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Tom ward (narrates):
Four huge scaffolds
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00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:08,400
dominating a remote
Alaskan mountain.
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00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:12,040
These structures don't
look super technological,
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00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,320
they're like giant billboards.
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00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,160
But they were part
of what was in it's day
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00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,800
the most sophisticated
technology we had.
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00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:27,400
A war torn ruin left standing
in the shadow of North Korea.
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00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,120
If you went in to the building
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00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,200
you would quite
possibly come out in a box
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00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,800
and if you came out upright
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00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,960
you might come out
shattered beyond sanity.
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00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,720
A factory complex
in an idyllic valley
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00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,280
that is not quite what it seems.
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00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:50,800
You start to see clues
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00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,960
that this place might not
have been so friendly after all.
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The big heavy metal
door on the rock face,
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00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,040
how are they trying to keep out
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00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,360
or what were they
trying to keep in?
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00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,800
A medieval castle that became
the playground of a vengeful killer.
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00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,560
So, either the bloody countess
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00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:13,120
was a stone cold mass
murderer of young girls
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00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,240
or she was a powerful
but innocent woman
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00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,120
framed by her
unscrupulous rivals.
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00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:27,480
Decaying relics.
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00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:30,760
Ruins of lost worlds.
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00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:36,280
Forged through years of
toil now haunted by the past.
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00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:41,280
Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.
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00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,920
Slovakia, 60 miles from
the capital Bratislava.
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00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:02,560
An imposing hilltop
structure was the scene
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00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,480
of one of the 17th
centuries bloodiest scandals.
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00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,040
Looking up on to the
hillside clearly man has made
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00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:18,240
it's Mark here in a very
fortified, defensive kind of way.
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00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:21,320
It doesn't seem big
enough to be a fort
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00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:26,200
and dare I say it's not
grand enough to be a place.
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00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,960
Two towers loom
over the grounds,
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00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,280
one leads in to a
three metre deep pit.
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00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,960
It's a hole in the ground,
it looks like a dungeon.
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00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:43,360
The other tower is reduced to
just one perilous standing wall.
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00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:45,760
This isn't just nature
has destroyed this,
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00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,600
there's been some kind
of deliberate effort too.
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00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:52,040
The perimeter walls lined
with Cannon battlements
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00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,240
suggest a violent past.
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00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,200
If you're expecting
uninvited guests
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00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,000
this is the perfect spot to be,
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00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,160
it looks like it's
ready for an attack.
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00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,760
The events that took place
here became folk law then legend.
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00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,800
A reminder that history
is written by the Victors.
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00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:19,920
In 1610 blood curdling screams
were echoing from the basement,
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00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,960
young women are
suffering unbearable torture
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00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,240
at the hands of a psychopath.
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00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:29,880
It was eight girls
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00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:32,200
who suffered this way.
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00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,640
Marcela bednarova grew
up hearing the terrible stories
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00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:37,520
surrounding this place.
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The girls were humiliated...
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00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,920
And there was some psychological
and sexual torture as well.
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00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:51,440
They were waiting for
their destiny in shackles.
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00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:53,400
The girls were
made to stand naked
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00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,640
in a cold cellar for days.
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00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,080
The rumours surrounding this
place are extremely disturbing
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00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,920
and we don't know
exactly what happened here
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00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,400
but everyone who knows
something about this place
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00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:08,880
agrees that it was terrible.
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00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,640
This is cachtice castle,
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00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:18,160
built in the 13th century to defend
the border of the Hungarian empire,
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00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:20,720
for generations the
castle was traded
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00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:23,800
between warring noble families
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00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:25,680
until 1604
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00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,800
when countess Elizabeth
Bathory changed the castle
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00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:31,440
and the town of
cachtice forever.
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00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,800
When Elizabeth in her
early 40s as a widow
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00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:38,800
moved full time into the castle
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00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:42,000
she must have appeared
unbelievably glamorous
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00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,160
to the local villagers
with their hard lives,
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00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,000
she had the sort of
youthful glow about her.
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00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,320
Elizabeth inherited the castle
upon the death of her husband,
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00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,520
a member of the
powerful nadasdy family.
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00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:57,520
She inherited
all of this property
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00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,000
and suddenly she was the head
of a wealthy noble household.
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00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,560
Possibly one of the most
powerful single women
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00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,200
in Hungary at the time.
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00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,440
In a period when women were
largely treated as second class citizens.
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She invited young
women into these rooms
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00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:18,440
to sweep the floors
and cook her meals.
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In her 40s she's there
offering the school
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00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,600
basically for other
young noble women,
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00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:29,960
it wasn't uncommon, it
was a normal thing to do
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00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:31,960
to go and live
with another family
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00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:33,600
and learn how to housekeep,
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00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,680
how to prepare for
marriage and life ahead.
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00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,320
But the true cruelty of
the Hungarian nobility
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was about to be exposed.
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00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,040
Rumours started to circulate,
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the girls who went
to cachtice castle
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didn't always come back.
