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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:07,160 In Germany, 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:12,000 a therapeutic country retreat commandeered for a disturbing goal. 3 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:17,560 Gebhardt becomes a credible contestant for the title of 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,440 The Most Twisted Nazi Doctor. 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,000 In Malaysia, 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:29,360 an engineering workhorse drawn into a colonial conflict. 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,800 This is a story of conquest, greed and exploitation, 8 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:36,040 and it doesn't end well. 9 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:44,680 A rural site in Texas that affected the lives of millions, 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:46,600 for better and for worse. 11 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:49,760 It wasn't until years later 12 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,600 that I really understood what I had participated in. 13 00:00:55,640 --> 00:01:00,600 And a remote Italian community ravaged by Mother Nature. 14 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,160 It was a beautiful, if quiet life here 15 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,000 but little did the residents know 16 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:08,520 that disaster was just around the corner. 17 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,040 In the sleepy German town of Lychen, 18 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,320 70 miles north of Berlin, 19 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:25,680 is a collection of magnificent buildings 20 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,040 tainted by an unspeakable tragedy. 21 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:35,240 We're away from the city here. 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,760 We're out in the fresh air of the countryside. 23 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,120 We've got charming German-looking buildings. 24 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:47,320 It could be a boarding school. 25 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:48,640 It could be a barracks. 26 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:49,960 It could be a spa. 27 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:51,920 I mean, you go down to the lower level 28 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,400 and there are these big, sort of, bathing pools. 29 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:56,760 When you take a closer look, 30 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,480 you start to see hints of what this place was. 31 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:04,640 We see the tiled floors, 32 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:06,360 the tiled walls. 33 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:09,520 This place is designed 34 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,120 so that whatever splatters on the walls 35 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,840 can be scrubbed down and disinfected. 36 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:21,360 It has all the hallmarks of an old hospital. 37 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,440 Under the influence of a fascist regime, 38 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,000 this hospital would do more harm than good. 39 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,840 Historically, this site has many layers, 40 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,320 but it's the role it played during World War II 41 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:35,920 that is particularly chilling. 42 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:43,360 This was meant to be a place of healing. 43 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,280 It turned into a place of terror. 44 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:50,440 What happened here is the stuff of nightmares. 45 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,640 The first day I was here in Lychen, 46 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:01,760 it was the same weather as today. 47 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:04,440 It's beautiful in the summer here. 48 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,160 It's beautiful in the winter. 49 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,800 Developer Max Siegmann bought this property in 2021. 50 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:13,920 He was drawn to its potential 51 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,680 as a peaceful retreat for busy Berliners. 52 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:21,440 He also understood it as a site burdened by its past. 53 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,680 For us, it's important that the history will not be forgotten 54 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,240 and we are responsible for this place, 55 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,040 even the dark historic. 56 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,000 In the beginning, its purpose couldn't have been more different. 57 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:41,560 The facility was originally founded in 1902 by the German Red Cross 58 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,680 to treat patients suffering from tuberculosis. 59 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,840 People were breathing bad air and their lungs were becoming infected 60 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,200 and it was believed that you had to remove them 61 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,560 from the urban environment and get them into a clean place 62 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,240 where they would breathe clean air. 63 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,160 We have patient rooms with a lot of windows. 64 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:06,160 They have a lot of space compared to modern hospital buildings. 65 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:08,840 It was a very famous place. 66 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,440 It was called the Hohenlychen Sanatorium. 67 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,040 In the decades to come, it would become infamous. 68 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:21,200 The history of this site 69 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:26,400 was transformed by the activities of Dr Karl Gebhardt. 70 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:29,360 When he emerges in the '20s and '30s, 71 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:31,480 he's seen as a very innovative surgeon. 72 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,120 He served in the First World War. 73 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,840 He became fascinated with treating battlefield injuries. 74 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:39,000 After the First World War, 75 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:43,000 there were these militias, called Freikorps, 76 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:48,160 of people who were trying to exert political power 77 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:49,680 through violence 78 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,200 and Gebhardt and 79 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,520 Heinrich Himmler, chief of the SS, 80 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,280 were buddies from that period 81 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:06,960 and Gebhardt becomes someone who earns his credibility with the Nazis 82 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,680 by having been in from the beginning. 83 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:12,600 And so, he's then recognised 84 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,240 as being this leading surgeon by the Third Reich. 85 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:19,440 Himmler adopts Dr Karl Gebhardt as his personal physician. 86 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:26,560 As Hitler consolidated his grip on power in the 1930s, 87 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:30,520 he began removing Jewish people from positions of authority 88 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,360 and replaced them with trusted Nazi allies. 