All language subtitles for Hunting Hitler - S02E06 - The Secret Island

male narrator: Previously on
"Hunting Hitler"...

Bormann's headquarters,
Tangier, Morocco.

Bormann goes to Tangier
to set up the Fourth Reich.

This has all the markings
of a military command center.

If Hitler is gonna come back,
weapons are absolutely crucial.

In Buenos Aires,
Mandel's bicycle

and plastic plants

began to produce
machine guns, airplanes,

bullets, and bombs.

- I have explosives detected.
- It's detected TNT, Tim.

Yeah.

After the end of
the Second World War,

there was a meeting
between Juan Perón,

the president of Argentina,

and Martin Bormann
in Buenos Aires.

The deeper we get into
a Fourth Reich in Argentina,

the more I'm convinced.

Look, what we got is a secret

Nazi headquarters
in Tangier, Morocco.

It's connected to Bormann,
who was Hitler's right-hand man.

We've got a munitions factory
in Argentina,

which we've now established

there was government support
for the Nazis,

and we've got 10,000 Nazis
fleeing Europe,

heading for South America.

I mean, these pieces
are telling a story

that's changing history.

narrator: CIA veteran Bob Baer
and war crimes investigator

Dr. John Cencich

are overseeing
a dual-pronged investigation.

While the team in Tangier,
Morocco,

has uncovered
a possible Nazi headquarters

where a declassified MI6
file reports Martin Bormann

organizing the Fourth Reich,

the team in Buenos Aires,
Argentina has discovered

a munitions factory with Nazi
ties operating after the war.

The deeper we get into this,

it's looking like
these people truly

believed that they
were gonna arm,

establish the Fourth Reich,

and they were gonna
win this time.

The evidence is out there.
They were planning something,

but they weren't going to
simply re-arm in Argentina

and drive a tank division
all over South America.

The only way that they were
ever going to make this happen

is some sort of weapon
of mass destruction.

And this has always been
the dream of dictators;

it's always been the dream
of countries that have failed.

So there's no reason
to believe that the Nazis

would not entertain
fantasies like this.

Attacks with weapons
of mass destruction

do change the game.

After the utter
defeat of Germany,

the only way for Hitler
to come back was a giant weapon.

You need to take
a look at this.

This is a map of Manhattan.

This map came from
the internal files

of an engineer
in the Nazi Luftwaffe,

the Air Force.

It depicts a plan developed

in 1944 to bomb
the United States,

and more specifically,
Manhattan Island.

This is chilling.
I mean, they had a plan

for mass destruction
in the United States,

using a weapon
with a kill radius

which would have
taken out a Manhattan.

That's a scary thought.

If Hitler lived,

one of his principle targets

would have been New York City.

By attacking New York City,
it strikes

at the heart of Americans,

it strikes at the heart
of the free world all over.

I guarantee you
that even after the war,

they were all the more motivated
to hit Manhattan

'cause that was their only hope
of ever coming back,

and somebody told Hitler
that this was doable.

If we know how close the Nazis

actually got toward having
a workable nuclear weapon

during the war, then that brings
in an entirely different

perspective on the Fourth
Reich's actual operational

capacity after the war.

I totally agree.

Now, what we have to do now
is dig into the database

and see how far the Nazis got.

Could they have made one?

All right, let's see what
we've got here.

Region is Germany.

Nuclear.

All right, here is a document
from the District Council

in Thuringia, Germany.

It's a deposition
of Clare Werner,

and it goes on to say
that on March 4, 1945,

"a Wehrmacht officer told me

"that today world history
would be rewritten.

"I was at my window to look over

"the military training ground
in the evening.

"There was suddenly a brightness

like hundreds of bolts
of lightning."

"So bright that you
could read a newspaper.

"Afterwards, there was
a very powerful wind.

"Later I had, like many
residents in the area,

"nosebleeds, headaches,

and pressure in the ears."

This woman is living next
to a base in Thuringia.

She's standing at her window,

and there's this explosion
which fits a nuclear bomb.

Exactly fits one.

If we want to know what was
going on during the war,

we need to send the team
to Thuringia.

And I guarantee you,
if you can make a bomb

and set it off in Thuringia,

you could easily transport
the same technology

or the bomb itself
to Argentina after the war.

