All language subtitles for Secret.Nazi.Bases.S04E02.Darkened.Turrets.1080p.UKTV.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

Perched atop Europe's
towering hills,

along the banks of its grand rivers,

and within the beating heart of its
most lucrative trade centres,

stand the bastions of its past -

the majestic castles
of former kingdoms.

For centuries, these structures have
stood

as silent sentinels of history,

weathering wars

and enduring the elements
even as progress engulfed

the world around them.

But when the ominous shadow of

the Third Reich falls across
the continent,

these once mighty fortresses are
transformed into symbols of a new

and foreboding era.

As the Nazis unleashed their brutal
conquest of Europe,

the structures, left behind by
regimes of

the past, take on a new
significance.

They're seized and repurposed

to serve the dark ambitions of
the Reich.

The Nazis' relentless advance leave
no stone unturned.

One by one,

the castles of central Europe
succumb to the regime's iron grip,

each restored to a twisted version
of their former glory.

This brash conquest
of architecture brings Hitler closer

to his vision of dominance,

a Nazi Reich built on

the foundations
of Europe's storied past.

The Nazis are going to claim

and repurpose these castles for
a variety of reasons.

These castles could be used as
military bases,

as military headquarters
for smaller operations,

smaller regional operations.

These once majestic structures
slowly transformed into

the underbelly of
the Nazi war machine.

Yet beyond the stagnant moats

and the tall fortress walls,

the activities that transpire within
remain shrouded in secrecy,

largely hidden from

the world until the collapse of
the regime.

Why were these castles specifically
picked by the Reich?

What dark dealings were concealed
behind the walls?

Characterised by
their formidable walls,

rugged stonework,
and imposing silhouettes,

castles are the architectural
marvels that once shaped

the landscape of medieval Europe.

Often equipped with
defensive towers,

moats and a labyrinth of chambers,

these structures are built
to keep enemies out,

and the secrets
of their dynasties within.

Far more than defensive strongholds,

here stand the political
headquarters where the fate of

a kingdom is decided by both pen
and sword,

The epicentre of near
absolute power.

These structures have been around
for a long, long time, and as

different cultures,

different people influence
these structures,

they change, they morph.

You can sort of see the postmark of
a particular influence.

In the 20th century,

despite their prominent place in
the European landscape,

many of these castles were

no longer used as centres of power.

Some castles were still
the centre of power for rulers,

others were occupied by
noble families,

but many more had become tourist

attractions or had been converted
into hospitals,

and some had even been abandoned
and fallen into disrepair.

Yet, for some,

the dwindling significance

of Europe's prestigious properties
makes them all the more alluring.

And soon many would be
consolidated under

the control of Europe's most
evil regime.

Germany, 1933.

As Hitler's political ambitions take
hold,

so too does his vision for reshaping
the architectural landscape

of Europe.

Foreseeing an empire of
unprecedented might,

he enlists the aid of Albert Speer,

one of the nation's finest
architects.

Albert Speer is a committed Nazi.

He is very loyal to Hitler,

and Hitler really sees in him, kind
of, this visionary who will be able

to create a new German Reich.

And together they begin drafting
the blueprint

for what will become infamously
known as the Thousand-Year Reich.

The Thousand-Year Reich was
Hitler's attempt to try

and rebuild a modern Roman Empire,

but in his own twisted, racial
vision.

And so this was an empire that was

going to be inhabited by racially
pure Aryans.

He uses these structures as

political tools capable

of instilling fear and awe
to crowds.

Architecture is really important
in this pursuit

to establish a Thousand-Year Reich.

In his role as dictator,

Hitler uses architecture
as an instrument of power.

In the lands beneath
the German flag,

however, preservation is paramount.

In addition to erecting
new architectural showpieces,

Hitler claims thousands

of existing structures as rebranded
monuments of the SS,

the most impressive of which are

the age-old palaces
of central Europe.

As Nazi influence spreads
across Germany and beyond,

the region's most magnificent
castles are folded into

the arms of the Reich.

But what use could Hitler make
of these centuries-old buildings,

some of which had been long vacant
and now stood dilapidated?

Though no longer serving
the need of a kingdom,

the grandeur of some palaces
had been

meticulously maintained since

their inception in the Middle Ages.

One such structure is

the 9th-century Prague castle that
looms over

the capital of modern-day
Czech Republic.

This castle has essentially been
built up to be

a city within a city.

It encompasses everything,
from palaces to offices

to churches and even gardens.

It's been the seat of power
for rulers,

kings and presidents for over
1,000 years.

