Chapter Review: Alan Turing: How the Father of the Computer Saved the World for Democracy

from the book Dreamers and Deceivers: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America by Glenn Beck with Kevin Balfe, Theshold Editions, New York, 2014.

This is the only individual featured in this book who was not a citizen of the United States.  Alan Turing was a mathematician, and a marathon runner.  It was while running that he thought of the idea of machines being used to solve problems.  The machine he imagined could read instructions, it would scan a tape with numeric code which would tell the machine what to do.  He thought this machine may solve complex mathematical problems.  
And so the beginnings of the computer where hatched.  This idea of a problem solving machine became a necessity during WWII.  The Nazis were using a sophisticated coding machine, enigma it was called.  Only a machine would be able to decipher the code fast enough to have a chance at breaking the Nazi codes.  Turing worked on this through a good part of the war, but finally had developed something which would help them crack the code, by using known words or frequent words.  Turing was especially prominent in the work against the U-Boats.  Who knows how many lives he saved by being able to pinpoint the location of submarines.  His work was part of the strategy to eliminate or reduce the threat from the Nazi U-boats.  
During his time in the deciphering business, he visited America where he again helped with developing the computer, while taking ideas home.  
After the war Turing became known as a homosexual, which was against British law of the time.  He was subject to hormone therapy,and later took his own life via one bite form a cyanide laced apple.  Beck wonders if that may be the reason behind the Apples with one bite missing on all i-phones and Apple computers.

Documentary Review: WWII in Colour # 7: Turning the Tide

This movie looks at the weapon for both sides, Allies and Axis, which they felt would turn the tide of the war.  For the Nazis the weapon was underwater U-boats which they hoped would choke the flow of supplies to England and other locations, and force them to sue for peace.  For the British and the Allies the weapon was on of bombing to reduce the ability of the enemy to make war.  Both of these strategies had effect to a degree.  The British preferred carpet bombing, after discovering targeted bombing usually missed.  Carpet bombing involved having a massive number of plains his a single city.  The U.S. performed strategical bombing, trying to take out the resupply and infrastructure of the Germans.  Bother had some success, but also some failure.  By the end of the war, Germany had difficulty keeping their resources fueled.  However by the end of the war, carpet bombing was being questioned as to whether is was really necessary.  The death toll form these raids was horrendous, and usually civilian life.
Early in the war, the British were not prepared to counter the effect of the submarine.  However after the entrance of America into the war, which also was not prepared for this attack early on, and the advance of new strategies and technologies, the war turned in this area.   Some of these strategies included using convoys, improved radar to find the U-boats, technology to  trace radio communications and improved methods to attack the U-boats.  The Battle of the Atlantic would have a heavy toll of lost material and men by the end of the war.  However the risk to shipping became less and less over the course of the war.

Documentary Review: Secrets of the Third Reich: The Ghost of U-513

I don't see how this film is included under the title of "Secrets of the Third Reich" as there are no secrets here.  However the film does look at the war against submarines off the coast of Brazil.  Brazil was a major supplier of rubber for the Allies during the war, and Brazil actually was one of the Allies.  This submarine had scored six kills off the coast of Brazil.  It submarine was caught on the surface, and sunk by an airplane.  46 men died and there were seven survivors, including the Captain.
A Brazilian industrialist heard of the sinking, and decided to find the boat.  It was discovered in 2011.