Let's see what we can find
in Thuringia.

That's the big story.

Well, this is
an absolutely amazing place.

So I wonder which window

was Clare Werner looking from.

narrator: In Thuringia,
Germany,

World War II historian
James Holland

and Third Reich expert
Sascha Keil arrive

at the outskirts
of a former Nazi

training base in the location
that Clare Werner

claimed to have witnessed
an explosion from her window.

- Now, this is the room.
- Thank you.

Gosh, look at this.

Suddenly you see
this huge flash of light

that lights up the room so much

that you could read
a newspaper from it.

That would seem apocalyptic.

When you're thinking
of the Second World War bombs,

you're thinking of huge
eruptions of debris,

and grit,
and suddenly lots of smoke.

But you're not expecting
blinding flash of light

and mushroom clouds.

So we need to find out what was
going on here in Thuringia.

This one is from 1944,
and this one, one year later.

Looking at it, you can see
the blast damage,

this dark area here,

the sense of spread,
kind of pushing out.

In the 1944 picture, the area
in question is nice and clear,

the one that follows
a year later,

there's a blast that's spread
out from a kind of epicenter.

So where is that blast area?

We're standing in the middle
of a castle

which is on a hill
surrounded by trees.

Boom.
There.

There's our castle, there's
our surrounding of trees.

And then if I look
out this window,

what I'm looking at is
a long, narrow, wooded ridge.

Long, narrow, wooded ridge.

So if I'm here, and I'm looking
out through there,

my view is sort of across there.

That's our area.

We sure do.

If our photo analysis
is correct,

that epicenter is just there,

and so you can see
the land drop,

so that's going to shield
a lot of the blast, isn't it?

Here we go.
This is it.

Here's our track.

Yeah.

Look at it,
it's basically empty.

I mean it's just
the perfect place to do it,

because A, we know this is
a military training area

in the 1940s,
and B, it's a pretty safe,

secluded area.

You know,
your blast is gonna be absorbed

by these ridges all around us.

So it's all starting
to stack up.

Okay.

narrator:
The team makes contact

with George Ribienski,

a historian who has
spent his career

studying the wartime history

of the Nazi training base
in Thuringia.

Do you know
about this explosion?

We've seen the spread
on the photographs.

People have been talking
about nosebleeds and things.

I mean, what's the damage?

600 or 700.

Wow, that's horrible.

Really horrible.

What do you think
was being tested here?

It makes the hairs on
the back of your neck stand up,

thinking about
German scientists,

physicists creating
an atomic bomb.

But what I want to know is
were the nuclear experiments

at this base undertaken by
a rogue physicist,

or were they something
more sinister?

An essential part of the Nazi's
military strategy

in the final days of the war?

So we know this area
has been a military area

for kind of over 100 years.

How important was it
to the Nazis in 1945?

And these tunnels,
they still exist?

So did Hitler ever come
to this area?

Gosh, that's amazing.

Wow.

Clearly something big
was going on here.

The team needs to keep
digging in Thuringia,

but in the meantime,

I've come across an extremely
interesting document

that relates to Nazi nuclear
technology

after the war.

narrator:
With the investigation

under way
in Thuringia, Germany,

Bob and John turn their focus
to the Nazi's ability

to potentially build a weapon
of mass destruction

after the war.

It's from the 6th of December,
1946, and it was produced by

a Captain Harry Sperber.

He was a United States
Army translator

at the Nuremberg trials.

Captain Sperber expressed
the personal opinion

that Hitler is alive

and directing atomic bomb
experiments in Argentina.

If Hitler wanted to build
a bomb after the war,

he would have gone to Argentina.

The place to go.

Got the support
of the government,

you got Germans,
you got money,

you got wide-open country.

It's absolutely ideal.

This is giving Hitler a reason
to keep going, is this bomb.

Now the question is
what's there in Argentina

that's going to substantiate
this, if anything?

Let's see.

There we go.

U.S. State Department decree
9-697

of May 17, 1951

creates a new atomic
energy plant

at Bariloche under direct

control of President Perón.

Look, John, Bariloche.

It was a hotbed
for Nazis in Argentina.

Earlier in the investigation,

we found
a Nazi community in Bariloche.

Hundreds of Nazis came here
at the end of World War II.

This is a refuge.

