' ·. · · · · ' · · ,,.:- !!'·;,,:~;,,-:;,• ' ... ·\·' t::v · · · · l ...... ~,,.i;. ~ ..., : ••. ~. ' 

.,·~: , .. • .... , .. Wituess O!Juwr V. Bl!laNsToavF. Yes, an investigation did,.t.f,keJllace~··•~t inet&!tcQ/,;;, '" · Deleg&te Dr. Scati'CKING. And what W&ll the result of thlll havestiga~ _,..,far·u your:-eeti~tiea 

•. 

, ·.'.· .••...•• -.me.''_ · .• in.·· tO question? · · · ,,,: · · ... ·, ·• ""'} .. ,. · r , ''"'~11>""'1:;:;.;, ·' ·' · ··· -•· ,._!," "~'·"' · • • •••.• · ·;""."~.Jr.·~~ &; .• (I .~:•~r~''!.~~·~i~./~('~.1- ~,i-~ ~/ :? .:,. ,··.:.·.·., ·: ~,- "'1.r; ·~'.,. 

• 6o'l!Mln HtM,_,, pp. BJB-SJS; 478-481. . E-":\· ~,~,-~ t ·.' ·-5~7 ·::·«::.)'!-'?h':r-iJt:: ... ). .!.·~ ·.r·.~ ~-i" ····'..:< _,.._:1 ::~ : ·£~.'~ 

~· 0.l. ..._ .• , :: •. ~ : - ~.~~~-~\''~ ), ~~.:··JY,'! 0 l.i~:l"'..1;ii.~.1i:i;l. tt'f'l .. h._ • .-,·-il :<v~~-· ;.·. ", 

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;;:. · :w1t11ess Oouw.r V. Baulf!'onn. So f&r- as 1 k.now, no result was accomplished by,the in~ti-

·.j ~. 

gation. But ~~!l ! CftIDe t.o ha.ve,.!lO dot.tbt upon the point that all our dispatc~~s.t~i:sJl~d 

by the British and placie«l at the di~ of the Americalll< 

Expert Dr. 'BO?fN. ·By this, you mean·t.o say .that thi~ <lispa.tch was caught between Germany. and 

the United Bt&tea, and that the· decoding wae not the result. of transmitting the message to Mexico from 

the 'United States by landt"· · ' · ' "· · 

WUueas Count V.;·BmRN8TOBJ'J'. AflCording to what I learned later, I assume that. the Brititlh 

d~e(l all~ ~~::w~~ ~ oyer t!ie English cableB. ,, . 

, .. '"· ·., , :EweJ"t Dl:· ~ON,J!!i'.· }Ve sl¥UI hav~ to go i!lto this matter moni carefnlly la.t.r>r c;>n. ~··.··'"· '' ' The"Cill.I!WAN; ·y;es, ·out for the present: we Will close the matter here with this. · .·/ «:>'Y' 

,: Dtilegate ·Dr. SiiA:o. 'Secretary of St&te Zimmermann will give i1s fuformation · l&tei b~ 

the question of the b(Jx;~ · The statement 'which we have received from him on the: J)omt·i·~ 

from yours, yo~ Er.eelleney; But he will tell us about it himself. ·u~.«·r•;;.;,~, 

So far ae concerns the dispa.tch to Carranza, the complaint hs.s been r&&de that ~.:Jl!<l ,~0. 

c}aJu\ge of code, and ~ the old cipher wa11 used, which had been known for s. l~g while; that·# •. 'fo 

.. : i'hla' way- poUible rfu. \tie A@patch to be W.-!':Oded. How a.bout this? . . . "'it;' 

· Witness Couat V". ~Jtn NatHrslly, the code was changed much Iese during war~ fit 

WM otherwtse t~ oaee, but that wu due to the fact that it waa impossible to send us new cipb.m;." 

"·The l&Bt-,tlme I .received new ciphel'I! wu by ws.y of the U-boat Deut~n.ti •. "' • .Twi~ 9Jl 

.b~tb the ~ps of μie U-boat DelAtschland I was sent new ciphere.o ,; 

• • • • "' • • ... , .·.Espert Dr. IJ;om~a. May I be permitted at this point to ask a question concerning ~e ciphe~ 

··~ .... ~d ciphfi!f, \teY;~.~,.-:. . . , .. 1, <" '·., 

The·CiunuliN. That would seem to be connected with the point at issue, and in &ny event we 

shall hardly baye an opportunity later on to go into it. ' 

,, '/: "" . Expert Dr. Ho:mzscB. I would like to aek Count Bernstorff to make us a brief statemerit co{;.ering 

.i ·the use of the ciphers, the key to the ciphel'B, etc. It is well known that complaints bave.hceu made hi 

\-

1 

• • respeCt to the·. use of the cipher.. The· Count said something with. regard to the ~tter 9u_n~gJ~ 

/ 

v 

I 

/ 

/ 

v 

. l' 

. ,;/ 

'·I " 

. : , first session. . . . . , . . . , 

, · · Witn~~ Count V. :Bi!usToRFF. It is readily ~ndel'Stood that, under the conditl~ns 'whi~h i ha:Ve 

described, the ciphers were not changed 88 often as would have been the ca'se under nonnaltondiiions. 

In all probablllty, if oommunications had not been interrupted, we would have receiv~f·kw"~iphers 

·every month or every other inonth, so that they could not have been compromised llO easily. To tlie 

.'extent thf!,t my memory serves me, the only occe.sion11 upon which we received new ciphers WeJ'.~U:~n· the 

two trips c>f the DevlaclalDnd. To the extent that it was possible to do so, we operated the 1&:Vail3.ble 

ciphers by means of keys; .2.P..UJ!i,t'JJl&dJater.,.as I e.lre~d~ated i,n gi~..,my~~~.Jll!.til!~. 

· llr!.tisb,..diiJliP..b~<!,~! c;?~r ~,!£.~,.., · . · . , ' 

Expert Dr, HOll'HBCH .. How do you explain the fact that the Engli11h were able ~ get such a 

knowledge of them T . 1 ., • • ·.;.: 

Witness Count V. BEaNBTORFF. I am no cipher expert, but the ciphP,r experts now s.tat.e th&i 

there is absolutely no cipher which they cannot decipher. l do not know how right they are i11.t},li8, 

but, in any event, the experts say that there is absolutely no cipher which they cannot decipher, provided 

they have before them' e. 'sufficient number of telegrams. And this result, particularly· in ·the case of 

the United States, was probably due to the fac.t that circumstances were ~uch as to force us to"make 

use of an extraordinsrily large number of cjphered mcS11ages, and we often sent our reports and tele~ 

grams in double or triple form, in the .hope that in some way they should reach Germany. Gonseo 

,.. quently, the British QiUSt have had an enormous amount of material in the way of cipher dispat«i,h,es 

of ours, and in this way it was possible for them to break down our various ciphers. · · .. · 

Expert Dr. HOETZBCH.' So that, according to your conviction, the question of treachery or car'eleesness is not involved in the matter? ,. '1:: 

Witness Count V. BB&NBTOB.PF. I can state under oath that I do not believe that there waa any 

treachery or negligence . 

.. .-The word "box" ball rel'elenee tu the ~h bes which tbl! British bmd IUld seized 011 tbe boat 011 Wblcb BGrllltllrft returDed to Oer!naDY 

after ae-ot diplomatic relat!Oflll. (See p. •-> • BerllSMlrl!'s last answer is dlslngenuous. Tbe ~11 Lt< about tbe oode used from Washl1111too to Maloo CUy. Ille llfMtVtl' ii.~ Liie code 

from lleriln to> WasblnlCon. Why the Oen:rum Government did om cbaQe tile code trow Wasb!ngton to Mule.; City remaizlS a. rlilldle. The 

bor4ar - not earefully parded even after we entered the war. · · .· . 

fl OD !ti tint VOJICll, the .o.waoi.tid docked at Norfolk OD 1Dly 9, 111111, Oii ii.I MCl>Dd voyau. at Ne•· Loudoa Oil November l, .•. 

, · ... 
·~. 

: . :A'. &tudy ol a.v:a.ilable . messages, excha.~ged between Berns tor.ff e.nq: the. f omign Office in 

BerlinicbtTingthe period of·strained rela.tions indicates that Code 7500-wtis·one of the two received 

·by· ~r«. Via the Deutsch/,and, and this code was apparentiy re~ed for ·messages of the 

~~,~~nee. Code 13040 was nevertheless used concu:r-rently Wi~~Co,4e 7500 as well as 

~ pth~r j,,o~es. Code 13040 was very old; in.fo.ct it used the old Garin.an:: orthog1-aphy and 

whereas it contained words like "velociped" it failed to list such a. word as "U-Boo~,'.' except 

~-~ SP:pplement, and was not sufficiently up-to-date for foreign coμunlμlications.. . .. 

0 • 48. ~ the rqutes really used for the transmission ot the Zimmenpann telegram, all ih:e .eri-:: 

d~n~·~USJ$r cite~ indicates thnt two routes were certainly e1llployed, e.ven if the w;irele'ss .was 

no(~. . The first was the State Department route, and it 'is ci~ar tha~ .the telegram w~ seni 

on_~~-ry 16,1917, via that channel. The second route, acc()rding t?,·~e statem,~t cw.:!.ta.ln~ 

~ .. ~.ca.blegrf.μll f:i;om Bell to Harrison quoted above (p. 11), w~ via Swedish channels, and sfuce 

B.en_tol_d'H.arrison that the British had succeeded only partially in: d.eooding the message, it ni~y 

~e: ~sumed that it too was in Code 7500. If the wireless was q8e.Q~ tile s~e c,ode was alin'Qst 

.~i.,~ed. T~e,Britisli in the fall of 1917 apparently aaw,n~)#~ ~ te~.B~ll ~-t .. tiie ~. ~ eμiployed Swedish channels for the Zimmerm.ann ~~~e , hecause the s11bject 

o~~~-f'l()ip:ent :was the famous Luxburg "!!ink without trR2~:'.. ~JlB~e w~ch had ~n. ~t: vi• . tA~ e~·c~e.n.nels. Ifowcver, 'Bell was not told that the British had ~tercept~d, the Zimmer-

~~- tel~~am sent via State Department channels for reasons ;~v.W<1~_)".i1fpresently b~llle 

Q~. . ... ·.· . '. . ' . . . . .. ., : .•. ~ :·"" . . . • : 

_','._, ,~. ~~.tish u~doub¥1dly intercepted the State Depart~ent m~ge W:hioh'serv~,:89 ~ speak, as the envelope for the Zimmennann telegram, on January 16, 1917, o,r, at the la~h,.~ 

· ~-~ g~y;. ·, · yY t>?e they able ~ decod~ the Ge;ma~ code text ~o~ta.4if1d. ~~1* ~-€),. $~~~ ,P.!PartIJlf,tlt~s m~age? The answer to this question is of great cryptog,apllip .:Qiterest, . ':piey w~ 

f~ ~read i~b?t only partially. The evidence !or tbisi.$'fa.μ:ly clear.cut .. :N,o~'.,~J,Uy·~fe,,w~· 

~e .. W,«;>"~&l'lison cablegram referred to a~ove, which sp~i~c.o.11~,.sta~ ~~~~ "~~~t~ 

tg .. ~wdf it went in a code which the Bnt~b had at t4at t1Dle o~y,. pa.ij.ly su~~ :m 

q~P,~e~ '.: bu~ we may also note some corrQbora.tive evidenc;~. toi)jijs ... ~~t#i~n~ U,>; ,H~~:~ ve?Sion_ . .re.:..i; __ ~,.. ii.a follows: 68 · • .· ·. . "' · · ·'· ·• · ., 

.-,· .'>..· ••• ~ •• '..:.1.-,:·.: .·~-·~ .. ·' :':····:. ·1~ .• ~1~~ 

.... ,.; ~. : .... On the 16th of ·January 1917, the ever-watchful ears of. the·-Btttil!~i~l~s·o~~ 'ile~ 

1,,;: .-!· '. .... the.e~teristic spluttering which informed them,that another Ge,~.1H~,'1i-~e was si>eed:i.J:i~~~ 

. .. . · the air•. When deooded, the British found that they p<>see11se4,, .this so_μiewhat disjointed. but 'ftill f,;~:'·" e;i~retnilly valuable document: · ··' · · . '·': '. .. l'. ,,, .. ,.,, 1 ': ·:·· • -~.· ; .. •:'"":;~;·!-: 

, ,.p _ . ~<)~ ?,_·:.,.. ' · .• · ,; . . . "Zimmermann to Bernstorlf for E~~l:iaffit\ W."15~·~":1 Y.: ', ·t/3 : : /: •t: !i:<.:~1~~ (J__,t.Wt( ~~ ', · · · · , ·. · • · ~,: · ,,·:·.! ·:~~16~ .t~~u'.&ii~··l.'917.'h\ · 

JM/... /~:J~' ··· " "'M0st se~ret for your Exeellency's per8onal imorrllatich~ 8.tld)\()Sf.deit on ta(he'fiD~. . J-.~.'':' ::,M" inister in? Meicico with Tel. No'. 1 * *. •· by::a·~8afe.route:. ::),•.t>~(j~;;;,,; :' 1}f.\,·, ,,,; ;-:·!.: 

~ 

~CA- ~.:~~ · "We purpose to begin on the 1st Fe~niary .uAres~~.8u'1~;;~art~:·;·~~~~(.~:: 

;.~~fe.ve_r, w:e ~1 endeavor to keep Amery~ .l!e.?t.i;~I. ·:*: ;~ , tl'.M.ilt i.Jt~ ~u4:I•net"~~ in 

, pt;"·:"';'"" tf . ·~~~g,~o) we.propose to (? Mexico) an atμ&!l~e .';lP?D ~~ f~o.wn~.g ~:., t · ,., . , .,, ,, '. •. ,, !it 'tti' · · ·. · 61 '~!,.. · · "(1·olnt) c ndhct of the war ''··"'' ·· · · r · ' '-' ,;: .•• "~ : .. : . &·.• .c,.i '" .. · · {;., .. '·"' ':' Y· ''' ·

1 

'. • 1 . ..,,,{:.:'..,~-!'· ~' , .. ,.,..'J'· . Q • . · •. · :. ' t.. • ... -, r.i,,':; ·..j;,>, ·;:····,~··,/: ·,•!"" ~- ·,_:.. •t ;<.:~A',·i;·;:.~·· ,_. 4'.' 

· :.'•.:J." •. •.i" • ·"(joint) conclusion of peace-· ·.-•. '·'"· ,._1 · ·< ·'.' ~i'·,;<'·.-'~~ .. ::!, ~;. '.:-' '''"·'"'"' ,. ·~.".-P'· "'. ~ .. : "·' <•~uc.::• · "Your Excellency should for the present·,informi the.;Premdeilhse~tly, (.that; Viet' expect)hy:ar 

. h , c..;,7 .. with the U. 8. A. (possibly) (* • • Japan}' and "°t:~,~-t~ to ~gotiate ¥1f;•t*3Jt.~,d· 

. , ' , . Japan * * * (Indecipherable sente:q~e -~~~og~.p~ .~}~\ :P~esidentL_,t~a.t,.J,: :}', ,,~ 

, ,, . · our submarines • * • will compel En~n~ to~;.~~ ~~W. m~ths •. A~'\Vl~r~,~~tf 

. __ ,, . . . . . .· .... ·~t·t1d~ . . :: :.:«:.i::~;:,~ ~~,~--~~~t:/1;! ~ 

: :a~~ ~:~:!ft It ls explallled that in the British Illes a letter ~iW.ii~ber~ iMPc\int ~r miP a&i'.rta1·~be · ·. ciUhe ~· ·~B 12D,'~ for ex.ample, m- Berlin's message No. 120 w a gtv~~. '~ta !lllJllbs,~.~.111 cainio.c·•~ ~ 

ber .qi ~be Z~ telegram the "W" (I, e., Washington) precedtng 1~•~J~r(~' ~.".~~;~({B'.[,~~~·~l!n.J. . :)" .?(_\~{!;,) 1 ~Si,~. 

i 

/ 

J 

I 

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I 

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I 

I 

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I 

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f i 

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~ 

-

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' 

~~ 

~~ 

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REF ID:A491080 

20 

Thi.I somewhat confaed meesage gives au idea of the difficulty of picking up wireless sy~ 

sent across the .At.lan.,._.t that ti:m&-in mi<hlitil-. But there is a co1.1.Spicuous dieerepaney .between 

. ~telegram ~ tl» .more• eomplete and finJ~ed one sm•t to Bernstorff by way of the Washingt.f>n 

, . cable office and by.~ r;ola.yed to the city of Mellieo. Tile μlan for dismembering the United 8t.&1es 

. and making Presideut Carraru;a a free gift of 'fexru;, New Mexico, and Arizona doe111 not appear in it. 

I • ' ~· '~ 

Whether this o~ wu' the result of defeetlve wirele~~ "'·ork or has another explanation is not"yet 

clear. 

We have reason to doubt that the Zimmermann telegram was sent by radio. When one 

examines the text of the message as given by Hendrick and eompn.res it with the German text 

· of the original Zimmermann· telegra.m as ~ublished in the German hearings one sees inul;ledi&:ilily 

that this partially dee.oded teit quoted by Hendrick is tiiat of the original Zlmmermanrl'tel~ 

as prepared in Code 7500,;all'd transmitted vii~ Sio.te Department channels. The "gUe a\iiay" 

is coritame~ in the ope~ sentence to the message: "Most secre~; for Your Excell~~·· per:-

sone.l infonnation ~ ~;·he handed on to the lmperinl Minister · • • *." This t~ • 

pre&m.ble to .the actual ~·~~am a.s it left the Germo.n Foreign Office. · b is ~~ 

rally nbt eon:tained in tile' Vrion wbieh '&mstorff sent to von Eckhardt in German· Code 13'04o 

and which' the British obtained in MexiC",-0. The lacunae in the first solution obtni:iied by 'tlle 

British .are th~re· beCB.use ·the British had only partially succeeded in reconstructing Code 7500'. 

Hendrick,. specifically calling attention to the omission of the plan for dismembering the Umted 

States and making· Pre8ide1it Carranza a gift of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, raises· th'e 

question as to whether this. omission was the result of defective wireless work or has ~other 

explanation. 'Does he wish us to infer that Bemstorff added this interesting feature to the 

message? How absurd t · · · 

The r8al explanation is cryptographic in nature. Such names as Texas, New Mexico,:an:a .. Arizona would not be included in ma.king up a small code like 7500. In fact, the name of oUly 

one· of these States-Texas.:._is included in the much larger code 13040. These names, if they 

oCCl!rred in a message, would have to be built up syllable by syllable by the use of sever8.l code 

groups; and unless these code groups were used frequently in other messages a cryptaiialy'st 

'who was 8olving the messages by analysis would have no wny of est~blishing the meaning ·of 

these groups in the Zimmermann telegram. Code 13040, as has been pointed out,· retained 

decided traces of its original alphabetical arrangement, and had, moreover, been in use for a 

Jong time. Code 7500, on the other hand, had no trace of alphabetical arrangement, 8.nd had 

been used.between Berlin and Washington for a short time only. It had been brought to Ameriea 

(cf. note 47) by the submarine De'ldschJ,and on either July 9 or November 1. 1916, and the earliest 

7500.messa.ge which the present authors have been able to find is dated November 16. In these 

circumstances the British ~construction of 7500 had not reached the point where it was equBl to 

the complete decipherment of the Zimmermann telegram. When, however, the 13040 version 

was obtairied, the entire message wa.s read without difficulty. - , 

~. I 

When all'is sa.id and done, the deciJ?henn~nLQf.l~12,QQ~J.9JL.!!L~J1;~~1UW.fil!!ttm!l_.~le-

~am, even to th~e~ven in~.!!02i9L.~niig,n, ..._f!IU>~~~..,Y~.,. This ~-.: 

statement 

raphers. With 

iSiiOTto 

the greatest 

be undersfuOd 

skill in 

as 

the 

in 

world, 

any way 

however, 

questioning 

cryptography 

the skill 

is 

of 

a 

the 

science 

British 

assisted 

eryptogby ~ 

. 

art, and is not in any sense clairvoyance. There are only nbout a dozen 7500 messages in the 

American files. If we assume that the British had twice thot number to work with their feat 

remains astonishing; for it must always he kept in view that 7 500 is a. code in which one identification gives no alphabetical clue whatever to another, l\.n<l that this complete absence of 

alphabetization likewise makes it impossible in ~uany cases, even where the general meaning of 

a code group ie appa.rent, to choose among a number of syuonyms any one of whieb. will fit 

equally well. A lacuna of five or six code groups, not to mention longer ones, renders decipher-

·.·1:· 
. '· 

REF ID:A491080 

21 

ment not merely extremely difficult, but literally impossible, for the simple re&SOn that there are 

an infinite number of ways in which such a lacuna. may be filled. 

It may be that Code 7500 was in use by the Germans for other traffic than the GermariAmeriean, and that the British, as a consequence, had access to a very large number of messages. 

The employment of a code in different parts of the world is not unknown in Genne.n practice; 

we· know that Codes 13040 and 18470 were so used. In this way the British· may have made 

·considerable progress in the solution of the code before the Zimmermann telegram was sent.Ge 

Nevertheless, the information which the British obtained from this partially solved message 

· was apparently clear enough an~ of suffi~ient import~nce to w~rrant their disclosing it to ~e J 

Amenean Government at o·nce-1f they wu:ihed to. Still, they did not do so. Why? Why did 1 

they wait from the middle of January until February 24? One astute student eci raises tlie J 

pertinent q_ue6tion as to the motives of the British in handing Ambassador Page a month-old 

telegram: · · · 

. : ' :;.~ There is no doubt that President Wilson we.e profoundly sh~cked by this revelation of the fact that 

7.'.if·fV. i_ · · ·one could not go to war with Germany without having the Germ3ns fight back. It did not even occur 

.. 7· ~ J. to hhn to question the authenticity of the document or the motive for the production of a montb.ool(f 

. • ~ ;elegram at. just that moment.H At once the President cabled b&ck his thanks for "information of 

~f··:~~t.J- .. . ·. · su.cb inestimable value" ·.and his "~:erygreat appreciation of. so marked an act of friendliness on the. 

~ .~'1"' - """ ~· part of. the British Government." No suspicions crossed his mind. The cable arrived on Saturday 

• (>...to 't. )..;>I',~ i;t' evenfug. · It was some time on Sunday that President Wilson abntptJy concluded that an appeal to 

.'.';1,,..1?,, ...... ~~>.~~Congress fo~ authority at least to arm American merchant ships was unavoidable. ··On Monday he 

~ ...... ~ ~~ 1\ .. ) ·went again before the joint Houses of Congress. "Since," he told them, "it has unhappily proved 

I

') ;.Q:~ ~~---hl.. ~""- -· 'imp0ssib~e to safeguard our neutral rights by diplomatic means • '· • • there may be no recourse · ' " '• '. · .· but to armed neutAlity." ' · ~,.?·~ ... ~.: ;_,_ ~ . • . . . ' 

5: ~~?· · Millis is,·of course, quite correct in stating that "It did not even occur to him to question •> '1 ·-1-:,ft.. authentirity of the document • • *." The evidence on this point, based on a study 

not only of Lansing's Memoirs 52 but also of the communications which were exchanged between 

Larudng. and Page before the text of the Zimmermann telegram was· made public, on March 1, 

191'7, iS most conclusive. 

'· •.• i\ Let us bnefly review the chronology of the case: . 

Japuary 16, 1917: The telegram is tre.nsmitted in Code 7500 (via State Department ctiaii-

·mU)·from the German Foreign Office in Berlin· to Bernstorff·in Washington a.nd is to be forwa.tded ·by Bemstorff to the German Minister in Mexico City. On January 17 it is received 

·by the State Department, and on the 18th it is delivered to Bemstorff. ·-· (Lanring, p. 227.) · 

J· '": ,.J.:rtuary 19: Bernstorff fonvards the message to Mexico in Cade 13040.63 :: · • : • ·., 

-'• • , :· .. !'. ... · . . .. •' , ' . . . . . . , ·r. , . ' . . ; . , i ~ ... , ; .. ·. ; 

··• ll'ailliia l<l!DG sueh eiPlanatlon tbe wbole situation calls to mind a Wlll'-tlme lneldent that oooarred In the American MWtaey. IDtell1gence 

Code llJld Cipher Bect!on (M. I. 8). Th068 entrusted with the decipherment of cryptograpblc docmnenlll.ot·tilie eouniry In thd:llllOt!On 1lllD&lly 

kQ& Ulalr oW11 ~ and dld not communicate overmncb with those who were busy wUb the ll10l88Pll of another OOUDtry." One day H wu 

·.,,_.'°Pt ..., tllat ot 

a 

the 

Cer1aln 

code 

group 

in a somewllat 

·was reading· 

different 

messages 

e:ria!pberment 

In a code that 

had been 

had 

proeu1'ed 

been a sealed 

l'rom 

book 

ontsliJe; 

a day 

· At 

or 

·tbil 

BO 

tiibe 

be!oft:···.:Leter 

of the ilmt It tbfii 

w8a 

ri 

deflnfcely 

lllriziJaed'bi ~ 8ome or• iiof Iii the s6er8t; and on9 cryptographer in discmlll1ng the sltuaUon said empbatlcen:v;'"'fhihe no. ~.'.M!r ~~)!!t!.."1 ·· 

•MiWa, Walter, Road to War: America 1914-1917, New York, 1936, pp. 403-404. · . · .. ;, .... ··. · · · 

· 'il'Mmla'·~: Mr. Balfour, It Is true, had been carefo1 to tell Pale thaUhe teli!grani. ti9d ODJ7•)iistbiiei!:nl!'em4> .&ctualbr, Ucme may 

lfleltM Mr. ~8 biographer, the British lntelllgence servlee hair lnt.eroepted and deciph9n!d tl!e" docUment eveu lier0ri11i· w·rmcbed Mex!Oo 

Cl"-', Sad bild been ·holding Ii since then tor the time when It wonld have the muliJiwn e1fect: · ·. ·-.r ·' · ' • • · ... "., · · 

u Op. Cit:, p: 227: "About ten o'~lock (morning of February 'r7, 1917} Polle oanie Into' mt ~ ed we·taJUd' aver· tbuub!tazice Ottbe tel&-

gram. He told' me that on Its arrival [S:ao p. 1n., Saturday. February 24; app&rlllltly It wlla"not•<fecoded ilad baJidM· tO Polk'imtn Mmci.rl Pebruary 3ll) be bad at once taken It to the President, who bad shown mncb lndifliatlon and was disposed to make the text public wttboat deky.'' Polle 

advised him to await my return, which be bad agreed to do." • • .• (p. 228).· ·"I told' the Presldent'tliat I thcroghflt wi>uld be'mrirlse ·ror the 

Deplirtment to give out the telegram otflclally at tills time as it ·would be charged that IC was aone to imlUence opinion on the bill fiir arming merchant vessels, but I thought It might lndirectly be made public after we had con11rmed the Bending 'of the Dle888llll by Derm!mff. To this the 

President agreed," 

u This date II! ce~ln from the copy of the telegram. Bernstor!f eay• (p. 3!'0) that "the Zimmermann telegram passed through the Embassy 

at WBSb!ngton on the same day on which I receiYed the notification that the unrestricted U·boa.t war was to be declal'ed"; and In another place 

(p. SSS) hessyP: "On the 19th of Jsnnery I received the official notice that the unrestricted U-bost eamJ>llfgn would begin on February 1st • • ·•." 