89 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,800 The Jewish physician that ran this sanatorium was one of those 90 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:38,880 stripped of his role. 91 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,040 In 1933, 92 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,960 Gebhardt was given control of Hohenlychen. 93 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:47,000 Under his leadership, 94 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,000 it became the first sports medicine clinic in Germany. 95 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,240 It was all part of the Nazi vision to create a superior master race. 96 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:01,280 So, Karl Gebhardt was revolutionary in his methods. 97 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,560 He believed in physiotherapy. 98 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:09,400 He believed in treating the injured with open air and physical exercise. 99 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,000 He's a sports scientist. 100 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:17,280 He's all about taking sports injuries, like a torn meniscus, 101 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:23,000 and repairing it and making excellent sports people 102 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,200 better sports people. 103 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,280 We are now in the operation rooms where the surgeries took place 104 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:35,000 and as you can see behind me, 105 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,920 we have a glass window so trainee doctors could watch the operations. 106 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,520 At the Berlin Olympics in 1936, 107 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:47,320 Gebhardt got the chance to parade his achievements to the world. 108 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,040 Dr Gebhardt became chief physician of the Olympic Games 109 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:56,760 and this facility became the main hospital for the Olympic athletes. 110 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,520 The site here grows again in that time period 111 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,320 and they built a swimming hole. 112 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:03,160 They built a sports hall. 113 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:08,040 The controversial games are best remembered for the American sprinter, 114 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,720 Jesse Owens, winning a record of four gold medals. 115 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,280 COMMENTATOR: The Buckeye Bullet stepped into his destined role 116 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:18,680 to win in the phenomenal time of ten and two-fifths seconds, 117 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,960 breaking all existing world record. 118 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,840 Yet, Owens' triumphs were not enough 119 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,720 to stop the Germans from winning the most medals 120 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,440 and Gebhardt was lauded for the success. 121 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:34,960 After the Olympic Games, 122 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,240 Dr Gebhardt's position rises. 123 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:38,680 Next to Heinrich Himmler, 124 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,760 all other high-ranked Nazi persons got their surgeries here. 125 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:44,640 Even Hitler visited this place. 126 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,000 But after the outbreak of the Second World War, 127 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,080 Hohenlychen was turned into a military hospital 128 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:56,320 and the type of operations carried out here by Gebhardt 129 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:58,440 would follow a much darker path. 130 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:01,800 They are the kinds of activities 131 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,040 that are so extraordinarily abhorrent 132 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,480 that they stand against the very notion 133 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,400 of what we think a doctor should be capable of doing. 134 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,440 Hohenlychen's fall from grace began 135 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,080 when a high-ranking SS official named Reinhard Heydrich 136 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:25,040 was badly injured in an assassination attempt by the Czech resistance. 137 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,640 They chuck a grenade into his car 138 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:35,840 and Heydrich's body is filled with bits of springs and dirt 139 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:40,440 and Heydrich is dying of sepsis. 140 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:46,120 Who'd better to try to bring him back to life than Dr Gebhardt? 141 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:50,200 At the time, 142 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,120 German doctors had access to an early antibiotic 143 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:54,640 called sulphonamide. 144 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,120 But Gebhardt was sceptical about its effectiveness 145 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:00,720 and declined to use it. 146 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:03,440 And so, Heydrich dies. 147 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,760 He might have died anyway. His injuries are pretty severe, 148 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,880 but Gebhardt's rivals inside the Nazi state start saying, 149 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:10,800 "Oh, you see, Gebhardt killed Heydrich 150 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:12,800 "cos he wouldn't use sulphonamide on him." 151 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,480 Gebhardt was facing ruin. 152 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:17,400 He had to prove that his methods 153 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,840 weren't the reason for Heydrich's death. 154 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,400 Himmler advised him to conduct human experiments 155 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,800 to prove that sulphonamide would not have saved Heydrich. 156 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:35,320 Gebhardt gets women from Ravensbruck concentration camp, 157 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:41,120 women who are going to be killed by the Nazis anyway. 158 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,520 He breaks their legs. 159 00:09:43,560 --> 00:09:50,560 He drives bits of wood and hair into their bodies. 160 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,280 These poor victims fester for days on end 161 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,160 as the infections develop and gangrene develops. 162 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,520 Gebhardt then administered sulphonamide to some of the patients, 163 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:05,600 leaving others as a control group. 164 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:08,640 But the experiment was rigged 165 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,800 to ensure Gebhardt got the results he wanted. 166 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:17,360 Gebhardt creates a house of horrors. 167 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:22,200 They are tortured to death with infection. 168 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:28,000 In total, 84 women were put through this sickening ordeal. 169 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,960 21 of them died, either from infection 170 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,800 or because they were murdered to cover up the evidence. 171 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:39,040 Gebhardt didn't stop there. 172 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:42,040 His experiments continued, 173 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,720 this time with amputee soldiers. 174 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,680 He, basically, takes concentration camp prisoners, 175 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,320 and he says, "Hey, you know, this German soldier needs an arm. 176 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:55,960 "Why don't I just take your arm 177 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,000 "and try to attach it to this German soldier?" 