We found the Inalco house,

which could have been
a safe house for Hitler...

We're not talking about
a small property.

We're talking a mansion
40 miles away from anywhere.

With guard towers.

This place was a Nazi
stronghold in Argentina.

So why does Perón set up
a nuclear energy plant

nearby a potential safe
haven for Hitler?

It's no accident here.

If it was a benign
nuclear program,

you put it through
a university in Buenos Aires.

You do not set it up
in the Andes Mountains

in a German community.

That makes no sense at all.

Argentina cannot jumpstart
a nuclear program.

They need experts.

They had to bring in people

that knew about fission
and fusion and the rest of it.

See what we can find here.

So look here.

1st of June, 1948.

The following information

was given to
the preparing officer

by Dr. Richter.

"In 1937 I was in charge
of a research laboratory

"connected to Thuringia,Germany.

"In May 1948 I was invited
officially by

"the Argentine government
to Argentina

in order to do some work in
nuclear reactor development."

Here's a Nazi
nuclear scientist.

He was in charge
of research laboratory

connected to Thuringia, Germany.

Bingo.

He's invited
officially to Argentina

to develop a nuclear facility.

It's one too many
coincidences for me.

I agree.

Dr. Richter really ties it
all together.

Let's get the team
back to Bariloche.

I'm optimistic that we can
find evidence

of potential relationship

between Bariloche, the Nazis,

and nuclear weapons
after the war.

When there's this much smoke,
there's got to be fire.

I didn't think
we'd be coming back here.

narrator: U.S. Army special
forces Tim Kennedy

and investigative
journalist Gerrard Williams

arrive in Bariloche, Argentina.

Hey, Federico,
good to see you again, mate.

narrator: They make contact
with Federico Palma,

an expert on the Nazi history
in Bariloche.

We're here to find out
everything we can

about a Nazi scientist
called Dr. Richter.

We need to know everything
about what this guy was doing,

where he was doing it,
and what he was up to.

Well...

So where is
Richter's research center?

He got himself an island?

Who gave him the island?

Yeah, but how does
a Nazi scientist

just ask for an island?

Peron essentially
was giving Dr. Richter

anything he wanted, money-wise?

Tell me about this island.

Where's it situated?

How big is it?

narrator:
The team has uncovered

that 30 miles south
of the Inalco house

and near the city of Bariloche
is the island of Huemul,

the possible location of
Dr. Richter's nuclear program.

So island's here,
here's Bariloche,

and we have Adolf Hitler
on the other side of the lake.

Mm-hmm.

That's far enough away for
him to be safe from anything

that could go wrong
on Huemul Island.

But then, coincidentally,

it's close enough,
on a good boat,

that's a couple hours.

This changes everything.

Adolf Hitler
and the Fourth Reich

could have been supervising

what Dr. Richter
is doing on the island.

It is very possible
that this nuclear program,

this is them starting
where they left off in Germany,

but right here in Argentina.

We're gonna do whatever it takes
to get on that island.

Can you get us there?

Mate, we have to get
on this island.

Get us on the island.

What we got here
is a Nazi scientist.

And now we find out
he goes to Bariloche

where he's given an island.

We need to get on that island
and see what we can find.

narrator:
While the South American team

tries to gain entry
to Huemul Island

in Bariloche, Argentina...

Let's talk about
Thuringia now.

narrator: Bob and John review
their investigation

in Thuringia, Germany,

where a declassified
German document reports

that Nazis were testing
a potential nuclear weapon

two months before
the end of the war.

There's a report
from Clare Werner

of what appears to be

a nuclear explosion
at Thuringia.

And these pictures
corroborate the deposition.

You clearly have right here

what appears to be
a giant crater.

That's precisely
what it looks like, a crater.

They were testing
something there.

I'm fully confident of it.

And then also
what the team discovered,

a vast complex of tunnels.

We know it was
very important to the Nazis.

So what's going on there?

Now we've got local historians
saying the Nazis

were digging tunnels
into the mountain.

Whatever they were working
on in the tunnels,

these explosions
have to be connected.

These underground tunnels

could be some type
of clandestine laboratory

used to develop nuclear weapons,

and some type of explosion
took place thereafter.

The only way we'll really know
is to get the team in there

and really dig into this.