Of coorse, Bemstorff's phrase "passed through" Is ambiguous, and does not C!ltegorlcally say the message was forwarded on the very day it was 

,_ived-ft may only have been •tart..ct on It.< way, !or It reriulred rooncodfng. and that would tUe some time. 

-,-

<£., 

'·11:---

.

.... !' ·-.~ .... ~. ' . 

" · .. 

. , . 

. ' ~ 't 

.. 

~·:~-iJ: 

.~~~~-~~~- ,~~t';: 
:22 . 

",},,. ,,.:F.~\>i:ua.ry.2:4:,.Amb~-~ .. ;~ tbe.~ent and the Secretary of State the ~h 

text of the message as r~_.)>7· hiJn. ~· 1'ondon from Bn.lfour. The message is received. '.$t 

-S;~Q"p~_~/o~~~t ®~· ·:·~·:~~~ ··;">.~·;, .:· ·~·~ ~~ , 

.j FeJ~rμaey 21; Iμ lam~'~ ~l>Seii~,. ~~lk b~ the message to the atte.ntion of the Preli-

' .gent;Wh(),~hes to publis~ ~t.r&ti;C>n@,~butJ~ -~aded by Polk to await Lansing's retμrn. 

/ ,,< . ~·F~~pi~ ~8:, (0 _Polk ~btains .a cppy_of.the origina.l message filed by &rnstorff •t ·WuhV . dngtqp., ~"'~"~an.:~.ter..~iltM.e:xico .City. The eode text was not .ca~ to ~~· fft,r .. 

_m 

~tjfi£§#Sll!'~U-~.~~·~~ Soμtli.~~~ (~pp~~tlY;:.:~~c;l;:frQm Qf .~-o~e~,_cod(l.m~ea-~nt ~e ,Washington by 

t:degra~h 

Bernstorff 

offioo 

to ~s 

at the ~ ~~ 

;the·copy of, ~;ZimJl1erm..an:q.;w.l,etp'.trmW.88 obtained::) were sent for decipherment. Tb.a.II)~~~ 

. · ,l9rwar'TM1g·it}i~~,texts has ~ady ~ell: quo.ted (p. 16). . ·; .,,~;. 

V 

/ /to ; •• <·: 

the 

·'.(~)1rlti-Dai1)g·commu~·i!' 

~ted Press ~t-6 p. m., 

p~raphrased 

for.release 

version 

after l.O 

of 

p. 

the 

m. 

text of the Zim.u1er~ ~ 

; . 

/ ·" ~): (1). The~--~ is pu~ished int.he morning papers in the Unit.ad~ 

· J "~~ t~)μ~ 1itl ~·, ia, COμg.r~ where doubts are expressed as to its authentiiei-.y.• 

'! .. · · (~); l4Ylsing oobles 1?9, in telegram.No. 4494, ~t 8 p. m., as followe: °' "' 1

" · "'· :'".. "· ' ·" .... , W.AsBINGTON, March 1, 1917--S p. m. .... ' • :; • : ... ., ~;I, ' . ~. ; • • .. ' ~ , .~ • • .. > ' ' ' • • 

/ :. ;,.~ ·1•\ .. ·,' :~49~. 80ine Jl\eni~.',Qf Con~ ,a.re attempting to dis9redit .zimmerm&nn message ,oh&rging 

I . , . t ,, .. ·.r.~ ~~~ me8!'a~e .was f~il¥ied to thi;s Government by one of the belligerents .. This Government has 

J , .; ., .. _,: ,.;pot.the_~i~~~t do.,u. l;>t 61! .. t<o. its.au~he.nticity, .but it would be of the greatest service if the British .. 

' . ~ . , . . _9qyernm~~t would -i>ermft you or. ao.~eone in the Emba.aay to personally decode the origi~J'l message 

:,,~::.; 1 ,:'!'ti.~eh_ :'Ve' sec'μ.red from 'ihe ~graph office in Wash_ington and then c_able to Departm.ent German · · . · ; text. 'Assure Mr. Balfour that the Department hesitated to make this r~qucst but feeμ, that this· 

l 

I 

~ 

: · cou?BC will materially strengthen its position and make it posaible for the Department to lltate that it 

·'" · ·•c;•had ~ured the Zimmennann note;from our own pe0ple. Matter most urgent and lhope you can·. 

·:· .,,; -: ;~ gh•:e•it,¥oilr lmmfX,iia.'te attention.,. The text of code message secured from telegraph offi98 here ia·as 

... , 1• • _.,:fPJ!~w11_:, , ". ,, . •: , .- ,. . [Here follows code me88Age.) . ; •,:. •, ' • . " 'I.. LANSING.'· I ' ... 

(3) Page replied (11 p. m.) to Lansing's cable of February 28, referred io above, ~tatlng • .th~t, '.< • . •. 

··i·,·i ••. ; ,. "The question of.oi.tr having a copy of the code has.been taken up, but • • • I·am.told actuai . ·. . .. . code would be of no use. to \IS as it is never used straight, but with e. great number of variations which 'I are known 't<i Only Ofie (11' two experts here." . · ' -. . • ' :: ' . 

March 2: (1) The tel~:i~.published in the London papers (Hendrick, p, 324),.;hi~h· critic .. ize th~ J~ritish Intelligence Service under the misapprehension that the deciphe~~t bas 

, been .J:Qade in Anlerica. · .. .. . · · : : · ', ·~., . 

, . , . •• T!M deb&M!'_~ this question takea u~,J fuu P11ie8 of~ Congnll!Slonal ~ (pp. ~6), and makos most Interesting ~ '.' 

.. , ~ '!vere, of 00.111'5e,. lll8ilf quesdona as to bow the letter, telegram, message, note (It was mlled by vario.Gll names) camel11to J>Ol!S8llllo.ll of 

th& UBttAd Sta~ eaid questions u to who li1U:1ltd It mir to ourautborUles, llnd w/lat IOerl f.M matil'U. Here !11\l IDD18 excerpt.a from SenatOt sioDe•a 1111Dl'fks (p. '693): . . 

, •. '· ~·~ . • • This lille&ed ltltter was m&de public for some purpose. 0 • • I oannot and will not undertake to say what that purpose w., fur· 

;' tber thAD·~ ~the oplnfon that 1' was given pabllcfty to atJect either public opinion or legislative oplnlon, or both, in tbe Unlted-B~.' 

• • • Mr. President, r want to know the lacts about thls letter before belcg swept oll my feet, or seeing others swept otr their ~by the clamor 

Qi Jlugoes. • .• · • I•m asking only to be h1formed, to be advised whether the l11fonnatlon In tbe possession.of our Sta~ Departnu~nt.waii. derived 

~:OJ!ll·Of.U1e belllpren&-(lovemmenta. For example, did this Information come from London1 Was It given to us by tbat Government?','. 

,..fRS, p. 166. . 

. ·. 11 FOi COIJIPi.$8 ~ ei!e Page's cable of MU. i. 1917 (p. 18 of this paper). 

·<·.•· .·f · •. ' 

.. ; ·: 

'. 

- ,· 

; - ' ...... •/ -;' 

__ ·_.,_ .. _·:·_·=·~··=···-· ~- -·-· .... · 
REF ID:A491080 

23 

'(2) Page; replying to Lansing's telegram ~o. 4494, states: M "Your 4494 followed with 

absoJute!y satisfactory results," and follows this with a long message: · 

LONDON, March B, 1917-4 p. m. 

[R.Pceived 10:45 p. m.] 

5780. My 5784 of today. Bell took the cipher text of the German message contained in your 

4494 of yesterday to the Admiralty and there, himself, deciphered it from· the German code which 

is in the Admiralty's possession. The first group, 130, indicates Bernstorff's number of telegram . 

. The second group, 13042, indicates the code to be used in deciphering the cipher telegram. From 

the third group onwards, message reads as follows: 

Auswaertiges Amt telegraphiert Ja.nuar 16: No. 1. Ganz geheim selbst zu entziffern. Wir 

heabsichtigen am ersten Februar uneingeschraenkt U-Boot Krieg zu beginnen. Ee wird versucht 

werden Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika trotzdem neutral zu erhalten. Fuer den Fall daBs diew nicht 

gelingen 110llte, schla.gen wir Mexico a.uf folgend Grundla.ge Buendnis vor. Gemcinsa.m Kri~g fuehren, 

Friooenschluss. Reichlich finanziell Untcrstuetzung und Einvcretaendriis i.insererseits dass Mexico, 

·in Texas, Neu Mexico, Arizona frueher verloren Gebiet zurueck erobem. Regelung im einzelilen 

Euer Hochwohlgeborene ueberlassen. Sie wollen vorstehendes dem Praesldent strong geheim eroetfnen, sobald Kriegsausbruch mit Vereinigten Staaten feststeht und Anregung hlnzufuegen Japan von 

sich aus zu sofortig Beitrachtung [BeitratungfJ einzuladen und gleiohzeitig lllwischen uns und. Japan 

zu vermitteln. Bitte den Praesident darauf hinweisen, da.es ruecksichtlose Anwendu[!g unserer UBoote jetzt Aussioht bietet, England in wenigen Monaten zum Frieden zu zwing~n. · Empfang · bestaetigen. Zimmermann. · 

Punctuations are given as in German text. I am sending decode into German; group by group, 

by tomorrow's pouch. 

PAGE . 

. March 3: Z4runerma.nn acknowledges the authenticity of the ·ielegram,.~7 " . 

.. · · This cW:Onology prov~s t4e accuracy of Millis' comment on the ~resident's trustful :i;i,8.ture, ~or thus far the chronology shows that the President caused th~~,?£ the ~m._~rJ.!l.ru!!!t~!~l~~~ 

t9 be.given to the press before ste~ wer~ca.te it. ~passing, we may .note, 

li~~eve?:-tliatihe~secretarj of State-;~-hlt-troiihie<i"hj~q;:S-tion of auth~nticity: .' .. 

The next morning [Friday, March 2) Polk brought me a brief telegram from Page aay_ipg our 

. copy ~~~~~~~~~~.!a~-ip.!'J!Jr.QW.J.g~~~..sr!PE-.~!P.~~11>:.~~ep.,,,~~~~· tliitinstructions hid Eleen followed with success, and that text of decipher:cd'·message would follow. 

·While I had never doubted the authentfoity of the translation seilt,··this corroborstfoii'by our own people was a relief.18 · · .·: · · · · · · · · 

. , Returning again to Millis, and especially his. footnote .raising. ~~: 0qu0$tion as to British 

motlyes in producing a month-old telegram, we find comment on this impor.te.nt.me.tter:of delay 

in a. work of authentic nature, as may be seen in the following quotation ta.ken. fr0m .. Ble.nche 

D~dele's biography 69 of her uncle, Arthur Balfour: 

~ ..... "'. - : EVei since the middle cf January, however, a piece ~f inform&ti~n.~ been in.the P9~ion of 

.. ·."the British Government, which would move, if anything could, the vast i>opiitations beQlnd the At-

, c 'tantic seaboard States, who still read of the E~ropean War with as much deta.chui.ent as ii it.had been 

, .... icaging in ~he moon. This was the famous telegram from Z~ermann, t!ie Getm,an'Forelg,;'."Minister, 

· to' the· German Miniater in Mexico, instructing him, if and when the Ul)it.ed States should enter the 

. : • ~w'ar on the Allied.side, to propose to Mexico an alliance whiQh w~uld restpre't-0 her, ~h~n peace came, '·~" ·"" . . . ,, . " ... . · ·, :· her,'"lost territories in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.". · ·. . • . : . ·; .. , . ,~ ... ·. ·., 

· ', 'file method by .which this information .bad reached the Btj~h Iμtellig~nc.e~,Seryi~e, made it 

impossible for some time to communicate it to tbe United States Governme.nt. .'Therefore for over a ----- ~ ~ ' ·•' '.J 

/ 

i-

/ 

v 

.- ... _ 

_;,_ 

' ··-:_ 

..>f:/ I 

:~- j '.t. -

-- T '1. 

' ,. FB.8, p. LS8. The Zimmermann telagram as It appeani In FRS eontalnil ilome erron which We have not.corrected. Far eumple, Ule wonl ,...r---~ 

~Is. f~ed \iy &itratung.in brackets with 11 query. Of counie, lieitber Is 811 aa&llentlo word. · FoUhe corroot rendering see "Versl)l",.,,,....-~---l!P 

il" on ·p&ge 25. Iilcldentlllly, IJ_e~~~~~~H'?9.,£f.$,~,~J!~,.!l~lB!l~J>;.l'f~~~~"~~l!!,$!!\,~~~8!,.~~,.,,:,~.'!!,~~,!,,6l,:'.~4~.\'.! , U. -----~.._~,.,___, {cf, p. le) was not true. Either lie did not Inform Page of this fact, or Paa:e failed to mentlcm 1'. · · . _ 

~ew York Times Current Hlalcrr, vol. XI, pp. oo, 236. · • · , .... 

u Lansing's M•molrl, p. 229. 

• Duadale, Bla.nche, E. C., Arthur Janiu Balfour, 1006-1930, New York, 11137, pp. 137-lllS. 

~. :, .l 
\)<9 

I \~ 

REF ID:A491080 

. : · 1; ,,, .. ~Ol/.~ Balf~ur ·~··a.~-~~~- from W~ or the slow wakening of the American 1llQt to 

war, b~t could do no~ .. ~ .hasten th~ prOC!t.lSll- Till-at last-information obout the M~n 

. plot reached Loridori thro\ijh. cn&nnele whiCh er.tt.bled the Intelligence Service to oover up the '*-es 

of how·it had first been ~t. 

·Joy w88 unbounded bl: Whitehall, and the Foreign Secl"f:'.tary himself was unuma.lly excited. "'As 

.dmmati.c a moment a.a I ."'8lember in·all my life," he once aaid, referring to the ~ene in his room at . 

. the Foreign Office on Februt\l'Y: 24, 19F, .when~ handed to the American Amllad8ador the sheet. of 

paper containing the doooded ~e. . By the ceremony of this act the British. Government g&ve 

1~-P.~e that the comm.¥filoation was authentie, Nevertheless the American Na..!;ion not unnaturally 

took a little while to satisfy itaelf that the telegram waa not part of some gig11.ntic hoax. It might 

bJ!.ve tiakim lo*, had ~ot ~e. German. Fo~fgn Omee, within a few days of ~ p<.1blication, admitted 

, . . the message to.be .. genu.{O,:i.,,:,. · .· ., ; . 

· · Note ·the tery significailf'Ntn~k:· ·

1

'The method by which this infonna-tion had reached 

the British hitelligenae &?vir.8 made" it impossible for some time to communicate Q f,Q th.e 

United States Ooverrun6n.t. • • • Till-.t last-information a.bout the Me ._ f~t. 

. reached London through ~-which me.bled the Intelligence Service to cover up title ~, 

of how it had' first been go~/" · · 

We'cannot suppose that the British Government was merely desirous of hiding from the 

Unite4 Sta.tea Government the fa.ct that its Jntelligence Service was able to decode Genn&11 

code messages, and that this was the reason for the delay. Their action in providing a decode 

o,. the-Zimmermann telegram o.s ~t by Bernstorff to von Eckhardt negati'Ves that hypothesis. 

The reason for the delay must have involved a much more important secret than that, or at 

least there mu.st ha.ve been other, more weighty considerations. 

Mor~ver1 whenever it is found that there iS much beating a.round the bush in ma.king 

an explanation, there is rooni for wondering whether there is not something in a situation not 

apparent on the surface. ·For instance, let us note how Admiral Hall attempts to evade the 

answer.c: ·I{! Novergper ... ~ the World's Work published Hendrick's article on the Zilnmermann telegrain. · In the April 1926 issue of this magazine eo appears an interesting editorial 

comment OD' the story, from which the following is extracted: 

. It was only na~ura.1 that Mr. Hendrick's chapter on the real st.cry .of the seizure of the famous 

Ziinmermann telegram, which appeared in the November issue, should have created a eensation in 

all countries which had a part in the war. 

• • • • * • • . The London correspondents of the metropolitan American dailies reported that he [i. e:, Admiral 

,,, ·Hall] ·Would say nothing; but a week after the World'e Work printed the chapter of revelations the 

,JDoa11 ·Mail of London did manage to squeeze an interview out of him . 

• • • • • • • 

The British Admiralty, he explained, knew all the movement~ of the famous German.submarines 

Deutschland and Bremen, and the British. Goverp.ment allowed German messages to be sent over 

· . British cables. What the Germ.ans. did not know was that the British posr;eseed the German secret 

.··code and deciphered every 'message as it was sent across. · · 

· ,;This one thing Bhows1 the difference between the British and Gem1an mentality," ·he. remarked. 

i•y au1 sure, if the position had been reversed, the British would never have been 80 stupid, as not tq_ "' 

have suspected that the messages were being deciphered. If I had disclosed the actilal wording of 

the Zimmermann telegram the Germans would have suspected something at once. I ha.d to wait until 

· we got a copy of the 'telegram actually sent, which wa.s differently worded from the cine from Berlin. 

"It was Bernstorff'e telegram that I exposed. The Germans actually thought that there had 

. been a leakage between Bernstorff and Mexico, which was what I wanted. Right until the· end of 

the war I do not think that the Germans suspected that we knew as much as we did 6f their intelligenee 

aervice." 

• Pp. 6'1H'IO. 

I 
25 

Here we have, preaumably, Admiral Hall's explanation for the delay· in communi~ting 

the contents of the Zimmermann telegram to the United States Government. He sa.ye: · ~.'lf.,l had disclosed the actual wording of the Zimmermann telegram the Germans would have .suspected fi(>mething at once. I had to wait until we got a copy of· ~he tel~ram ac~u~y 'sent, 

which ~as diilerently, worded from the one from Berlin." To put it charitably, this is ha.rdly 

an adequate statement, as can be seen by comparing the text of t~e telegram as sent from 

Berlin to Washington (as cited in the official German documents) with that sent from We.sh· 

ington to Mexico City (the latter being the one that the British furnished Page) 804: • 

VERSION I 

.l~~ .. o,,.,,._ 

T~.Nr. 158 •i~.e,_,, .• _ .. ~.;:) 

ow eheim \ . ~·J.j' j' . '·:' . , Zu Euerer Exzellenz ausschlieszlich persoenVERSION II 

~~ .,,, 

'~"..':'?.··-. 

li~ lnfomi.tion und Weitergabe an Kaiser- Auswaertiges Amt telegraphiert Ja.nuar 16: 

ii~ ~d,t'en Mexiko auf sicherem Wege: No. 1. Ganz geheim selbst zu entzifiem. Wir 

"T~ Nr. 1 Ganz geheim Selbst entzii!ern. bea.bsichtig_en am ersien Februe.r uneinge:-

. ;, W,ir. hea:bsichtigen, am 1. Februar unemge- schre.enkt U-Boot Krieg zu beginnen. Es wird 

schraenlden .. U~Boot-Krieg zu beginnen. Es versucht warden Ver.einigte Staaten von AmeWiJ:tt ·nl"SUcht werde~, Amerika trotzdem neu- rika trotzdem neutral zu erhalten. Fuer den 

tral ..U erhalten. Fall dass dies nicht gelingen sollte schlagen wii- ._..,Y,..,.+S:::..e. 

.. Fuer d,en Fall, class. dies nicht gelingen sollte, Mexico auf folgend Grundla.ge Buendnis vor; ~ .. ~ 

sehlagen., wir J\llemo a.uf folgender Grundlage Gemeinsam . Krieg fuehren. Friedenschlusa.. ).!. .... _ .. 

BuendJiis vor: Gemeinsame K.1j,egfuehrung. Ge- Reichlich~II;>'Unterstuetzung· und Ein• ·i~ ~1 m~er.Friedensschluss. Reichliche finanzi- verstaendms-unsere!seita dass Mexico in Texas, }' .. ""\ 

elle~·un.:tersiuetzung und Einverstaendnis un- New Mexico, Arizona frueher. verlorenes Gebiet J,~. ·"-"-~~ ~~. dass Me,xiko in Texas, Neu-Mexiko, zurueek erobert. Regelung im einzelnen Euer \\"'-·-.M:!1..'. 

~~' fruehe~ verlorenes Gebiet zurueckero- Hochwohlgeboren ueberlassen. Sie ·wollen vor- 'f'P 3 "l~ '-fa 

bert.. Regelung im einzelnen Euer Hochwohl- stehendes dem PraeSidenten streng geheim Ill'- ·ef.!.i . ., .. i,_ ) 

~ .. u~berlassen. · oeffnen, sobe.ld K.riegausbruch mit Vereinigten .Bue,r Hochwo~geboren wollen vorstehendef! Stas.ten feststeht. und Anregung hinzufuegen 

