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Message translation table
Sprechtafeln (talking tables), also known as Parolen- und Gesprächstabellen (expressions and conversation tables), were
manual cipher systems
or message substitution tables,
that were used by the NVA, 1 the Army of the former
DDR (East-Germany),
as a low-grade tactical cipher system thoughout the Cold War. The system greatly resembles the
British SLIDEX on which it is based.
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The image on the right shows a real message table that was used
by the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA), the People's Army of the DDR.
It was issued in 1969 and was known as Parolen- und Gesprächstabelle
(expressions and conversation table).
Apparently series of different tables were in use,
as this one is marked as SERIE 'E'
and 'F'.
Inside the book are two pages. At the left is a table or matrix
with 100 cells, arranged as 10 rows by 10 columns. Inside each cell is
a word, expression or part of a complete sentence.
At the bottom left, the page is marked as 'SERIE E'.
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Along the left side and along the top of the page is an orange plastic
sheet, that allows it to be written with a pen or pencil.
In most cases, letters or letter pairs would be written before each row
and above each column. The combination of a row/column pair was used to
identify the desired cell.
In order to further obscure the contents of the message, a numerical table
on the second page was used to convert the letters (used for the rows and
columns) into numbers.
The book is red,
to indicate that it is secret, and measures 20 x 13 cm.
Once a coded message had been created by means of the table, it was
send via radio
in morse code,
either manually, or by means of a so-called
burst transmitter;
a device that transmits the pre-recorded data at
high speed in order to minimise the risk of
interception and evade
radio direction finding.
Apart from words and frequently used
expressions, each table cell also contains a single letter to allow other
words to be spelled, plus a number to specify times, frequencies, distances,
directions, etc.
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NVA = Nationale Volksarmee.
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Below is another example of a
Serie F table.
According to the title, it was used for point-to-point,
or line-of-sight (LOS) radio links.
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In the former DDR (East-Germany), young people were encouraged to join the
Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik (GST), the Sport and Technology
Association. The GST was one of the DDR's mass organisations that provided the
means, equipment and structure for people to fill their free time,
whilst at the same time contributing to the militarisation of the DDR
by training them [1].
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The GST also was a pre-military training facility for everyone who wanted to
join the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA), the National People's Army,
by handling the so-called VA or Vormilitärische Ausbilding
(pre-military training) for the NVA.
The GST allowed people to persue their hobby by providing the equipment,
such as motorcycles, aircraft and radios.
As an example: during the Cold War, radio amateur licences were issued,
but only to GST members. If you wanted to be a HAM, you had to join the GST,
where you were trained in morse code and in radio operation.
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Within the GST, radio amateurism was seen as a sport discipline and people
who joined the East German Amateur Radio Association were encouraged to
persue Nachrichtensport (news sports). Apart from learning radio
technology, morse code and radio procedures, the members were also trained
in sending coded messages by means of message substitution tables
such as this one [2]:
The table shown here was issued especially for the GST in 1964 and was not
secret, which is why its cover isn't red. Although it was only intended
for Nachrichtensport training puposes, it clearly shows that in reality
people were prepared, and probably recruted, for the DDR's military service.
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Any links shown in red are currently unavailable.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Monday 30 August 2010. Last changed: Friday, 23 February 2018 - 22:16 CET.
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![GST training table. Photograph kindly provided by Karsten Hansky [2].](img/300057/012/full.jpg)
![GST training table. Photograph kindly provided by Karsten Hansky [2].](img/300057/013/full.jpg)