178 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,880 The German authorities regarded all of these activities as justifiable, 179 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,520 because they regarded those that were being experimented on 180 00:11:07,560 --> 00:11:10,960 as being genetically and racially inferior. 181 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,720 The terrible crimes perpetrated here 182 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,600 continued until Stalin's Red Army defeated the Nazis 183 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,520 at the Battle of Berlin in 1945. 184 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,800 The Soviets then took control of Hohenlychen 185 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,600 to use as an army hospital... 186 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,760 ..but Karl Gebhardt's shocking experiments 187 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:32,240 were not forgotten. 188 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:38,520 Miraculously, many of the poor concentration camp inmates survived, 189 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:41,480 and they would testify against him after the war 190 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,720 when he was brought to justice at Nuremberg. 191 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:46,160 JUDGE: Karl Gebhardt. 192 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,400 They lived to see Gebhardt executed. 193 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:57,000 Their character was stronger 194 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:59,680 than the Nazi death machine. 195 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:05,520 Importantly, the case also led to the creation of the Nuremberg Code, 196 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:08,760 a set of principles which still guides doctors today. 197 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,800 The doctor's trial drew a line 198 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,160 under what was right and wrong 199 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:18,480 about human experimentation. 200 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,640 The end does not justify the means 201 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:24,520 in medical research. 202 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,880 What happened at Hohenlychen will never be forgotten. 203 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:39,120 Now, Max Siegmann is working towards a brighter future. 204 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,000 In the past, we have a dark history, 205 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:44,400 but because of the beautiful architecture, 206 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,200 it's worth saving this place. 207 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:48,720 We will develop a wellness resort. 208 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:50,000 We have holiday flats. 209 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:51,800 It's a place for everybody here. 210 00:12:56,760 --> 00:12:59,120 In the Malaysian state of Perak 211 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:01,440 is a technological heavyweight 212 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,400 that helped build a nation. 213 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:14,360 We're in a swampy, tropical area 214 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:16,320 and this massive structure 215 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:19,400 is floating in the middle of this body of water. 216 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:21,080 It must be 200ft long, 217 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:22,400 five storeys high. 218 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,600 At first glance, it could be a giant fishing trawler, 219 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:28,520 but there's only one problem with that. 220 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,840 The ocean is over 30 miles away. 221 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,640 In fact, this entire waterway is landlocked. 222 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:41,600 How did this hulking beast get here in the first place 223 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:43,000 and what was it for? 224 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,720 Inside, the cavernous interior 225 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:50,840 is lined with an array of heavy machinery. 226 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:52,360 There are massive cogs, 227 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,040 thick metal cables. 228 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,440 These are all telltale signs of a massive industrial enterprise. 229 00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:01,840 On the front, you've got these huge, rusting buckets 230 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,640 which seem to be designed for scooping stuff out of the ground 231 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:06,920 and you can only assume 232 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:08,440 that was something valuable. 233 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,560 It would transform the economy, 234 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,400 making this place one of the most profitable countries 235 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:17,120 ruled over by the British. 236 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,640 The resources' incredible value 237 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:22,360 also made it a target. 238 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,240 We're talking invasion by the Japanese 239 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,440 and violent attacks by communist guerrillas, 240 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,480 all of which played their part in the downfall 241 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,600 of the world's biggest empire. 242 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,440 If you looked around this region half a century ago, 243 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:48,200 you'd have seen over 50 machines like this dominating the landscape. 244 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:51,880 Today, this rusting relic is one of the last. 245 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,000 What we see here is a great example 246 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:59,440 of taking an industry that had been around for over 100 years 247 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:00,800 in a low-tech way 248 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,880 and then mechanise it and even supersize it. 249 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:06,040 That industry was tin mining 250 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,480 and it was one of the reasons the British Empire became so powerful 251 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,000 in the late-19th and early-20th century. 252 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:18,120 To understand Britain's complex relationship with Malaysia, 253 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,920 you have to rewind to the 1700s. 254 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,560 Back then, Malaysia didn't exist 255 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:27,680 and this region was part of the Malay Peninsula, 256 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:30,680 which comprised of multiple regional kingdoms. 257 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:33,560 This was an era when much of Europe 258 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,000 was trying to establish different empires. 259 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,840 The British were desperate to get a foothold in Southeast Asia, 260 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,480 to protect and dominate trade with China. 261 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,280 To expand their colonial reach, 262 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,760 England turned to the services of the East India Company, 263 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,480 who operated with special rights and privileges 264 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:53,120 due to a royal charter. 265 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,760 East India Company was possibly 266 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,280 the most powerful corporation in history. 