We're gonna find something,
I bet.

narrator:
In Thuringia, Germany,

James Holland,
Sascha Keil,

and historian
George Ribienski arrive

at the location of a rumored
Nazi tunnel complex,

12 miles from where
a weapon of mass destruction

could have been detonated.

So where are they?

Goodness me,
that's really enormous.

And that's just
the number he knows.

Perhaps they are more.

narrator: This Nazi complex
was rumored

to include multiple levels

of laboratories,
weapon workshops,

and a control center
connected by tunnels

stretching dozens of miles
through the mountainside.

Gosh, it's just incredible
the scale of it, isn't it?

It really is.

I'm realizing that this
is not just

a little tunnel in a hillside.

This could be a major complex.

But if we can get in just
one of these tunnels,

we'll have an even better sense
of scale and scope here.

narrator: Although
the Soviet army

sealed off access
to this tunnel system

when they captured
this base in April, 1945,

the team attempts
to locate an entry point

in hopes of determining
the hidden purpose

of this facility.

Oh look, there's a gap.

narrator: The team deploys
a small remote camera known

as a Throwbot.

This technology is used
by military personnel worldwide

to provide real-time video
feeds of difficult-to-access

and unstable environments.

How far do you think
you're in there?

Oh...

50 meters?

Yep.

No.
You just can't get any further?

It's frustrating
but I tell you what.

This is just 50 meters
of one tunnel.

We know about
at least 25 here...

- Yeah, yeah.
- And possibly even more.

The extent of this place
is absolutely enormous.

The facility here
is filled with rubble,

but this could have been
enough infrastructure

to support atomic research labs
here in Thuringia.

Do we have any idea

of what these tunnels
were being used for?

They were planning
a Fuhrer headquarters here?

I mean, at that stage
of the war,

the Germans were just clutching
at straws, aren't they?

Fortunately for the rest
of the world,

the Allies get here in time.

The ambition of the Third Reich

is laid out for us here.

Leading Nazis were just
not giving up

because a nuclear bomb
is a world-changing,

war-changing weapon.

One weapon.

If Hitler had his hands on that,

it's a totally
different end to WWII.

And it seems
he came fairly close.

That's incredible.
It's hiding in plain sight.

narrator: On a lake deep
in the mountains of Bariloche,

Argentina, Tim Kennedy
and Gerrard Williams

have been granted access
to Huemul Island,

which, according to
a declassified

U.S. State Department file,

could be the location
where Nazi scientist

Dr. Richter was working on
nuclear technology after WWII.

From shore it didn't
look this big.

So this is it?

Mystery Island?

Whatever was going on here,

this island definitely
has to hold secrets.

Huemul Island reminds me
a little bit of Alcatraz.

It's near a big city,

but it's also
this secretive place

where nobody knows
what's going on

because nobody's being told
what's happening here.

There are trees everywhere.

This is what happens
if you leave a place abandoned

on a fertile island like this

for 70-something years.

It's a massive building.

There.

Massive.

Okay, it's looking
a little more structured.

Okay.

Oh, my God.

What building is this?

There are many stories
around this place.

What was inside of here?

Whatever Richter
was designing,

everything's been stripped:
light fittings,

switches, the lot.

So all we can see now
is the remains.

Federico, how many more
of these are there?

How many more
buildings like this?

Are we going up that way
or up that way?

Okay.

So what have we got here?

These are the power buildings?

This is massive for the time.

Whatever his ambitions
for this place were,

he thought he required
a massive amount of power.

Enough power to power a city.

In the late '40s, early '50s,
to develop a nuclear weapon,

you needed such huge amounts
of electrical power.

The generators
would have been massive.

So just that logistical
operation is quite mind blowing.

This is one beast
of a generating station.

The laborers,
the manufacturing of it,

the transportation of it
across a lake.

This is a huge project.

Yeah, definitely.

And probably out
of a Nazi's bank account.

Or three.

It is obvious on the island
that Dr. Richter

had money
and infrastructure.

That's what we know.

It's what we don't know
that's scaring me.

Oh, somebody's taken
a hell of a pounding.

It's eerie.

Bombing from the air?

Bullet holes on the front.

It doesn't make
any damn sense.

Why would you destroy it?

There's nothing natural
about the destruction

of Richter's lab.

It's been blown up deliberately.

