All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S14E05.Napoleons.Mistress.1080p.UKTV.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

A palatial ruin in Philadelphia

built from the riches
of an industrial golden age.

All the wealth in the world

couldn't protect him from losing
many of the people he loved.

In France,

a remote outpost that threatened
the lives of millions.

This is designed to be the hinge
on which the fate of Europe turns.

An opulent retreat in Italy

transformed to suppress a revolution.

Men persecuted for their beliefs
were rounded up and locked away.

When they resisted,
they were crushed with violence.

And in Poland, a power-hungry
dictator caught in a twisted romance

at a fairy tale stronghold.

At first, the relationship
was shrouded in secrecy,

but he was clearly happy
with the bargain being struck.

In southeast Pennsylvania
stands the relic of an era

when the titans
of industry ruled America.

In the countryside just outside
Philadelphia,

you see this grand
neoclassical building

with tall columns
and two enormous wings.

It feels like you could be standing
in a grand European palace.

But this is in the USA,

and we're pretty famous for
not having a monarchy.

We dealt with that in the 1700s,

but if a royal didn't live
here, who did?

The man behind
this ostentatious residence

was the very epitome
of the American dream.

This was once the home of one
of the wealthiest Americans
of his day,

a man whose life
was blessed with riches.

He was also a man driven by a burning
desire to leave a lasting legacy.

It is truly one of the greatest
collections of art

ever assembled in one location
in, probably, global history.

But all the money in the world

could not save this family
from tragedy.

That tragedy would involve one of
the greatest disasters in history,

the Titanic.

I first found this place
when I was 11 years old,

and it just all struck me.

I'd never seen anything
like it before.

In 2023,

Edward Thome headed up the
group that purchased this property

with the seemingly impossible task
of restoring it to its former glory.

We are now solely responsible for
this building and its well-being.

So, there's a great sense of
responsibility that comes
with that as well.

It was so reminiscent of the
palaces of Europe,

such as Versailles
or Buckingham Palace.

It's not something that
you're used to seeing

in the United States of America.

The origins of this lavish residence
began in a period of great prosperity

known as the Gilded Age.

In the late 19th century,
early 20th century,

the American economy
was just in overdrive.

A few individuals made a fortune
from the booming industries

such as steel, railways,
and shipping.

People like John D Rockefeller
and Andrew Carnegie,

these were men who'd started out
from very humble backgrounds,
even poor,

and became these titans of industry.

Philadelphia native, Peter Widener,
was one of those men.

He was born in 1834, the son
of a German immigrant bricklayer,

and began his career as a butcher.

In the early days of the Civil War,

he won a contract to supply mutton
to the Union troops

within a ten-mile radius
of Philadelphia,

and with that mutton contract,
he earned $50,000

which is about $850,000
in today's money.

He invested that windfall
in up-and-coming industries.

He was involved in US Steel,

Standard Oil,

American Tobacco.

Peter also invested heavily in the
American public transit system

and amassed a fortune in the region
of $35 million.

Yet, from early on, his personal life
was marked by tragedy.

He lost the eldest of his three
children, Harry, to typhoid fever

at the age of 15.

The final blow was his wife
passing in 1896

due to an unexpected heart attack,

and at that point, his two sons,
George and Joseph,

were living out on their own
and building their own houses.

Widener's grief would drive
the creation of his most
important investment.

He said to George and Joseph,

"I don't want to live alone
for the rest of my life.

"If I build a house large enough

"that we can all coexist in,
will you move in with me?"

And of course, they said yes.

Peter's new family home
took two years to build

and cost around $300 million
in today's money.

By December 1899,

Lynnewood Hall was complete.

It was a big media event.

Widener invited movers and shakers
from across society.

The press showed up and everyone
gushed over the fabulous luxury

and appointments
of this remarkable home.

If you picture Downton Abbey
transported to Philadelphia,

then you get a pretty good idea
of how the household was run.

It was truly a charmed life.

They had a French chef,
of course, an English butler

and European maids.

It was one of the largest homes
in the country and remains so today.

There were 44 in-house staff

and there was about 160
on the estate as total.