267 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:02,360 The English crown said, 268 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:06,520 "You can have an exclusive contract to venture out there, 269 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,480 "trade with the natives, subdue them if you have to, 270 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:11,480 "and bring back anything of value." 271 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,680 After that, it was only a matter of time before the Empire's tentacles 272 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:18,680 spread further across the region, 273 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:23,200 until eventually, they controlled all the Malay states and Singapore. 274 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,800 This was classic colonialism, 275 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,120 and for its time, it was very, very successful. 276 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:35,120 At first, the British made their money through taxation and trade, 277 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:39,680 but that all changed after the discovery of large tin deposits 278 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:41,520 in the mid-1800s. 279 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:46,280 Tin is valuable partly because it resists rust very well. 280 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,320 So, when you hear the phrase "tin can," 281 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,280 it's not, actually, a can made of tin. 282 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,600 It's a steel can coated with tin. 283 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,880 Initially, the British leased the mining operations to the Chinese, 284 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,800 who had fled from their own country to escape instability and poverty. 285 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,920 Local museum curator, Jacky Chew, 286 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,520 is an expert on the history of tin mining in this region. 287 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,400 In the year 1860, 288 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,200 we have about 20,000 Chinese miner 289 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,680 and another ten years down the road, 290 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,680 40,000 Chinese mining. 291 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,120 In the early stage, the Chinese mining method, basically, 292 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,600 is human, labour-intensive, 293 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,320 without any help of the machineries. 294 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:29,560 Even so, they still produced a large amount of tin, 295 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,720 which made the British a small fortune. 296 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:35,760 About a quarter of the demand came from the United States of America 297 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,360 in the late-1800s. 298 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:38,800 The British soon realised 299 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,520 they could get an even bigger share of the revenue 300 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,240 by taking more control of the industry, 301 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,600 and they knew that, in order to maximise profits, 302 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,400 they needed to mechanise. 303 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,160 Central to the British Empire's plans 304 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,040 was the Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge No. 5 305 00:17:58,080 --> 00:17:59,800 or TT5 for short. 306 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,360 This one first began operating in 1938. 307 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:09,360 The dredge has a long series of large buckets 308 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,320 connected on a chain 309 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:14,120 that can roll down into the water, 310 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:15,280 scoop up the material 311 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,520 and then bring it up and dump it inside the structure. 312 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:23,440 This was then transported along the length of the dredge, 313 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,600 where heavy machinery would separate out the valuable tin from the waste 314 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,000 which was dumped out the back. 315 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:36,920 So, the purity of the tin ore would be as high as 70%. 316 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:42,360 All this tin ore will be pumped out from this two outlet 317 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,200 to this big metal bucket. 318 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,160 It was a tough job with long hours 319 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,200 and in return, the workers were well-paid 320 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:55,760 and their families received education and health care. 321 00:18:55,800 --> 00:19:01,360 But soon, the TT5 would grind to a sudden and dramatic halt. 322 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,600 War was coming and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. 323 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,480 Many people believe that Japan's first major attack of World War II 324 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:13,520 took place at Pearl Harbour, 325 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,360 but 90 minutes earlier, 326 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:18,640 the Japanese launched a surprise invasion of Malaya. 327 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:24,560 The British troops were not remotely prepared for this attack. 328 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:29,160 The British have, uh, wrong strategies to defend Malaya 329 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:33,600 because they always assume the Japanese will invade from the sea 330 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:34,680 from Singapore. 331 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:40,560 Instead, the Japanese launched simultaneous operations, 332 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,040 invading from the north of the country near the Thai border. 333 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:47,760 They then fought their way south, 334 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:49,840 inflicting heavy losses as they went 335 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,480 despite their numerical inferiority. 336 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:54,240 It was a total bloodbath. 337 00:19:57,080 --> 00:20:00,720 In the end, 85,000 troops were captured. 338 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,800 Churchill described the defeat as the greatest disaster 339 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,400 that has ever befallen British arms. 340 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:10,600 One of the motives for the Japanese invasion 341 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:12,840 was to take control of the tin industry, 342 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:16,080 which they needed for their war effort and economic self-sufficiency. 343 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:19,720 The British knew exactly what the Japanese were after 344 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:23,200 and did everything they could to destroy the tin mining operations 345 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:24,240 as they retreated. 346 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,280 The Japanese occupation of Malaya lasted three-and-a-half years 347 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,040 until their surrender in 1945, 348 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,920 after which the British quickly returned 349 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,400 and rebuilt the mines. 350 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:41,520 But there was a much bigger problem that now had to be faced. 351 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,040 The British Empire was losing its power 352 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:46,520 and its colonies were growing restless. 