What was so important to hide
that you let the Navy bomb it?

- This is solid cement.
- Yeah, amazing.

Three, four feet thick.

With a few holes

to witness
whatever's going on in here

'cause they'd have had thick,

shielded glass inside them,
I'd have thought.

This is to prevent
radiation from escaping.

That's how close they were.

And he's punching
electricity into here.

Look at those.

Those are the sort of things
you see on top of pylons.

Those ceramic...

- Yeah.
- Dampers.

It's difficult to discern
what was going on here.

Is there any evidence of
how this building was laid out?

How'd it looked
before it got smashed?

Well, that's a
serious nuclear kit.

And this is a huge
industrial complex.

I mean, he has everything
that he needs

to do I think anything
that he wants.

And that's scary.

Richter's laboratory
was cutting-edge,

top-line technology
from around the world.

All the machines
that will enable him

to develop a nuclear weapon.

The Nazis in Germany
were trying

to do this exact same thing.

God knows what
they were doing.

Documents tell us Hitler would
dream of New York in flames

and a new Fourth Reich.

And it seems
to be coming together

here in Bariloche.

Make of it what you will.

This clearly was
a secret nuclear site,

as secret as Iraq's

or Iran's, or anybody else.

narrator: Bob and John review
the findings from Bariloche,

Argentina, where they have
uncovered what could be

a secret nuclear facility
on Huemul Island,

just 30 miles from
the Inalco house,

a potential refuge
for Adolf Hitler.

Just taking a look
at Huemul Island,

some of the pieces of evidence,

we know that there's
the development

of some type of weapon

of mass destruction
in Thuringia,

and Dr. Richter travels

then to Argentina after the war

for the purposes
of this so-called energy plant.

There is a lot of electricity
being utilized on the island.

It's a massive infrastructure,

a lot of money,
a lot of people.

There's just no question
about it.

There was a nefarious purpose

for what was going on
on Huemul Island.

When you have a nuclear
facility run by a Nazi,

and Hitler could be
down the lake,

it's starting to tell
a story--a bigger story

than we started.

You have this gigantic
body of water

and no urban development.

You can do what you
want out here.

At the other end of the lake
is the Inalco house.

Bunkers, guard towers.

Could have been
a safe house for Hitler.

And then you've got
Huemul Island,

which is the
nuclear facility.

I mean, this is some
sort of Nazi base

in the middle of Argentina.

I agree with that,
but for Hitler

to carry out the Fourth Reich,

there needs to be
some type of security

or fortifications

that would provide
an environment

of overall protection,

an outer perimeter, if you will.

I would want to look
for evidence of bunkers.

Are there fortifications?

If we could find evidence

of 1940s-era
security measures,

I think it's a major leap
in this investigation.

Yep.

- Hi there.
- Alan?

- Hi.
- I'm Gerrard.

Morning.
Tim.

narrator: To investigate
potential military

infrastructure that could have
protected both Huemul Island

and the Inalco house,

Tim and Gerrard make contact
with Alan Joos,

an expert on post-war
architecture in Bariloche

and his translator.

This lake is
the only transportation

between Hitler's home
and Huemul Island,

where Dr. Richter's
doing his nuclear research.

If Hitler was supervising
Dr. Richter

and everything that he does,

the infrastructure has to be
in place to lock down

and shut down the entire lake.

So I know you have
a lot of knowledge

and expertise in the area,
the geography,

and some of the structures
that are here.

What I need to know, Alan,
is what's between Inalco...

and the island.

Are there any
military structures

or a built network
between this island

and this house?

At the northern
tip of this peninsula,

there's a tower,
like an observation tower.

We have to put eyes on it.

narrator: The team heads
for the location of the tower

which sits directly
between the Inalco house

and Huemul Island.

Oh, there it is.

Gerrard.

Oh, gosh.

Man.

The architect had
built Adolf Hitler's home--

Built this thing.

Strategically where
it's located,

this has eyes not only
on what's coming

and going from Inalco,

but also has eyes
on Island Huemul.

Nothing can get through,
nothing can get past.

This locks
the entire lake down.

Yep.

This might just be
the flagship.

There might be three or four
more fighting positions

on this mountain.

This is a clear indication
of military infrastructure

that could provide the support
from Adolf Hitler.