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On the 29 December 1610
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soldiers stormed
through the castle gates
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and searched the grounds.
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00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,840
When the soldiers looked around
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they found one dead girl
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00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,760
then two girls were
reported injured
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and almost dying with visible
marks of cruelty or violence.
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One of them was already dead
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00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:23,360
but the others had
just enough life force
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to point the
finger at her killer.
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Elizabeth.
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The young widow may have
been a woman in a man's world
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but she also had a
reputation for barbarism.
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00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,160
It's said that she
physically hurt her students
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00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,240
for minor infractions
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00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:44,840
like folding the sheets
wrong or spilling water.
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00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,360
Even for just looking
at her the wrong way.
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The punishments ranged
stories say everything from er,
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00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,880
just a slap around the
face to drawing blood
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00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,680
and then it got more
and more gruesome.
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Supposedly she would prick
them with sewing needles.
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She bit them until
she drew blood,
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00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:07,280
she smeared honey on them
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00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,040
and exposed them
to bees and ants.
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00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,680
Cut them with scissors.
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Scald them with hot metal bars.
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00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,600
Leaving girls out in the
cold to freeze to death.
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00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,400
And one of her most notorious acts
happened inside the castles dungeon.
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00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:29,680
Elizabeth needed
her main house free
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00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:35,000
because she expected a
visit of her daughter, Anna.
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00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:40,600
So, she ordered the girls
to move up to the castle
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00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,680
to stay there during
the daughter's visit.
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00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,560
The girls were made to stand
naked in the cold cellar for days,
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00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,920
when they were let out some
of them could barely even walk.
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00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,080
And they were killed
very soon afterwards.
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00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,240
It's said that Elizabeth Bathory
killed up to 600 young girls,
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00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,120
she literally has a
guinness world record for it.
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00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,440
The rumours of her savagery go
all the way back to her childhood.
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00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,040
She came from a family
notorious for it's alcoholism,
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00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,320
incest and sexual deviancy.
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00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,400
When she was young she
suffered from terrible migraines
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00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,600
which her family diagnosed
as demonic possession.
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00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:32,480
It's said that she even bathed
in the blood of her victims.
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00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:34,720
That might explain
the youthful complexion.
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00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:37,960
The soldiers arrested Elizabeth.
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00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,920
She was tried and
banished to her castle tower
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for the rest of her days.
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00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,120
The tyranny of the
bloody countess was over.
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00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,960
But not everything is as it
seems in this grim fairytale.
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00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:58,800
There's one thing that
doesn't quite add up here.
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00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:00,600
Out of an alleged
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00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:05,040
600 or more victims of Elizabeth
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00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:10,200
we haven't found a single
grave or a single skeleton.
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00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:13,240
Nothing.
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00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,080
The man who arrested
her and found all the bodies
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00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,560
just so happened to
be head of a rival house
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in the neighbouring province
which is unreliable and suspicious.
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00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,760
Elizabeth was clever,
she was literate,
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she could speak four languages
but she was also a woman,
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she had a massive
target on her back.
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Looking at this as a lawyer
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00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,680
despite concerns
over the evidence
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00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,160
I can't help but think
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00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,480
there was something
ghastly going on in that castle.
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00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:48,720
It's very rare that there's
any smoke without fire.
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So, either Elizabeth Bathory
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00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:53,800
the bloody countess
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00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:58,480
was a stone cold mass
murderer of young girls.
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00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:02,800
Or she was a powerful
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00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:06,920
but innocent woman framed
by her unscrupulous rivals.
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00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:09,640
You may never know for sure.
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00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,360
The castle stood
for another 100 years
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00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:21,960
until it was sacked
in a rebellion.
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00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,000
What remains is open to tourists
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00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,080
seeking to learn about the
legend of Elizabeth Bathory.
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00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,200
In the remote
north west of Alaska
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a cluster of constructions
loom over a barren landscape.
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Only 150 miles from Russia
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00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:56,280
sit these curved steel monoliths
of the crest of anvil mountain.
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00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:01,560
There's not a tree,
there's not a barely a bush
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00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,040
and rising up on
the top of this hill
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00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,920
are these four huge structures
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00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:12,200
they almost look like some warped
Salvador dali idea of a billboard.
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00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,160
It's almost like they've left
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00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,000
a segment of a modern art museum
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00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,840
propped up by some
kind of scaffolding
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00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,000
right here in the
middle of nowhere.
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00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,600
Their simple form belies
their once crucial function.
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00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,640
Very top secret I
mean it was, it was high
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00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:34,920
er, you know high
security up there
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00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:37,200
because this was all
cutting edge technology.
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00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:38,976
When you think about
it for a second it's clear
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00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,280
it's some sort of
communication device
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00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,680
whether it's for radar or
microwaves or something
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00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,240
but it's not clear what exactly.
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00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:56,440
Richard beneville is the mayor
of the nearby town of nome
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00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,320
and this site holds a
particular resonance for him.