Pnesid~nten stre~g gehe~ eroeffnen, sobald Japan von sich aus ·ZU~'sOfortiger Betraehtung 

~~~l?ruch m1t Ve~euugten Staaten fest- einzuladen und gleichzeitig. zwisehen uns und 

~d-~g ~uf~ege~, Japan von Japan zu vermitteln. Bitte den Praesidenten 

-~-'~,,zu eofortigem Beitntt emzuladen und da.rauf hinweisen, dass" ruee~chtenlose An-

~eieb~tig .zwischen uns und Japan zu ver- wendung unserer U-Boo~Jetzt Aussi~t bietet, · 

~.; .,; · . . England in wenigen, Mop.af.e:l.1 zum :Ftjeden zu 

:·~-t~:·~~a~deil~en darauf hinzuwexsen, dass zwingen. Empfa.ng. best&eugen .. 'S,cb1uss der. 

~c.J;lt8los~ ,Anwendung. unserer U-Boote Depesche. Zimmennann; · . ' · . ''·' jetd,A,:~~ bietet, Englttnd in wenigen Mona-. . · .:.. . , . ;·· :' ;; . ;:,:;._.; ... ,.., : 

ten zuD1 Frieden zu zwingen. · : ~. "' :,, . "' '·• ... 

: Empfa:1;1.gbestaetigen. ·_;; : ;· ...... ,; . ;:> .' 

ZlMMERMANN" 

• . . .. J ( .. _.: •~•;._,_ Il" ·-""! taJr.in fluilt H6fJ4rid vol. Ill. PP. .a.6-a) and · "°" Ii(Ol!i at ~ slight variations between the London vers on mar..,.. · •-·..,.. · ....,. . . . . . " . . ..•... 

. : . ' ,. . . ..... ' : i ·. : . -: ~ ,.t '' J 

&bat given out b:y &be German Government (marked "Version I," taken from PP· 3M-f1 of vol. II of the Oermall..orlglnal of=:•:= 

due io the facl that Ill the former grammatlcal terminations such a.s connected text requlnla are not m-ted. A few otben fa om1ttecl befo'ie w Juek of knowledge of the GermQil languai:e, e. g., the final e on Hoohwohlg&borene. The word pmelnam or pmelmamer . . 

Jl'rtedl!nsacblUBS. No one can posalbly doubt that the Berlin and the London veralOllll re~ an ldentklal tan. 

'. ~·· ~~:-

.. .. ' ·f ,: :J ~ \,; 

t· ,f.· 

I .'.~ 
. .; 

v 

/ 

f 

I 

i 

/ 

'/ ·v 

,. 

/ 

j 

Ji,~.J:N~·;•ttuit~'noi tlleTeiS&iUorthedelay~. ··Pro1*bl~.th~~d~r has already gue.qsed the :reuon &r>ritlier_,:.~~;·reas0ns;·f~r'uiidoo~)'·'.~Awre several To our mind they may be ~d 

as foH6\ilfS:!;z;1~.: ... • ·: ·. ; 'k!·',, ... ·;··,-~ .. ,. ·1 ·''. . • 

, 1 · · ~;..l~'. lh:>•aiSelose the ~Wa:sbingtfm.vwsion of the Zimmermann telegran.\;.which it will ·be . 

~ed ·'wai·:tSellt viw Sta.tie: l\)epartroent channels, would have necessitated ,..vealing the fact · · · 

tlia:t'.tlie'British•Intelligence &riice was intercepting" and solving not only German code m~ F.~ __...,, 

power 

but~'1s0·m~pti:D:g wh~ aid:.sth.\,y·wtre·desPemtiely;seeking ana 'per~solving diploD.le.tie-messages 

at the time. 

of the Amerielll1 

. 

Governmen~ · .· . , ~ 

2. Even had the foregoing r;tot served as a powerful argument against a. prompt diselosure of 

the message,· the ·fact that the solution presentecl. severe.l lacunae and doubtful spots would have 

detracted a great deal from the diplomatic and military value of the document. Undoubtedly;, 

frantic efforts were ma.de by the British cryptographers to fill in the lncurui.e--but th• solutwl\ 

Qf a code of the two-palt *1P,e,such as Code 7500,is always a slow, difficult. process tin~~ 

is a large volume of text on wbicll tvcorrobvrate hypotheses. This requisite volume was~ 

P.roofthat~thtr-Britishbad~timceeeded in-reading er1tire messages in Code 7.500 is neatly s~ 

by;'the phrase "at that time!/, {tef~~ to January 16, 1917, the date of tl1e Zinunennann ~l~ 

grairi) ·in the-·Bell to, Harrison cablegram of September 17, 1917, quoted above on ·pagej1: •. • r ,. Of· course,,:the British: might l_iave .furnished the translation of the version which:; according; to Bell's•.eablegram oU3eptember 17; 1917, was sent via Swedish channels. But we have, 

m:the_;sa.Jne.cablegnun, .. Bell's statement that "it went in a code which the British hii.d at that 

-time. only, partly succe~ed .. in.,deeiphering and of which Eckhardt hn.d no copy." In all prol:)~ 

ability:ithe,code uaed for, the,m~E!8ge.transmitted via Swedish channels was Code 7500.>·Pos--

sibly•ii was·.sotne other cod~ •.. : ,_The ~ding of a message in more than one code is a-i.eapit&t 

Nime fin .cryptography~. ~e; it was a. crime that we know the Germans to have coniinitted,· but .. 

in .. the· present, case every reason for supposing such a transgression, whether by accident: or 

design.I is lacking. : Even if, by ·some rem,ote chance, the telegram was sent from Berliil· in ~0Jii!9. 

other oode;. that code w~: .certainly not 13040, and hence this point is immaterial. The fa.et 

remains that the British eoul4, not offer a partly solved message of su.ch vital importance 

regardless of which .. verSion.w~ available .. , ' ,_. ;i ·_,· 

· 3 .. In a note dated April l8, 1916, following the sinking of tbe American vessel ~Be2' ;the· 

American Government had p~nted an ultimatum to the Germn.n Government ·couehecrin 

th&following unmistakable language:81 . >:;:~:, 0.~;;.: :. 

., ' Ii it rs·stm the pur}:lose of the Imperlal Government to prosecute an indiscriminate w~~~~~ 'lVe&aels of oommeree by.the-use of submarines without regard to what the Government of the Ui3ited Sta~s m~t consider th,e sa~re? and indisputable rules of international Jaw and the universally'rooognized:· 

,., . ,dictates of humanity, the,qovernment of the United States is at last forced to the conclusion that'there 

; 'is .bi:it one course to pur8ue. Unless the Imperial Government should now immediately dec~te :an.<l. 

' . ~ . : . 

~- 1 · • • t. ~fleet· an a.bS:ndoDment of· 'its present methods of submarine \Yarfare ap;~..tDt"lt passenger and freight-

'· ·.· earrying vessels, the Govehiment of the United States can have no choi~e hut to sever diplom~tic.rela.~ 

· tione with the Gennan Empire altogether. This action the Government- of the United· States c6n~ 

templates with the greatest reluctance, but feels constrained to take in behalf of humanity• ed •tfie 

rights of neutral nations. . . ,' : -: . , 

On January 9, 1917, Kaiser Wilhelm held a council at Pless, at which the irrevocable d~cision was taken to stake everything on another trial of unrestricted submarine warfare, to comm~~e;on February 1. On January 16, Bernstorff was notified of this decision (in telegr&m No. 

'"'~--
( . 

-··.~~~r4~~~~i,~r<o:Jl.J,;;~ .. ~· ..... "'~':.:·· 

·" ' ••. :!';,.:, .-; .• :i: .... ~. 

0 

:167) but was directed not to inform the American .Government until the evening of January 

,31~ · .Be.n.istonf.'s words are interest.ing: 62 ·•• . 

:..i ·•On January 31st, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, I handed Mr; Lani!ing the offiCial communication 

aboul the U-boat war. Th.is was my last political interview in America. We both.knew that the end 

had come,, but :we did not admit the fact to each other. The Secretary of State contented himsclf with 

·replying ~t he would submit my communication to the Pre1!ident. I cherished no illusiollS regarding 

t~e e~d outcome of this interview, for the ultimatum of April 18, 1916, no longer allowed of any 

_chance of l!reventing the rupture of diplomatic relations. . . . 

···.If on January 31 this news came as a profound shock to President Wilson, who was then 

engaged in··his· second and most promising attempt toward mediation, it could hardly have 

take& the British. unawares, for they must have had definite knowledge of the Pless decision from 

at !aut two sources. One was undoubtedly their partial solution of itelegram 157, in which 

Bern.storff was instructed to inform the American Govermnent of the reopening of unrestricted 

submanntdvMfo.re; the other was their solution of the Zimmermann telegram of Janua.ry 19, 

which we ha.ve seen was telegram 158, and was tacked on to telegram 157. (See p. 15.) 

O~y, the British must have jeU quue sure cu early as the third ~ek-oj January. 1917, that 

tbA ·U;iued State8 w01dd soon join the Allies, if our ultimatum of April 18, 1918, meant anything al 

alt}3,. 4Jl tltey now had to do was to hold on for a few days or weeks longer itnd the United States 

Yf.oW4 b~~qn their side. Sure enough, on February 3, diplomatic relatio.n.s ~tween. the United 

State!! and Germany ~ere severed. 8

' But as the weeke wen~ .by there .was IJO .declaration of war, 

fo~ the President, in an address to Congress on February 3, stated:ea . 

NOfwithstanding this unexpected action of the German GOv~ent, 'this sudden and ·deeply 

. ' . '. , deplorable. renunciation of its assurances given this Government. at' cine of the' most critl~ momenta ·~'f•J• •' ;\.' .~ ' I I ·, • ··.' •. . I J , -. ' ' '·.. · ;· . of tensioD:' lil the relations of the two Governments, I refuse tO believe th&t it ts the intention of the 

... ,_,;:. •·· ·'aerrii&n 'authorities to do in fact what they have warned us they Win feel it liberty to do;,.' I cannot 

. ' . ·~.· ' ~°fuylielf to believe that they will indeed pay no regard to tlie' ancie~t frie~d~hip between t'181r people 

· ·.·. · ind our own or to the solemn obligations which have been exchanged between them arid destroy 

'···· ··American' ships and take the lives of American citizens in the ~ui prose~utfon ot the ruthless naval 

:·.:,; ·:~ '/,i>r,oiramzn~ t_hey ~ave announced their Intention ~adopt .. O~y: act~ OV~#~~*.s'.f?~}hefr Parl can 

make. me believe it even now. · ~.~- ., -~- :-r.~:::;_~:-' . ,' '' ~ .--:~· . . ... ~-~ •::?; .. 

, ,., ';·Bow·IIJ.uchithis waiting for some "actual overt acts" must have.izked·the British may be 

i'1Jlijjned'i1·tl:tay irritated Page sufficiently to make him write: 60 '. · • . , 

' "·. . .' · The danger is that with all the authority he wants (short of·& form&i decIAration of war) the ·:~·~:.<.-~I PieSident will again wait, wait, wait-till an-AmericanJiner be torPedoedViOr·tlll'ail'attaek t8 made 

' • '• :· ··! .. :: :~ O\ll'~coast by a German submarine! '. ; ,,'•:1_,, j" ,'..,. ' ,,; •- .. :< .. _. · .: L· '. 

1 ,·S'Ometfling biid to; be done to stir up the President and the pe0ple 'oi<tn~ tfulterla.nd'-b~Yond 

.~.~~rI>}(. . . . . . . . . :· "" .... -~~1~~~;~:/·:·\ .. ---; ::." :-. ··. · ··: , .. : In the. country at large the situation, as Spring Rice reported that.da1:r.was''~uch ~of a .. IJO~ 

.. watlir bottle with the wires cut but the cork unexploded." The tailunJ.ofthtPPJrig'ih sail b&d prOdu'cied ' 

' • :"a StOpp&ge of trade, a congestion in the ports; 'lfidespread dise0irifon:·6Jl\'l._..,ye1l:Jnisery on'th&.eeait 

. ~-: '· and inland, even bread riots and 8 coal famine.!\. 1.All this, neverihelea; '.\V"'!f!DOteft11pectacular enousb;~' 

· ,. . ~,t~e'-West was still against war azid the Preaid~t .,was still)ightiAg. fo; ~e9£: , ~ut ou •Bat~~Y.t>.~ 

2•t~ •. the British themselves were able to supply something "spe9t&cu~.'.' Mr,.;-l3alf~)\1J'. deftly gave the'tinexplodedcorkapush.o7 .. · • • '· ..... ,. · ·· , ··· 

----·-- ••• ,· ' . ··~;~.: •. f ~~-.; ''\ 

UP.~ .. " ' , ,.·~i~ ._:-'~,. • ·1~'1= !·~~\·~~ .~, • .•• ~,,-:~ ........... f!-._\1·~i>-;>r 1\.i. : ~ " .. 

a Even· Bermtclrft, Immediately on receipt of telegraph 157, replied (~ H~, p, Um): "Wei ~~diibl8 Ir' we j;rooeed u ClllllUD· 

plated!' A' few d8Y, l&ter, Jn his desperate attempts to stave off a rupture In dlplomsttc relktlonS,ib9 ciabled::'tbi! Iron!lan'·OJnee agalll (Ovman 

~ ·p. i~i): "I! the U·boot war Is commenc11d forthwith the Presld~; 'rill ICJ!lk ~n,. this as a. lllP,,~ ('9 ~(~ ~ .. wftl! &Ile V/llt.84 

SNltlle will be unavoidable." Bernstorff's telegrams to the Fore!gu Oll'loo are DlOillt lnteresUn&., No one: wli0.iai4a theiD ceii ~ tulCOllvlnced 

ofJ!b14bsolutelystnceredeall9forpeaoobetweentheUnlted8tates1111dGen:nea1) ·_, '· /.:~.' · ,; .. _.· <.'11~·. "·!''·'· ·:· ·" 

t1J!'R8,p.,106. .·1. :.:·~ "<'- • .. -.: <, ,.::' .. "; . -'. ,,.,. 

• FBS, p. lll. 

• .UGDdrlck, pp. au-a:zr;, quoting from Page's diary. 

... NlllU. 1111- ell •• p. 403. 

-~· ··· . 

I 

~/ 

I 

/ 

i 

I 

/ 

•,,, 
.. , ·<_1;,.·~;~.:,f.··:.~~-'F'~~.~'.. '< .. 

·REF ID :A491080 

"' ' - . ' :. ·" . ·!f.be "push" :waS, ·of~; the oomui'uJUea;taoo to Page of the contents of the Zimmermdn 

·tetegra.m. By this time tbe Bntish Intelligence Service had the full text., which had been "bo~t 

··d.h.M~~~,'' lllld they m:US,t,.have felt ~t .the ti:rne had come to make the m~,t of their op·~­

' tunity i They were not wrbg;:. ·· · 

'.i . . ,. · · ·~~·· ·.~ lfih Mr. P,olk~ai·fJi:·sta.t.e D~partment k~ew of the waiting bombshell so lcin.Jly supplied by 'f.fir. 

•, '-;·:;'"1:. ~ '·:&ifo~'. ··:ne· ·iiDuli~h telegram, lie believed, would prodncc a blast, o~ popular emption i..t~t 

· · · ' '' <w0fild's:W8ei> thc.ah:iied' shlp bin' t~~gh_ against eveeything. So did Colonel H N1se, who had now !IH.trl 

;thet-ext,,and who 1WIM!Ltfrging the President to "publish it tomo1Tow." So, no d"11bt, did the Preside®:-· 

.·:. ::.<.~·,;to·.wJ:&om:itcmtist wia ~lpl&ip,enotigh that the first affect of Senator La .Fol~tte's pacifism. would. be 

.... · ·:,~:~cli~r Mr, ~~.f ~~ t:be ha~ of the. intransigeants. On Thursday, Mareb 1,.th~--~-

,-P\ ... · ,;, )~~~ :W~ ~~QUtit;i\!>. fr~ .~~t: -~~r~i~;papers: . , , .i ~·; 

·:•;.:,·,:GERMANY SUKS AN ALLIANCE AGAINST US; .J "·' 

"·'': ·)f···: - ~ _,: ·.ASKS JAPAN AND MEXICO TO JOIN HER; ,~·::,':· :,,: . . . . ,!): .. · ., FULL TEXT OF PROPOSALS MADB .·~ 

: 

· • 

\. . 

: : 

a~~rate.· 

~.·:It wu .: GermAny. a·~ 

had .. n()t 

ieriaathm. 

actwi.lly 

Tbe 

«iught 

he&dlines, 

an alliance 

it is 

as 

to l*. 

yet; 

observed, 

the text 

were 

of the 

not 

telegram 

alwate. 

ex~ 

~ 

"_ , ,. ,. . · .. i~t,ruoted the Mintstez ... u,i. Mexico to lalti&te the move only in the event that the Unit~ ~tes sho_Uld 

, ',, declare war, which the,Germari.Govenunent would itself endeavour to prevent. It was not a proPosaI 

.• •c .. tor an aggresliion'~&fu"st the United. States, but merely a conventional, though rather bl\inderi~g, 

, 'v' ' . diPtoi:batic. prePaf&tiori against~ a p~Obfible 'American attack upon Germany. This, hoWever. was~ f~r 

· :· '' • · ·• ;too fuie'a Point fw'·th'e 'hot passiOns of. the moment; and the telegram was everywhere seized upon ~ 

final proof of.the complete-,and fathomless treachery of the German. ":. ".' .. -.. .. ," 

.. , ... ~hat made ~t p~~~.~Jarly ~hoykiog, of course, was the suggestion that the Japanese (with wilom we were about to become aJlled) should be invited into the American Continent, or 'tbAt the princlple 

. '"· ' ' up~6ri\vhieh many Americans ha.d deroAnded the restoration f•i Aleace-forraine (because tfi~y bad ~n 

: ' .... 'acql:llrecfby f9roe) sholild be applied to California and Texas, which we had forcibly detached1irom 

' ,. · .. Mexico. Infonμei:l Americ'ans,understood perfectly wc}l that the Allies had bribed ,Jap~, ;lte.ly, .and 

Rnmania into the war with the promise of slices from the enemy carcasa; but they were sincerely a.nd 

pr9f oundly horrifie<i by the thought .that Germany could be so base as. to bribe Mexico. anq Japan With 

the promise of slices from .the flanks of the United States. The Zirnmennatm telegram ~ea maJor German diiiaster: Not fts' leaet useful aspect, moreover, was the fact that it gave tpe Northeastern 

fire-ea.ters their first direct lever UPQn the pacific sentiment of the Southwest. If a German triumph 

threatened the· annexation .of California and Texas to Mexico-I The Genn&11 FomgD ~~·e. 

innocent cablegraIQ. .had explOded, with its maximum effect at precisely the point where it '\VQ~ld;~o the 

. Allies the greatest g09d.01° 1

,, •• \It is interesiliig to n~ie, incidentally, that Millis mistakenly speaks of the projected ~tora.­ tion to Mexico of "California and Texas." The Zimmermann telegram makes.no: mention of 

California, bu~ says that.Mexico was to "reconquer the lost territory ill Texas,,Ne:w Mexico 

'and Arizona." Is it possible that ~}Je_Germans were reserving California as bait for.Japap.'l; 

If what Millis says is valid;\if the facts which we have presented in the foregoing pages 

i-eatiy constituted the motives wli:rcn caused the British to withhold from the United States 

Government so weighty a secret as was contained in the Zimmermann telegram, we can tei§a:;__ -::?-

charitable view and say that the circumstances justified their course of action .. Certe.inl~~ 

·must give them credit for knowing when to play their cryptographic trump cards. Which brings 

us ·to ·the additional compliment that they not only knew when to play a trump card,, but also 

hew. Note the dextrous manner in which they got the maximum benefit from the play without 

disclosing to their adversary where or how they had obtained the trump! Not only that, but in 

:order to make sure that the source of their information should not be disclosed, they even took 

,pafus to insure that so far as the world outside was concerned, the crcdi.t for excellent intelligence 

work should go to 1mother country-the United States! And to do that, they were not content 

to let natural inference take its course, but contrived wit.ti the help of British newapapef'li! to 

If• Millis, W. C. 
29 

throw blame on their own intelligence service for letting those mere novices in Qitelligence workthe Americans-:-beat them at 11 game in which they themselves (i. e., the British) were generally 

supposed to be preeminent! For in the interview already referred to (p. 24) Admiral Hall said: 

Of course, our. whole object was to prevent the Germane from giving us very much credit for intelligence. When President Wilson published the famous· Zimmermann telegram containing the German 

overtures to Mexico, I was very anxious that there sbonld be no suspicion in the German mind that we 

had anything to do with it. 

It was thenthat the Daily Mail; at my request, published a stinging leader passing severe reftections 

on the British Intelligence Service. 

Ia a letter dated December I, 1927, addressed to the secretary of the Edinburgh Philosophical 

Institution, giving his regrets for not being able to be present at the meeting on December 13, 

all't\ady referred to, Lord Balfour, Wartime Foreign Minister of the British Government said: es 

• • • To" Room 40," where he [i.e. Ewing] was the leading spirit, the country owes an immense 

debt of gratitud~a debt which, at the time at least, could never be paid. Secrecy was of the very 

eeaence of the work, and never was secrecy more successfuliy observed. 

Only one link remains still to be found before the story of the Zimmermann telegram ca.n be 

regarded as complete: the original version as filed in Berlin. As already indicated, diligent 

search has failed to locate it, and we fear that it is now too late. The State Department files in 

WaShington, in Berlin, and in Copenhagen have been scoured, without success. There remains 

only one more place where it most certainly can still be assumed to be peacefully reposing: the 

Wurid War files of the British "Room 40 0. B." · 

In a. letter 1111 to President Wilson, dated March 17, 1918, Ambassador Page, referring to 

Admirel Hall, wrote as follows: 

• • • Hall ..is one genius that the war has developed. Neither in· fiction nor in fact can you 

find any such man 'to match him. * *· ' ·He locks up aertai):i documents "not to be opened till 

. 20 years. after this date." I'.ve madti up my mind to iive 20 years more. I shall be present at the 

opening of that sa~.e * .. • •. · 

. The "20 years" are. up. Admiral Hail is now a retired officer, but he still has the.papers, 

.if we are to believe the statements contained in a book by a recent author. 70 Relating the details 

of~ efforts on the part of the representatives of certain ~erican claimnnts to establish the ~&&ilt.1 Qf their claims, Landau tells how Mr. Amos J. Peaslee, leader .of the.~erican clft.imants, 

Y.isiled.A.dmiral Hall on August 27, 1925, at Hall's London residence: _.,: 

· " "· · • • • He found Hall in full sympathy with tbe American claiman~; and so commendatory 

· '

1 ·wu Admiral Sims's letter that he ended up the.Ir conference by saying: "Copres of.the decoded German 

cables are stored away in several t.in boxes in the basement. I sealed up these boxes with instructions 

·tbf." they were not to be opened up for 20 years.· You have caused ine to chang~ my mind, ho\vever. I 

Will open up the boxes for you. · Copy such of the cable& as you thiilk will be useful to you. Make 

.yourself,at home. The servants will look after you." His rapid alld &Weepini d~on'wa.s typleal of 

the man.· Fortunately he was retired from the Navy and was, therefore, bis oWn ihaeter. · · · ·Hall took Peaslee down to the basement, spread the eables before Mm. 8tid ,tOok his leave to catch 

the tiain fqr Scotland. Peaslee found over 10,000 cables, 'radio' meSE⩾' and letters whiih Hall h8.d 

intercepted and decoded. Twenty-six different codes h&d been used in senditig these messages. 

Attached to the originale was a translation in clear, also the "recognition group;• or number ol.the code 

used. . 

So .Admiral Hall can, if he will, tell the whole story. It will be inte~ting to see .if he does. 

The time for its telling has arrived. Ambassador Page unfortunately did not live out the. 20 

years as he promised himself to do, in order to be pre~nt.when Admiral He.ll ·finally opened his 

safe. The present authors are curious and anxious, roo: f.,.et the safe be q·J)en~ 1 ·. . ... 

• Tl'.16 (Edinburgh) Scotsman, Doo. 14, urn. '. 

• Rtlldtjck, vol Ill, p. 361. 

,. Leudau, Capt. Henry: Tlld-1!:11emp Within. 0. P. Puloam's Sons, :Wew York, 193'7, p. 1911. 

;~ . .' 

f, 

1. 
,. ·,-

1-:._., "· 

(•.• ·.:. :.· AP'PE~DIX 1 .. ·. ~ ' ... , 

::fi . 

Exhibit 820.-:AJ'ftf)Avtt.Of' AJ>MIBALSIR W. ·REGINAi.» MAU., K. C. M. G .. C B., D. C. L., L. L. D •• 

FOBMUliY; :GJnEp:t··•t:,'fBE.i.'l~Gafl.'E DEPA~TMENT Of' THE RkJTISH A.DMllMLT:Y, 

VEBIND :l.JIC-BEB zs, 1~ WlTR ANNF..XED co;•1r.s or GERMAN CABLEG.BA.Ms, WIRE-

·.~~·~~'°'~'. ~~~ .. ~~s ,JtfrPC~F ... E_I>, lJY TN.f; BRlTISH GOVERNMENT m,i~G THE 

. ~~· ... ' ·Y,:. ... ~. • • ~-... ' tJ.""''~t":-'J .... ,, [. • - . ·. . 1 J •• • ' - ; .• ' ; 

Oxma'.T· Blli1i~: .unf',J~&i · ·~· ·' · ·. ·~ ··,.··· '1 ... ,, , , 

Lo],!~ON, ~~G.L-;AMD~ [ , . . ;. . : . 

Co.N~m.ATE Gun.\L :,o:r TliJ:. it. e. M • .\111Mt.c.A· . 

' Admiral,&.: w: Reai~l4 B~~. JC.. C .. .M. G.; C. B., .D. C. L., L. L. D., be.ing duly swo1·n, de~ &;11\f:;~a: , 1. I .rt!lid~ at No. 63, C~n Ga.rdeua, London, and am ai presenf, a retired officer of the Br~t~. N'~vy 

uufiim'&-meintie'r of thifniiti&ti Paniameut'. . · . ·:' 

· ,,,.~; During•th8 re~Jlt;-jW&r. with Germany and her Allies I was DirtN1tol.' of the Brit.~h Naval Iutelli~&i 

.~iee f~ the epμ,e;~:frozii October 1914, until the Armistice iu November 1_9,!ft., : · :, :, =;'>: .• : ,_3. ,In}~;~~ ~'~~,?D1 .duty and the duty of my s~'ff t-0 iuterccpt and decip}:\,er, 88 far~ p~J:>~, 

,ca.ble a.n~, ~l~. IO~ a.n4 other eomrollllicationf1 sent between German officials in Berlin .a.n~ ~ 

officials at Emb888.ies and'LePtions and' elsewhere in various parts of the world. . . "" ~ 

4. During .the period from th.ti oom.meuceUJ.ent of the war in Augt~l.<t 1914, until the Armistice in No'v.~bilr 

191~, we intercepted ~- ~ ou:iaber of imel1 r,&l•le e,nd wirelCllS mes~s nud other eornmunlcat~. · '(lhs W1¥J 

done by tapping the eabltie oyp whic.e llM in~ were being sent, by picking up the wirel·,n'i-pe;ra;,:i'1 

·through the capture ·01.. ~- ~tfan! lllnd document.a in the post and in ~,he poss~ <>f Gmtwi .~iBeillls and agent.I wh1c> ;r..e ~-by <Jur authorities. · . · . . 

' i; ' 6'. 'Almost au of tties8 aomi:i:i:wdeatioll8, insofar 88 they were cablegramii and wireless mEissag~. "were Sent 

In' cipher;· a number of different Gernlari ··ciphers being employed for that purpose; We we:te .abte. to read substantially all of the cipher tnes88ge& which were int.eTcept.ed, partially by resson of the faet.tli.a.t·-we wceeed~ in 

~twing from ~an sub~ and other sources some of the original ~rman cipbn boo:l.s.::ed p&rtuμiy 

by rea&on of. the feet; that. our, ~ipber exP,erts were able to decipher the German ciphe1.11. !>~, as.~~ .,the 

ci.ase he"!, a. large :QUillber of dil,ferent messages,in the same cipher were available.for stud:1 .~ ~parj.aoni.a.nd 

fn mA1;1Y IDstan~ the 'same~£ was ~e~Ji different cha~!~!'.,~~"S ditl~n cip~. . u • tt 'The annextM filei. 'of cab egram,s and Wireless messages and despatches marlu·A ~bi.t A," &et ·forth' on · 

pages numbered consecutively from No. 2 to No. 267, are true a.nd correct deeif!l~ ~1pies of eablegrama :a.nd 

wire!~ ~ an~ other despatehes which were. interoepted and deciphered by th;, fotelUgen~ Department 

of the British AdDil?-alty ,~ugh offi~ni working under my immediate eupe.rvhiloo. The work. .WliJil:,~DSidered 

,of ~.m~~ ~;: oonfiden~ character and I exercised the closest persona: t"Jllt.M't with allitB details. U we.s 

my sole' duty and responsil:!ility and I watched and checked the work with t.h<> !treaV.°'*t care to ms.k.e certain that 

~ewer~ recording the tm~: im~rt a.nd meaning of the German 1."0llllllllDicatlc•u;. Many of the onlinai German 

ciphers in ~hioli. the coniniu:Qicatlons were transmitted are stil! in our pOS<!essiun. · 

7. The' DUtnbers. wliieb. &pP,eU" in parentheses near the tups Of some of the pages OU whlch 'the'. mess&.gea 

~ copied (exhibit A) are numbel"9 of a particular system of German cipher, whlch numbers usually appeared 

in .the ,J>oAr of the cables o? ~less communications themselves, au<;[ were known to WI as th~ ,,'.;~cognition 

gr.~ups." .. fol'. example ... 1'fo. '.'.(89734)". at page 2, No. "(5950)" at pages, 3, 5, e. S, 9, 10, l2;J4, .J~! 17, 18; 20, 

21, 22, 23, 28, 32, 37, 38; 39,:42, 45, 49, 53, 57, 58. 65, 68, 70, 72, No. "(13040)" at pages 7, 11, 13, f6,, 25, 27, 29, 

30, 31, 33, 34., 35, 4l, 43,· 44, 50, 52, M, 61, 62,' 63, t4, 66, 68, 71, No. "(0064)" l\t pages 40,''47;· 80, 114, 122, 

No. "(6400)" at pages 48, 55, 56, 59, No. "(0040)" at page 60, .No. "(9972)" at pases 61, 73, 05, No. "(5954)" 

at page 67, No. "V. B. 718'1.at page 75, No. "S. B." at page 92, No. "(98176)" at page .112', No.!~(87962)" at 

.page 113, and No. "(19177)~'. at page 172, all refer to rlifferent G~rms.u cipher systems. . 

. 8. The word "Nauen,".appe&iing at tb.e top& of pa.gp,s 69, 76, 13(), 135, 217, 223, 244, 240, and.259, of ~it 

A, refers to the German wireless station located at Nauen, Germany, from which m.1H1y ~mmunicM.imlll w~re 

despatched. Many·of the other communications of which copieR appear in exhibit A w~re atao 'sent by wtreleas: 

The communteatlons paulng between Madrid and Berlin were, pr11.<:·1ically bl all inatancea, by wiJ:elen. ·In 

(30) 

. 

'.;,1_ •:··_>~·. : • 

. ), 

. y 

'' .·.'.:~. 

· .. ,, 

·,,.-'',] 

'I 

~ -::i. 

) 
......... ..,_.>:o-,..~ ... - ............ /.Jf. s?--:-~ -·-:-:--·: :;,; · 

,1"-;-

31 

maildnt copieil ·of some of the messages, particularly during the latter part of the war, and in cases where the 

.._,cipher gy~ was being employed in a series of messages, as, for example, a series of communications to 

Was.hington and the wireless communications between Madrid and Berlin, the "recognition groups" were some-. 

times omitted from our file copies. This accounts for the absence of cipher numbers at pagee 24, 26, &2, 77,·78, 

79,.82, 83, 87, 88; 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 98, 104; 105, 108, 110, 115, 121, 124, 126, 128, 131, to 171, inclusive, 173t0 · 

216. inclusive, 218 to 222, inclusive, 224 to 243, inclusive, 246 to 256, inclusive, 260 to 266, inclusive. 'fh:e' 

"ncognition groups," however, appear in the original German cipher messages in every instance. The wireles~· .. 

me&IJ&gl!ll w:hich passed between Madrid and Berlin were sent in almost every case in cipher No. "0064" or' some· 

eombinatioll8 or·moditications of that German cipher system. · . · . · 

9. The dates appearing at the tops of the pages of exhibit A represent the dates when the mess&iei! were 

intercepted, which wete coincident with the dates of the sending of the messages, although in a number of inste.ru\ee it will be noted that the message which we picked up was one which was being•rels.yed 'from one point to 

ao'tber .. ln'such e&se!J the date will be the date of the relay of the message, but not neceesarily the date when it 

waJ>wnt from its original point of origin. These dates are indicated either by a complete statement of the month, 

day and year, or by figures such as "20.6.16.", which means the twenty-sixth day' of June, 1916 . 

.. 10. The sources and destinations of the cables are indicated by the words "From" and "To." For example, 

on page 2 the words "Jtl-om Berlin" mean that the cable or wireless message was sent from Be~lin. The signature 

indicates the name of the official or department which sent the cable, wireless message or communication, as 

eQ&ih, aign&ture was actually cont,ained in the message. The words "To Washington" on page 2 mean that the 

~e was sent to the German Embassy ia Washington. : The communications between Berlin and America, 

inaof&r as we intercepted them, were limited almost exclusively to communications with.the German Embassy. 

11. The letters and figures appearing at Lhe tops of some of the pages in exhibit A, such as "B. No. 24" at 

page 2, "W. 146" at page 3, have reference to a particular series of German numbers as t.hey appeared in the 

oont.euts of the communications .. "B" means a series of communications from Berlin; "W" means a series of 

ecui.munications from Washington. 

12. The message set forth, at page 35 of exhibit A, numbered "B. No. 103," dated January 26, 1915, and 

signed "Repreeentative of General Sta.ff Zimmerman" was a message sent from Berlin to Washington by cable 

via the Swedish Foreign Office. It was intercepted by us en route to Washington. We considered thia t'.nble of 

particular importance at the time and we ~urnis!;~, a~~Pl?.U.tit,,.W-ll1!...sp$,~~p.P.,~r,~,~g~J1~.~~J;,!i,Jl,,.~g~~ 

tm.m)atIDn of it. ta lli,e_Am.e.cican.Sta~.L.tmell.~ugh~the..Amencan.Ei:n!:iMsY~.iI1.J.&l:!..i;!.qn. 

l8. This message, it will be observed, was sent in cipher No. "(13040)." The German cipher book covering 

t.hla eystem of ciphering is in our possession, it having been captured by the British authorities in the luggage of a 

German con.eul named Wasmuss who was stationed at Shiraz while Wasmuss was.engaged in an endeavor to 

cut a' British oil pipe line. 

14. These German communications were intercepted and deciphered by the British Admiralty thrOugh the 

aJJte system which we employed in the interception and deciphering of the well-kno:wn "Zimmermann" cable-

~ of January 16, 1917, from Herr Zimmerman to Count von Bernstorft' for transmission to the German 

