Fachartikel
The Zimmermann Telegram: How to Make Use of Secrets?

The Zimmermann Telegram: How to Make Use of Secrets?

The paper discusses the problem of how to make use of a secret without publishing the source. The point of the departure is the so-called Zimmermann Telegram which, at least to some extent, motivated the U.S.A. to join the Allies in the war against Imperial Germany. The paper analyzes how Admiral Hall, Director of British Naval Intelligence, managed to convince the US Government that he can read the Telegram, written in cryptographic code, without letting everybody, including the Germans, know that his department can decipher the German code. A game theoretic model is presented which supports the historical analysis.