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00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:04,720
Sometimes I feel like it's
walking among the pyramids,
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00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,160
I'm very proud sometimes
to what mankind can do.
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00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,200
I feel a sense of pride, I
know that this site worked.
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00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:14,280
The roots of this facility
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00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:16,840
can be traced back
to the 19th century
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00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,680
when Alaska became
American property.
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00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,320
A time when Russian
and the us were allies.
200
00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,720
At the time that the us
purchased Alaska from Russia
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00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:28,200
it was a very good investment,
202
00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,200
I don't think anybody
anticipated that would,
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00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,760
that Russia would become
our biggest geopolitical foe.
204
00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,800
In 1949, the Soviet
union shocked the world
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00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:41,120
when it detonated
it's first atomic bomb
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00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:43,480
at a test site in Kazakhstan,
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00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,920
a Soviet nuclear attack was
now a very real possibility.
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00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:56,120
In the 1950s the
nuclear arms race
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00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:57,600
between the Soviet union
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00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,200
and the United
States was ramping up.
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00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,680
Local resident Richard beneville
remembers this time well.
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00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,520
I knew every night I went to bed
213
00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,840
that the planes
on the flight line
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00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:12,640
had the bombs in them 24/7
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00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:14,880
ready to go in about
a five minute notice.
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00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,480
That was the cold war
that this 18 year old kid.
217
00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,000
The problem in Alaska
218
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,440
was how to communicate
an incoming threat
219
00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:26,120
and respond accordingly.
220
00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:31,120
If your radar detected
221
00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:34,200
Soviet bombers on their way
222
00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:40,120
to bomb america you'd want
to tell somebody right away.
223
00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,720
And the problem here was that
224
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:48,640
all they had was old fashioned
copper wire telephone technology.
225
00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:50,640
There's no roads
around most of the state,
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00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:53,520
there's no telegraph wires,
there's no telephone wires.
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00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:54,960
At one point from nome
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00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,640
they could only send one
telephone call at a time.
229
00:13:58,680 --> 00:14:01,440
Huge distances made
communication difficult
230
00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,320
even high frequency signals
231
00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:04,360
would fizzle out
232
00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:05,840
when the northern
lights appeared.
233
00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,320
Telecommunications
functioned strictly by line of site
234
00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:13,520
so the rapid
transmission of information
235
00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:15,480
over long distances
was impossible.
236
00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:21,160
A new communications
infrastructure was imperative
237
00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:23,520
but what technology
could effectively deal
238
00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:24,880
with this latest threat.
239
00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,920
Alaska has a really
interesting place
240
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:32,640
in the history of the cold war
241
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,480
because it is so close to Russia
242
00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,360
and it is so close
to the north pole.
243
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:39,280
At the end of world war two,
244
00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:41,400
Alaska's defences were focused
245
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,000
on fighting a southern foe
246
00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,120
not one that was coming
over the north pole.
247
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,520
If Soviet bombers
came over the horizon
248
00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:54,240
there was no effective
warning system in place,
249
00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,760
a solution was found with this.
250
00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:58,200
White Alice.
251
00:14:58,240 --> 00:14:59,440
A radio station
252
00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,840
with an extensive air force
telecommunications network.
253
00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:05,640
They were part of the do line,
254
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,280
the do line which
collected information
255
00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,400
actually from the top
of Scotland all the way
256
00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,680
across north Atlantic,
Iceland, Greenland, Canada,
257
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,320
keeping track, keeping a
radar net over the north pole.
258
00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,120
Their name is widely
believed to be an acronym.
259
00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,800
White for the snow
covered location
260
00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:28,360
and Alice which stands
261
00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:32,120
for Alaska integrated
communication and electronics.
262
00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:39,120
Typical white Alice site
consists of four dishes
263
00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:44,520
grouped in pairs to
receive and transmit signals
264
00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:46,080
to and from
neighbouring stations.
265
00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,680
Since they couldn't
just send radio signal
266
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:53,680
in a straight line
to the next receiver
267
00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:54,920
it was too far away,
268
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:58,320
they would aim it up
at an angle in to the sky
269
00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,640
where would bounce off
a layer of the atmosphere,
270
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:02,640
it would bounce
off the troposphere
271
00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:05,480
and then come back down
hundreds of miles away
272
00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:07,320
and be received
at the other end.
273
00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:14,120
The system is called forward
propagating tropospheric scatter.
274
00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,000
Tropospheric scattering
275
00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,760
has many advantages
over other technologies
276
00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,400
because bouncing
signals off the atmosphere
277
00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,720
means that the hubs don't
need a clear line of sight
278
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:29,040
which is particularly advantageous
in mountainous regions of Alaska.
279
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,400
This process meant
that white Alice sites
280
00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,160
could be 200 miles apart,
281
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,920
they could also handle
multiple phone calls
282
00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:40,280
at the same time
283
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,760
and crucially for the
military they were secure.