Leption in Mexico, advising it of the plan to commence unrestricted warfare and proposing an alliance with 

Mexico· in the.event that t.he United States should enter the war, which cablegram we·ealled to the attention of 

the American State Department, and which wa's published by the United States Government, and which Herr 

Zimmermann in a statement made in the German Reichstag admitted to be correct an<l authentic. Some further 

hiatory of that cablegram will be found in the third volume of "The Life and Letters of. Walter H. Page" by 

Burton J. Hendricks, at pages 331 to 364 . 

. ,?15, 'rhe Germa.n cables, wireless messages and other commu_nications ·set forth .iu. exhibit A are a comparati~'Y small portion of a much larger collection of such messages which we intercepted during the war and. which 

are,stfil in our possession. Owing to the paramount importance of our having for the use of the British Navy the 

information contained in the messages regarding the movement of German ships it was imperative that we should 

avoid if. possible, disclosing to the Germans the fact that we were reading their, communications to this extent. 

Hence 1t was impossible for us at the time to make full use of eJl the information •hich. was before ue. · The 

American Ambassador in London, Mr._ Page, was in ou!.£~1l..~nt,,!)R~!1.!l!'• however, "'.Sardin!.M!.~~n:l.W>!L ~mmuniati,2~affecting America during the war, but it was necessary for all of~ to exercise the greatest 

caution regarding the messages. 

16: .As he.ad of the Brit.ish Naval Intelligence I also had charge of the detention and examination of.Captain 

Franz von Papen, the former Military Attache at Washington upon his arrival at Falmouth about the first of 

.January, 1916. We took from Captain von Papen at that time a number of document.a which were found upon 

his person and among his luggage, a11d which in our judgment were being carried in violation of his right.a under 

the safe conduct which he had l.ieen given. Copies of some of these papers were published at the British Gov. 

ernment Stationery Office and presented to both .Homies of. Parliament a8 a ".British White Paper," Misc. No. 6, 

I ' 

~. 

~-

~ .. --

·, 

~--. 
M 

'REF ID:A491080 

32 

1916, .entitled: "SelectioD.1 Froio Papers 'ound bi the Posaeuion of Captain von Papen, Late German MiliUiry 

Attaohe,at Washington, Falmolllh. January 2 and 3, liHt" A phot.oatatic copy of· that Br!tiah White PapeP h!! 

attached to the exhibits w thiil.OMe as exhibit No. ol6. I penonally saw at the time and exa~ined the originahl of 

these do.cuuiente and know of -my. own tn~ that the documents of which copies appear in that Brttab 

~t.e Paper, of. which exhibit-No.~ is a.photoav.tie oopy, are true, correct and authentic, 1Ucluding the reeords 

from Captain Von Papen's chook-books. 

17. I also personally interrogated Horst VOD der GOlu at the time of his arrest by th!." British authorities. 

Von der Qolts WA!J examined by the officials.at Scotland Yard under my direction and at m.v request. He m&de 

cert.ii.JD a.fBda,ite before those officials of which copies are set forth aB exhibit 53 of the exhibits ol thia. ciase. . I 

have e:xamtued ibis exhibit 53 and.it acoorqnvith my recolleotion of the contents of the original sftidavitt thOugh 

I }lave not e~ J'.'eC8Dtb'. those·affidavite which a.re presμmably in the records at Scotland Yard IHlleaB ~>" 

were, ~n~.tO the Anterican. Government ln' Waebington. . 

18. J. &lso had cb.&rge of the arrest and imprisonment of Fra,nz von Rintelen by the British au,horltkis. ·.He 

was apprehended. by .us at Ramsgate on the steamer Noordam in August HH 5, while hio was appare!Xtly t:ying to 

return to G9rDl&Dy from the Uoiied States. He wast.raveling on a Swiss passport under the name oe '·~·"· 

W~ put him in Donnington BAli. whitih is the Britidh prison for entlllly officers &nd he remained i!N!N -~ 

shortly after .the United States ~ tbe ,.-ar, when we· sent him to America under g1Jard at the reqiJillifi 4 • 

AmerieaD authorities and turned him over kt tlM United States Gov-emment. 

(sd) w. R. HALL. 
·REF ID:A491080 

33 

APPENDIX 2 

GROUP·BY·GROUP DECO DEMENT OF THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM AS SENT BY AMBASSADOR 

BERNSTORFF TO.GERMAN MINISTER VON ECKHARDT IN MEXICO ON JANUARY 19, 1917 

130. Nr. 3 138fil stop 18507 hfazufuegen 

13C)42 4458 gcmciu8amen 52262 Japan 

13401 Aruiwaertiges. Amt 17149 Fricdcnsschluss 1340 von 

8lie)l tclegraphiert 14471 stop 22049 sich 

1 \5 vom 16ten Januar 6706 rcichliche 13:339 aus 

3528 ccilon 13%0 ·.fiuanzicllc 11265 zu 

416 Nr. 1 12224 U ntcrstuetzung 22295 sofortiger 

17214 Ganz geheim 6929 lllld 10439 Beitretung 

6491. Bel bet ' ]4991 Eiuverstaendnis 14814 einladcn 

11310 -, iGU 7382 unsercrseits 4178 ·infinitive with zu 

181-i7 entziffern lf18:)7 ds.ss 6992 und 

18222 stop 67893 Mexiko 8784 glcichzeitig 

21560 Wir 14218 in 7632 zwischen 

102-47 beabsichtigen 36477 Texas 7357 uns 

llf>J8. e.m 5870 comma 6926 und 

2a677 ersten 17553 Neu 52262 Japan 

13005. Februar 67893 Mexiko 11267 zu 

3494 ·un 5870 comma 21100 vermitteln. 

14936 eingeschraenkten 5454 Ar 21272 stop 

98()1)2 U-boot 16102 iz 9346 Bitte 

r'M~).fl krieg 15217 on 9559 den 

11311 zu 22801 a 22464 Pracsidenten 

10392 beginnen ·17138 frueher 15874 darauf 

10371 stop 21001 verlorenes 18502 hinweiscn 

·0302 Es wird 17388 Gebiet 18500 comma 

21290. veraucht 7446 zurueck 15857 dasa 

~?61 y;erden 

009/:i. Vereinigte Sta.a ten von 

23638 erobert 

18222 stop 

2188 ruecksichtslose 

5376 Anwendung 

7381 u:Pserer 

98092 U-boote 

16127 jetzt 

Amerika 

23571 trotzdem 

17504 neutral 

lill69 zu 

ISZ76 erhalten 

18101 atop 

0317 Fuer den Fall 

0228 dass dies 

17694 nicht 

t473 gelingen 

22'J84 sollte 

22'20(). stop 

10452 eehJagen 

21589 wir 

67893 Mexiko 

6.569 auf 

13918 folgender 

8598 Grundlage 

12137 Buendnis. 

1333 vor 

4725 stop 

4458 Gemeinsame 

5~ Kricgs 

17168 fuehrung 

,\. 

' )-\,.~ .. ""' '·). 

/ ' 

6719 

14331 

15021 

23845 

3156 

23552 

22096 

21604 

-4797 

9497 

22464 

20855 

4377 

23610 

18140 

22260 

5905 

13347 

20420· 

39689 

13732 

20667 

6929 

5275 

Regclung 

im 

einzelnen 

Euer Hochwohlgeboren 

ueberlassen 

stop 

Sie 

w'ollen 

Vorstchcndes 

dem 

Praesidenten 

streng 

gcheim 

eroeffnen 

comma 

so bald 

Kriege 

ausbruch 

mit 

Vereinigt_en Staaten 

feRt 

steht 

und 

Anregung 

0 

13486 Aussicht 

9350. bietet 

9220 comma 

76036 England 

14219 ln 

~5144 wenigen 

2831 Monat 

17920 en 

11347 lllUID 

17142. · Frieden 

11264 zu 

7667 zwingen 

7762 stop 

15099\, Empfa.ng 

9110 '.pestaetigen 

10482 stop 

97556 Zimmermann 

3569 stOp 

3670 B?'hlUBB der Depesche 

. 

,\' -

>- \ 

'

·:-. .. 

---~~- -------
REF IDTA4 91 era o- -

l'nnfidential 

,,r'Aft DEPARTMENT 

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER 

WASHINGTON 

THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM 

OF JANUARY 16, 1917 

4ND ITS 

CRYPTOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND 

• 
REF ID:A491080 

30 April 1959 

This document is re-graded "CONFIDENTIAL" UP 

of DOD Directive 5200.1 dated 8 July 1957, 

and by authority of the Director, National 

Security Agency. 

·~!r~ Col.onel, AGC 

Adjutant General 

-".·· 
REF ID:A491080 

0228 17:694 

13918 8958 12137 

4450 17149 14471 

. 1585'! 67093 14218 

15217 22801 

14~3l 2'3145 

9497 ... ~8~~ .. 437'7 

20420 59689 15732 

1 22049 13$39 . 11265 

41'78 8784 'f.632 

93.46 9559 224~4 

Photograph of the Zimmermann telegram as filed in Washington by Ambassador Bernstorff for transmission to 

Mexico City (cf. pages 5, 16, 22). 
REF ID:A491080 

Coll lid.en tial 

Register N'! 3 8 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER 

WASHINGTON 

THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM 

OF JANUARY 16, 1917 

AND ITS 

CRYPTOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND 

By 

WILLIAM F. FRIEDMAN 

Principal Cryptanalyst 

Signal Intelligence Service 

and 

CHARLES 1. MENDELSOHN, Ph.D. 

Formerly Captain, M. I. D., G. S. 

Prepared under the direction of the 

CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER 

UNITED STATES 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON: 1938 
REF ID:A491080 

THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM OF JANUARY 16, 1917, AND ITS 

CRYPTOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND 

Among the official cryptograms which have been intercepted and translated by governmental authorities other than those for whom they were intended, the most important of all 

time, either in war or peace, is undoubtedly the one deciphered by the British Naval Intelligence 

which is known to historians as the Zimmermann telegram. In German literature it is referred to 

as the Mexico dispatch. This message, in cryptographic form, was sent on January 16, 1917, 

by Arthur Zimmermann, then German Minister of Foreign Affairs in Berlin, to Ambassador 

von Bernstorff, at Washington, to be forwarded to German Minister von Eckhardt at Mexico 

City. It read, translated into English, as follows: 1 

We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor 

in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we 

make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, 

generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.. The settlement in detail is left to you. You will inform 

the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of 

America. is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. Please call the President's 

attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace. 

No account of the stirring episodes leading up to our entry into the World War can be 

considered complete without at least a reference to the one in which the Zimmermann telegram 

played the leading role. Even those who adhere to the theory that it was the bankers who 

pushed us into the conflict on the side of the Allies must mention it; while those who incline 

toward the theory that it was the German policy of "frightfulness" on sea and land which 

dragged us in against them give this message even more attention. Although today it would 

certainly be too much to say that this cryptogram, through its interception and solution by the 

British, and its forwarding by them to President Wilson, was the direct means of bringing us into 

the war, nevertheless many an informed person whose memory goes back to the exciting days 

when the contents of this sensational message were disclosed in the newspapers of March 1, 

1917, would certainly say that had he been asked at that time he would have said at least that 

it was the straw which broke the camel's back. The importance of this incident is evidenced 

by the lengthy comments of prominent officials who were at that time in a position to judge 

its significance. The Secretary of State, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Colonel House, 

our Ambassador to Great Britain, and many others, give this telegram a prominent place in 

their writings on the World War. For example: 

While the Armed Ship Bill we.s under discussion in Congress another event occurred which caused 

the greatest excitement throughout the country and aroused the people age.inst the German Government even more, I believe, than the announced policy of the submarine ruthlessness. That event was 

the publication of the so-called "Zimmermann telegram" * * *· Thus the Zimmermann telegram 

resulted in unifying public sentiment throughout the United States against Germany, in putting the 

people solidly behind the Government and in making war inevitable, if not popular, because the 

• Papera Relating to the Foreign Relation• of the United SW.tu, 1917. Supplement 1, The World War, p. 147. U. S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, 1931. This book wlll hereinafter be referred to es Foreign Relations Serles. abbreviated FRS. 

(1) 
REF ID:A491080 

2 

German Government's sinister intent toward the United States could no longer be doubted. The 

"cold-blooded proposition" of Germany's Secretary of Foreign Affairs in one day accomplished a change 

in sentiment and public opinion which would otherwise have required months to accomplish. From 

the time that the telegram was published, or at least from the time that its authenticity was admitted 

by its author, the United States' entry into the war was assured, since it could no longer be doubted 

that it was desired by the American people from Maine to California and from Michigan to Texas.2 

• * * * * * * 

It [the Zimmermann telegram] roused a great deal of indignation in the States and strongly reinforced the popular backing for strong measures by the President.• 

* • * • • • * 

Wilson was waiting for what he called the "overt act" before he took further steps against Germany, 

but the possibility of avoiding hostilities daily diminished. * * * 

Misguided German diplomacy did its utmost to strengthen the growing feeling in the United 

States that war with Germany could not be avoided. On February 26, Colonel House was called to 

the telephone by Frank Polk and informed that the British Naval Intelligence had received and 

deciphered a sensational telegram from the German Foreign Office to von Eckhardt, the German 

Minister in Mexico City. Signed by Zimmermann himself and dated January 16, the telegram 

announced the imminence of unrestricted submarine warfare, and instructed the German Minister, in 

case of war with the United States, to attempt to arrange a German-Mexican alliance, on the understanding that Mexico would be assisted to reconquer New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. Zimmermann 

further suggested that Carranza should approach Japan. 

Mr. Polk fully realized that the publication of this telegram would blow American resentment 

to a white heat; it would strengthen immensely popular support of the President in any action he 

might take against Germany in defense of American rights on the sea. The same thought may have 

led the British to pass the deciphered telegram on to Washington. Wilson himself was disturbed and 

in doubt as to whether the publication of the telegram would not bring on a crisis he could not control. 

House urged immediate publication. * * * 

The effect of publication was exactly what had been anticipated. Many persons naturally raised 

doubts as to the authenticity of the telegram; but Lansing formally assured Congress, and Zimmermann 

himself confessed, that it was genuine. Speculation was uncontrolled as to how it had been intercepted: 

it was rumored that the messenger had been caught by American guardsmen on the Mexican border; 

that a copy had been taken from von Bernstorff at Halifax; that it was in a mysterious box seized by 

the British on the ship which Bernstorff sailed on.' 

Hendrick,5 the biographer of the war-time American Ambassador to Great Britain, Walter 

H. Page, says: 

The most senl!Ational episode of this period, however, was the publication on March 1 of a telegram 

from Dr. Alfred Zimmermann, German Foreign Secretary, to the German Minister in Mexico, outlining 

a scheme for an alliance of Germany, Japan, and Mexico against the United States, and for the cession 

in case of victory, of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to Mexico. 

· [Page's diary dated March 2, 1917.] The Zimmermann (Berlin) Mexico-Japan bomb burst today, 

the Zimmermann telegram to the German Minister in Mexico being in the morning papers. They gave 

it out in Washington (apparently) to cause Congress to give the President authority to arm merchant 

ships, etc., etc., as he should see fit, and to use the armed forces of the Nation to protect commerce and 

life. It had that effect. An enormous majority in the House last night (nearly 500 to 13!) voted in 

favor of the resolution. I am curious to see the effect on the country. I have never abandoned the 

belief that if the President were really to lead, all the people would follow. Whether he will even now 

lead remains to be seen. Yesterday I talked to Chinda, the Japanese Ambassador, about this Zimmermann telegram. He thought it a huge joke at first. Today Yeates Thompson confessed that it seemed 

to him a newspaper hoax! Nobody (few people surely) yet thoroughly understand the German. This 

telegram will go somi> distance surely to instruct the people of the U. S. A.6 

• Lansing, Robert, War Memoirs, Bobbs, Merrill & Co., Indianapolis, 1935, pp, 225 and 232. 

• Lloyd George, David, War Memoirs, p. 534. 

• The Intimate Papers of Colonel House, Houghton Miffin Co., New York, rn26, p. 451. 

•Hendrick, Burton J., The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Doubleday Page & Co., New York, 1926. Hereinafter this work will be referred 

to merely as Hendrick. 

• Op. cit, vol. III, pp. 321, 324. I 

\• 
REF ID:A491080 

3 

The acrimonious discussions which the Zimmermann telegram aroused in Congress take 

up 22 pages in the Congressional Record. Most of the debate deals with a resolution calling 

upon the President to furnish a formal statement declaring whether or not the telegram as 

published in the newspapers was authentic. Space forbids extensive quotation, and the following 

two statements made in the course of the debate must suffice: 7 

Mr. THOMAS. * * * Does not the Senator [referring to Senator Hitchcock] realize that the 

public mind is already inflamed, that it has been inflamed by this publication [the Zimmermann telegram] like a bolt? Because of that excited condition, which we share, inasmuch as the information 

must have proceeded from Executive sources, directly or indirectly, it is very essential that we should 

have such information as may be necessary to enable us to meet and, if necessary, to end that public 

excitement which is now sweeping all over the country. 

* * * * * • * 

Mr. SMITH. * * * Mr. President, I say that the situation thus created is fa~reaching and 

delicate, fraught with very great danger to the peace of the American people. * * * 

It was of course natural that question should be raised as to the authenticity of the Zimmermann telegram. Senator Tillman [p. 4605] gave voice to his doubts in no uncertain terms: 

Mr. President, I want to say one thing before this debate closes. I think we have wasted a great 

deal of valuable time here in discussing a lie-a forgery. I agreed with the Senator from Michigan 

[Mr. Smith] this morning when he said it was a forgery. The reason I think it is a forgery is this: 

Who can conceive of the Japanese consorting with Mexico and the Germans to attack the United 

States? Why, Japan hates Germany worse than the devil is said to hate holy water. Japan took 

possession of Kiaochow and she is going to hold it. Is it possible to conceive that Japan will go to war 

with the United States in conjunction with Mexico and Germany? I think such a proposition is 

beneath our notice. 

The New York Times Current History for the period February 20 to May 15, 1917, deals 

thus with the Zimmermann telegram: 

An important phase growing out of our rupture with Germany and the subsequent drift toward 

war was the uncovering of an anti-American alliance proposed by Germany with Mexico and japan 

in the event the threatened war ensued. * * * The revelation created a profound impression 

throughout the country. The immediate effect on Congress was the elimination of practically all 

opposition to the proposal then pending to autho:dze the President to proceed at once to arm American 

merchantmen against German submarines; it also crystalized the conviction throughout the country 

that the German submarine blockade must be sternly resisted, even though it resulted in a declaration 

of war by Germany. 

Ambassador von Bernstorff says: 8 

It has frequently been asserted that the notorious Mexico telegram led to the war with the United 

States. I do not believe this is correct. The telegram was used with great success as propaganda 

against us; but the rupture of diplomatic relations-as I have already pointed out--was, in view of 

the situation, equivalent in all circumstances to war. I had nothing to do with the Mexico telegram, 

which took me completely by surprise. It was addressed, in the usual way, direct to the legation in 

Mexico, and passed through the Embassy at Washington on the same day on which I received notification that the unrestricted U-boat war was to be declared. I had neither the right, nor was it my 

duty, to hold up the telegram although I disapproved of its contents. 

On December 13, 1927, Sir Alfred Ewing, who throughout the war was civilian head of the 

cryptographic bureau (popularly referred to as "Room 40") of the British Naval Intelligence 

Service, delivered an address before the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, telling of the 

' Conoresslona' Record, 64th Congress, 2nd Session, vol. LIV, pp. 4.595 and 4W8, Mar. 1, 1917. 

'von Bernstorff, Count Johann, Mv Three Years in America, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1920, p. 380. This work will hereinafter 

be referred to as Bernstorjf. 
REF ID:A491080 

4 

work of the Bureau. That portion of the published account of his address with which we are 

concerned is as follows: 9 

Besides intercepting naval signals, the cryptographers of Room 40 dealt successfully with much 

political cipher. The isolated position of Germany forced her to resort to wireless, and prevented 

frequent changes of the code books for confidential communication with correspondents a.broad. 

There was a voluminous stream of cipher correspondence with German agents in Madrid, and a good deal 

with North and South America as well as Constantinople, Athens, Sofia, and other places. One group of 

deciphered messages threw useful light in advance on the Easter Revolution in Ireland, another group 

on the intrigues of the Germans in Persia. 

Among the many political messages read by his staff was the notorious Zimmermann telegram, 

which was intercepted in the manner described in the third volume of the Page Letters. President 

Wilson was then hesitating on the brink of war, reluctant to plunge, clinging painfully to the idea of 

neutrality which seemed to be almost a part of his religion. The Zimmermann message, which made 

a conditional offer to Mexico of an alliance against the United States, was deciphered in Room 40. 

It was then communicated very confidentially by Lord Balfour to Mr. Page and through Page to 

Wilson, and was given by him to the American Press. Its publication was decisive in converting 

American opinion to the necessity of war. But the curtain which hid Room 40 remained undisturbed. 

And finally in his famous message (which is now known as the "war message") delivered 

in person before the Congress in joint session on April 2, 1917, President Wilson said: 10 

That it (the German Government) means to stir up enemies against us at our very doors the 

intercepted note to the German Minister at Mexico is eloquent evidence. 

More than enough has been quoted to give an indication of the importance with which the 

publication of the Zimmermann telegram must be regarded in connection with a study of the 

causes leading to our entry into the war. Indirectly, because the United States is the leading 

power on the American Continent, it also helped to bring Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, 

and Panama into the arms of the .Allies. 

So important a cryptographic incident, therefore, warrants a most careful study by historians 

a.s well as by cryptographers, for the story of the incident is replete with suggestions for making 

the most of a cryptographic opportunity. 

Twenty years have passed since the Zimmermann telegram was blazoned on the front 

pages of newspapers throughout the world except, of course, in Germany and Austria. But 

the British Government, which was the principal actor in the incident, has still not lifted the 

impenetrable curtain of mystery behind which her able cryptographers work, so that we shall 

have to draw conclusions from accounts from other sources if we are to study the facts concerning her interception and solution of the famous message. We shall pass over several purely 

apochryphal accounts which appeared at the time. 11 

It is amusing to note, in passing, that one of the reasons why the Kaiser was extremely 

cool to Ambassador Bernstorff, who was received by the Kaiser only 6 or 7 weeks subsequent 

to Bernstorff's return to Berlin after the rupture of relations, was the monarch's belief that the 

Zimmermann telegram had been taken from among the papers which Bernstorff carried with 

him on his return home on the Friedrich VIII in February 1917. The ship was detained at 

Halifax for 12 days and every nook and cranny was searched. A box of dispatches which had 

been placed aboard the vessel by the Swedish Minister was found by the British authorities and 

• As reported Jn The (Edinburgh) Scotaman and The (London) Time1 lot December 14, 1927. Incidentally, the Editor of The Scotama11, in 

lauding Sir Alfred, said or the Zimmermann telegram that It "wBB Instrumental in bringing America Into the war." 

"FRS, pp. 195-203. Also, in his Flag Dap Addrel8 on June 14, ID17, in citing the numerous provocations which, be explained, forced us into 

the war, the President said: "They tried to Incite Mexico to take up arms against ns and to draw Japan Into a bostlle alliance with her-and that 

not by indirection but by direct suggestion from the Foreign Office In Berlin." 

11 The most far-fetched or these was to the effect that the message was found by four soldiers of Company 0, First Infantry, on the person of 

a spy whom they bad captured while be was attempting to cross the southern border Into Mexico, near the town of Prog;.ess on February 21, 1P17. 

See The New York Times Current History, period April ID!7-June 1917, vol. XI. Even so recent a work as Gunther's lnlide Europe (1936), pp. 

gz..,93, contains a wholly erroneous version of the episode. 

I 

I 

' l 
REF ID:A491080 

5 

the contents of some of them were published. The English papers represented the case as if a 

box of dispatches had been taken from Bernstorff. But the Zimmennann note was not among 

them. 12 

The first lifting of the veil of secrecy surrounding the interception and solution of the 

Zimmermann telegram occurred in 1925, when the November issue of World's Work brought the 

final installment of Hendrick's The Life and Letters of Walter H. Pa{Je. This account, from 

which a passage has already been cited, still forms the principal source of our information on 

the subject. A second account, not so detailed as the first, but containing important data, was 

published in 1933 in Lansing's War Memoirs, also already mentioned. Another account appears 

in a book 13 by a professed German ex-spy. But since it is based almost entirely upon the 

Hendrick version, and because there are cogent reasons for discounting much of the contents of 

the book as a whole, it will be largely disregarded in this paper. In addition to all sources mentioned, reference will be made to official records of the Department of State. 

The first links in the story may be seen in the following two telegrams: 14 

SECRETARY OF STATE, Washington. 

5746, February 24. 

(1) 

LONDON, February 24, 19i7. 

Rec'rl 9 a. m. 

In about three hours I shall send ·a telegram of great importance to the President and Secretary 

of State. 

PAGE. 

* * * * * * • 

(2) 

The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Secretary of State 

{Telegram] 

LONDON, Febraury t4, 1917-1 p. m. 

Rec'd 8:30 p. m. 

5747. My 5746, February 24, 8 a. m. For the President and the Secretary of State. 

Balfour has handed me the text of a cipher telegram from Zimmermann, Geiman ·'Secretary of 

State for Foreign Affairs, to the German Minister to Mexico, which was sent via W88hington and 

relayed by Bernstorff on January 19. You can probably obtain a copy of the text relayed.by Bernstorff from the cable office in Washington. The first group is the number of the telegram HG, 130, and 

the second is 13042, indicating the number of the code used. The last group but two is 97556, which 

is Zimmermann's signature. I shall send you by mail a copy of the cipher text and of the decode into 

German and meanwhile I give you the English translation as follows: (Then follows the 'English text 

of the telegram as given above, p. 1.) 

The receipt of this information has so greatly exercised the British Government that they have 

lost no time in communicating it to me to transmit to you, in order that our Government may be able 

without delay to make such dispositfon as may be necessary in view of the threatened invasion of our 

territory. 

Early in the war, the British Government obtained possession of a copy of the German cipher code 

used in the above message and have made it their business to obtain copies of Bernstorfl's cipher 

telegrams to Mexico, amongst others, which are sent back to London. and deciphered here. This 

accounts for their being able to decipher this telegram from the German Government to their repre12 National!'ersammlung, 1919. Unuriucllullgsausschuss tlber die WeltkriegsverantworUlcllkelt. In a series of 15 sessions, from October 21, 

1919, to April 14, 1920, a committee appointed by the German National Constituent Assembly to Inquire Into the responsibility for the war 

held hearings in Berlin. The reports of two subcommittees together with the stenographic minutes of one of these subcommittees and supplements 

thereto have been translated and published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as vols. 1 and 2 of OjJl.dal German Dowmtfll• 

Relating to the World War .. These two volumes are 11 veritable mine or Important Information. They will hereafter be referred to as German 

Hearings. The statement above ls taken from p, 311. 

JJ van Rintelen, Capt. Franz, The Dark Invader. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1933. 

u The first is taken from Hen~rick, vol. III, p. 332; the second, from FRS, p. 147. 

"•This is not the number of the telegram, but the code equivalent of the number (3). 
REF ID:A491080 

6 