353 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,360 The image of the British, the mighty British, 354 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:56,480 start to crumble after the Japanese occupation in Malaya. 355 00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:58,280 In 1947, 356 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:00,840 India gains independence from the British 357 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,160 and this sets off a chain reaction all over the empire. 358 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:10,240 Tensions in Malaya's multicultural population had reached breaking point 359 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,760 and the tin-mining industry would, yet again, 360 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,360 be caught in the crossfire. 361 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,800 So, 37% of the country was the Chinese 362 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:21,880 and they lived in the poorest conditions 363 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,520 and had the fewest civil rights. 364 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,480 The Communist Party of Malaya and their armed wing, 365 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,080 the Malayan National Liberation Army, 366 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:33,560 took advantage of their discontent to start a rebellion. 367 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:37,680 On the 16th of June 1948, 368 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,200 the first shots were fired. 369 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,640 The Malayan National Liberation Army fighters, known as the MNLA, 370 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,720 killed three British rubber plantation managers. 371 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,480 What followed became known as the Malayan Emergency. 372 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,560 The MNLA targeted police stations, derailed trains 373 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,680 and attacked rubber plantations and tin mines, 374 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:02,800 including tin dredges like this. 375 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,280 The use of tin in canned goods 376 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,680 generated so much money for Britain's struggling economy, 377 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:10,920 the government had to do everything in their power 378 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:12,200 to protect the industry. 379 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,800 As these insurrections got more violent, 380 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,560 Britain decided to bring in troops to defend its operations. 381 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:23,840 By around 1955, 382 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,080 many of the insurgents had been killed or captured, 383 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:29,760 but the MNLA refused to give up. 384 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:34,680 The British command realised that they needed to win hearts and minds 385 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,000 and so promised to grant independence to the country 386 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:38,760 once the guerrillas were defeated. 387 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:42,560 The plan worked. 388 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:47,240 With the support of Malay battalions, the insurgency was crushed 389 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,400 and on the 31st of August 1957, 390 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:53,160 Britain granted Malaya its independence. 391 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:55,760 In 1960, 392 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,800 the new Malaysian government declared the Emergency 393 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:00,120 officially over. 394 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:05,840 Throughout the conflict, the TT5 remained operational. 395 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:10,760 In 1976, 396 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,200 almost 20 years after independence, 397 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:17,560 a Malaysian-owned mining corporation took control for the first time. 398 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,560 This was a significant and symbolic step for the country. 399 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,880 But this new era of Malaysian-run mining 400 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:27,760 didn't last long. 401 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:33,360 In the 1980s, a perfect storm of reduced demand and rising costs 402 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,680 led to the complete collapse of the global tin industry. 403 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:43,560 In 1982, the owners of the TT5 ceased all tin-mining operations 404 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:45,680 and retired the dredge. 405 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,040 The effect was devastating for the local community. 406 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:53,080 For so many years, it had been such a stable employer. 407 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:56,120 When we have tin industry, 408 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:59,120 Perak is the richest state. 409 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,080 After 1985, 410 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:04,600 we are the second poorest state in the country. 411 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,200 After the collapse of the tin industry, 412 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,840 most of the Malaysian tin dredges were dismantled and sold for scrap, 413 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:18,600 but not the TT5. 414 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:19,800 That survived. 415 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,920 Then in 1997, it was donated to the state government 416 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:26,640 so it could be turned into a historical site, 417 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,440 a way to preserve some of the history of this region. 418 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:38,160 In West Texas, near the city of El Paso, 419 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,000 is a dilapidated ruin 420 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:42,640 where hope and hardship collided. 421 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:49,560 Right on the edge of town 422 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,720 is a strange compound of single-storey adobe buildings. 423 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,480 Initially, you're thinking this might be some kind of ranch 424 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,320 with the central space used for horses or other farm animals, 425 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:05,200 but there's something odd, almost prison-like, 426 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:06,360 about the layout. 427 00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:14,200 Over time, the role of this site would change from a place of shelter 428 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:16,920 to a den of exploitation. 429 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:22,040 One structure in particular symbolises the level of mistreatment. 430 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:25,440 It looks like you would have been forced to walk 431 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,760 through this long, windowless metal tube. 432 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,560 Hundreds of thousands of people came. 433 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,360 They didn't know what to expect. 434 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,240 They were often very young. They were scared. 435 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,480 Those who arrived here did so by choice. 436 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,880 For some, it was a decision they lived to regret. 437 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,040 This was the start of a national programme 438 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:51,440 that changed the face of America forever. 