Lost in Translation: Missing Background, Contextual Blindspots, and Editing Mishaps in Translated Intelligence Content

Abstract

This article examines the content as rendered by a small sample of intelligence reports issued by the UK Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park that address the initial indications in Italian communications of Italian regime change after Mussolini and considers how higher meaning in the texts may not have been fully appreciated in the context when they were written. The episode offers lessons in grasping context and significance in translated material.