eentative in Mexico and also for the delay from January 19 until now in their receiving the information. 

Thie system has hitherto been a jealously guarded secret and is only divulged now to you by the British 

Government in view of the extraordinary circumstances and their friendly feeling toward the United 

States. They earnestly request that you will keep the source of your information and the British 

Government's method of obtaining it profoundly secret, but they put no prohibition on the publication 

of Zimmermann's telegram itself. 

The copies of this and other telegrams were not obtained in Washington but were bought in Mexico. 

I have thanked Balfour for the service his Government has rendered us and suggest that a private 

official message of thanks from our Government to him would be beneficial. 

I am informed that this information has not yet been given to the Japanese Government, but I 

think it not unlikely that when it reaches them they may make a public statement on it in order to clear 

up their position regarding the United States and prove their good faith to their Allies. 

PAGE. 

We shall not concern ourselves with the steps taken by the President and Secretary of 

State Lansing, culminating in the publication·by the Associated Press of the text of the telegram. 

Our interest will be concentrated upon the minute details of the manner in which the message 

was intercepted and solved by the British. 

The Hendrick account, immediately after the preceding two telegrams quoted above, 

continues: 

The manner in which the British had acquired this message is disclosed in Page's telegram. It 

was "bought in Mexico." That is, the British Secret Service had obtained it evidently from some 

approachable person in the Mexican capital-a practice which, it appears from Page's comumnication, 

had been going on for some time. An interesting additional fact is that this is not the only way in 

which the British obtained this priceless treasure. The German Government was so determined to 

make this Mexican alliance that it did not depend upon a single route for transmitting the Zimmermann message to von Eckhardt. It dispatched it in several other ways. For one it used the wireless 

route from Nauen, Germany, to Bayville, Long Island. 

In the early days of the war, the American Government prohibited the use of this Bayville line 

except under American supervision; how little this prohibition interfered with the Germans is shown 

by the use they made of the Long Island station for this, the most fateful message sent to America 

during the war. * * * In the British Admiralty this Nauen-Sayville thoroughfare was known as 

the "main line"; it was the most direct and consequently the one most used for sending German dispatches to the United States. 

Hendrick cites no authority for the statement that the Zimmermann telegram was transmitted by radio from :Nauen to Sayville and there is reason to doubt that this was the case, as 

will become apparent :vlrhen the matter is carefully considered in the light of other evidence. 

A few hours after the outbreak of the war the British, who have always recognized the 

importance of controlling communication channels as well as sea lanes, took immediate steps 

to isolate Germany from the rest of the world that lay beyond the oceans, by cutting and diverting 

to her own service the two German cables across the Atlantic Ocean. This left Germany 

only indirect channels of communication with her Ambassador at Washington. These channels 

were four in number. The first, by radio between a station in Germany and two stations in 

the United States, was known to and supervised by our Government; the second, by cable from 

Germany via Berlin, Stockholm, Buenos Aires, Washington, was secret, and though there is 

positive evidence that from the very first days of its use it was known to the British, it was 

unsuspected and unknown to our Government until long after we had entered the war; the 

third, via Berlin, Copenhagen, Washington, was a very special method used only occasionally, 

with the knowledge and cooperation of the American State Department; the fourth, involving 

the insertion of secret text in ordinary news dispatches, was a channel which was of course unknown to our Government, until long after the war was over, when it was disclosed by Bern-
REF ID:A491080 

7 

storff himself. 1s Since we are not concerned with this channel of communication we shall have 

no more to say about it than is given in footnote 15. 

We shall consider first the communications passing by radio between the German station 

at Nauen and one or the other of two radio stations on United States territory, at Sayville, 

Long Island, and Tuckerton, N. J. These stations had been erected by German enterprise 

for direct communication with Europe; they were, however, partly financed by French capital, 

and the legal objections which the French raised immediately upon the outbreak of the war 

soon resulted in closing both of them. Later our Government, after long negotiations with 

the German Government, took over the stations and exercised a censorship over them. The 

steps leading to the imposition of that censorship need not concern us; the fact is that the Germans were unable to use the stations until April 1915 16 and then only under supervision, in 

that messages sent by Bernstorff to N auen had to be submitted to our censor before they could 

be transmitted and messages received from Nauen, addressed to Bernstorff, were carefully scrutinized before they were handed over to him. The purpose of this censorship was, of course, to 

preserve our neutrality. Messages exchanged via these radio stations were, as a rule, sent in 

a code known as "Englischer Chiffre Nr. 9972", two copies of which had been deposited with 

our censor. This is established by the following letter: 17 

KAISERLICBE DEUTSCEE BoTSCBAFT1 

German Embassy, Washington. 

APRIL 20, 1915. 

The Imperial German Embassy presents its compliments and has tile honor, with reference to 

the correspondence with Honorable Robert Lansing in regard to the sending of wireless messages in 

cipher by means of the radio stations at Tuckerton and Sayville, to transmit to the United States 

Department of State herewith, in two copies, the key to that cipher against kind acquittance for making 

further directions. 

(Signed) J. BERNSTORFF. 

As stated above, all messages forwarded by radio by Bernstorff had to be sent to our censor 

through the State Department and these messages were regularly accompanied by a formal letter 

couched in the following terms: 

The Imperial German Embassy presents ite compliments. to the United States Department of 

State and has 1.he honor to enclose herev.ith a wireless cipher message, in duplicate, to the Foreign Office 

at Berlin for kind transmission to the Tuckerton station. Duplicate copies of the (plain text) message 

are likewise enclosed. 

u Bernstortr, p. 154: "My reports as a matter ol lact were somewhat infrequent and always short, as we had to put all our messages into cipher, 

and this was not always possible. In explanation of the inevitable incompleteness of my communication with the Foreign Office, I may remark 

that the telegrams ol the Wolff and Trans-Ocean Bureaus were regarded as the main sources of Information for either side, and that I made use 

ol various arrangements of words, to which the Foreign Office alone had the key, for the purpose of making my own views easily distinguishable 

in these telegrams." Another interesting corroboration of tbe use of this method is to be found in the Hall affidavit. (See footnote 20.) Among 

tile telegrams accompanying the affidavit is one (p. 122) dated AprU 3, 1916, from Bernstorff to the Foreign Office. It contains the following paragraph: 

"For this reason I suggest that the Wolff Bureau should be instructed for the present to forward immediately all Klaessig's telegrams to the 

Foreign Office. It is advisable that all should be sent, because telegrams going from here are in code, and therefore the recognition signal agreed 

on by us for telegrams intended for you might easily be lost. For motives of economy Klaessig uses the Ritzansche Bureau in (an American town) 

tor such telegrams, as in this way it is possible to use code with regard to the English censorship." 

11 P. 480, German Hearings, 

11 The letter is in the files of the State Department. In handwriting on its lower left hand corner appears the followiug: "Two cipher books 

handed to Lieutenant Noyes, U.S. Navy, April 20, 1915." In telegram 79 dated April 20, 1915, Bernstorff informed the Foreign Office that two copies 

of Code 0072 were delivered to tile State Department. He says (Bernstorff, p. 66): "In these negotiations we had to content ourselves with pointing 

out that whereas our enemies could pass on military information to their Governments by means of coded cablegrams, we should be confined to the 

use ol the wireless stations. Finally we came to an agreement with the American Government that they should have a copy of the code which 

we used for the wireless telegrams. In this way their contents were kept secret from the enemy but not from the W asllington Government. This 

course we only agreed to as a last resource as it was not suitable tor handling negotiations in which the American Government was concerned." 

How naive Bernstortr was In respect to his Idea that the messages In Code 0072 were thus kept secret from the enemy will be seen In a short time. 

937:\3-38--2 
REF ID:A491080 

8 

Thus not only did the United States have the code in which the messages were pl'epared, 

but messages in that code, when sent by Bernstorff to the State Department for transmission, 

were accompanied by their plain texts so that the censor could verify the latter if he desired. 18 

That the scrutiny of these messages was not a mere formality is attested by the fact that 

the files of the State Department show several cases in which the Department held up and refused 

to transmit telegrams which, on being examined, were not perfectly clear, or which were even in 

slight degree questionable as regards our neutrality. In this connection Bernstorff says: 19 

As has already been mentioned, all our wireless messages were read by the American Government 

departments and it had often occurred that objection had been raised. 

On one occasion, upon the very urgent request of the German Ambassador, the Secretary 

of State agreed to permit Bernstorff to receive a radio message from Berlin to Tuckerton prepared, not in Code 9972, but in a code of which no copy had been deposited. This special circumstance caused Bernstorff to address a letter on January 28, 1917, to William Phillips, then 

Under Secretary of State. This letter, found in the files of the State Department, contains the 

following paragraph: 

I presume that the wireless was addressed and forwarded direct to the Imperial Foreign Office. 

As I have asked for an immediate wireless reply, my Government may answer in the same way and 

in a code not decipherable by the Censor at Tuckerton. In a former somewhat similar case when 

by mistake the wrong code was used, the telegram reached me only after several days' delay. Therefore, and as the answer to my yesterday's message will be extremely urgent, I should be particularly 

grateful to you, if you could, at your earliest convenience, have the Censor at Tuckerton and at the 

Navy Department instructed to let, in this exceptional case, the reply to my message pai;s as quickly 

as possible. 

It is obvious that if scrutiny of messages had been a mere formality Bernstorff would hardly 

have gone to the trouble of begging so humbly for the permission to which reference is made. 

Parenthetically it may be stated that if the Germans' purpose in using a code for these radio 

messages was to keep their contents from their enemies, they might well have saved themselves all the trouble they took, for Code 9972 was extremely simple in construction and was 

solved by the British without difficulty. This is proved by a telegram that appears in a public 

record which is replete with valuable information, namely, the documents published by the 

German-American Mixed Claims Commission, which was established in 1922. Among these 

documents is an affidavit dated December 28, 1926, by Admiral Sir W. Reginald Hall, wartime 

chief of the intelligence department of the British Admiralty. 20 This affidavit is accompanied by 

a large number of messages which were intercepted and read by the cryptographic bureau of the 

British Admiralty. Among these decoded messages is a translation of one of these N auen-Sayville 

messages accompanied by the following footnote: 21 

[British] DEPARTMENTAL NoTE.-This is the first message in cipher 9972 which has been read. 

This cipher is employed in messages passing between Berlin and the German Embassy, Washington. 

In view of the strict supervision that was exercised over this N auen-Sayville radio route it 

appears strange that the Zimmermann telegram should have been transmitted in this way. 

We come now to the second communication channel that was used by the German Government to communicate with Bernstorff, the route via Berlin, Stockholm, Buenos Aires, Washington. This channel was made available by the good offices of the Swedish Foreign Office and its 

representatives abroad. Hints as to the use of this channel may be found in Bernstorff. For 

11 Of course the convenience of our censor bad a part In the selection of a code In the English language. The code, however, was not compiled 

for that purpose. It was already on band and had been used for the purpose of transmitting English material. 

" BernstortT, p. 230. 

"Hereafter the Hall affidavit will be referred to BS Hall. It appears BS Claimants' Exhibit 320 of the doownents published by the Mixed Claims 

Commission, and Is reprinted as Appendix I to this paper. 

11 Hall, p. 96. 
REF ID:A491080 

9 

example, on page 65: "We had to fall back exclusively on the wireless stations, when, as frequently happened, we were unable to make use of the circuitous routes via neutral countries." 22a 

Again on page 149: "Telegraphic communication between the German Government and the 

Embassy at Washington was carried out by a.circuitous route, which made it extremely slow." 

There is in the State Department files a telegram dated September 10, 1917, from American 

Ambassador Morris, at Stockholm, to the Secretary of State, which reads: 

Today had conference with British Minister who informs me as follows: In the summer of 1915 

when Great Brita.in sent a commission to Sweden to negotiate regarding importation into Sweden the 

Swedish Government protested against Great Britain delaying in London official telegrams addressed 

by Swedish Government to Swedish Legation, Washington. British Minister received cable instructions to inform Swedish Government that delay was due to the fact that the British Government was 

in possession of positive knowledge 22b that the Swedish Legation, Washington, had transmitted to the 

German Government through the Foreign Office Stockholm, message from Count Bernstorff. Swedish 

Minister for Foreign Affairs admitted that such message had been sent so transmitted but gave British 

Minister formal assurance that this would not occur a.gain. 

What was the nature of the "positive knowledge" that the British Government possessed? 

Undoubtedly it was based upon decoded German telegrams, as is evidenced by the following 

telegram which appears among those in Admiral Hall's affidavit: 23 

From BUENOS AIRES 

To BERLIN 

I. Telegram No. 72 is missing. 

B. A. 67 

(transmitted) 19th June 1915 

(5950) and (13040)21° 

II. Please send cypher telegrams for WASHINGTON in such a way that they can be recyphered 

here, otherwise the Swedish facilities for wiring will be compromised and presumably withdrawn from us. 

LUXBURG. 

Note the date of this message. It is good evidence that the British knew of this method, but 

there is also sufficient additional evidence in Admiral Hall's affidavit, if one studies the points 

between which the telegrams included in the affidavit were sent. The fact that a large number 

of the messages in the Hall affidavit were sent via Stockholm-Buenos Aires, is clear proof that 

the British were carefully watching this route and reading the telegrams transmitted over it. 

It is quite clear from this evidence and from the quotations cited above that Hendrick 

places too much emphasis upon the variety ofroutes which he says the Zimmermann telegram 

traveled, as though only this telegram had received special treatment. It is apparent that the 

transmission of important messages by more than one route was a usual procedure with Bernstorff. For example, he states: 24 "With the utmost possible speed I sent the following telegrams 

about my interview with Mr. House, by three different routes to Berlin." 

Hendrick says: 26 

The fact seems to be that the Swedish Court was openly pro-German; that popular opinion in 

Sweden similarly inclined to the German side; and, by January, 1917, the Swedish Foreign Office had 

become almost an integral part of the German organization. In many capitals German messages 

were frequently put in Swedish cipher and sent to Swedish Ministers in other countries and by them 

delivered to their German colleagues. Herr Zimmermann, in his desire to make certain that his Mexi-

"" Italics ours. 

"' Italics in original. 

II Hall, p. 68. 

"" "(li950) and (13040)" is the British designation of the code used by the Oermansinsendingthemes.5age. Codeli950wasanencipbermentot 

13040, and a message sent in that code bad, accordingly, to be transposed Into code 13040 before It was read. (See pp. 4-14 of Mendelsohn, Charles J., 

Studies In German Diplomatic Codes Emploved During the World War. Technical Paper of the Signal Intelligence Service, Wasblngton, 1Q37.) 

u Bernstortf, p. 373. 

11 Hendrick, vol. III, p. 338. 
REF ID:A491080 

10 

can telegram should reach Washington, again fell back upon the assistance of his Swedish confreres. 

He handed his message to the Swedish Minister to Berlin; this functionary sent it to Stockholm, Sweden; 

from this point it was cabled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and from that city cabled in turn to Washington. The journey was a roundabout one, covering about ten thousand miles. Yet nothing that 

was sent through the air or under the sea seemed to escape the watchful attention of the British Naval 

Intelligence, and this Swedish message was captured almost at the same moment as that one which was 

going by the "main line." 

It is to be noted that according to Hendrick 

Swedish cipher and sent to Swedish Ministers * 

the Swedish code. 

"German messages were frequently put in 

* *" and he implies that the British read 

Now it would be easy to believe that the British obtained and read messages in Swedish 

code, for their intercept service pretty well covered the earth. It is, however, intrinsically 

unlikely that the Germnns would give the Swedes the text of a message to be put into Swedish 

code for transmission. Why reveal their secrets to the Swedish Government? It was so much 

easier merely to ask Stockholm to forward a message in German code-precisely as they asked 

the Americans to do it, as we shall soon see. Not only, however, do probabilities point away 

from any idea that a Swedish code was used, but we have two pieces of evidence on.this matter 

the authenticity of which cannot be questioned. 

On September 8, 1917, the State Department published the text of three code messages 

sent by the German charge d'Ajfaires at Buenos Aires to the Foreign Office at Berlin. These 

telegrams became notorious as the Luxburg or "sink '"-ithout trace" messages. They were 

furnished by the British, for the American cryptographic bureau had as yet hardly been organized at that time. The files of the State Department contain several messages in connection 

with this episode. Among them is one dated September 18, 1917, to Bell (Secretary, American 

Embassy, London) from Harrison (Secretary in the Diplomatic Service, assigned to the Department, later-1922-Assistant Secretary of State), in which Harrison transmitted the dates and 

initial groups of 22 messages sent from the Swedish Foreign Office, Stockholm, to the Swedish 

Legation, Buenos Aires and asked: "Please let me know as soon as possible if British authorities 

have copies of all these messages, if they have been successfully treated, and if so telegraph contents at earliest possible moment." On September 19, Bell replied as follows: "Numbers 4, 5, 

11, 16, 17, 18, and 22 are in Swedish code and undecipherable here." 

Moreover, we have a direct statement of the war-time British Cryptographic Bureau on this 

point. After America"s entry into the war, the British gave the American Government a partial 

copy of the German code known as Code 13040, with directions for its use. These directions contain the express statements that German messages sent by Swedish officials were in enciphered 

German code, i. e., the original code groups were subjected to a process of systematic alteration, 

and that the transfer, or retransfer, from Swedish to German hands was made at Buenos Aires. 

The method of encipherment employed to disguise the messages upon their transfer was of such 

nature as not completely to remove certain resemblances to German Code 13040. These 

resemblances aroused the suspicions of the British cryptographers, and detailed study followed. 

Once the nature of the disguise was learned, its usefulness was lost, and the Germans might 

have spared themselves the trouble of disguising the code when they gave their messages to 

Swedish officials for forwarding. 

We have seen that the British Government once informed the Swedish Government that 

it was "in possession of positive knowledge that the Swedish Legation, Washington, had transmitted to the German Government through the Foreign Office, Stockholm, message from Count 

Bemstorff." That was "in the summer of 1915." The fact that the practice was not stopped 

for 2 years or more, though the British must have been fully aware of it, speaks for itself. The 

British authorities must have realized soon after this protest, which was no doubt made early in 
REF ID:A491080 

11 

the cryptographic war, that the information they were gleaning from the study of these messages 

was too valuable to lose, even taking into account the fact that the messages were of considerable 

use to their enemies. It is more than likely that the information was at least as useful to the 

British as it was to the Germans themselves. In some cases there is no doubt that it was even 

more useful. 

Finally, there is another important telegram in the files of the State Department on this 

subject. It is dated September 17, 1917, and was sent by Bell to Harrison. The first paragraph is of great interest. It reads as follows: 

I am now able to inform you Zimmerman's telegram to Eckhardt instructing him to induce 

Mexico to attack us was forwarded through Swedish channels. It had to be sent through Bernstorff 

for his information, but as Sweden had given up transmitting German telegrams direct to the United 

States after the British protest in 1915, it was sent through Swedish channels to Buenos Aires and 

there turned over to Luxburg who repeated it to Bernstorff. The latter retransmitted it to Eckhardt. 

From Berlin to Bernstorff it went in a code which the British had at that time only partly succeeded 

in deciphering and of which Eckhardt had no copy. Bernstorff had to repeat it to Mexico therefore 

in another code known to the German Minister there and incidentally to the British and it is of this 

message that we obtained a copy. 

Of certain portions of this telegram we shall have more to say later, as they are of extreme 

interest from the cryptographic viewpoint. At this point we shall merely indicate that there 

is good reason to believe that the British authorities did not tell Bell the whole story when 

they gave him the information which is contained in the foregoing telegram. Who can blame 

them for withholding their most precious secrets'? 

We come now to the third and most interesting of the several channels available to the 

German Foreign Office in communicating with Bernstorff in Washington-the Berlin-Copenhagen-Washington route used with the cooperation of the American State Department. We 

shall quote from the Hendrick narrative: 26 

The German Government forwarded this dispatch to Washington in still another way. Indeed, 

the most remarkable incident in this remarkable transaction remains to be told. Evidently the German Foreign Office feared that transmission by wireless and cable transmission to Buenos Airesby grace of the Swedish Government-might fail them. The prohibition the American Government had placed upon the use of wireless from Nauen to Bayville, Long Island, might naturally cause 

apprehension as to the delivery of messages sent by this route. The cable line from Stockholm to 

Buenos Aires and thence to Washington and Mexico was a roundabout one, and a message transmitted that way might conceivably fail to reach its destination. 

The dispatch of this telegram, however, was at that moment the most important business before 

the German Foreign Office and its safe arrival in the city of Mexico must be assured at any cost. 

There was one method that was absolutely sure, though the fact that this should have occurred to 

Zimmermann must be regarded as one of the most audacious and even reckless strokes of the war. 

Humor of any kind the Germans seldom displayed at crises of this sort, yet the mechanism adopted 

to make certain that this plot against the American people would safely land on Bernstorff's desk 

evinces an unmistakable gift-even though an unconscious one-for the sardonic. 

The transaction reflects so seriously upon the methods of the State Department that it would 

probably never have seen the light had the Germans not made it public themselves. In 1919-20 

the German Constituent Assembly held an elaborate investigation into the responsibility for the war. 

In this the Zimmermann telegram played its part. Among its published documents is a note which 

reveals one route by which this document found its way across the Atlantic.27 It says: 

"Instructions to Minister von Eckhardt were to be taken by letter by way of Washington 

by U-boat on the 15th of January; since the U-boat Deutschland did not start on her outward trip, 

these instructions were attached on January 16th to telegram No. 157, and through the offices 

of the American Embassy in Berlin telegraphed to Count Bernstorff by way of the State Department in Washington." 

" Hendrick, vol. III, pp. 338-341. 

"Hendrick's footnote: See Vol. II, p. 1337: "Official German Documents Relating to the World War." Translated under the supervision of 

the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. [This work is referred to in the present paper as German Hearings.] 
REF ID:A491080 

12 

What this means is that the German Foreign Office used the American Government as an errand 

boy for the transmission of a document that contained a plot against its own territorial integrity. * * * 

The German Government, many times in the course of the war, used the good offices of the American State Department for transmitting messages to Ambassador Bernstorff. Germany had no cable 

communication with the United States; the wireless was unreliable and not always available; occasionally, therefore, the Germans would request Washington to serve in this capacity. As all such 

messages touched England before starting across the Atlantic, the consent of the British Government 

was necessary before the favor could be performed. That the British graciously permitted the Germans to use their cable facilities may possibly have seemed, at the time, an act savoring of the magnanimous; the fact, however, that the British possessed the German cipher and read all these messages as they sped through England creates the suspicion that they may have regarded this as a way 

of obtaining valuable information. 

Hendrick makes it appear that obtaining permission to use the American State Department facilities was a rather simple matter and that many messages were sent by the State 

Department for the Germans in this way, with9ut realization on the part of State Department 

officialdom of the possibly serious consequences that might ensue. That this is far from the 

truth will appear later. His statement, too, that "As all such messages touched England 

before starting across the Atlantic, the consent of the British Government was necessary before 

the favor could be performed" is meaningless when one considers the matter. It is obvious 

first of all that had the American Government been so naive as to ask the British Government's consent to such a procedure the latter would certainly have refused. It is likewise obvious 

that when Bernstorff wanted to send a code message to the Foreign Office in Berlin, the State 

Department could not simply address a telegram to the American Ambassador, Gerard, in plain 

language asking him to "Forward the following code message to the German Foreign Office." 

The British would naturally not pass such messages even though the greatest neutral country 

asked such a favor. Such a procedure is not a diplomatic possibility in time of war. If not 

in plain language, the forwarding by the State Department of German code messag~s had to 

be done through the intermediacy of State Department code. Assuming that official messages 

of the American Government to her ambassadors and ministers in Europe were not subjected 

to any study whatsoever by the British Cryptographic Bureau (which is difficult to believe), 

it is possible that this practice might not have been detected immediately by the British. But 

the manner in which the messages were actually drawn up was such that the discovery of the 

practice should and l!lust have been particularly easy if American messages were even hastily 

scanned. Here is an example of the plain text of such a message, copied from the files of the 

State Department: 