439 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:55,760 However, many of the people were treated like animals 440 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,640 and faced racism from the very people they were here to help. 441 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:10,040 Yolanda Leyva is a historian at the University of Texas. 442 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:14,560 She grew up near this dusty border site with a complex past. 443 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,320 It feels intensely sad to me 444 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:22,040 because I just think of all the stories of 445 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,560 the men that came with such hope 446 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:29,800 and then they found this very humiliating system. 447 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:34,600 They went through very extensive medical tests while they were here. 448 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:37,800 When first conceived, 449 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,760 it was part of the solution to an unprecedented state crisis. 450 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,560 The original reason this place exists 451 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,000 dates back to the Civil War era. 452 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,560 Of the 70,000 or so Texans that served, 453 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,080 about 24,000 were killed outright. 454 00:26:55,120 --> 00:27:00,360 Suddenly, Texas had more widows and orphans than ever before 455 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,680 and this was well before any type of social programme 456 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:06,280 like Social Security. 457 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:10,960 So, counties would set up what were called poor farms for poor people, 458 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,120 and basically, it provided them room and board, 459 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:15,680 but they would have to work. 460 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:19,280 This poor farm, which opened in 1915, 461 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:23,000 catered to elderly people and children 462 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:25,640 and it was run by the O'Shea family. 463 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,440 They called it the Rio Vista Farm. 464 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:32,160 Life was tough, 465 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,080 but for many, it was their best shot at survival. 466 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,920 Helen O'Shea Keleher would go to El Paso every Monday 467 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,320 and go to court 468 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:44,680 and see what children were being taken from their mothers, 469 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,280 usually because the mothers were not able to provide for their kids 470 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:51,200 and she would bring them here. 471 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,600 So, several thousand children went through this place. 472 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:57,960 Helen O'Shea Keleher's kindness 473 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,120 meant Rio Vista became a beacon of hope for those that needed it. 474 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,120 But in the early 1940s, 475 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,840 America's involvement in a global conflict 476 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:14,080 began the process of turning it into something far more ominous. 477 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,760 With the onslaught of World War II, there were new challenges 478 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,520 and one of those was related to labour. 479 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,840 Thousands of young men were shipping abroad to fight 480 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:32,120 and American farms were facing a desperate shortage of workers. 481 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,800 The US was in danger of running low on food 482 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,600 and the government was forced to turn to a former rival for help. 483 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,520 Mexico agreed to assist with a temporary worker programme. 484 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:49,400 They saw this as a way to assist the war effort 485 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:51,200 and boost their own economy. 486 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,600 It became known as the Bracero Programme, 487 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,800 a Spanish term meaning manual labourer. 488 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:00,040 They worked on farms throughout the country, 489 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,360 making it possible for the US economy to face the challenges 490 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:05,200 imposed upon it by the war. 491 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,760 When the Bracero Programme first started in 1942, 492 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,160 it was very celebrated. 493 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,520 There were parades for the braceros 494 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,240 and they called them "soldiers of the fields." 495 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,480 The programme was so successful, 496 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,360 it continued even after World War II ended. 497 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:23,200 By 1951, 498 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,960 a new site was needed to house the US headquarters, 499 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,000 and Rio Vista's location next to the border 500 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:31,560 made it the perfect base. 501 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:36,840 Celia Castro Berton was a secretary here when it first opened. 502 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,840 When I started working at Rio Vista, I was 19 years old 503 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,640 and we were asked to ask questions of the braceros 504 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,960 and type the contract up. 505 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,360 The contract included, like, the name, the address, age 506 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,760 and where they wanted their money to be sent. 507 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,960 This agreement included basic provisions for living conditions 508 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,400 and wages, specifically 30 cents an hour for agricultural workers. 509 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:11,520 People waited by the thousands at these recruitment centres, 510 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,200 hoping for a chance to cross the border. 511 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:18,800 It's estimated that some 880,000 Mexican workers 512 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,520 were processed through this farm. 513 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:24,560 But none could have predicted the hardship and trauma 514 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:26,840 that awaited at their arrival. 515 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,440 It was an ordeal that began when the programme first started 516 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:32,920 during the Second World War. 517 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:38,720 This hut is the most important building here because 518 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,360 this is what the men remember. 519 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,240 When they talk about it, they cry. 520 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,520 In this purpose-built metal hut, 521 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,120 they were fumigated with toxic chemicals. 522 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,440 This was supposedly to de-lice the men. 523 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:55,680 The government had the men sprayed 524 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:59,480 because there's been this long stereotype 525 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:03,000 that Mexicans who come or immigrants who come 526 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:04,760 are dirty and infected. 