284
00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,120
A transmission
beamed from one spot
285
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,920
could only be received
at another precise spot
286
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,800
and that made it virtually
impossible to intercept.
287
00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,680
This network of linked
sites would be crucial
288
00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,160
against the various
cold war threats.
289
00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,040
Across northern Alaska
290
00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,960
there were a whole
range of stations
291
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,040
designed to detect
first incoming bombers
292
00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,800
and then later as missiles
became a bigger threat
293
00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:19,720
radar systems er, to detect
294
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:21,200
whether missiles
had been launched
295
00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:23,360
and were headed to
the heartland of the us.
296
00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:29,560
The 31 original white Alice
sites took three years to build...
297
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,400
With the first station
operational in 1956.
298
00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,720
But constructing these vast
antennas was no easy task.
299
00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,160
We're about 700 miles
to the nearest highway,
300
00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,280
we're about 750
miles from Anchorage
301
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:48,960
so we are way out there
302
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:54,440
right where the baring strait
and Russia almost meet.
303
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:56,600
So, to build these installations
304
00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,040
they had to not
just fly in equipment,
305
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:00,600
they used dog sleds,
306
00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:05,440
they were really out there
in primitive brutal conditions.
307
00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:08,840
The enemy was time and weather,
308
00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,520
hundreds of tonnes of metal
had to be bought in by air.
309
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,920
This was a steel Jigsaw puzzle
310
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,400
that had to be assembled
quickly and effectively
311
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:22,080
and had to be strong enough
312
00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:25,520
to withstand the extremes
of Alaskan storms.
313
00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,160
It was the latest and
most sophisticated
314
00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:31,640
telecommunications
technology in the world.
315
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,320
The us even connected
Hawaii and the Philippines
316
00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:40,880
through the pacific
scatter system
317
00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,400
but the biggest impact
was on Alaska itself.
318
00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,840
It unified the region in ways
319
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:49,680
that no other technology
could have done.
320
00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:56,000
However construction
was extremely expensive.
321
00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:01,040
The total bill came to a
staggering $300 million.
322
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,240
Initially they thought
they needed six people
323
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,600
and 25 kilowatts
to operate the site
324
00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,680
but actually in the end
they needed 20 people
325
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:14,800
and about 120 to 180
kilowatts of electrical power
326
00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:16,360
just to operate the system.
327
00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:19,920
Before white Alice
was even complete
328
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:24,080
a new technology arrived
which would come to replace it.
329
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,600
It's a bit ironic
330
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,360
that by the time white Alice
331
00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:33,240
was becoming
operational in 1957-1958
332
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,640
sputnik was up in the sky.
333
00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,600
Satellite communications came in
334
00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:44,240
and that wound up being a
much more reliable system
335
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,920
that didn't depend on
these remote installations
336
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,640
of antennas you know, manned
by these small groups of guys
337
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,760
freezing their butts
off on the tundra,
338
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:54,200
you know for year
in and year out.
339
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,280
Was it successful?
340
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:03,640
I think you'd have to say yes.
341
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,000
Because it, it has
allowed us to get
342
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:08,960
to where we are
today which is a lot.
343
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,200
White Alice remained in use
344
00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,240
until the 1970s as a
civilian phone network.
345
00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,160
And in some cases
due to their security
346
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:25,320
the military still uses tropos
scattering networks even today.
347
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,120
At the northern most
limits of South Korea
348
00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:35,560
is a troubled region
349
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,520
littered with the ruins
of a conflicted past.
350
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:43,360
The demilitarised zone
351
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:49,200
between North Korea and
South Korea is actively dangerous.
352
00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,680
This is not some historic relic,
353
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:57,760
there is almost a war going on
354
00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:00,480
across this piece
of ground today.
355
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:06,040
From up on top of a hill
you can see in to North Korea
356
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,960
and this place is right
in the shadow of that.
357
00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:14,000
Gutted and scared
this shell of a structure
358
00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,720
has a clear story to tell.
359
00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,480
The building's not just derelict,
it's been completely devastated.
360
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,280
You can see that the only
thing that's holding it in place
361
00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:24,440
is these modern
reinforcement bars.
362
00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:30,080
This isn't a place that
was slowly left to decay,
363
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:32,960
it feels like this was a target.
364
00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,240
Just south of the
demilitarised zone
365
00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,520
between north and South Korea
366
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,960
a devastated structure
dominates it's surroundings.
367
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,400
Yet it appears
to be out of place.
368
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:54,480
Someone has taken
369
00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:58,160
some stalinist architecture
370
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:03,440
and dropped it right
here on the korean border
371
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:06,600
and because of that
stalinist architecture
372
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:08,040
you can tell
373
00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:09,160
that this is
374
00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:14,400
a communist North
Korean edifice.
375
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:16,240
Why is it ruined?
376
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,280
And why is it here
in South Korea?
377
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,840
Following years of
Japanese occupation
378
00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:28,840
at the end of the
second world war,
379
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,160
authority over the korean
peninsula was split in two.