Amlegation 

Copenhagen 

Forward Berlin 

3803 

Deliver to German Foreign Office the following message Crom Ambassador Bernstorff. 

(Add German Cipher.) 

LANSING. 

Lacking a copy of the telegram as actually filed for transmission, the form the code message 

took when filed cannot here be indicated; but we have on this point the positive statement of 

Mr. David A. Salmon, then as now Chief of the Division of Communications and Records of 

the State Department, to the effect that the code groups of the German code message were not 

reencoded in State Department code, or changed in any way whatever: they were merely 

added to the preamble requesting the forwarding of the message. This preamble was in codeAmerican State Department code. Now the code groups of the American code were most 

commonly in letters, while those of the German code were in figures. 28 Furthermore, the 

"In a rew CllBeS State Depe.rtment code messages consisted or figure-groups but the latter were invariably 5-dlglt groups, while the German 

code me89Sgay, as stated further Oii, QQIJS!sted of 3, 4, and 5-<llgit groups. 
REF ID:A491080 

13 

code groups of the German code were characterized by being composed of three, four, and five 

digits, whereas in most codes of even those days all of the code groups uniformly contained five 

letters, or five figures. Hence the subterfuge was sure to be detected almo'"i; immediately by 

the British. Still they made no protest. Why? The answer must surely be obvious: they 

were glad to have access to this leakage of valuable information, and to lodge a protest would at 

once dry it up at the source. 

Whereas Hendrick makes it appear that our State Department handled many messages 

for the Germans, Lansing in his account of the matter makes it appear as though the transmission of the Zimmerman telegram via State Department channels was an isolated incident, 

or at least that this method of communication was placed at the disposal of Bernstorff only 

toward the end of the period of strained relations. Quoting Lansing: 29 

At eleven-thirty I went to the White House and for an hour discussed with the President the 

substance of the [Zimmermann] telegram and the way to use it. The President said that he had been 

wondering how Bernstorff got the message from Berlin, and that the closing of secret lines of communication with his government made him a little uncertain as to its authenticity. 

I told him that I thought it could be easily explained, my opinion being that it was done in the 

following manner: During the early part of January Count von Bernstorff, at the instance of Colonel 

House, had been laboring with his government to obtain concrete terms of peace. The Ambassador 

had complained of his inability to communicate secretly and therefore freely with Berlin, which he 

considered essential in order to accomplish his purpose. In view of this reasonable statement we 

had consented very reluctantly to send [that is, in a cipher, of which the Department did not have 

the key] messages for him through our Embassy.30 This we did several times, permitting the German 

Foreign Office to reply in the same way. On January seventeenth an exceptionally long message 

(some one thousand groups) came through from Berlin. On the eighteenth this message was delivered 

to the Ambassador. On the nineteenth the telegram from Bernstorff to Mexico was filed. From 

these facts I drew the conclusion that in the long secret message delivered to him on the eighteenth 

was the message for the German Minister besides other orders as to what to do in case of a severance 

of diplomatic rela.tions.31 

The President two or three times during the recital of the foregoing exclaimed "Good Lord!" 

and when I had finished said he believed that the deduction as to how Bemstorff received his orders 

was correct. He showed much resentment at the German Government for having imposed upon our 

kindness in this way and for having ma.de us the innocent a.gents to advance a conspiracy against 

this country. 

Careful study of available records shows that while this channel of communication was 

used on more than a single occasion, it was used not nearly so frequently as Hendrick implies, 

and that its employment was confined to periods of strained relations. The first was on June 2, 

1915, shortly after the sinking of the Lusitania, whfoh occurred on May 7, 1915. Of this period 

Bernstorff says: 32 

It is certain that if I had not at this stage of the Lusitania crisis had my interview with the President, relations would have been broken off and war between the United States and Germany must 

inevitably have followed. * * * During our conversation, however, the President offered for the 

first time to permit me to dispatch a cipher telegram through the State Department, to be sent on 

by the American Embassy in Berlin.31 

" La.nsing, p. 2Zl. 

'° Bracketed matter so In original. 

" A footnote at this point contains subst11I1tla!Jy the same matter a.s is given In our extract from Hendrick given on p. 11, regarding the way 

in which the Zimmermann telegram was to have been sent by the submarine Deutschland. 

" Bernstorl'f, p. 151 and p. 154. 

" This statement is not strictly correct, for there exists in the files or the State Department a letter dated November 12, 11114, Crom Bernstorlf 

to Secretary Bryan enclosing a message which Bernstorl'f asked Bryan to send to the German Foreign Office. This message was In the German 

code, 13040, and, as Bernstorl'f told Secretary Bryan, asked "instructions from my Government for the purpose of publicly lndorslng the Belgian 

relief plan." Attached to the letter is the text of the code message which we have decoded and find to be as described by Bernstorlf. This :ma'811ge, 

incidentally, was in the same code (13040) as the Zi=erlll.8DII telegram in the form in which the latter was forwarded by Be~storfJ to Merjco 

City. 
REF ID:A491080 

14 

This initial instance apparently paved the way for several more during the same crisis, 

as is evidenced by Bernstorff: 34 

From this time onwards [that is about July 21, 1915] Mr. Lansing agreed with me that, as a 

regular thing, I should be permitted, whatever negotiations were going on, to send cipher dispatches 

to my Government through the channels of the State Department and the American Embassy in 

Berlin. It will be remembered that a similar privilege had been granted me at the time of the Lusitania 

incident. 

But, lest one jump to the conclusion that the State Department was careless in placing 

its facilities at the disposal of the Germans and regarded the matter as being without possibility of serious repercussions, let it be noted that Mr. Lansing not only realized the full implications of the unusual procedure but also refused to transmit a message on at least one occasion 

on the ground that there appeared "to be no particular urgency for the transmission of the 

message on account of either of the subjects mentioned." 35 It must also be noted that the 

State Department transmitted messages not only for the German Government, but also for 

the Austrian, as is proved by a telegram dated February 4, 1917, from Lansing to Ambassador 

Penfield at Vienna.36 

Despite the questionable propriety of this procedure on the part of our diplomatic officials, 

it is easy to understand why President Wilson and Mr. Lansing made the State Department 

route available in the circumstances that then existed. For, with their complete control of 

cable facilities, the Allies were able to transmit any information they pleased without censorship of any sort by any other Government, while the Central Powers, having no cables, were 

forced to use radio, and even then had to submit their messages to a censorship exercised by 

foreign powers. 

It may possibly be supposed that the Zimmermann telegram was transmitted by radio 

from Nauen direct to Mexico, inasmuch as there was a powerful station at Chapultepec. But 

the evidence is fairly clear against such an hypothesis. The Chapultepec station was hardly in 

working order by October 1918 as can be seen from the following message: 37 

From: Madrid 

To: Berlin 

No. 1220 

Oct. 8, 1918 

JAENKE reports from Mexico without date: Cipher telegrams 6 and 7 cannot be deciphered. 

Please send thrice each time. A wireless station has been erected. I am now trying to get into 

communication with Nauen. * * * 

Jahnke was a secret agent of the German Admiralty who worked in the United States and 

Mexico. His telegrams were sent by von Eckhardt, the Germen Minister at Mexico City, to 

Buenos Aires for relay to Berlin. While the foregoing message states that "Jahnke reports 

from Mexico without date" we can fix the date of the report as not earlier than June 9, 1918, 

because cipher telegram No. 7, mentioned in that report as being indecipherable, was sent on 

June 9.38 While it is possible to imagine that messages might have been transmitted from 

N auen in the hope that they could be heard in Mexico City, yet the fact that as late as the middle 

of 1918 Jahnke was evidently having a great deal of trouble in receiving signals (note that be 

asks that signals be sent thrice each time) makes it extremely unlikely that a year and a half 

before then the Germans would have tried to get the Zimmermann telegram to Mexico City 

by such an uncertain route. 

u Bernstorlf, p. 166. 

11 FRS, pp. 83 and 87. 

" FRS, p, 112, contains the following message: "He [Austrian Ambassador) presented two messages to be sent through you to his Government, 

which were forwarded last night Jn department's 1519, February 3, 7 p. m., and 1520, February 3, 8 p. m. One more message, our 1523, February 4, 

4 p. m., was sent at bis request this morning." 

37 Hall Affidavit, p. 254. 

u Hall Affidavit, p. 244. 
REF ID:A491080 

15 

We come now to a study of the code used for the Zimmermann telegram itself. The telegram carried the number 158 and was appended to telegram No. 157 which was sent through 

State Department channels.39 If, therefore, lacking telegram 158, we could ascertain what 

code was used for telegram No. 157 we would have at least a clue as to what code was used for 

the Zimmermann telegram. But even this clue is lacking, for, despite most diligent search, in 

which there was full cooperation from the Chief of the Division of Communications and Records 

in the State Department, we have thus far been unable to locate the original of telegram No. 157 

in the files of the State Department. However, telegram No. 157 was only one of a series exchanged between the German Foreign Office and Bernstorff via the State Department, and 

fortunately there do exist at least several other messages belonging to this latter series in those 

files. 40 

All these messages are of vital importance in a study of the strained relations immediately 

preceding the break between Germany and the United States which formally took place on February 3, 1917, when Bernstorff was handed his passport. They are all in a code which is known 

as 7500, as was acertained by a study of the messages in question in connection with their plain 

texts, as published in the official report of the Germ.an hearings. 4oa 

Since the Bernstorff messages just mentioned were sent in Code 7500, the probabilities are 

very high that telegrams Nos. 157 and 158 were also in Code 7500. But the Zimmermann 

telegram as given to Ambassador Page by the British was the decoded version of a message 

not in Code 7500 but in Code 13040. This code, 7500, is what is known to cryptographers as a 

"two-part" or "cross-referenced" code. The two parts comprise (1) a set of 10,000 phrases in 

alphabetical order and numbered from 0000 to 9999, the numbers being entirely disarranged, 

i. e., without any numerical sequence; (2) the same phrases fitted with the same numbers as 

before, but this time with the numbers in sequence and the phrases disarranged. The first part, 

with the phrases in alphabetical order, is used for encoding-for sending a message; the second 

part, with the numbers in sequence, is used for reading a message which has been sent by means 

of the numbers. The advantage of a code of this nature is that the identification of any code 

group by an outsider will yield no alphabetical clue to the meaning of any other code group 

which is numerically in its neighborhood. Thus, 1256 might, in an English code of the kind 

described, signify "day,'' 1257, "book," and 1258, "shoe." The reconstruction of a code of this 

nature by analysis is necessarily a much slower process than the building up of a code book 

in which the alphabetical order of the phrases corresponds to the numerical sequence of their 

code group equivalents-wherein, for example, 1256 signifies "date," 1257 "day," 1258 "daze," 

etc. 

Code 7500, which as stated was a two-part code, was one of a series of such codes which 

the Germans employed. The code indicator for one of these codes uniformly consists of two 

significant digits followed by two O's. The two significant digits always show an arithmetical 

difference of 2. A skeleton reconstruction of Code 9700 and one of 5300 are in the Government 

files. Code 8600 was used by German officials in South America during the war. Code 6400 

also was in use during the war. The existence of a code known as 4200 was predicted because 

of the existence of the others, and was later confirmed from a French source. 40b 

Code 13040 was an old German diplomatic code of the partiaUy disarranged type: The 

alphabetic vocabulary is broken up into fractions and these again into smaller fractions before 

the numeral code groups are attached. By this process the original alphabetical sequence of 

" German Hearings, p, 1337. 

"Some of these meesar;es are Dcrnstortf's Nos. 15'1and156 of November 21; 164 of Dccemher 1; 169 of December 4, 1916; 212 of January 16; 222 

of January 21; 228 and 229 of January 23; and 239 of January 27, 1917. 

'°"See Mendelsohn, Charle' .f., An Encipherment of the German Dipfcmatic Code 7300, Technical !'aper of tl1c Signal lntelligence Service, 1938. 

'°'See Boucard, Robert. Arti<•le in Grinuoire, Paris, Feb. 5, 1937. 

93733-38--3 
REF ID:A491080 

18 

the words and phrases is only partially destroyed. In the case of 13040 the method of dividing 

the vocabulary into fractions was such as to leave very generous traces of the alphabetical 

arrangement and proportionally to facilitate the process of decipherment. Once begun, the 

decipherment of such a code becomes progressively easier as more groups are identified. 

When Ambassador Page sent his telegram containing the English text of the Zimmermann 

message, he said: 41 

I shall ~end you by mail a copy of the cipher text and of the decode into German 

These were sent ftom London on March 2, but of course could not have reached Washington 

in less than a week. In the meantime, still worried about the authenticity of the telegram, 

Washington asked for a copy of the German code, as is evidehced by the following telegram: 42 

WASHINGTON, February 28, 1917-8 p. m. 

4493. Your 5741, F'ebruary 24--1 p. m. Please endeavor to obtain copy of German code from 

Mr. Balfour, decode following messages and telegraph translations. All three messages are dated 

January 17, signed Bemstorff, and addressed to the German Legations at Bogota, Port-au-Prince, 

and Santiago, Chile, respectively. 

[Here follow code messages.] 

Effort will be made to secure copies of all German cipher messages as far back as possible and if 

the Depattment were iri possession of the code there would be a great saving of time and expense. 

Contents of messages decoded here would of course be communicated to the British Government. 

Publication of Z[lmmermann]'s telegram to Mexico tomorrow. 

Page replied: 43 

LANSING. 

LONDON, March 1, 1917-11 p. m. 

[Received March 2, 12:30 a. m.] 

Your 4493, February 28-8 p. m. The three messages were deciphered to-day and are practically 

identical. They contain Instructions to the three legations to use a certain variation of the cipher code 

when communicating with Berlin. The one to Santiago was to be repeated to other missions in South 

Atnerica. The question of our having a copy of the code has been taken up, but there appear to be 

serious difficulties. I am told actual code would be of no use to us as it was never used straight, but 

with a great number of variations which are known to only one or two experts here. They can not 

be spared to go to America. If you will send me copies of B[ernstorff)'s cipher telegrams, the British 

authorities will gladly decipher thetn as quickly as possible giving me copies as fast as deciphered. 

I could telegraph texts or summaries in matters of importance and send the others by pouch. Neither 

Spring Rice nor Gaunt know anything about this matter. 

PAGE. 

Mr. Pa~'s informant was misinformed or was misleading Mr. Page. The code used is 

described by Mr. Page in his original announcement concerning the Zimmermann telegram:" 

The first group is the number of the telegram, 130, [sc. in the German numbering and <la.ting code, 

in which the group 130 means "Number 3"; the Zimmermann telegram was therefore message No. 3 

from Washington to Mexico City], and the second is 13042, indicating the number of the code used. 

The last group but two is 97556, which is Zimmermann's signature. 

This description tallies exactly with the copy of the telegram as secured by Mr. Polk from 

the Washington telegraph office. (See frontispiece.) The message was in straight unenciphered 

German code, and could be read by any one in possession of both the telegram and the code 

book. Not only was the Zimmermann telegram as sent from Washington to Mexico City in 

this unenciphered 13040 code, but a whole multitude of messages between Washington and 

Berlin were sent in the same way. 

" See message quoted on p. 5. 

tJ FR8, p. 152. 

" FRS, pp. 157-158. 

" Bee message quoted on p. 5. 
REF ID:A491080 

17 

Admiral Sir Reginald Hall, in his affidavit before the Mixed Claims Commission, said of 

this code (Claimant's Exhibit 320, p. 776): 

The German cipher book covering this system of ciphering is in our possession, it having been 

captured by the British authorities in the baggage of a German consul named Wasmuss who was 

stationed at Shiraz while Wasmuss was engaged in an endeuvor to cut a British oil pipe line. 

It seems unlikely that a German consul engaged in an expedition to cut a pipe line should 

carry a diplomatic code book in his baggage. Moreover, the British copy of 13040 is fragmentary, and gives every evidence of having been gradually reconstructed in a cryptographic 

bureau through the decipherment of messages. A glance at the copy given by the British to 

the United States after America's entrance into the war will demonstrate this fact. This copy 

contains about half the vocabulary, but is not a transcript of part of the code book, since it 

comprises some words and phrases from all the pages. Some of the identifications, too, are 

marked doubtful. An actual copy of a code book would certainly not exhibit missing and 

doubtful sections. 

On the other hand Admiral Hall's recollection was probably only partly at fault. The 

British may very well have found in Wasmuss' baggage not a copy of a code book but a copy of 

one or more telegrams with the code text accompanied by the corresponding clear. From this 

start they would then proceed to build up the code book. As already indicated, the nature of 

the structure of Code 13040 is such that a comparativEJly small amount of decoded material 

together with a number of telegrams in code will enable skilled cryptographers to reconstruct 

the book. 

How did the British obtain the 13040 version of the Zimmermann Telegram? Page was 

told that it was "* * * bought in Mexico." While the British, for obvious reasons, 

insisted upon the Mexican source of the message, we may have our own opinion as to whether 

or not they procured another copy from the files of the Western Union Telegraph Office in 

Washington. 

The following questions now may be raised with the hope of finding accurate answers: 

Why was the Zimmermann telegram originally sent from Berlin to Washington in Code 7500 

and not in Code 13040? What routes were really used for its transmission? If sevEJral routes 

were really used, when did the telegram first reach Bernstorff? Why did Bernstorff forward it 

in another code? When did the British first intercept the message, if it was sent by more than 

one route? Were they able to decode it at once, and if so, why did they wait more than a month 

before communicating its contents to Ambassador Page for forwarding to Washington? And 

which version did the British Government hand Page, the one in Code 7500 or the one in Code 

13040? The rinswers to these questions are vital points in this study. 

The Zimmermann telegram was prepared originally in German code 7 500 because that was 

the code employed for these special communications between the 'German Foreign Office and 

Bernstorff for direct communication via State Department channels at the time in question. 

The German hearings contain extremely interesting testimony on this point, for the Zimmermann 

telegram episode was discussed with some detail at those hearings, and the printed record contains sufficieutly interesting testimony on the circumstances surrounding the disclosure of the 

text of the telegram to warrant quotation. 46 

Delegate Dr. ScaucKING. Was there-and this is a much more important matter-an investigation into the fate of the Mexican dispatches? 

Witness COUNT V. BERNBTORFF. Yes, an investigation did take place in that instance. 

Delegate Dr. ScaucKING. And what was the result of this investigation, so far as your activities 

came into question? 

" German Hearing•, pp. 313-315; 478--481. 
* 

REF ID:A491080 

18 

Witness COUNT V. BERNSTORFF. So far as I know, no result was accomplished by the investigation. But subsequently I came to have no doubt upon the point that all our dispatches were decoded 

by the British and placed at the disposal of the Americans. 

Expert Dr. BONN. By this, you mean to say that this dispatch was caught between Germany and 

the United States, and that the decoding was not the result of transmitting the message to Mexico from 

the United States by land? 

Witness Count V. BERNSTORFF. According to what I learned later, I assume that the British 

decoded all the telegrams which came over the English cables. 

Expert Dr. BoNN. We shall have to go into this matter more carefully later on. 

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, but for the present we will close the matter here with this. 

Delegate Dr. SPAHN. Secretary of State Zimmermann will give us information later concerning 

the question of the box.04 The statement which we have received from him on the point differs 

from yours, your Excellency. But he will tell us about it himself. 

So far as concerns the dispatch to Carranza, the complaint has been made that there was no 

change of code, and that the old cipher was used, which had been known for a long while; that it was in 

this way possible for the dispatch to be decoded. How about this? 

Witness Count V. BERNSTORFF. Naturally, the code was changed much less during war time than 

was otherwise the case, but that was due to the fact that it was impossible to send us new ciphers. 46 

The last time I received new ciphers was by way of the U-boat Deutschland. * * * Twice, on 

both the trips of the U-boat Deutschland I was sent new ciphers.'7 

• * * * * * • * 

Expert Dr. HoETzscH. May I be permitted at this point to ask a question concerning the ciphers 

and cipher keys? 

The CHAIRMAN. That would seem to be connected with the point at issue, and in any event we 

shall hardly have an opportunity later on to go into it. 

Expert Dr. HoETzscH. I would like to ask Count Bernstorff to make us a brief statement covering 

the use of the ciphers, the key to the ciphers, etc. It is well known that complaints have been made in 

respect to the use of the cipher. The Count said something with regard to the matter during the 

first session. 

Witness Count V. BERNSTORFF. It is readily understood that, under the conditions which I have 

described, the ciphers were not changed as often as would have been the case under normal conditions. 

In all probability, if communications had not been interrupted, we would have received new ciphers 

every month or every other month, so that they could not have been compromised so easily. To the 

extent that my memory serves me, the only occasions upon which we received new ciphers were on the 

two trips of the Deutschland. To the extent that it was possible to do so, we operated the available 

ciphers by means of keys; but I learned later, as I already stated in giving my first testimony, that the 

British deciphered all our telegrams. 

Expert Dr. HOETZSCH. How do you explain the fact that the English were able to get such a 

knowledge of them? 

Witness Count V. BERNSTORFF. I am no cipher expert, but the cipher experts now state that 

there is absolutely no cipher which they cannot decipher. I do not know how right they are in this, 

but, in any event, the experts say that there is absolutely no cipher which they cannot decipher, provided 

they have before them a sufficient number of telegrams. And this result, particularly in the case of 

the United States, was probably due to the fact that circumstances were such as to force us to make 

use of an extraordinarily large number of ciphered messages, and we often sent our reports and telegrams in double or triple form, in the hope that in some way they should reach Germany. Consequently, the British must have had an enormous amount of material in the way of cipher dispatches 

of ours, and in this way it was possible for them to break down our various ciphers. 

Expert Dr. HoETzscH. So that, according to your conviction, the question of treachery or carelessness is not involved in the matter? 

Witness Count V. BERNBTORFF. I can state under oath that I do not believe that there was any 

treachery or negligence. 

"• The word "box" has re!erence to the dispatch box which the British fonnd and sel•ed on the boat on which Bernstorlf returned to Germany 

after severance of diplomatic relations. (Seep. 4.) 

"Bernstorlf's last answer is disingenuous. The 11uestion is about the code used !rom Washington to Mexico City; the answer is about the code 

!rom Berlin to Washington. Why the German Government did not change the code from Washington to Mexico City remains a riddle. The 

border wss not carefully guarded even after we entered the war. 

"On Its first voyage, the Deutsch/and docked at Norfolk on July 9, 1916, on its second voyage, at New London on November I, 1916. 
REF ID:A491080 

19 

A study of available messages, exchanged between Bernstorff and the Foreign Office in 

Berlin during the period of strained relations indicates that Code 7 500 was one of the two received 

by Bernstorff via the Deutschland, and this code was apparently reserved for messages of the 

highest importance. Code 13040 was nevertheless used concurrently with Code 7500 as well as 

with other codes. Code 13040 was very old; in fact it used the old German orthography and 

whereas it contained words like "velociped" it failed to list such a word as "U-Boot," except 

in a supplement, and was not sufficiently up-to-date for foreign communications. 

As to the routes really used for the transmission ot the Zimmermann telegram, all the evidence thus tar cited indicates that two routes were certainly employed, even if the wireless was 

not used. The first was the State Department route, and it is clear that the telegram was sent 

on January 16, 1917, via that channel. The second route, according to the statement contained 

in the cablegram from Bell to Harrison quoted above (p. 11), was via Swedish channels, and since 

Bell told Harrison that the British had succeeded only partially in decoding the message, it may 

be assumed that it too was in Code 7500. If the wireless was used, the same code was almost 

certainly used. The British in the fall of 1917 apparently saw no harm in telling Bell that the 

Germans had employed Swedish channels for the Zimmermann message because the subject 

of the moment was the famous Luxburg "sink without trace" message which had been sent via 

those same channels. However, Bell was not told that the British had intercepted the Zimmermann telegram sent via State Department channels for reasons which will presently become 

clear. 

The British undoubtedly intercepted the State Department message which served, so to 

speak, as the envelope for the Zimmermann telegram, on January 16, 1917, or, at the latest, the 

next day. Were they able to decode the German code text contained within the State Department's message? The answer to this question is of great cryptographic interest. They were 

able to read it-but only partially. The evidence for this is fairly clear cut. Not only have we 

the Bell to Harrison cablegram referred to above, which specifically states that "from Berlin 

to Bernstorff it went in a code which the British had at that time only partly succeeded in 

deciphering," but we may also note some corroborative evidence for this statement in Hendrick's 

version reading as follows: 48 

On the 16th of January 1917, the ever-watchful ears of the British wireless operators detected 

the characteristic spluttering which informed them that another German message was speeding through 

the air. When decoded, the British found that they possessed this somewhat disjointed but still 

extremely valuable document: 

"Zimmermann to Bernstorff for Eckhardt W. 158.49 

"16TH JANUARY, 1917. 

"Most secret for your Excellency's personal information and to be handed on to the Imperial 

Minister in ? Mexico with Tel. No. 1 * * * by a safe route. 

""We purpose to begin on the 1st February unrestricted submarine warfare. In doing so, 

however, we shall endeavor to keep America neutral. * * * "l If we should not (succeed in 

doing so) we propose to (? Mexico) an alliance upon the following basis: 

"(joint) conduct of the war 

"(joint) conclusion of peace. 