For centuries, Prague Castle stands

as an emblem of Bohemian pride

and sovereignty.

From this historic seat of power,

the region's most influential rulers
have governed.

And in 1939,

one man is intent on claiming it
for himself.

As the Nazi Party gains control
of Germany,

Hitler is all consumed by a lust
for power.

He soon sets his eyes on
the military

and economic resources of
the neighbouring Czechoslovakia.

In March 1939,

when Hitler presents his ultimatum

to Czech President Emil Hacha,

Hacha finds himself in
a horrific situation.

He's being told by Hitler,

"If you don't surrender your country
to me,

"I will unleash fire and fury
and destroy it with my army."

Ultimately, he decides to spare

the many lives that would certainly
be lost in battle

and surrenders his nation to Hitler.

Some sources say this was such
a tense decision,

that Hacha suffers
a heart attack as a result.

Hitler's forced invasion
of Czechoslovakia is

the first step in his planned
occupation of Europe.

At the break of dawn,
Nazi troops flood the border,

their Fuhrer close behind,

and as they push into
the Czechoslovakian capital,

Hitler brashly seizes
the seat of authority,

the presidential office
and dwelling of Prague Castle.

It's a conscious,
symbolic move by Hitler

to arrive in Prague Castle

and have himself photographed there
in 1939.

And this picture served great
propaganda purposes.

They even used it on
a postage stamp.

Why? It's showing Hitler as

the latest ruler in this long line
of Bohemian rulers.

With Hitler's arrival,
Czechoslovakia is no more.

In its place rises the Protectorate
Of Bohemia And Moravia,

now a mere extension of
Nazi Germany.

Hitler's cruel conquest
of Europe has begun.

On the Fuhrer's first night enclosed

in the ancient castle walls,

Hitler is said to proudly survey
his new possession,

one that harbours
the finest treasure in all the land.

Locked away in the castle's
St Vitus Cathedral

lies a chamber of glittering gold.

In the sacred chapel corner,
behind a door guarded by

the spirits of saints interred
on site, is

an impenetrable iron vault.

Here, secured by seven individual
locks,

rests the Bohemian crown jewels -

priceless ornaments donned in

royal coronations since
the 14th century.

The Bohemian Crown Jewels represent
Czech peoplehood

and sovereignty,

and they connect the contemporary
Czechoslovakian state

to a long history of independence
and sovereignty.

The Crown Jewels include

a number of precious items
amassed throughout

the castle's history.

This includes the
St Wenceslas crown,

which is a masterpiece
of pure gold encasing more than

100 precious stones.

The seven keys to the crown jewels

are traditionally dispersed among

the nation's most revered political

and religious figures,
including, most notably,

the president.

Yet, as Hitler's forces stormed
the castle,

Emil Hacha is forced to relinquish
his key to the invaders.

The castle, and the precious
heirlooms it guards,

fall to Hitler's trusted official

and perhaps one of
the darkest minds of the Reich.

Reinhard Heydrich is one of the
rising stars of the Nazi Party

when he is appointed as the Reich
Protector of Bohemia and Moravia,

but at this time he has turned
himself into one of

the most powerful members of
the Third Reich.

Heinrich Himmler, the head of
the SS, is de facto right-hand man.

Hitler himself calls Heydrich

"the man with the iron heart."

But he's more widely regarded as

the Butcher of Prague.

Under his rule,

thousands of dissenting citizens
face execution,

while tens of thousands more perish

in the squalid conditions
of his ghetto

or the brutal concentration camps
that it services.

All the while,
in the comforts of the castle,

Heydrich is said
to familiarise himself with

the riches locked behind
the chapel walls.

We don't know for sure,

but rumours have always held that

Heydrich was particularly
interested in,

and even obsessed with,
the Bohemian crown jewels,

and people even say
that he actually put

the St Wenceslaus crown on his head.

Local lore warns that any usurper
who dares to don

the St Wenceslaus crown is doomed
to meet a gruesome end

within a year's time.

Though it remains uncertain whether
Heydrich truly places

the crown upon his head,

he lasts a mere eight months
in Prague before his vicious day

of reckoning arrives.

The resistance movement that grows
up in Occupied Czechoslovakia

really has their sights set on
killing him,

and one group eventually
is successful.

A grenade was thrown at the vehicle

and detonated just outside of

the car,
mortally wounding Heydrich.

Heydrich doesn't die immediately,

but he does succumb to his wounds
a couple of days later.