There's no telling what else
they could have built here

that hasn't
even been discovered.

Alan, are there any
other structures

like this around
the lake or Bariloche?

Yeah.

A bunker.

Where's the bunker at?

This is feeling more and more
systematic and strategic.

This was orchestrated
and planned.

This is the Nazis raising a flag

saying that we're here
and we own the lake.

And that island is ours.

If the bunker strategically
is located in a way

that supports this,

that's what we need to know.

narrator: Tim Kennedy
and Gerrard Williams

are in search
of military infrastructure

that could have protected
the area

surrounding the Inalco house,

a potential refuge
for Adolf Hitler,

and Huemul Island,

a reported Nazi
nuclear facility.

We have to see this bunker.

narrator: After discovering
a mysterious watchtower located

directly between the Inalco
house and Huemul Island,

they head for a bunker
six miles away.

You can hardly see it.

Adolf Hitler is here
overseeing Dr. Richter

working on Huemul Island,

he needs troops.
He needs security.

This bunker can be
a defensive position.

We have Inalco over here,

Dr. Richter with Island Huemul,

and the tower that way.

The only way to Inalco is coming
by this or by the tower.

So a machine gun here
with a machine gun there--

Killing field.
Complete killing field.

As soon as I see the bunker,
it is quickly and easily

recognizable that
they're creating a choke point

to prevent people

from going to Inalco
or Huemul Island.

This bunker wasn't
built at random.

Everything was by design,
by a purpose.

Was there any records
about who built this,

when it was built,
why it was built,

was there a work permit?

They don't know a thing?

Nobody knows who built it.

On having seen Richter's place
on the island,

construction methods
are remarkably similar

to parts of that.

This looks like it was moved
right from the island.

Whoever engineered Huemul

engineered quite a lot of this,
I would have thought.

This bunker
is purely functional.

This is there to do something.

If it isn't part of the network
that's guarding Adolf Hitler,

what else is it for?

After the coup
that toppled Perón.

I can get in here.

What you got, Tim?

I see piping.

Whatever this room is that
I'm in right now, Gerrard,

they had electricity,
they had water,

and it's not a tiny bunker.

So this might have been, like,
a headquarters area.

Maybe communications,
talking to the tower,

talking to Inalco,

talking to Huemul Island.

It's connected, though.

You don't build a bunker
like that for one night.

You don't build it
for short term.

However long it would take
for Dr. Richter

to be successful
at Huemul Island,

that bunker could work
and stay in place.

They could be there for years.

There's a drill hole
that's about six inches deep

that's an inch and a half
to two inches wide.

- Part of the construction?
- No.

I think these are
demolition drill holes.

I found char marks too.

This was explosive.

This is guys crawling
through this building,

drilling into the foundation...

- Yeah.
- At the juncture points

of the support,
and bringing it down.

And planting high explosives.

A lot of it.

So somebody wanted this
destroyed pretty badly.

Whatever this was,
they tried to erase

quite a lot
of the evidence here.

They've either blown it up
or they've bombed it.

Again, it's the pattern
of trying to erase things

to make sure that history can't
be told in the correct way.

1945, you're not going to get
any more fortified

than this right here.

No.

This could be both
defensive and offensive.

The size of this, you could
base 20, 30 people on it.

At least.

What I see here

is the Fourth Reich's blueprint.

I know what they did
in Misiones,

I found their
fighting positions,

I found the concentric walls,

and everything
that they did in Misiones,

they duplicated here
just at a larger scale.

So Adolf Hitler
living in Inalco

has the protection he needs
to oversee Dr. Richter

giving the Fourth Reich
their new hope:

a nuclear weapon.

With success here,
the Fourth Reich

could change the landscape
of the world.

narrator: Next time
on "Hunting Hitler"...

Were there any senior Nazis
who came here after the war?

He was a person who lived
in the shadows.

There's something strange
going on here.

There is a rumor that
Juan Keller is Martin Bormann.

Is that true?

Does this look like
your father?

Yes.

Bormann's here;
Hitler's not very far away

Four men came to her house
from Colonia Dignidad.

Colonia Dignidad
still remains today.

They've changed their name
to Villa Baviera.

How can a sanctuary for Nazis
on the run

now be a tourist location?

They get wind of what
we're here for,

it's dangerous.