"Your Excellency should for the present inform the President secretly (that we expect) war 

with the U. S. A. (possibly) (* * * Japan) and at the same time to negotiate between us and 

Japan * * * (Indecipherable sentence meaning please tell the President) that * * * our submarines * * * will compel England to peace in a few months. Acknowledge receipt. 

ZIMMERMANN." 

" Hendrick, vol. III, p. 336. 

"In Admira.l Hall's affidavit It is explained that in the British files a Jetter followed by a number Indicated the point of origin and serial number 

of the message. "B 120," for example, means Berlin's message No. 120 to a given destination. While the number "l.58" is correct as the serial num· 

ber of the Zimmermann telegram tho "W" {i. e., Washington] preceding it is an error, and should read "B" [l. e., Berlin.) 
REF ID:A491080 

20 

This somewhat. confused message gives an idea of the difficulty of picking up wireless symbols 

sent across the Atlanti~t that time-in midwinter. But there is a conspicuous discrepancy between 

this telegram and the more complete and finished one sent to Bernstorff by way of the Washington 

cable office and by him relayed to the city of Mexico. The plan for dismembering the United States 

and making President Carranza a free gift of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona does not appear in it. 

Whether this omission was the result of defective wireless work or has another explanation is not yet 

clear. 

We have reason to doubt that the Zimmermann telegram was sent by radio. When one 

examines the text of the message as given by Hendrick and compares it with the German text 

of the original Zimmermann telegram as published in the German hearings one sees immediately 

that this partially decoded text quoted by Hendrick is that of the original Zimmermann telegram 

as prepared in Code 7500 and transmitted via State Department channels. The "give away" 

is contained in the opening sentence to the message: "Most secret; for Your Excellency's personal information and to be handed on to the Imperial Minister * * *" This forms the 

preamble to the actual Zimmermann telegram as it left the German Foreign Office. It is naturally not contained in the version which Bernstorff sent to von Eckhardt in German Code 13040 

and which the British obtained in Mexico. The lacunae in the first solution obtained by the 

British are there because the British had only partially succeeded in reconstructing Code 7500. 

Hendrick, specifically calling attention to the omission of the plan for dismembering the United 

States and making President Carranza a gift of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, raises the 

question as to whether this omission was the result of defective wireless work or has another 

explanation. Does he wish us to infer that Bernstorff added this interesting feature to the 

message? How absurd! 

The real explanation is cryptographic in nature. Such names as Texas, New Mexico, and 

Arizona would not be included in making up a small code like 7500. In fact, the name of only 

one of these States-Texas-is included in the much larger code 13040. These names, if they 

occurred in a message, would have to be built up syllable by syllable by the use of several code 

groups; and unless these code groups were used frequently in other messages a cryptanalyst 

who was solving the messages by analysis would have no way of establishing the meaning of 

these groups in the Zimmermann telegram. Code 13040, as has been pointed out, retained 

decided traces of its original alphabetical arrangement, and had, moreover, been in use for a 

long time. Code 7500) on the other hand, had no trace of alphabetical arrangement, and had 

been used between Berlin and Washington for a short time only. It had been brought to America 

(cf. note 47) by the submarine Detdschland on either July 9 or November 1, 1916, and the earliest 

7500 message which the present authors have been able to find is dated November 16. In these 

circumstances the British reconstruction of 7500 had not reached the point where it was equal to 

the complete decipherment of the Zimmermann telegram. When, however, the 13040 version 

was obtained, the entire message was read without difficulty. 

When all is said and done, the decipherment of the 7500 version of the Zimmermann telegram, even to the degree given in the Hendrick version, approaches the unbelievable. This 

statement is not to be understood as in any way questioning the skill of the British cryptographers. With the greatest skill in the world, however, cryptography is a science assisted by 

art, and is not in any sense clairvoyance. There are only about a dozen 7500 messages in the 

American files. If we assume that the British had twice that number to work with their feat 

remains astonishing; for it must always be kept in view that 7500 is a code in which one identification gives no alphabetical clue whatever to another, and that this complete absence of 

alphabetization likewise makes it impossible in many cases, even where the general meaning of 

a code group is apparent, to choose among a number of synonyms any one of which will fit 

equally well. A lacuna of five or six code groups, not to mention longer ones, renders decipher-
REF ID:A491080 

21 

ment not merely extremely difficult, but literally impossible, for the simple reason that there are 

an infinite number of ways in which such a lacuna may be filled. 

It may be that Code 7500 was in use by the Germans for other traffic than the GermanAmerican, and that the British, as a consequence, had access to a very large number of messages. 

The employment of a code in different parts of the world is not unknown in German practice; 

we know that Codes 13040 and 18470 were so used. In this way the British may have made 

considerable progress in the solution of the code before the Zimmermann telegram was sent.tila 

Nevertheless, the information which the British obtained from this partially solved message 

was apparently clear enough and of sufficient importance to warrant their disclosing it to the 

American Government at once-if they wished to. Still, they did not do so. Why? Why did 

they wait from the middle of January until February 24? One astute student 60 raises the 

pertinent question as to the motives of the British in handing Ambassador Page a month-old 

telegram: 

There is no doubt that President Wilson was profoundly shocked by this revelation of the fact that 

one could not go to war with Germany without having the Germans fight back. It did not even occur 

to him to question the authenticity of the document or the motive for the production of a month-old 

telegram at just that moment.51 At once the President cabled back his thanks for "information of 

such inestimable value" and his "very great appreciation of so marked an act of friendliness on the 

part of the British Government." No suspicions crossed his mind. The cable arrived on Saturday 

evening. It was some time on Sunday that President Wilson abruptly concluded that an appeal to 

Congress for authority at least to arm American merchant ships was unavoidable. On Monday he 

went again before the joint Houses of Congress. "Since," he told them, "it has unhappily proved 

impossible to safeguard our neutral rights by diplomatic means * * * there may be no recourse 

but to armed neutrality." 

Millis is, of course, quite correct in stating that "It did not even occur to him to question 

the authenticity of the document * * *" The evidence on this point, based on a study 

not only of Lunsing's Memoirs 62 but also of the communications which were exchanged between 

Lansing and Page before the text of the Zimmermann telegram was made public, on March I, 

1917, is most conclusive. 

Let us briefly review the chronology of the case: 

January 16, 1917: The telegram is transmitted in Code 7500 (via State Department channels) from the German Foreign Office in Berlin to Bernstorff in Washington and is to be forwarded by Bernstorff to the German Minister in Mexico City. On January 17 it is received 

by the State Department, and on the 18th it is delivered to Bernstorff. (Lansing, p. 227.) 

January 19: Bernstorff forwards the message to Mexico in Code 13040. 53 

"• Failing some such explanation the whole situation ce.Jls to mind a war-time incident that occurred in the American Military Intelligence 

Code and Cipher Section (M. I. 8). Those entrusted with the decipherment of cryptographic documents of one country in that section usually 

kept their own counsel and did not co=unicate overmuch with those who were busy with the messages of another country. One day It was 

learned that a certain group was reading messages In a code that had been a sealed book a day or so before. Later It was definitely ascertained 

that a copy of the code in a somewhat different enclpherment had been procured from outside. At the time of the feat this was surmised by some 

or those not in the secret, and one cryptographer in discussing the situation said emphatically, "They're not doing any miracles around here." 

"Millis, Walter, Road to War: America 1914-1917, New York, 1935, pp. 403-404. 

" Millis' footnote: Mr. Balfour, it is true, had been careful to tell Page that the telegram had only just been received. Actually, if one may 

believe Mr. Page's biographer, the British intelligence service had Intercepted and deciphered the document even before it had reached Mexico 

City, and had been holding it since then for the time when it would have the maximum effect. 

" Op. Cit., p. 227: "A bout ten o'clock [morning of February 27, 1917] Polk came into my office and we talked over the substance of the telegram. He told me that on its arrival [8:30 p. m., Saturday, February 24; apparently it was not decoded and handed to Polk until Monday, February 26] he had at once taken it to the President, who had shown much indiynation and was disposed to make the text public without delay. Polk 

advised him to await my retnrn, which he had agreed to do." • • • (p. 228). "I told the President that I thought it would be unwise for the 

Department to give out the telegram officially at this time as it would be charged that it was done to influence opinion on the bill for arming merchant vessels, hut I thought it might indirectly be made public after we had contlnned the sending of the message by Bernstortr. To this the 

President agreed." 

"This date is certain from the copy of the telegram. Bernstortr says (p. 31'0) that "the Zimmermann telegram passed through the Embassy 

at Washington on the same day on which I rec~ived the notification that the unrestricted U-boat war was to be declared"; and in another place 

(p. 358) he says: "On the 19th of January I received the official notice that the unrestricted U-boat campaign would begin on February !st • • •." 

Of course, Bernstorff's phra.'e "passed through" is ambiguous, and does not categorically say the message we.s forwarded on the very day It was 

receivoo-it may only hare been started nn its wn.y, for it required reencodinr:, and that would take some time. 
I 

REF ID:A491080 

22 

February 24: Ambassador Page cables the President and the Secretary of State the English 

text of the message as received by him in London from Balfour. The message is received at 

8:30 p. m. on that date. 

February 27: In Lansing's absence, Polk brings the message to the attention of the President, who wishes to publish it at once, but is persuaded by Polk to await Lansing's return. 

February 28: (1) Polk obtains a copy of the original message filed by Bernstorff at Washington to the German Minister in Mexico City. The code text was not cabled to London for 

verification but the texts of three other code messages sent by Bernstorff to German Legations 

in South America (apparently obtained from the Washington telegraph office at the same time 

the copy of the Zimmermann telegram was obtained) were sent for decipherment. The message 

forwarding these texts has already been quoted (p. 16). 

(2) Lansing communicates a paraphrased version of the text of the Zimmermann telegram 

to the Associated Press at 6 p. m., for release after 10 p. m. 

March 1: (1) The English text is published in the morning papers in the United States 

and the message is discussed in Congress, where doubts are expressed as to its authenticity. 53a 

(2) Lansing cables Page, in telegram No. 4494, at 8 p. m., as follows: 54 

WASHINGTON, March 1, 1917-8 p. m. 

4494. Some members of Congress are attempting to discredit Zimmermann message charging 

that message was furnished to this Government by one of the belligerents. This Government has 

not the slightest doubt as to its authenticity, but it would be of the greatest service if the British 

Government would permit you or someone in the Embassy to personally decode the original message 

which we secured from the telegraph office in Washington and then cable to Department German 

text. Assure Mr. Balfour that the Department hesitated to make this request but feels that this 

course will materially strengthen its position and make it possible for the Department to state that it 

had secured the Zimmermann note from our own people. Matter most urgent and I hope you can 

give it your immediate attention. The text of code message secured from telegraph office here is as 

follows: 

[Here follows code message.] 

LANSING. 

(3) Page replied (11 p. m.) to Lansing's cable of February 28, referred to above, stating 65 

that, 

"The question-:of our having a copy of the code has been taken up, but * * * I am told actual 

code would be of no use to us as it is never used straight, but with a great number of variations which 

are known to only one or two experts here." 

March 2: (1) The telegram is published in the London papers (Hendrick, p. 324), which 

criticize the British Intelligence Service under the misapprehension that the decipherment has 

been made in America. 

"• The debate on this question takes up 13 full pages of the Congressional Record (pp. 4.592-4605), and makes most interesting reading. 

There were, of course, many questions as to how the letter, telegram, message, note (It was called by various names) came into possession or 

the United States, ai!ld questions as to who turned It over to our authorities, and what were the mtJltoea. Here are some excerpts from Senator Stone's 

remerks (p. 4593): 

... • • This alleged letter was made public for some purpose. • • • I cannot and will not undertake to say what that purpose was rur. 

ther than to express the opinion that It was given publ.lcity to a1fect either public opinion or legislative opinion, or both, in the United States. 

• • • Mr. President, J want to know the facts about tbls letter before being swept o1f my feet, or seeing others swept o1f their feet, by the clamor 

ol jingoes. • • • I am asking only to be informed, to be advised whether the Information In the possession or our State Department was derived 

from one of the belligerent Governments. For example, did this Information come from London? Was it given to us by that Government?" 

" FRS, p. 155. 

" For complete text, see Page's cable of March 1, 1917 (p. 16 of this paper). 

.. 

.. 
( 

. 

•· 

REF ID:A491080 

23 

(2) Page, replying to Lansing's telegram No. 4494, states:~' "Your 4494 followed with 

absolutely satisfactory results," and follows this with a long message: 

LONDON, March 2, 1917-4 p. m. 

[Received 10:45 p. m.] 

5789. My 5784 of today. Bell took the cipher text of the German message contained in your 

4494 of yesterday to the Admiralty and there, himself, deciphered it from the German code which 

is in the Admiralty's possession. The first group, 130, indicates Bernstorff's number of telegram. 

The second group, 13042, indicates the code to be used in deciphering the cipher telegram. From 

the third group onwards, message reads as follows: 

Auswaertiges Amt telegraphiert Januar 16: No. 1. Ganz geheim selbst zu entziffern. Wir 

beabsichtigen am ersten Februar uneingeschraenkt U-Boot Krieg zu beginnen. Es wird versucht 

werden Vereinigte Ste.aten von Amerika trotzdem neutral zu erhalten. Fuer den Fall dass dies nicht 

gelingen sollte, schlagen wir Mexico auf folgend Grundla.ge Buendnis vor. Gemeinsam Krieg fuehren, 

Friedenschluss. Reichlich finanziell Unterstuetzung und Einverstaendnis unsererseits <lass Mexico, 

in Texas, Neu Mexico, Arizona frueher verloren Gebiet zurueck erobern. Regelung im einzelnen 

Euer Hochwohlgeborene ueberlassen. Sie wollen vorstehendes dem Praesident streng geheim eroeffnen, sobald Kriegsausbruch mit Vereinigten Staaten feststeht und Anregung hinzufuegen Japan von 

sich aus zu sofortig Beitrachtung [Beitratungf] einzuladen und gleichzeitig zwischen uns und Japan 

zu vermitteln. Bitte den Praesident darauf hinweisen, dass ruecksichtlose Anwendung unserer UBoote jetzt Aussicht bietet, England in wenigen Mone.ten zum Frieden zu zwingen. Empfang bestaetigen. Zimmermann. 

Punctuations· are given as in German text. I am sending decode into German, group by group, 

by tomorrow's pouch. 

PAGE. 

March 3: Zimmermann acknowledges the authenticity of the telegram.57 

This chronology proves the accuracy of Millis' comment on the President's trustful nature, 

for thus far the chronology shows that the President caused the text of the Zimmermann telegram 

to be given to the press before steps were taken to authenticate it. In passing, we may note, 

however, that the Secretary of State was a bit troubled by the question of authenticity: 

The next morning [Friday, March 2] Polk brought me a brief telegram from Page saying our 

copy of the [Zimmermann] cipher message obtained from the telegraph company had been received, 

that instructions had been followed with success, and that text of deciphered message would follow. 

While I had never doubted the authenticity of the translation sent, this corroboration by our own 

people was a relief.&S 

Returning again to Millis, anp. especially his footnote raising the question as to British 

motives in producing a month-old telegram, we find comment on this important matter of delay 

in a work of authentic nature, as may be seen in the following quotation taken from Blanche 

Dugdale's biography 59 of her uncle, Arthur Balfour: 

Ever since the middle of January, however, a piece of information had been in the possession of 

the British Government, which would move, if anything could, the vast populations behind the Atlantic seaboard States, who still read of the European War with as much detachment as if it had been 

raging in the moon. This was the famous telegram from Zimmermann, the German Foreign Minister, 

to the German Minister in Mexico, instructiog him, if and when the United States should enter the 

war on the Allied side, to propose to Mexico an alliance which would restore to her, when peace came, 

her "lost territories in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico." 

The method by which this information had reached the British Intelligence Service made it 

impossible for some time to communicate it to the United States Government. Therefore for over a 

" FRS, p. 158. The Zimmermann telegram as it appears in FRS contains some errors which we have not corrected. For ex!llnple, the word 

Beitrachtu11g is followed by Beitrallmg in brackets with a query. Of course, neither is an authentic word. For the correct rendering see "Version 

II" on page 25. Incidentally, Bell's consultation of the code book certainly showed him that the statement that the code "is never used straight" 

(cf. p. 16) was not true. Either he did not inform Page of this fact, or Page failed to mention it . 

11 New York Times Curre11t Historv, vol. XI, pp. 66, 236. 

" Lansing's Memoirs, p. 229. 

11 Dugdale, Blanche, E. C., Arthur Jame1 Balfour, Hl06-lg30, New York, Hl37, pp. 137-138. 
'I 

11 

I 

REF ID:A491080 

24 

month Balfour read in his despatches from Washington of the slow wakening of the American will to 

war, but could do nothing to hasten the process. Till-at last-information about the Mexican 

plot reached London through channels which enabled the Intelligence Service to cover up the traces 

of how it had first been.got. 

Joy was unbounded in Whitehall, and the Foreign Secretary himself was unusually excited. "As 

dramatic a moment as I remember in all my life," he once said, referring to the scene in his room at 

the Foreign Office on February 24, 1917, when he handed to the American Ambassador the sheet of 

paper containing the decoded message. By the ceremony of this act the British Government gave 

its pledge that the communication was authentic. Nevertheless the American Nation not unnaturally 

took a little while to satisfy itself that the telegram was not part of some gigantic hoax. It might 

have taken longer, had not the German Foreign Office, within a few days of the publication, admitted 

the message to be genuine. 

Note the very significant remark: "The method by which this information had reached 

the British Intelligence Service made it impossible for some time to communicate it to the 

United States Government. * * * Till-at last-information about the Mexican plot 

reached London through channels which enabled the Intelligence Service to cover up the traces 

of how it had first been got." 

We cannot suppose that the British Government was merely desirous of hiding from the 

United States Government the fact that its Intelligence Service was able to decode German 

code messages, and that this was the reason for the delay. Their action in providing a decode 

of the Zimmermann telegram as sent by Bernstorff to von Eckhardt ne~atives that hypothesis. 

The reason for the delay must have involved a much more important secret than that, or at 

least there must have been other, more weighty considerations. 

Moreover, whenever it is found that there is much beating around the bush in making 

an explanation, there is room for wondering whether there is not something in a situation not 

apparent on the surface. For instance, let us note how Admiral Hall attempts to evade the 

answer. In November 1925 the World's Work published Hendrick's article on the Zimmermann telegram. In the April 1926 issue of this magazine 60 appears an interesting editorial 

comment on the story, from which the following is extracted: 

It was only natural that Mr. Hendrick's chapter on the real story of the seizure of the famous 

Zimmermann telegram, which appeared in the November issue, should have created a sensation in 

all countries which had a part in the war. 

* * * * * * * 

The London correspondents of the metropolitan American dailies reported that he [i. e., Admiral 

Hall] would say'nothing, but a week after the World's Work printed the chapter of revelations the 

Daily Mail of London did manage to squeeze an interview out of him. 

* * * * * * * 

The British Admiralty, he explained, knew all the movements of the famous German submarines 

Deutschland and Bremen, and the British Government allowed German messages to be sent over 

British cables. What the Germans did not know was that the British possessed the German secret 

code and deciphered every message as it was sent across. 

"This one thing shows the difference between the British and German mentality,'' he remarked. 

"I am sure, if the position had been reversed, the British would never have been so stupid as not to 

have suspected that the messages were being deciphered. If I had disclosed the actual wording of 

the Zimmermann telegram the Germans would have suspected something at once. I had to wait until 

we got a copy of the telegram actually sent, which was differently worded from the one from Berlin. 

"It was Bernstorff's telegram that I exposed. The Germans actually thought that there had 

been a leakage between Bernstorff and Mexico, which was what I wanted. Right until the end of 

the war I do not think that the Germans suspected that we knew as much as we did of their intelligence 

service." 

II Pp. ~78-579. 
REF ID:A491080 

25 

Here we have, presumably, Admiral Hall's exp~anation for the delay in commun~c~,ting 

the contents of the Zimmermann telegram to the Umted States Government. He says. If I 

had disclosed the actual wording of the Zimmermann telegram the Germans would have suspected something at once. I had to wait until we g_ot .~ copy of ~he tel~gram ac~u~lly sent, 

which was differently worded from the one from Berlin. To put It charitably, this IS hardly 

an adequate statement, as can be seen by comparing the text of the telegram as sent from 

Berlin to Washington (as cited in the official German documents) with that sent from Washington to Mexico City (the latter being the one that the British furnished Page) eoa: 

VERSION I 

Telegramm Nr. 158 

Ganz geheim 

Zu Euerer Exzellenz ausschlieszlich persoenlichen Information und W eitergabe an Kaiserlichen Gesandten Mexiko auf sicherem Wege: 

"Telegram Nr. 1 Ganz geheim Selbst entziffern. 

Wir beabsichtigen, am 1. Februar uneingeschraenkten U-Boot-Krieg zu beginnen. Es 

wird versucht werden, Amerika trotzdem neutral zu erhalten. 

Fuer den Fall, class dies nicht gelingen sollte, 

schlagen wir Mexiko auf folgender Grundlage 

Buendnis vor: Gemeinsame Kriegfuehrung. Gemeinsamer Friedensschluss. Reichliche finanzielle Unterstuetzung und Einverstaendnis unsererseits, dass Mexiko in Texas, Neu-Mexiko, 

Arizona frueher verlorenes Gebiet zurueckerobert. Regelung im einzelnen Euer Hochwohlge boren ue berlassen. 

Euer Hochwohlgeboren wollen vorstehendes 

Praesidenten streng geheim eroeffnen, sobald 

Kriegsausbruch mit Vereinigten Staaten feststeht, und Anregung hinzufuegen, Japan von 

sich alls zu sofortigem Beitritt einzuladen und 

gleichzeitig zwischen uns und Japan zu vermitteln. 

Bitte Praesidenten darauf hinzuweisen, class 

ruecksichtslose Anwendung unserer U-Boote 

jetzt Aussicht bietet, England in wenigen Monaten zum Frieden zu zwingen. 

Empfang bestaetigen. 

ZIMMERMANN'' 

VERSION II 

Auswaertiges Amt telegraphiert Januar 16: 

No. 1. Ganz geheim selbst zu entziffern. Wir 

beabsichtigen am ersten Februar uneingeschraenkt U-Boot Krieg zu beginnen. Es wird 

versucht werden Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika trotzdem neutral zu erhalten. Fuer den 

Fall class dies nicht gelingen sollte schlagen wir 

Mexico auf folgend Grundlage Buendnis vor; 

Gemeinsam Krieg fuehren. Friedenschluss. 

Reichlich finanzielle Unterstuetzung und Einverstaendnis unsererseits dass Mexico in Texas, 

New Mexico, Arizona frueher verlorenes Gebiet 

zurueck erobert. Regelung im einzelnen Euer 

Hochwohlgeboren ueberlassen. Sie wollen vorstehendes dem Praesidenten streng geheim eroeffnen, sobald Kriegausbruch mit Vereinigten 

Staaten feststeht und Anregung hinzufuegen 

Japan von sich aus zu sofortiger Betrachtung 

einzuladen und gleichzeitig zwischen uns und 

Japan zu vermitteln. Bitte den Praesidenten 

darauf hinweisen, dass ruecksichtenlose Anwendung unserer U-Boote jetzt Aussicht bietet, 

England in wenigen Monaten zum Frieden zu 

zwingen. Empfang bestaetigen. Schluss der 

Depesche. Zimmermann. 

"" Most of the slight variations between the London version (marked "Ver;ion II" and taken from Hen~rick, vol. III, P~j 3~) )and 

· the G rman Government (marked "Version I," taken from pp. 35~ of vol. II of the German onginal of German earings are 

~~:t t~,~~~ ~a~~ ~:at in t:e former grammatical terminations such as connected text requires are not insert~d. A few oth~rs are d~e to ~~:~e:~e:: or lack of knowledge of the German language, e. g., the finale on Hochwohlgeborene. The word ge~e1nsam or gememsamer s om o 

Frledensscbluss. No one can possibly doubt tbat the Berlin and the London versions represent an Identical text. 
REF ID:A491080 

26 

No, that is not the reason for the delay. Probably the reader has already guessed the reason 

or, rather, the reasons, for undoubtedly there were several. To our mind they may be listed 

as follows: 

1. To disclose the Berlin-Washington version of the Zimmermann telegram, which it will be 

recalled was sent via State Department channels, would have necessitated revealing the fact 

that the British Intelligence Service was intercepting and solving not only German code messages 

but also intercepting and perhaps solving diplomatic messages of the American Government-a 

power whose aid they were desperately seeking at the time. 

2. Even had the foregoing not served as a powerful argument against a prompt disclosure of 

the message, the fact that the solution presented several lacunae and doubtful spots would have 

detracted a great deal from the diplomatic and military value of the document. Undoubtedly, 

frantic efforts were made by the British cryptographers to fill in the lacunae-but the solution 

of a code of the two-part type, such as Code 7500, is aJways a slow, difficult process unless there 

is a large volume of text on which to corroborate hypotheses. This requisite volume was lacking. 

Proof that the British had not succeeded in reading entire messages in Code 7500 is neatly shown 

by the phrase "at that time" (referring to January 16, 1917, the date of the Zimmermann telegram) in the Bell to Harrison cablegram of September 17, 1917, quoted above on page 11. 

Of course, the British might have furnished the translation of the version which, according to Bell's cablegram of September 17, 1917, was sent via Swedish channels. But we have, 

in the same cablegram, Bell's statement that "it went in a code which the British had at that 

time only partly succeeded in deciphering and of which Eckhardt had no copy." In all probability the code used for the message transmitted via Swedish channels was Code 7500. Possibly it was some other code. The sending of a message in more than one code is a capital 

crime in cryptography. True, it was a crime that we know the Germans to have committed, but 

in the present case every reason for supposing such a transgression, whether by accident or 

design, is lacking. Even if, by some remote chance, the telegram was sent from Berlin in some 

other code, that code was certainly not 13040, and hence this point is immaterial. The fact 

remains that the British could not offer a partly solved message of such vital importance 