380
00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,760
Military the Soviets
grabbed the northern half
381
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,720
and the Americans
who were in the process
382
00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,960
of occupying Japan
grabbed the southern half.
383
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,200
They divided the country
up on the 38th parallel,
384
00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:49,960
a line of latitude
385
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,200
and this created a very crude
386
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:54,160
north south border on the map.
387
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,200
This building sits in
the area of cheorwon.
388
00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:03,400
Positioned just 40 miles
above that line of demarcation.
389
00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:08,720
Local resident mr Kim
grew up in this area,
390
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,080
his family having
lived through the unrest
391
00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:13,560
that soon followed the
construction of this building.
392
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:17,080
(Speaks korean)
393
00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,016
Translation: "This is
the labour party building,
394
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,480
"it's actually the cheorwon
county branch of the labour party.
395
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,400
"When this area came
under communist rule in 1946
396
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,440
"this was built as
the local headquarters
397
00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:30,840
"for the communist government."
398
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:34,760
Dominating the area,
399
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,560
this structure clearly
set out the parties aim
400
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,360
of commanding
over the local people.
401
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,800
"Now, this is a
three storey building
402
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,496
"while all the other
buildings in the area
403
00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,760
"were single storey
wooden structures.
404
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,280
"And it sits on top
of a high platform,
405
00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,840
"the building was actually
built upon a raised level
406
00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:02,760
"so it must have looked very
daunting for the locals here.
407
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,200
"This building epitomised
the authority of communism."
408
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,160
But the north weren't
only interested
409
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:17,640
in ruling over the
local population
410
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:20,640
they had ambitious
plans for this place.
411
00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,400
"Cheorwon was the largest
city near to the 38th parallel
412
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:27,960
"that's why they built the
party headquarters here.
413
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,720
"North Korea ruled the
surrounding area from here
414
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,120
"but they also used it to help
415
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:33,960
"prepare for the
attack on the south."
416
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:38,280
Their ultimate aim
417
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,360
was to take control of the
entire korean peninsula.
418
00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,880
Cheorwon was an
incredibly tense border town
419
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:48,040
for the simple reason
420
00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:50,600
that it was a staging post
for the North Korean troops
421
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:55,440
so here there would have been
massed a vast number of forces
422
00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:57,440
and that made this
a very tense place.
423
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,200
Backed by Stalin
424
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,240
at the head of this North
Korean communist regime
425
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:04,960
was Kim El sun.
426
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:09,160
Kim El sun tries to replicate
427
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,400
Stalin's dictatorship
in North Korea
428
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:15,440
and that means that the
North Korean dictatorship
429
00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,800
is centralised, is brutal
430
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,480
and is ready to
repress the individual
431
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:27,040
in the interests of the
state and the ruling party.
432
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,120
With the arrival of Kim El sun
433
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,600
who served in the
Soviet army in the war
434
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:34,000
things really began to change
435
00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,640
and the peninsula went on
to effectively a war footing.
436
00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:40,520
For those living in cheorwon
437
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,280
having the local party
headquarters on their doorstep
438
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,040
could be a terrifying prospect.
439
00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:49,000
And old rumours about
what happened inside
440
00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:50,840
still persist to this day.
441
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,400
"Back then for the people here
this was a very mysterious place.
442
00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:02,480
"It's said that those people
who opposed communism
443
00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:04,560
"or the rules of the land
were dragged in here
444
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,240
"to be tortured and killed.
445
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,680
"But the problem we
face looking at this today
446
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:13,480
"is that the people
who were responsible
447
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,400
"for the atrocities here
have all returned to the north.
448
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,400
"And there are no records
left to confirm these stories."
449
00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:30,280
Outside of this building
450
00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,680
Kim El sun soon
saw an opportunity
451
00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,280
to assert his dominance
over the whole peninsula.
452
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,400
In 1950 on the 25th of June
453
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,040
the North Korean army
454
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,480
rolls across the 38th parallel
455
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:51,720
knocks the South Korean
army almost out of the way.
456
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,320
The northerners blazed
their way down the peninsula
457
00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:59,080
in the end cornering
the southern forces
458
00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:01,240
in to just one small pocket.
459
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,000
The South Korean army,
460
00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:09,680
the American occupation
force they're all in one town, in...
461
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:11,200
In the south.
462
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:14,640
It looks like it's all
over for South Korea.
463
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:17,640
With their backs
against the wall
464
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,200
and a communist
victory looking likely,
465
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,320
us forces led by
general mcarthur
466
00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:24,880
set about turning the tables
467
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:28,440
with an invasion deep
behind enemy lines.
468
00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:30,560
The other thing the
United States does,
469
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:35,440
the United States
internationalises the korean war.
470
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,360
The Americans get the UN
to come in on the American
471
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,360
and South Korean side
472
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:45,840
and they undo the successful
North Korean invasion of the south.