All the family portraits hung in
here, of Peter and his two sons.

This leads right into the
dining room,

which is where the family would
spend a lot of time every evening.

They would sit around a giant table
here in the middle with, you know,

Peter and George and Joseph

and their wives and
all the children.

Yet, Lynnewood Hall
was always intended

to be much more than
just a family home.

Widener had a particular affinity
for European Old Master paintings,

and he spared no expense

in acquiring some of the most
celebrated works of his time.

So, Lynnewood has five galleries,

and a lot of different aspects
of this house

were designed to accommodate
specific works of art.

This entire wall was covered with

Romney, Hoppner, Gainsborough,
Reynolds.

We had two El Greco's here
on either side of this door.

We had the largest private
collection of Rembrandts

anywhere in the world at the time
outside of Buckingham Palace.

But Peter Widener wasn't
just motivated by personal pleasure.

You know, you have to remember
he came from nothing.

He was completely self-made.
He was very proud of that

and he had a great appreciation
for this art collection

and wanted to share it
with everyone.

And they opened up Lynnewood Hall

as a, kind of, museum to the public
for months every year

for the grand price of five cents.

His son, Joseph, later said,

"Art belongs to those
who appreciate it.

"Others merely own it."

Yet, heartbreak continued
to follow his every achievement.

Peter Widener had been part
of the creation of the very thing

that would bring grief to his family
once again.

In the early 1900s,

he purchased a stake in the
International Mercantile
Marine Company.

Peter's son, George,
was also a shareholder

and he,

his wife, Eleanor,

and their 27-old-son, Harry,

arranged passage on the maiden voyage

of the company's newest cruise ship.

This kind of travel was
a huge part of the lives

of America's economic elite
during this period.

That was supposed to be the most
elegant way to cross the Atlantic.

Eleanor, George and Harry
were already in Europe

attending to business matters.

This journey would bring
them back to America.

At 6.30 pm on April 10th, 1912,

they set sail aboard the
RMS Titanic.

Little did they know,
not all of them would make it home.

On the 14th of April,
five days into the voyage,

the Widener family sat down
for what would be

their last meal together.

One of the things that's
interesting to me is

many people are aware that there was
a lavish dinner party on Titanic.

What's not known is the fact
that the Wideners were the ones

who threw that dinner party
as a retirement present

for Captain Edward J Smith.

It's said that the tables
were set with fresh flowers,

bone china and sterling silver

as the meal was served.

After the dinner,

I believe Eleanor retired to
her room with her lady's maid

and the gentleman, of course,

went to the smoking room
for cigars and brandies and such.

At 11.40 pm,

disaster struck.

Of course, everyone knows the story

of the Titanic hitting
the fateful iceberg

and the roughly two-hour period
when the ship was sinking

and people came to the realisation

that there were nowhere near
enough lifeboats

for even half of the passengers
on the boat.

Panic set in and the
vessel's officers

enforced a strict
women-and-young-children-only rule

in the limited number of lifeboats,

leaving the adult men
to fend for themselves.

The Widener family had the
experience that many families had

of separating right there
at the rail.

It was a heartbreaking scene.

George, you know,
pulled his wife aside

and he took off a gold and emerald
ring and gave it to her

and he said, you know,
"Don't forget about me,

"but I want you to do everything
that we talked about doing."

Eleanor and her lady's maid survived.

George and his 27-year-old son,
Harry,

unfortunately, all perished
in the sinking.

Eleanor and her maid
made it home on April 19th.

There, they found Peter

distraught with the news of
the deaths of his son and grandson.

Peter Widener was never
the same again.

Overcome with grief,
his health suffered dramatically.

We've been told that Peter
would come out to this balcony

and stare at the driveway,
which is to our left,

just hoping one day
that a car would show up

with both George and Harry in it.

Only three years after the disaster,

Widener died at Lynnewood Hall.

He was 80 years old.

The incident had such an impact
on him

that his doctor even said
that he died of a broken heart.

After Peter's death,

the property passed to his
last remaining son, Joseph.

Lynnewood Hall remained
in his hands until he died in 1943.