527 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:08,360 The men who sprayed them were instructed to spray them 528 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:13,040 in their hair, to spray in their ears, to spray in their genitals. 529 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:18,840 There's one story of a man who came as a first-time bracero, 530 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:19,880 an 18-year-old, 531 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:23,400 and he came with his father, who had been a bracero for years. 532 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,800 And when they got to the point where they had to take off their clothes, 533 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:31,320 he remembered how ashamed he was. 534 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:33,840 But his father told him, 535 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,960 "Don't worry. Today you became a man 536 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,880 "because you were willing to do this for the betterment of your family." 537 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,600 This process was not just humiliating for the men, 538 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,240 but extremely dangerous. 539 00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:50,160 While the officials wore masks, 540 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:54,120 the workers were offered no such protections. 541 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,760 We know that it was DDT, 542 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:02,320 which in the '70s was banned because it's carcinogenic. 543 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:06,400 What the men always remember is that that was the beginning 544 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:08,800 of feeling like they were treated like animals. 545 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:14,640 At the time, the effects of DDT were not well recognised. 546 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:16,720 Even so, much of what happened 547 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:20,320 was kept hidden from the women working in the contract rooms. 548 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,640 I don't believe that this was part of 549 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:28,680 what they wanted to be known to the public. 550 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:34,840 It wasn't until years later that I really understood and knew what was going on 551 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,520 or what I had participated in. 552 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,400 After being processed and fumigated, 553 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:45,920 the braceros were relocated to farms across the United States. 554 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:50,600 Even when the men left Rio Vista, their mistreatment continued. 555 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:55,600 While this programme offered certain protections, 556 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:58,520 the cracks would soon begin to show. 557 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:04,240 The working conditions were often cruel and inhumane. 558 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:06,760 Many came to see the Bracero Programme 559 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,160 as a form of legalised slavery. 560 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,320 Despite the regulations, many farmers tried to get around them, 561 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:16,880 providing crowded, slum-like housing 562 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:21,160 or even charging people rent for lodgings that should have been free. 563 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:26,400 So, I have actually seen a paycheque of a bracero that was one cent 564 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:29,320 after they took away all those charges 565 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:31,960 that the employer charged them for. 566 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,760 Over time, the programme began to come under fire, 567 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:39,040 drawing more and more criticism for worker exploitation. 568 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,000 It would take a tragic accident to draw national attention 569 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,440 to the abusive Bracero Programme. 570 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,080 In September 1963, 571 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:56,520 58 workers were riding on their employer's crudely-made bus 572 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:58,480 in Chualar, California. 573 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,200 When crossing a set of railroad tracks, 574 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,880 the makeshift bus was hit by a freight train. 575 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:08,160 32 people were killed and 25 more were injured. 576 00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:12,520 It's said to be the most fatal car accident in all of US history. 577 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:19,240 The Chualar bus crash shone a light on the poor treatment of braceros, 578 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:23,160 proving that their employers did not care about their well-being, 579 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:25,680 even to the point of providing safe transport. 580 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:30,400 Under pressure from unions and other social welfare groups, 581 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:34,080 the programme was discontinued in 1964. 582 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:40,440 After this, the Rio Vista Farm was no longer needed. 583 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:43,440 It first passed into the hands of the local county 584 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:45,400 and then to the city of Socorro. 585 00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:50,280 Throughout those years, the old poor farm fell into ruin. 586 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:56,040 But many of the men remained, and in the 1980s, 587 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:58,560 where there was an amnesty programme, 588 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:01,960 many of the men were able to legalise their status 589 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:06,280 and that was 20 years of being here without papers. 590 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,000 In 2023, 591 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:21,200 Rio Vista Farm was designated as a National Historic Landmark, 592 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:25,600 ensuring that its story will be told for future generations. 593 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:33,520 The Bracero Programme had a very important legacy for the United States. 594 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:37,960 It saved our economy during World War II, 595 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:42,480 but also, the men who stayed became US citizens 596 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:44,600 and their children were born here. 597 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:48,000 They have contributed so much to their communities. 598 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:54,320 In northeast Italy, 599 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,280 in the shadow of towering mountain peaks, 600 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:01,120 lies the devastating outcome of Mother Nature's fury. 601 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,080 In the foothills of the Alps, 602 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,920 as beautiful and dramatic as the scene is, 603 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,200 hidden among the vegetation, 604 00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:14,480 eerie remains begin to appear. 605 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,960 Sat high above the town 606 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,280 is what was once quite a grand church. 607 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:25,960 But the roof is missing and entire walls have come crashing down. 608 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:27,240 So, what happened? 