473
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,240
Quickly southern
forces regained control
474
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,080
and moved rapidly north.
475
00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:55,000
Soon pushing past cheorwon
476
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,640
but for those held
prisoner here it was too late.
477
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,160
Nearby the ruins of a
water treatment facility
478
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:03,560
now stand as a marker
479
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,520
to how those individuals
met a tragic end.
480
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:10,000
(Speaks korean)
481
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:11,256
Translation: "So,
after the war the
482
00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:13,280
"bodies of many
people were found here
483
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,640
"and this has become
a very harrowing place
484
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:17,400
"in cheorwon.
485
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:23,280
The North Korea leadership
were very concerned
486
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:24,640
that in their retreat
487
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,160
they did not want
enemies of the people
488
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,480
as they called them to survive.
489
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,440
"In cheorwon there are a
lot of scars left from the war
490
00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:38,600
"but this is the place
where numerous prisoners
491
00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:41,880
"and civilians were killed before
the communist army were driven out
492
00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:43,400
"and fled the area.
493
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,640
"This is a heart breaking place
494
00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,280
"which will never be forgotten
by the people of cheorwon.
495
00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:57,400
The people they had
been holding prisoner
496
00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,240
down in the building in town
497
00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,480
were bought to this other
site where they were murdered.
498
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:08,640
In total around 300 people
were killed in this massacre.
499
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,760
With the war raging on
the destruction of cheorwon
500
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:15,520
crept ever closer
501
00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,040
and as the largest
structure in the area
502
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:20,880
this building would soon
become a key target.
503
00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,920
In 1950 as the southern
forces advanced
504
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:27,880
the old communist
party headquarters
505
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,520
became firmly fixed
in the crosshairs.
506
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,080
The violence of that time
507
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:35,120
is clearly written all
across what remains.
508
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,960
"These marks are from
the tracks of a us army tank
509
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,920
"which came up here
to destroy the building.
510
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,680
"I think destroying the
labour party building
511
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,160
"was intended as
a show of strength,
512
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,160
"this was the local headquarters
of the North Korean army
513
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:53,440
"who were the enemy."
514
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:57,400
While it remained standing
515
00:29:57,440 --> 00:29:59,840
this structure and
the surrounding town
516
00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:02,200
was soon facing an end game,
517
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:04,720
just a few months
after taking the area,
518
00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:06,800
the southern forces
were being pushed back
519
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:08,680
out of cheorwon.
520
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,120
The one thing
that you can't allow
521
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:14,760
is this politically
important symbol
522
00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,320
to fall in to enemy hands.
523
00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:19,680
So, you burn the
place to the ground,
524
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,280
the whole town burns
except for one thing.
525
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,000
That building that
looms over the town.
526
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,520
In 1953, an armistice was signed
527
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:33,400
ending the fighting
528
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,440
and a new border was drawn up
529
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,880
just a few miles to the
north of this building.
530
00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,840
The ruins now serve
as a reminder of the past
531
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:49,080
and a symbol of
hope for the future.
532
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:55,880
"We must not forget what
needs to be remembered.
533
00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:00,960
"Also it's a crucial
task for the two Korea's
534
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,080
"as one people to reunify and
achieve prosperity together."
535
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,000
In the northern Czech Republic
536
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,640
just six miles from
the German border,
537
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:21,320
a rural scene hides
538
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:22,680
a sordid history.
539
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,520
Here is a lovely valley
540
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,160
with well maintained woodlands,
541
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,960
no doubt a clean
stream running through it
542
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,640
and pretty towns
at suitable intervals.
543
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:41,000
This is very much a Czech valley
544
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:46,240
with all the signs of
decades of happiness.
545
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,440
A complex of empty buildings
stands amongst the trees.
546
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:54,720
Rooms take up entire floors
547
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,040
and there are hundreds
of metal columns
548
00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:58,800
keeping the ceilings up,
549
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,480
something very heavy used
to be kept on these floors.
550
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,840
These were once
grand efficient factories
551
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,120
of some kind and, and
now they're abandoned,
552
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:10,000
they're over grown.
553
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:13,400
Why would you build
something this expensive
554
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:14,720
and walk away from it?
555
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:17,480
Behind the buildings
556
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:18,720
are clues to a history
557
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:20,720
that the locals
would rather forget.
558
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,320
You can see the
remains of a camp
559
00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:27,680
and you can see a big
chimney next to that camp
560
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,720
and that's never
going to be good news.
561
00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:33,520
And at the centre
of it all is a gateway
562
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:35,320
that guards a terrible secret.
563
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:37,840
You arrive at this rock face
564
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,600
and you see this
huge metal door.
565
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:45,000
Hiding something
inside this rock face
566
00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:48,960
and you wonder well that
looks like a lot of security.
567
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,040
What happened in
this remote outpost?
568
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,600
And what is behind
that big metal door?
569
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,920
In the 19th century a
building was put here
570
00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,320
to take advantage of
a new wonder material.