After Joseph's death, neither
his children nor his extended family

wished to take on the
vast responsibility

of taking care of the property.

The Widener's fabulous
art collection

was donated to the National Gallery.

Those grand rooms must have
seemed very empty

when all those paintings were gone.

Today, Edward Thome
and his colleagues

at the Lynnewood Hall
Preservation Foundation,

are working hard to keep
Peter Widener's story alive

and to realise his dream of
making his home accessible to all.

When you have a building
of this significance,

not just in its design
but its history,

it is so important to share it
with the community, moving forward.

The goal is to, again,
open it to the public

as a cultural centre, art museum
and a recreational venue.

In northern France

is an ominous collection of buildings

intended to decide the fate
of Europe.

It almost feels like an entire town
is laid out next to the railway,

but there are no houses
or shops to speak of.

So, what is this place?

This construction is low.
It's close to the ground.

Whoever built these buildings

did not want them to be seen.

The style of architecture tells us

that this was not created
for the sake of pleasure or comfort.

When the world was plunged
into the chaos of conflict,

these structures were designed
to oversee the glorious victory

of a cruel regime.

The blood of hundreds,
if not thousands

of slave labourers

is cast in this concrete.

We can smell the evil

of Nazi construction.

Hitler had so much hubris
that he believed that from here,

he would witness
the downfall of Britain.

Yet, in the dying days of the war,

the men stationed here
received chilling new instructions.

An order comes off the teleprinter

that could result in the deaths
of thousands.

Didier Lede was one of the first
to explore these bunkers

when the shroud of secrecy
was finally lifted.

But this was a treasure
with a menacing origin.

These structures date to a time
in World War II

when Allied forces were being
crushed by the Nazi war machine.

By 1940, Germany had blitzed its way

through Poland, Belgium
and into France.

Hitler wanted to stay close
to his troops on the front line

to give orders.

This site was supposed to be
the platform by which Hitler

would oversee Operation Sea Lion,

the conquest of Britain.

It's got to be a hop,
skip and a jump

away from where the Nazis
are going to fight the British

in England.

It's got to be in France.

In 1942, they set about constructing
the largest Third Reich headquarters

ever built during the war.

Even the name of the complex
catered to Hitler's vainglorious ego.

In homage to himself,

he called his new base of operations

Wolfsschlucht Zwei,

aka Wolf's Lair II.

Hitler attached considerable
myth to his persona.

One of those ideas was
that he was a wolf,

a wolf like the beasts, um,
who inhabited German mythology.

From the beginning,

its construction was stained
in innocent blood.

By early 1944,
Hitler's command centre,

designed to orchestrate
the destruction of Britain

was complete.

Up to 3,000 men were based here,

although the Fuhrer himself
had still never visited.

But its role in Germany's war effort
soon had to change.

On the 6th of June,

the largest amphibious
invasion force ever assembled

stormed the beaches of Normandy,

just four hours away from this site.

Hitler's troops were caught
completely off guard.

The belief was that the allies

didn't have the potential or
the power to stage an invasion.

So, when the Allies land on D-Day,

Hitler is in bed...

..and nobody wants to be the one
who wakes up the Fuhrer.

By the time Hitler's senior officers
actually do get him awake,

the commanders find
that Hitler doesn't know

which way to send reinforcements.

After the Allied invasion began,

it took Hitler 11 days to
decide to go from Germany

to Wolf's Lair II in France

for the very first time.

And that means that a
bunker system that was built

to prepare for the invasion
of Britain

needs to become a complex

capable of commanding
multiple army groups

to defend Nazi-held France.

Just as they were debating,
the air raid warning sounded.

Allied bombers were in the air

and the whole party
scrambled into the shelters

deep in the hillsides
where the meeting continued.

At this point,
Hitler demanded the V-1 rocket,

a terror weapon built
to pound London into submission,

be used against the invading forces.

He seemed to believe

that this would act as some sort of
Sword of Damocles,

um, striking down the enemy.

The artillery general advised
it was far too risky

to send the V-1 to the front lines.

These things were entirely
unpredictable

and he worried that
they would kill their own men

if they fired them anywhere close
to the invasion forces.