609 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:30,320 Inside the town's buildings 610 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,480 it's evident that whatever misfortune struck here 611 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:36,800 occurred quickly and with phenomenal force. 612 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:41,720 You start to see the scraps of people's lives 613 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:46,480 as furniture, shoes, clothes and children's workbooks, 614 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,200 open, as though they've just finished their homework, 615 00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:52,280 which suggests they could have been running for their lives. 616 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,880 The threat was always hanging over here. 617 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:05,840 It was part of daily life, 618 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:07,200 but eventually, 619 00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:09,080 some would pay the ultimate price. 620 00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:37,600 Giuseppe Bulfon was born in this rural town in 1936. 621 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:40,840 For 40 years, it was the place he called home. 622 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:50,920 This is the town of Portis. 623 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,040 For centuries, it stood proud 624 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:56,200 with a small yet thriving community. 625 00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:57,920 So, this town is really 626 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,680 what you would think of when you think of rural Italy. 627 00:38:00,720 --> 00:38:02,000 On saints days, 628 00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:06,040 people would march through the town and have celebrations and festivals. 629 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:11,120 It was a beautiful, if quiet life here, 630 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:12,880 but little did the residents know 631 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:15,400 that disaster was just around the corner. 632 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,040 At nine pm on the 6th of May 1976, 633 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:25,200 the ground beneath Giuseppe's feet began to violently shift. 634 00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:39,360 It was a massive 6.5 magnitude earthquake 635 00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,080 and Portis was a little over five miles from the epicentre. 636 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:47,960 Very quickly, giant cracks start to appear in the buildings. 637 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:52,240 It is obvious that the place is unsafe and people are really scared. 638 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:14,520 Giuseppe and his family were fortunate to survive. 639 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:19,120 Other members of the community were not so lucky. 640 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:22,760 Unfortunately, six people were killed as they were trying to escape, 641 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:24,880 running through those narrow streets, 642 00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:27,880 when an old house collapsed right on top of them. 643 00:39:27,920 --> 00:39:31,120 In addition to the town of Portis that was destroyed, 644 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,960 over 150,000 people across the region 645 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,400 were homeless overnight. 646 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:37,480 In the aftermath, 647 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,200 the town's residents were forced to move into temporary accommodation. 648 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:44,920 When the immediate danger had passed, 649 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,600 they returned to assess the damage. 650 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:53,040 They bury the dead and try to figure out what to do next. 651 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:54,640 Many hoped they could rebuild, 652 00:39:54,680 --> 00:39:57,960 forget the terrible event and return to life at Portis, 653 00:39:58,000 --> 00:39:59,960 as it had been before the earthquake. 654 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:04,400 The government brought in geologists to study the space. 655 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:08,520 They knew the people wanted to continue to live there but unfortunately, 656 00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:11,720 the geologists knew that the town would never be safe again. 657 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:16,240 The cause of the danger was a steep-sided cliff 658 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,000 that overshadowed Portis. 659 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:23,280 There was this gigantic overhang of rock and the scientists found 660 00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:26,360 that it had been fractured by the first earthquake 661 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,040 and feared that if there was another one, 662 00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,600 the whole thing could come crashing down, 663 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:32,880 right on top of Portis. 664 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:37,640 But the residents did not want to give up their homes without a fight. 665 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:40,480 Tensions get very high with the government saying, 666 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:42,120 "You can't come home again," 667 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:45,800 and the people of the town saying, "No, we're coming home again," 668 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,440 to the point of putting giant signs up saying, 669 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,600 "Portis must be reborn here." 670 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:53,760 But just four months later, 671 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:57,360 the residents worst nightmares became a reality. 672 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,280 On September 15th 1976, 673 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,200 disaster struck yet again. 674 00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,400 At the time, Giuseppe was in the neighbouring town, 675 00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:09,240 catching up with old friends. 676 00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:29,440 Thousands of tons of rock sheared off the mountain 677 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:33,960 and hurtled towards the town below with a deafening roar. 678 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,520 The landslide smashed into the church cemetery 679 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:41,280 and made it as far as the road that lies next to the town. 680 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:46,440 The town is declared completely unsafe and the line is drawn. 681 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:48,640 You will never go back to your homes again. 682 00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:55,520 Giuseppe Bulfon and all the residents of Portis 683 00:41:55,560 --> 00:42:00,080 had no choice but to abandon their homes and move to a nearby city. 684 00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:05,480 Eventually, on December the 15th, 1978, 685 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:08,440 the authorities announced that they would found a new town, 686 00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:10,880 Portis Nuova, a new Portis, 687 00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:12,560 less than a mile up the road. 688 00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:32,520 Some of the people that grew up there or loved old Portis 689 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:35,640 still have that connection, still want to be a part of it. 690 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:39,200 And while many of the homes are deemed too unsafe to enter, 691 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:42,400 the gardens are still tended by some, 692 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,920 keeping the connections to their ancestral homes alive. 693 00:42:48,760 --> 00:42:51,760 Subtitles by Red Bee Media 57554

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