571
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,560
Petr joza has explored
this site extensively.
572
00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:16,120
(Speaks foreign language)
573
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,640
Translation: "We are in one of
the halls of company frans pridall,
574
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,080
"the building was
constructed in 1867
575
00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,120
"as one of three in rabstejn
valley to produce cotton.
576
00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:32,840
"In this building there
were 16,000 spindles,
577
00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:36,800
"individual spinning machines
stood in between these pillars,
578
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,200
"it was one of the biggest
factories in this area."
579
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:43,680
This is rabstejn, janska
580
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:47,280
a factory that produced
cotton on an vast scale
581
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:49,120
but this was more
than a business,
582
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:51,600
it was the bread
basket of a community.
583
00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:56,240
"There were several
generations working in this factory.
584
00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:01,760
"The factory was hugely
beneficial for the local economy
585
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,800
"because the company used the money
they made to finance several things,
586
00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:07,840
"they had schools
built in the area,
587
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:09,440
"had a chapel restored
588
00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:12,360
"and that's all thanks to the
profit from these factories."
589
00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:17,920
But the factories
benign appearance
590
00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,440
is betrayed by an ominous
feature within it's grounds.
591
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,640
Then you see the big metal door.
592
00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:30,880
And you have to ask
what did you build here?
593
00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:35,760
What are you trying
to keep in the ground
594
00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:37,640
or what are you
trying to keep out?
595
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,080
Inside this building
when you look closely
596
00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:42,440
you start to see clues
597
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,120
that this place
might not have been
598
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:45,760
so friendly after all.
599
00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:51,960
Although the early 1900s
saw business booming here,
600
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,720
in 1929 the market collapsed.
601
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,720
In the late 1920s
602
00:34:57,760 --> 00:34:59,280
a depression begins
603
00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:02,600
all across central
and Eastern Europe
604
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:06,600
which has devastating
effects on manufacturing
605
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:10,880
and, erm, on the economies
of Eastern Europe in general.
606
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:12,360
Hundreds of workers
607
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:16,280
who relied on their jobs
here for their livelihood,
608
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:17,720
they're all out of work.
609
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,280
The old factory is shut down
610
00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,120
and for over a decade
the buildings lay dormant...
611
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:31,720
But in 1942 the factory
came under new management.
612
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:32,960
The Nazi's.
613
00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:35,840
And the Germans
had always looked
614
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,120
kind of hungrily at bohemia.
615
00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:41,200
The Germans you know,
first nibbled at that land
616
00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:44,200
and then they take
all of czechoslovakia
617
00:35:44,240 --> 00:35:46,360
in the course of 1938, 1939.
618
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,560
The Nazi's occupy
rabstejn janska
619
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,800
but they had a new
plan for the old factory.
620
00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:58,360
Cotton production was low
on the list of Nazi priorities.
621
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,600
What they really needed
more than anything was aircraft.
622
00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,080
Half a mile from the factory
623
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:07,280
is what remains of
the Nazi's strategy
624
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,720
to massively expand
their aircraft production.
625
00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:13,880
The German economy
has to be kept going
626
00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:17,480
and the German war
machine has to be supplied
627
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,360
and one of the ways
the Nazi's do this
628
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,040
is by conscripting
people in to labour.
629
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:26,160
They constructed a labour camp.
630
00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:31,240
(Speaks foreign language)
631
00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,720
Translation: "We are at
rabstejn concentration camp
632
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:36,160
"which was established in 1944
633
00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:39,760
"for approximately
690 to 700 prisoners.
634
00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:44,800
"Because they couldn't
find enough workers,
635
00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:46,120
"prisoners were bought here
636
00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:47,520
"and the buildings
were surrounded
637
00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:49,600
"by barbed electric wire."
638
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:54,400
By exploiting labour,
639
00:36:54,440 --> 00:37:00,160
by making slaves
labour in their factories.
640
00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:04,720
The Nazi regime is based
not only on military power
641
00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:10,080
and not only on their twisted
idea of racial superiority
642
00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:13,360
it is also based on slavery.
643
00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,280
But those interned here
were not all treated equally.
644
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:23,240
"There was even a decree
from ss-reichsfuhrer himmler
645
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:24,600
"which clearly specified
646
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:28,200
"what people of each
nationality can and cannot get.
647
00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:31,120
"So, the Dutch who the
Germans considered Aryan
648
00:37:31,160 --> 00:37:34,040
"and basically German
were not guarded at all,
649
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:37,560
"they were living privately,
renting from private persons.
650
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:43,440
"On the other hand the
Poles, Russians and French
651
00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:44,960
"were doing poorly,
652
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:46,360
"the French were relatively fine
653
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,760
"because they were
still considered Aryan
654
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:54,200
"but the eastern nations were
housed in camps behind barbed wire.
655
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:56,800
"They could only eat what
they were given in the camp,
656
00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:59,520
"they couldn't even pick an
apple somewhere on the street
657
00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:01,240
"or they'd be
strictly punished."