The supposedly great Fuhrer

was visibly shaken by
the general's reaction,

and dismissed their recommendation
to retreat from Normandy and regroup.

After only 12 hours at
Wolf's Lair II,

he makes a feeble excuse to leave

while his generals return
to the front lines

to try and hold back
the Allied invasion.

And Hitler appears not to be a man
of great physical courage.

Hitler's response is,

"I am in such danger here in France.
I am going to get back to Germany.

"I'm going to command from
someplace where I can feel safe."

Once back in Germany,

Hitler never again stepped foot
inside Wolf's Lair II.

On the 25th of August 1944,

the Free French Allied Forces entered
Paris and declared it liberated.

The next day, from the safety
of his Berlin bunker,

Hitler would send an alarming message
to this base's communications room

calling for the bombardment
of the French capital.

Hitler gives a scorched earth order

to destroy the entire city.

The order was received by
General Hans Speidel,

who just months earlier
had been part of the failed plot

to assassinate Hitler and take
control of the armed forces.

The residents of Paris
were completely unaware

how close they came
to total annihilation.

As the Allies advanced
through France,

the Germans fled Wolf's Lair II.

After their eventual surrender,

the US Army occupied this complex
until 1946.

It then served as a NATO base
and school for French special forces

until it was abandoned in 1993.

After NATO left,
the site became overgrown

and many of the stories
of its history became forgotten.

Since then, a local association has
worked to maintain these buildings,

and plans are underway
to convert it into a museum site.

On the small Italian island
of Procida, off the coast of Naples,

is an ominous structure that
harboured aristocrats and villains.

At the island's highest point,

your eye is immediately drawn
to this building

that's commanding and daunting
in equal measure.

As you approach along the driveway,

you are met by these
two large, wooden doors.

But were they meant to keep
people out or in?

Beyond the gates is a large open
courtyard lined with stoneworks.

It's a demonstration of lavish
opulence.

When you step inside,
the mood drastically changes.

You've got piles of shoes,
rows of rusting beds,

baskets of thread
all over the place.

Maybe it was a factory of some sort,

but honestly, it's just creepy.

Exploring deeper into
the building's underbelly,

you can see a place
that is even more unsettling.

That's when you see bars
on the windows,

and there's the real giveaway.

Nobody came here by choice.

What began as the stronghold
of a really powerful dynasty,

slowly emerged into
something much more sinister.

In 2017, Luigi Primario
got the chance to find out

when he became a city councillor

tasked with the regeneration
of this foreboding site.

What he discovered was a tale
of intrigue and oppression

that echoed the very history
of Italy itself.

The oldest part of this palatial
ruin dates back to the 16th century,

when Italy wasn't the unified
country we know and recognise today.

The region was under control
of the Spanish Aragonese dynasty,

who ruled over
the Kingdom of Naples.

Procida was entrusted to the
d'Avalos family,

who were an influential clan
of Spanish dukes

who controlled
a powerful mercenary army.

In 1563, a prominent member
of the family,

Cardinal Innico d'Avalos d'Aragona,

decided to make Procida his home.

He called his new island fortress

the Palazzo d'Avalos.

For the next century, the
d'Avalos family ruled over Procida,

but their reign was dramatically
cut short in the 1700s.

Following the death of childless
Spanish monarch, Charles II,

this region was caught up in a
European conflict of succession.

The Spanish House of Bourbon
emerged victorious.

By 1736, the future Bourbon king,
Charles III,

had conquered Naples and Sicily.

He kicked out the d'Avalos family

and took the palazzo over
for himself

to have a grand hunting lodge.

For the people
living under Bourbon rule,

life couldn't have been
more different.

These people were often
under the oppressive thumb

of their feudal lords.

Discontent ran deep
and it was only a matter of time

before that exploded into violence.

In the wake of the French Revolution,

rebellions swept through Europe

and the ruling Bourbons
faced a series of uprisings.

In order to maintain rule,

the Palazzo d'Avalos
entered a dark, new era.

By 1831, this once-regal residence
had been converted to a prison

to house political enemies
of the State.

