Dayton Codebreakers Film Screening

Joseph Desch and the Dayton Codebreakers

A story so important, it was secret for 50 years...

Wright Library, in partnership with Unsung Oakwood Heroes, recognizes May as “Codebreaker Month” with a curated selection of books and a film screening of the documentary Dayton Codebreakers on Thursday, May 23 from 6:30-8:30 PM at Wright Memorial Public Library.  Following the film will be a short presentation and Q&A. 

The documentary film, Dayton Codebreakers, began airing on public television stations throughout the country on April 2, 2006 and tells the story of NCR engineer and Oakwood resident Joseph Desch and the top-secret codebreaking operations in Dayton during WWII. The film was produced by Yellow Springs resident Aileen LeBlanc and Deborah Anderson of Kettering, the daughter of the late Joseph Desch, and includes interviews and rare footage inside Building 26.

For More Information

During “Codebreaker Month,” a curated selection of local history and non-fiction books about WWII Codebreakers in Dayton and abroad will be available at the library for additional reading.

Wright Library also recommends watching The Imitation Game, a 2014 dramatization about English Codebreaker Alan Turing and his team who first cracked the WWII German Enigma code at Bletchley Park in England. The Imitation Game is available with a Wright Library card on DVD, Blue Ray, and Roku Streaming Devices (Hulu, Netflix, Prime Video, Roku Channel, or Tubi).

Details about Dayton Codebreakers can be found at daytoncodebreakers.org

Unsung Oakwood Heroes

The film screening of Dayton Codebreakers is in partnership with Unsung Oakwood Heroes, a citizen's group dedicated to raising awareness of the local, national, and international impact of Oakwood's notable residents, starting with Joseph Desch. For more information about Unsung Oakwood Heroes or to assist in this effort, please email UnsungOakwoodHeroes@gmail.com