658
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:04,720
The ultimate result
659
00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:07,200
that Hitler and the Nazi's want
660
00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:08,880
is for all of the people
661
00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:11,160
they consider subhuman
662
00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:16,040
to be first slaves
and then dead slaves.
663
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:20,080
Working conditions
for Nazi slave labourers
664
00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:23,520
are designed to be able
to get work out of them
665
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:27,880
but ultimately they are
going to be worked to death.
666
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:32,080
Prisoners were marched
667
00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:34,240
from the camp to
the factory and back
668
00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:37,200
in an unending brutal cycle
669
00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:39,360
but events hundreds
of miles away
670
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,720
would soon make
life here even harder.
671
00:38:44,240 --> 00:38:49,080
Between the 20th and
the 25th of February 1944
672
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:52,760
the allies bombed the hell
673
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:56,640
out of Nazi fighter
plane production.
674
00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,800
"Germany definitely lost
control over it's own airspace
675
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,840
"so they established jagerstab.
676
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:06,240
"It was a task force
677
00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,200
"designed to decentralise
fighter aircraft production
678
00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:10,760
"and move it underground."
679
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:23,000
The manpower required was huge.
680
00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:27,040
Digging those holes
was nasty work,
681
00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:29,440
they used dynamite
and pick axes.
682
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:30,960
You wouldn't want
that assignment.
683
00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:37,080
The Nazi's ordered four tunnels
to be dug in to the rock face.
684
00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:42,800
They plast almost 83,000
square metres of space...
685
00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:45,560
Carved out of the rock
686
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,720
underneath these old
19th century textile mills.
687
00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:54,040
They were so desperate to
start production of these aircraft
688
00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:55,680
that they moved the machinery in
689
00:39:55,720 --> 00:39:59,200
before the prisoners had even
finished digging the tunnels.
690
00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:01,880
The noise, the fumes,
the lack of daylight
691
00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:04,680
it would have been like
digging your own hell.
692
00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:12,640
"So, here we are
at a shafts crossing
693
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,960
"where during excavation
part of the ceiling collapsed.
694
00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:21,880
"Three prisoners from the
concentration camp died
695
00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:23,360
"when the ceiling fell on them."
696
00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:29,096
They were essentially
worked to death
697
00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:30,680
in these underground factories.
698
00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:34,560
By January 1945,
699
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,880
Germany was months
away from losing the war.
700
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,400
But the prisoners
underground didn't know it.
701
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:44,960
People kept working,
suffering, dying,
702
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,920
not just for an evil
cause but for a lost cause.
703
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,440
But just weeks before
allied tanks rolled in to Berlin
704
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:57,200
the prisoners at rabstejn janska
got a glimmer of hope from above.
705
00:40:57,240 --> 00:41:00,960
The first news they have
that the war is almost over
706
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,400
and that they would
probably survive the war
707
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:05,200
is in march of 1945
708
00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,440
when a Soviet
plane flies overhead
709
00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:09,520
and five paratroopers jump out
710
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:11,720
and land without any
German resistance.
711
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:14,640
Then on the eight of
may without warning
712
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:18,400
or announcement the prison
guards began to disappear.
713
00:41:18,440 --> 00:41:20,320
The first they knew
714
00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,440
that the Germans who
were holding them captive...
715
00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:28,320
Had lost the war was
when the German guards
716
00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:30,720
just didn't turn up
for work that day.
717
00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:35,560
The army was on it's
way to liberate them,
718
00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,840
the Nazi's had taken off
to avoid being captured.
719
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:43,656
Translation: "We're
at the end of the shaft
720
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:46,840
"where you can see rows
of drilling for dynamite.
721
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:50,320
"The demolition charges were
placed in these and blasted.
722
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:51,680
"They did not do it here
723
00:41:51,720 --> 00:41:54,040
"because this is the place
where excavating stopped
724
00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:55,800
"at the end of world war two
725
00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:58,000
"because the second
Polish army arrived
726
00:41:58,040 --> 00:41:59,816
"and the construction of
the underground factory
727
00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:00,960
"was stopped.
728
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:06,760
And all the labourers
at rabstejn could do
729
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:10,280
was put down their pickaxes
730
00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:12,680
and start trying to figure
out how to get home.
731
00:42:20,240 --> 00:42:22,320
Today, the factory buildings
732
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:24,200
have been reclaimed
by the community.
733
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:29,920
The camp and the tunnels
stand as an important reminder
734
00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:31,920
of the brutality endured here.
735
00:42:40,160 --> 00:42:45,000
Abandoned, disintegrating,
reclaimed by nature,
736
00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:48,440
structures once
at the cutting edge
737
00:42:48,480 --> 00:42:50,880
bearing witness to the forces,
738
00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:55,600
pioneers and villains
that define the world today.
739
00:42:55,640 --> 00:43:00,440
Emblems of a shared past
still standing in our present.
740
00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:06,920
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