The conditions inside were horrific

and the prisoners often faced
beatings, starvation and torture.

For many, it seemed their only
option for survival was to escape.

But they were wrong.

In 1848, around 140 prisoners
arrived on Procida from Sicily.

Reports suggest that they tried
to break out,

but they were trapped by the guards

and then ruthlessly massacred.

The event sent shock waves
through Europe.

It's actually said to be one
of the reasons that Gladstone,

who was the British Prime Minister
at the time,

broke off diplomatic relations
with the Bourbon monarchy.

Instead, he chose to back
the Italian rabble-rouser,

Giuseppe Garibaldi,

the heroic revolutionary that
overthrew the Bourbons in the 1860s

and was finally able to unify
the country.

While the birth of modern Italy
had arrived,

the Palazzo d'Avalos remained
a place of incarceration

for the next century...

..and soon, the prison needed
to expand

to meet the growing demand
of a different breed of criminal.

In the 1970s, the prison started
to be overrun with Italian mafioso.

We're talking mob bosses, hitmen,
henchmen, the whole range.

Giacomo Retaggio started working here
in 1963 as the prison's only doctor.

From the very start,
his tenure was marred by violence.

Over the next 25 years,

Giacomo got to know some of the
prison's most dangerous convicts.

In 1982, this included Naples'
public enemy number one,

Camorra mafia boss,
Luigi "The King" Giuliano.

Luigi headed up the powerful
Giuliano clan,

which had a reputation for being

one of Naples' most bloodthirsty
criminal families.

At the time of his arrest,

Giuliano was in the midst of a
brutal war with a rival Camorra clan

led by Raffaele "The Professor"
Cutolo.

Cutolo himself was already
behind bars,

running his empire entirely from the
notorious Poggioreale prison
in Naples.

Luigi begged to be sent
to Procida prison.

He knew that if he was sent
to Poggioreale prison,

where Cutolo's men were locked up,

he would face death.

But Giuliano was wrong to think
he'd be safe at Procida.

Among the prisoners was one of
Cutolo's former henchmen

and he had it in for Giuliano.

In November, he was stabbed
by another inmate and left for dead.

Luckily for him, he survived.

Not so lucky for Naples.

After he was acquitted
of all charges,

he continued his reign
of terror for the next 20 years.

Giuliano was eventually arrested
in 2000

and turned into a government
witness to avoid jail time.

But during that period,
the ageing prison here

had already been forced
to shut its doors for good.

For 30 years, Palazzo d'Avalos
sat completely abandoned

until the government took it over

and made it a place
that tourists could visit.

In the northern Polish town
of Kamieniec

is the ruin of a site
where romance and patriotism

painfully collided.

There's little houses and shops
and a church.

It seems like a place where
things move slowly.

But at one end of town is
something quite unexpected.

Set back from the street is
a towering stone structure

ravaged by the passage of time.

It's got this big facade, two
wings spreading out on either side.

It seems like somewhere
really important.

Central Europe is dotted
with palaces such as this,

but this one is remarkable
because of who ended up here

and with whom.

One of the world's greatest generals
was caught in a love affair.

For him, it was passion.

For her, it was duty to her country.

She carried the very existence
of Poland on her shoulders.

But the question was,
would it pay off?

I first came here maybe
20 years ago.

There's something magical
about this ruin.

This was called
Versaille of the North.

Tomasz Dabrowski is part of a group

dedicated to honouring the role
this building played

in his nation's
struggle for independence.

When I thought about history
of this place,

I realised that the history
is so strictly connected

with history of Poland.

Its epic story began in the
early 18th century,

when this region was a battlefield

fought over by neighbouring states.

We're in what one historian famously
called "God's playground," Poland,

which was at the intersection

of all the great powers of Europe.

This land was under the control
of Prussia,

a kingdom comprised of
northern Germany

and much of modern-day Poland.

Its king, Friedrich Wilhelm I,

bestowed palaces and estates
upon the noble families.

This one was called
Finckenstein Palace

and it was named after the ruling
family that constructed it in 1716.

It would be the
von Finckensteins' home,

but also a place for the king to
stay when he travelled from Berlin.