regardless of which version was available. 

3. In a note dated April 18, 1916, following the sinking of the American vessel Sussex, the 

American Government had presented an ultimatum to the German Government couched in 

the following unmistakable language:61 

If it is still the purpose of the Imperial Government to prosecute an indiscriminate warfare against 

vessels of commerce by the use of submarines without regard to what the Government of the United 

States must consider the sacred and indisputable rules of-international law and the universally recognized 

dictates of humanity, the Government of the United Stat.es is at last forced to the conclusion that there 

is but one course to pursue. Unless the Imperial Government should now immediately declare and 

effect an abandonment of its present methods of submarine warfare against passenger and freightcarrying vessels, the Government of the United States can have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the German Empire altogether. This action the Government of the United States contemplates with the greatest reluctance, but feels constrained to take in behalf of humanity and the 

rights of neutral nations. 

On January 9, 1917, Kaiser Wilhelm held a council at Pless, at which the irrevocable decision was taken to stake everything on another trial of unrestricted submarine warfare, to commence on February 1. On January 16, Bernstorff was notified of this decision (in telegram No. 

e1 FRS, p. 106. 
REF ID:A491080 

27 

157) but was directed not to inform the American Government until the evening of January 

31. Bernstorff's words are interesting: 62 

On January 31st, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, I handed Mr. Lansing the official communication 

about the U-boat war. This was my last political interview in America. We both knew that the end 

had come, but we did not admit the fact to each other. The Secretary of State contented himself with 

replying that he would submit my communication to the President. I cherished no illusions regarding 

the expected outcome of this interview, for the ultimatum of April 18, 1916, no longer allowed of any 

chance of preventing the rupture of diplomatic relations. 

If on January 31 this news came as a profound shock to President Wilson, who was then 

engaged in his second and most promising attempt toward mediation, it could hardly have 

taken the British unawares, for they must have had definite knowledge of the Pless decision from 

at least two sources. One was undoubtedly their partial solution of telegram 157, in which 

Bemstorff was instructed to inform the American Government of the reopening of unrestricted 

submarine warfare; the other was their solution of the Zimmermann telegram of January 19, 

which we have seen was telegram 158, and was tacked on to telegram 157. (See p. 15.) 

Consequently, the British must have felt quite sure as early as the third week of January 1917, that 

the United States would soon join the Allies, if our ultimatum of April 18, 1916, meant anything at 

all. 63 All they now had to do was to hold on for a few days or weeks longer and the United States 

would be on their side. Sure enough, on February 3, diplomatic relations between the United 

States and Germany were severed.8' But as the weeks went by there was no declaration of war, 

for the President, in an address to Congress on February 3, stated: 65 

Notwithstanding this unexpected action of the German Government, this sudden and deeply 

deplorable renunciation of its assurances given this Government at one of the most critical moments 

of tension in the relations of the two Governments, I refuse to believe that it is the intention of the 

German authorities to do in fact what they have warned us they will feel at liberty to do. I cannot 

bring myself to believe that they will indeed pay no regard to the ancient friendship between their people 

and our own or to the solemn obligations which have been exchanged between them and destroy 

American ships and take the lives of American citizens in the willful prosecution of the ruthless naval 

programme they have announced their intention to adopt. Only actual overt acts on their part can 

make me believe it even now. 

How much this waiting for some "actual overt acts" must have irked the British may be 

imagined if they irritated Page sufficiently to make him write: 66 

The danger is that with aH the authority he wants (short of a formal declaration of war) the 

President will again wait, wait, wait-till an American liner be torpedoed! Or till an attack is made 

on our coast by a German submarine I 

Something bad to be done to stir up the President and the people of the hinterland beyond 

the Mississippi. 

In the country at large the situation, as Spring Rice reported that day, was "much that of a sodawater bottle with the wires cut but the cork unexploded." The failμre of shipping to sail had produced 

"a stoppage of trade, a congestion in the ports, widespread discomfort and even misery on the coast 

and inland, even bread riots and a coal famine." All this, nevertheless, was not "spectacular enough;" 

the West was still against war and the President was still fighting for peace. But on Saturday, the 

24th, the British themselves were able to supply something "spectacular." Mr. Balfour deftly gave 

the unexploded cork a push.67 

"P. 379. 

"Even Bernstorff, immediately on receipt of telegraph 157, replied (German Hearings, p. 1021): "War unavoidable ff we proceed BS contem· 

plated." A few days later, in bis desperate attempts to stave oft a rupture in <liplomatic relations, he cabled the Foreign 0111.ce again (German 

Hearings, p. 1047): "Ir the U -boat war is commenced forthwith the President will look upon this BS 11 slap In the face, e.nd war with the United 

States will be unavoidable." Bernstorff's telegrams to tbe Foreign Olllce are most interesting. No one who reads them csn remain unconvinced 

of his absolutely sincere desire for peace between the United States and Germany. 

" FRS, p. 106. 

"FRS, p. 111. 

" Hendrick, pp. 324-325, quoting from Page's diary. 

"Milli&, op, cit ., p. 403. 
REF ID:A491080 

28 

The "push" was, of course, the communication to Page of the contents of the Zimmermann 

telegram. By this time the British Intelligence Service had the full text, which had been "bought 

in Mexico,'' and they must have felt that the time had come to make the most of their opportunity. They were not wrong. 

But Mr. Polk at the State Department knew of the waiting bombshell so kindly supplied by Mr. 

Balfour. The Zimmermann telegram, he believed, would produce a blast of popular emotion that 

would sweep the armed ship bill through against everything. So did Colonel House, who had now seen 

the text, and who was urging the President to "publish it tomorrow." So, no doubt, did the Presidentto whom it must have been plain enough that the first effect of Senator La Follette's pacifism would be 

to deliver Mr. Wilson himself into the hands of the intransigeants. On Thursday, March 1, the headlines were shouting from the morning papers: 

GERMANY SEEKS AN ALLIANCE AGAINST US; 

ASKS JAPAN AND MEXICO TO JOIN HER; 

FULL TEXT OF PROPOSALS MADE PUBLIC 

It was a stupendous sensation. The headlines, it is to be observed, were not always precisely 

accurate. Germany had not actually sought an alliance as yet; the text of the telegram expressly 

instructed the Minister in Mexico to initiate the move only in the event that the United States should 

declare war, which the German Government would itself endeavour to prevent. It was not a proposal 

for an aggression against the United States, but merely a conventional, though rather blundering, 

diplomatic preparation against a probable American attack upon Germany. This, however, was far 

too fine a point for the hot passions of the moment; and the telegram was everywhere seized upon as 

final proof of the complete and fathomless treachery of the German. 

What made it particularly shocking, of course, was the suggestion that the Japanese (with whom 

we were about to become allied) should be invited into the American Continent, or that the principle 

upon which many Americans had demanded the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine (because they had been 

acquired by force) should be applied to California and Texas, which we had forcibly detached from 

Mexico. Informed Americans understood perfectly well that the Allies had bribed Japan, Italy, and 

Rumania into the war with the promise of slices from the enemy carcass; but they were sincerely and 

profoundly horrified by the thought that Germany could be so base as to bribe Mexico and Japan with 

the promise of slices from the flanks of the United States. The Zimmermann telegram became a major 

German disaster. Not its least useful aspect, moreover, was the fact that it gave the Northeastern 

fire-eaters their first direct lever upon the pacific seutin.eut of the Southwest. If a German triumph 

threatened the annexation of California and Texas to Mexico-! The GermAn Foreign Secretary's 

innocent cablegram had exploded with its maximum effect at precisely the point where it would do the 

Allies the greatest good.67a 

It is interesting to' note, incidentally, that Millis mistakenly speaks of the projected restoration to Mexico of "California and Texas." The Zimmermann telegram makes no mention of 

California, but says that Mexico was to "reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico 

and Arizona." Is it possible that the Germans were reserving California as bait for Japan? 

If what Millis says is valid, if the facts which we have presented in the foregoing pages 

really constituted the motives which caused the British to withhold from the United States 

Government so weighty a secret as was contained in the Zimmermann telegram, we can take a 

charitable view and say that the circumstances justified their course of action. Certainly we 

must give them credit for knowing when to play their cryptographic trump cards. Which brings 

us to the additional compliment that they not only knew when to play a trump card, but also 

how. Note the dextrous manner in which they got the maximum benefit from the play without 

disclosing to their adversary where or how they had obtained the trump! Not only that, but in 

order to make sure that the source of their information should not be disclosed, they even took 

pains to insure that so far as the world outside was concerned, the credit for excellent intelligence 

work should go to another country-the United States! And to do that, they were not content 

to let natural inference take its course, but contrived with the help of British newspapers to 

""Millis, W. C. 
REF ID:A491080 

29 

throw blame on their own intelligence service for letting those mere novices in intelligence workthe Americans-beat them at a game in which they themselves (i. e., the British) were generally 

supposed to be preeminent! For in the interview already referred to (p. 24) Admiral Hall said: 

Of course, our whole object was to prevent the Germane from giving us very much credit for intelligence. When President Wilson published the famous Zimmermann telegram containing the German 

overtures to Mexico, I was very anxious that there should be no suspicion in the German mind that we 

had anything to do with it. 

It was then that the Daily Mail, at my request, published a stinging leader passing severe reflections 

on the British Intelligence Service. 

In a letter dated December I, 1927, addressed to the secretary of the Edinburgh Philosophical 

Institution, giving his regrets for not being able to be present at the meeting on December 13, 

already referred to, Lord Balfour, Wartime Foreign Minister of the British Government said: 68 

* * * To" Room 40," where he {i.e. Ewing] was the leading spirit, the country owes an immense 

debt of gratitude-a debt which, at the time at least, could never be paid. Secrecy was of the very 

essence of the work, and never was secrecy more successfully observed. 

Only one link remains still to be found before the story of the Zimmermann telegram can be 

regarded as complete: the original version as filed in Berlin. As already indicated, di,ligent 

search has failed to locate it, and we fear that it is now too late. The State Department files in 

Washington, in Berlin, and in Copenhagen have been scoured, without success. There remains 

only one more place where it most certainly can still be assumed to be peacefully reposing: the 

World War files of the British "Room 40 0. B." 

In a letter 69 to President Wilson, dated March 17, 1918, Ambassador Page, referring to 

Admiral Hall, wrote as follows: 

* * * Hall is one genius that the war has developed. Neither in :fiction nor in fact can you 

find any such man to match him. * * * He lock's up aertain documents "not to be opened till 

20 years after this date." I've made up my mind to live 20 years more. I shall be present at the 

opening of that safe * * *. 

The "20 years" are up. Admiral Hall is now a retired officer, but he still has the papers, 

if we are to believe the statements contained in a book by a recent author. 70 Relating the details 

of the efforts on the part of the representatives of certain American claimants to establish the 

validity of their claims, Landau tells how Mr. Amos J. Peaslee, leader of the American claimants, 

visited Admiral Hall on August 27, 1925, at Hall's London residence: 

* * * He found Hall in full sympathy with the American claimants, and so commendatory 

was Admiral Sime's letter that he ended up their conference by saying: "Copies of the decoded German 

cables are stored away in several tin boxes in the basement. I sealed up these boxes with instructions 

that they were not to be opened up for 20 years. You have caused me to change my mind, however. I 

will open up the boxes for you. Copy such of the cables as you think will be useful to you. Make 

yourself at home. The servants will look after you." His rapid and sweeping decision was typical of 

the man. Fortunately he was retired from the Navy and was, therefore, bis own master. 

Hall took Peaslee down to the basement, spread the cables before him, and took his leave to catch 

the train for Scotland. Pea~lee found over 10,000 cables, radio mesrnges, and letters which Hall had 

intercepted and decoded. Twenty-six different codes· had been used in sending these messages. 

Attached to the original~ was a transl:i,tion in clear, also the "recognition group," or number of the code 

used. 

So Admiral Hall can, if he will, tell the whole story. It will be interesting to see if he does. 

The time for its telling has arrived. Ambassador Page unfortunately did not live out the 20 

years as he promised himself to do, in order to be present when Admiral Hall finally opened his 

safe. The present authors are curious and anxious, too. Let the safe be opened! 

"The (Edinburgh) Scotsman, Dec. 14, 1927. 

"Hendrick, vol. III, p. 361. 

,. Lsndsu, Capt. Henry. The Emm11 Within. G. P. Putnsm's Sons, New York, I93i, p. 166. 
REF ID:A491080 

APPENDIX 1 

Exhibit 320.-AFFIDAVIT OF ADMIRAL SIR W. REGINALD HALL, K. C. M. G., C. B., D. C. L., L. L. D .• 

FORMERLY CHIEF OF THE INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT OF THE BRITISH ADMIRALTY, 

VERIFIED DECEMBER 28, 1926, WITH ANNEXED COPIES OF GERMAN CABLEGRAMS, WIRELESS AND OTHER MESSAGES INTERCEPTED BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT DURING THE 

WAR 

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, 

LONDON, ENGLAND, 

CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE U. 8. OF AMERICA l

ss: 

Admiral, Sir W. Reginald Hall, K. C. M. G., C. B., D. C. L., L. L. D., being duly sworn, deposes and says: 

1. I reside at No. 63, Cadogan Gardens, London, and am at present a retired officer of the British Navy 

and am a member of the British Parliament. 

2. During the recent war with Germany and her Allies I was Director of the British Naval Intelligence 

Service for the entire period from October 1914, until the Armistice in November 1919. 

3. In that capacity it was my duty and the duty of my staff to intercept and decipher, as far as possible, 

cable and wireless .messages and other communications sent between German officials in Berlin and German 

officials at Embassies and Legations and elsewhere in various parts of the world. 

4. During the period from the commencement of the war in August 1914, until the Armistice in November 

1919, we intercepted a large number of such cable and wireless messages and other communications. This was 

done by tapping the cables over which the messages were being sent, by picking up the wireless messages, and 

through the capture of written communications and documents in the post and in the possession of German 

officials and agents who were apprehended by our authorities. 

5. Almost all of these communications, insofar as they were cablegrams and wireless messages, were sent 

in cipher, a number of different German ciphers being employed for that purpose. We were able to read substantially all of the cipher messages which were intercepted, partially by reason of the fact that we succeeded in 

capturing from German submarines and other sources some of the original German cipher books, and partially 

by reason of the fact that our cipher experts were able to decipher the German ciphers wherever, as was the 

case here, a large number of different messages in the same cipher were available for study and comparison, and 

in many instances the same message was sent through different channels in two or more different German ciphers. 

6. The annexed file of cablegrams and wireless messages and despatches marked "Exhibit A," set forth on 

pages numbered consecutively from No. 2 to No. 267, are true anrl correct deciphered copies of cablegrams and 

wireless messages and other despatches which were intercepted and deciphered by the Intelligence Department 

of the British Admiralty through officers working under my immediate supervision. The work was considered 

of a most highly confidential character and I exercised the closest personal contact with all its details. It was 

my sole duty and responsibility and I watched and checked the work with the greatest care to make certain that 

we were recording the true import and meaning of the German communications. Many of the original German 

ciphers in which the communications were transmitted are still in our possession. 

7. The numbers which appear in parentheses near the tops of some of the pages on which the messages 

are copied (exhibit A) are numbers of a particular system of German cipher, which numbers usually appeared 

in the body of the cables or wireless communications themselves, and were known to us as the "recognition 

groups." For example, No. "(89734)" at page 2, No. "(5950)" at pages, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 

21, 22, 23, 28, 32, 37, 38, 39, 42, 45, 49, 53, 57, 58, 65, 68, 70, 72, No. "(13040)" at pages 7, 11, 13, 16, 25, 27, 29, 

30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 41, 43, 44, 50, 52, 54, 61, 62, 63, C4, 66, 68, 71, No. "(0064)" at pages 40, 47, 80, 114, 122, 

No. "(6400)" at pages 48, 55, 56, .'59, No. "(0640)" at page 60, No. "(9972)" at pages 61, 73, 95, No. "(5954)" 

at page 67, No. "V. B. 718" at page 75, No. "S. B." at page 92, No. "(98176)" at page 112, No. "(87962)" at 

page 113, and No. "(Hl177)" at page 172, all refer to different German cipher systems. 

8. The word "Nauen,'' appearing at the tops of pages 69, 76, 130, 135, 217, 223, 244, 245, and 259, of exhibit 

A, refers to the German wireless station located at Nauen, Germany, from which many communications were 

despatched. Many of the other communications of which copies appear in exhibit A were also sent by wireless. 

The communications passing between Madrid and Berlin were, practically in all instances, by wireless. In 

(30) 
REF ID:A491080 

31 

making copies of some of the messages, particularly during the latter pa.rt of the war, and in cases where the 

same cipher system was being employed in a series of messages, as, for example, a. series of communications to 

Washington and the wireless communications between Madrid and Berlin, the "recognition groups" were sometimes omitted from our file copies. This accounts for the absence of cipher numbers at pages 24, 26, 52, 77, 78, 

79, 82, 83, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 94, 98, 104, 105, 108, 110, 115, 121, 124, 126, 128, 131, to 171, inclusive, 173 to 

216, inclusive, 218 to 222, inclusive, 224 to 243, inclusive, 246 to 256, inclusive, 260 to 266, inclusive. The 

"recognition groups," however, appear in the original German cipher messages in every instance. The wireless 

messages which passed between Madrid and Berlin were sent in almost every case in cipher No. "0064" or some 

combinations or modifications of that German cipher system. 

9. The dates appearing at the tops of the pages of exhibit A represent the dates when the messages were 

intercepted, which were coincident with the dates of the sending of the messages, although in a number of instances it will be noted that the message which we picked up was one which was being relayed from one point to 

another. In such cases the date will be the date of the relay of the message, but not necessarily the date when it 

was sent from its original point of origin. These dates are indicated either by a complete statement of the month, 

day and year, or by figures such as "26.6.16.", which means the twenty-sixth day of June, 1916. 

10. The sources and destinations of the cables are indicated by the words "From" and "To." For example, 

on page 2 the words "From Berlin" mean that the cable or wireless message was sent from Berlin. The signature 

indicates the name of the official or department which sent the cable, wireless message or communication, as 

such signature was actually contained in the message. The words "To Washington" on page 2 mean that the 

message was sent to the German Embassy in Washington. The communications between Berlin and America, 

insofar as we intercepted them, were limited almost exclusively to communications with the German Embassy. 

11. The letters and figures appearing at the tops of some of the pages in exhibit A, such as "B. No. 24" at 

page 2, "W. 146" at page 3, have reference to a particular series of German numbers as they appeared in the 

contents of the communications. "B" means a series of communications from Berlin; "W" means a series of 

communications from Washington. 

12. The message set forth at page 35 of exhibit A, numbered "B. No. 103," dated January 26, 1915, and 

signed "Representative of General Staff Zimmerman" was a. message sent from Berlin to Washington by cable 

via the Swedish Foreign Office. It was intercepted by us en route to Washington. We considered this cable of 

particular importance at the time and we furnished a copy of it jn the original cipher, together with the English 

translation of it, to the American State Department through the American Embassy in London. 

13. This message, it will be observed, was sent in cipher No. "(13040)." The German cipher book covering t..C 

this system of ciphering is in our possession, it having been captured by the British authorities in the luggage of a. y 

German consul named Wasmuss who was stationed at Shiraz while Wasmuss was engaged in an endeavor to 1 \ 

cut a British oil pipe line. 

14. These German communications were intercepted and deciphered by the British Admiralty through the 

same system which we employed in the interception and deciphering of the well-known "Zimmermann" cablegram of January 16, 1917, from Herr Zimmerman to Count von Bernstorff for transmission to the German 

Legation in Mexico, advising it of the plan to commence unrestricted warfare and proposing an alliance with 

Mexico in the event that the United State~ should enter the war, which cablegram we called to the attention of 

the American State Department, and which was published by the United States Government, and which Herr 

Zimmermann in a statement made in the German Reichstag admitted to be correct and authentic. Some further 

history of that cablegram will be found in the third volume of "The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page" by 

Burton J. Hendricks, at pages 331 to 364. 

15. The German cables, wireless messages and other communications set forth in exhibit A are a comparatively small portion of a much larger collection of such messages which we intercepted during the war and which 

a.re still in our possession. Owing to the paramount importance of our having for the use of the British Navy the 

information contained in the messages regarding the movement of German ships it was imperative that we should 

avoid if possible, disclosing to the Germans the fact that we were reading their communications to this extent. 

Hence it was impossible for us at the time to make full use of all the information which was before us. The 

American Ambassador in London, Mr. Page, was in our constant confidence, however, regarding the German 

communications affecting America during the war, but it was necessary for all of us to exercise the greatest 

caution regarding the messages. 

16. As head of the British Naval Intelligence I also had charge of the detention and examination of Captain 

Franz von Papen, the former Military Attache at Washington upon his arrival at Falmouth about the first of 

January, 1916. We took from Captain von Papen at that time a number of documents which were found upon 

his person and among his luggage, and which in our judgment were being carried in violation of his rights under 

the safe conduct which he had been given. Copies of some of these papers were published at the British Government Stationery Office and presented to both Houses of Parliament as a "British White Paper," Misc. No. 6, 
REF ID:A491080 

32 

1916, entitled: "Selections From Papers Found in the Possession of Captain von Papen, Late German Military 

Attache at Washington, Falmouth, January 2 and 3, 1916." A photostatic copy of that British White Paper is 

attached to the exhibits in this case as exhibit No. 46. I personally saw at the time and examined the originals of 

these documents and know of my own knowledge that the documents of which copies appear in that British 

White Paper, of which exhibit No. 46 is a photostatic copy, are true, correct and authentic, including the records 

from Captain Von Papen's check books. 

17. I also personally interrogated Horst von der Goltz at the time of his arrest by the British authorities. 

Von der Goltz was examined by the officials at Scotland Yard under my direction and at my request. He made 

certain affidavits before those officials of which copies are set forth as exhibit 53 of the exhibits of this case. I 

have examined this exhibit .53 and it accords with my recollection of the contents of the original affidavits though 

I have not examined recently those affidavits which are presumably in the records at Scotland Yard unless they 

were sent to the American Government in Washington. 

18. I also had charge of the arrest and imprisonment of Franz von Rintelen by the British authorities. He 

was apprehended by us at Ramsgate on the steamer Noordam in August 1915, while he was apparently trying to 

return to Germany from the United States. He was traveling on a Swiss passport under the name of "Gasche." 

We put him in Donnington Hall, which is the British prison for enemy officers and he remained there until 

shortly after the United States entered tl:le war, when we sent him to America under guard at the request of the 

American authorities and turned him over to the United States Government. 

(sd) W. R. HALL. 

.. 

L 
REF ID:A491080 

33 

APPENDIX 2 

GROUP-BY-GROUP DECODEMENT OF THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM AS SENT BY AMBASSADOR 

BERNSTORFF TO GERMAN MINISTER VON ECKHARDT IN MEXICO ON JANUARY 19, 1917 

130 Nr. 3 13851 stop 18507 hinzufuegen 

13042 4458 gemeinsamen 52262 Japan 

13401 Auswaertiges Amt 17149 Friedensschluss 1340 von 

8501 tclegraphiert 14471 stop 22049 sich 

115 vom 16ten Januar 6706 reichliche 13339 aus 

3528 colon 13850 finanzielle 11265 zu 

416 Nr. 1 12224 Unterstuetzung 22295 sofortiger 

17214 Ganz geheim 6929 und 10439 Beitretung 

6491 Selbst 14991 Ein rnrstaendnis 14814 einladen 

11310 zu 7382 unsererseits 4178 infinitive with zu 

18147 entziffern 15857 class 6992 und 

18222 stop 67893 Mexiko 8784 gleichzeitig 

21560 Wir 14218 in 7632 zwischen 

10247 beabsichtigen 36477 Texas 7357 uns 

11518 am 5870 comma 6926 und 

23677 ersten 17553 Neu 52262 Japan 

13605 Februar 67893 Mexiko 11267 zu 

3494 un 5870 comma 21100 vermitteln 

14936 eingeschraenkten 5454 Ar 21272 stop 

98092 U-boot 16102 iz 9346 Bitte 

5905 krieg 15217 on 9559 den 

11311 zu 22801 a 22464 Praesidenten 

10392 beginnen 17138 frueher 15874 darauf 

10371 stop 21001 verlorenes 18502 hinweisen 

0302 Es wird 17388 Gebiet 18500 comma 

21290 versucht 7446 zurueck 15857 class 

5161 werden 23638 erobert 2188 ruecksichtslose 

39695 Vereinigte Staaten von 18222 stop 5376 Anwendung 

Amerika 6719 Regelung 7381 UP serer 

23571 trotzdem 14331 im 98092 U-boote 

17504 neutral 15021 einzelnen 16127 jetzt 

11269 zu 23845 Euer Hochwohlgeboren 13486 Avssicht 

18276 erhalten 3156 ueberlassen 9350 bietet 

18101 stop 23552 stop 9220 comma 

0317 Fuer den Fall 22096' Sie 76036 England 

0228 dass dies 21604 wollen 14219 in 

17694 nicht 4797 Vorstehendes 5144 wenigen 

4473 gelingen 9497 dem 2831 Monat 

22284 sollte 22464 Praesidenten 17920 en 

22200 stop 20855 streng 11347 zum 

19452 schlagen 4377 geheim 17142 Frieden 

21589 wir 23610 eroeffnen 11264 zu 

67893 Mexiko 18140 comma 7667 zwingen 

5569 auf 22260 so bald 7762 stop 

13918 folgender 5905 Kriegs 15099 Empfang 

8598 Grundlage 13347 ausbruch 9110 bestaetigen 

12137 Buendnis 20420 mit 10482 stop 

1333 vor 39689 Vereinigten Staaten 97556 Zimmermann 

4725 stop 13732 fest 3569 stop 

4458 Gemeinsame 20667 steht 3670 Schluss der Depesche 

5905 Kriegs 6929 und 

17166 fuehrung 5275 Anregung 

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