During the Nov. 17 History Lecture Series entitled Codes & Ciphers 101, former CIA communication officer Cortlandt Barnes spoke about a relatively unknown encryption tool invented near the end of World War II.

Barnes presented inform-ation on the little-known “Hitler Mill,” an encryption device designed by Germans near the end of World War II.

It is speculated that if this device had been put into mass use, the outcome of the war would have been very different.

Barnes has spoken at Francis Marion University once before when he presented a lecture entitled “HOSTAGE.” He informed the audience of the 444 days he spent as a hostage of the Iranian government.

This academic year marks the third year that Phi Alpha Theta (PAT) has presented the series.

Former PAT president Debra Walters has coor-dinated many of these and other events for the society.

“All lectures have a historical thread running through them, but each topic is vastly different,” Walters said.

In the past, PAT has invited speakers from FMU and the community. Each lecture is free and open to the public.

The society presents a different speaker each month during the fall and spring semesters.