At the turn of the century, though,

it would host a very different
set of guests.

In the late 1700s,

50 years after Finckenstein Palace
was built,

Poland was plunged into chaos.

European borders
were rapidly shifting

and this region was caught
in the crossfire.

The great powers of Prussia,
Russia and the Habsburg Empire

set about on a devastating
series of partitions

that really completely reduces
the Polish state to nothing.

The result of this was that Poland
was all but wiped off the map,

and if they had any chance
of restoring their statehood,

they'd need help from abroad.

The Polish prince, Jozef Poniatowski,

in cahoots with his noblemen,

devised a strategy to save
the nation from obscurity.

The plan they came up with?

Well, it's been used over and over
again throughout history,

a honey trap.

The prince and his officials
identify the perfect person

and she's a countess named
Marie Walewska.

Even though she was already married
and had a child,

she was known throughout Poland
for her great beauty.

The scheming nobles then set their
sights on an ambitious
neighbouring ruler

who could champion their cause
for independence.

And at that time, there was only
one real candidate,

Napoleon Bonaparte.

They realised that Napoleon has a
natural interest in fostering
Polish nationalism

as a way of weakening, you know,
Russia, Austria and Prussia.

Napoleon met Marie Walewska
first time

in the Royal Palace in Warsaw
in January, 1807.

This meeting was not coincidental,
of course,

because Marie Walewska
impressed Napoleon so much

that he wanted to know her better.

The Polish plan appeared
to be working.

When Napoleon returned
to his European campaigns,

he didn't forget his newfound
mistress.

In 1807, Napoleon invites
Marie Walewska to the countryside,

where he is resting after another
important battle.

As she arrived, she was greeted
by the magnificent facade

of Finckenstein Palace.

Marie understood the role
she had been chosen to play,

but she was also conflicted.

She would have to choose
between her family and her country.

She's very concerned about her
reputation because she's married,

she has a child,
she's of noble birth.

Napoleon was all too aware
of Marie's personal situation

and continued the affair regardless.

So, they end up holing up
in a bedroom

of the north wing of the palace.

Here, there were the room
occupied by Marie Walewska.

So, there was the bed.

Spent time, but mostly it was closed

because she was supposed only
to meet with emperor.

Marie told one friend

that she really felt like she
was married to Napoleon at the time,

but, of course, she knew
she was actually

in service of a much greater cause.

That cause received a boost
in April, 1807,

when Napoleon made a deal
with the Shah of Persia

at Finckenstein Palace.

Napoleon's plan is to, basically,
create this continental system

to close off all of Europe,

including the Russian Empire,
to British trade.

Special envoy came here
the 26th April of 1807.

It was the most important political
event here

because treaty between
France and Persia

was really important for Napoleon.

After the treaty had been signed,

Napoleon continued his war
with Russia.

At the Battle of Friedland in June,
his army emerged victorious,

forcing the Russians to make
a settlement.

This was the moment that Marie
was waiting for.

The French are negotiating
with the Russians

and the fate of Poland
is on the table.

Marie had left behind her husband
and child to spend two months
with Napoleon,

in the hope his favour
would sway his decisions,

but, in the end,

it would all be for nothing.

Under the terms of the deal,

Russia kept most of the Polish
territory they previously held,

Napoleon merely electing to form
a small Polish state

called the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.

Poland's dream of true independence

was over.

Marie's mission had failed
and it was absolutely clear

that Napoleon would always put
his beloved France first

over any romantic involvement.

Napoleon made sure Marie was taken
care of for the rest of her life,

but the affair was all but over

and the hopes of the Polish people

died with it.

As the years passed,

Finckenstein Palace continued
to be a home for wealthy nobility,

but during World War II,
it was looted by the Soviet Red Army

as they advanced through Poland,

and in 1945,

it was completely destroyed
by a fire.

Today, the site is privately owned

by a member of the
Polish Napoleon Foundation,

and it became a shrine to a
pivotal moment in Polish history

that unfolded within
the walls of this great palace.

The romance was even
immortalised in a film

starring Charles Boyer
and Greta Garbo

and the film was called
The Conquest.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media