Heydrich's death, however,

means little to a regime intent on

maintaining their claim
by any means necessary.

Within just 24 hours,

another SS commander takes
his place,

holding the Reich's ominous control
from the palace over Prague.

In the northern reaches
of the East Prussian province,

another ancient fort is
transformed into

a Nazi institution.

Among the first of the castles
to fall to

the Reich is Marienburg,
today known as Malbork.

A sprawling brick compound
in modern-day Poland,

this colossal structure is

the largest castle in the world
by land area,

occupying a plot of 52 acres,

or 210,437 square metres,

along the edge of the river Nogat.

This castle is unique.

When I look at it,

you immediately recognise
the colour of it.

It doesn't look like that sort
of fairy tale vision of what

a castle might be.

Marienburg Castle is

a massive red-brick structure

that's situated in what was
once known as East Prussia.

It's believed that this structure is

built up from more than 30 million
individual bricks.

That castle was a former castle of
the Teutonic Knights.

The Teutonic Knights were a kind of

a crusading order of warrior monks,

just like the Crusaders
that went to Jerusalem,

except they went east

into Russia,

into what will become Russia,

into what will become
the Ukraine and Poland.

The castle is an ordensburg,

a fortified monastery designed
to cement their hold of

the Baltic lands by acting as both
a defensive fort

and a launch point

for further invasions in the region.

That history allowed Hitler
to link his Nazi movement

with this medieval Germanic society,

and he'd like to do that a lot.

Whether it's Vikings

or the Teutonic Knights
or old Germanic religion,

he liked to claim that what he was
doing was

a continuation and a revitalization

of what he saw as true
Germanic heritage.

Whether that's religious,
military, or cultural.

In 1933,

the Nazi flag is hoisted above
the high castle.

Once a relic of the Middle Ages,

Marienburg is transformed into

an ideological nerve centre of
the Reich.

A new iteration of ordensburg,

no longer guarding
a monastic society,

but rather the education
of Nazi elite.

So Hitler's aim is not only
to establish the Nazi regime,

but ensure that that regime is

upheld by future generations
of Germans.

So the role of these schools was
to produce

the next generation of politicians,

civil servants,

and generals who were
going to succeed in

the continued administration of
the Third Reich.

The ordensburg curriculum is

completed in four phases

at different castles across
the Reich.

Hitler envisions Marienburg as
the final,

crucial enrolment before

the indoctrination
of its pupils is complete.

The sprawling campus is planned
to house 1,000 students

and 500 hand-picked staff members at
a time.

Its spacious courtyard will be
filled with

the crack of live fire
military drills,

and its lecture halls will echo with

the impassioned political rhetoric -

the perfect facility to forge
a new generation of German might.

Marienburg was the ideal place
to set up this project.

It was incredibly spacious,

and most of its facilities had been
well-maintained over the years.

With infrastructure complete
and the programme approved,

Marienburg is readied
for its first students.

But in 1939,

the siren of war abruptly halts
enrolment as young men are diverted

to duties along the front lines.

But the castle grounds don't
fall silent.

Instead, the building's grand
refectory comes alive

with nationalist zeal.

The Grand Refectory is
the largest hall

in the Marienburg Castle complex.

It has huge vaulted roofs
and 14 tall windows.

Prior to occupation,

this room was
a very ceremonial room,

but a celebratory one.
It was where feasts would be had,

kings' feasts with
the various royalty,

and it would be a place of
celebration and lightness.

As plans for an ordensburg are
set aside,

the castle gates remained open to

an entire population of
Hitler youth.

Here, beneath the magnificent
vaulted ceilings of

the grand refectory,

the children of
the Reich will conclude

a political pilgrimage by swearing
an eternal oath

to their glorified Fuhrer.

Why bring children so far
from the heart of Germany

to swear this oath in some of

the most far flung reaches
of Hitler's empire?

They established
the Hitler Youth as well as

the League of German Girls.

So boys and girls are
going to be enlisted.

And, after 1936,

this becomes compulsory
that all German boys

and girls must join these
youth groups.

Hitler Youth are shuttled
to Marienburg in droves,

where they swear allegiance
to Hitler beneath

the blood banner,

a Nazi flag said to be soaked by

the blood of Nazi martyrs.

As it billows above the borderlands,

pennants of the Teutonic knighthood

are soon ceremoniously revived
across the castle grounds.

By 1936,

Hitler mandated that
German children were

to join these youth organisations.

Now, obviously, what he meant by
that was that children

that are considered to be Aryan
would join.

those that are not would obviously
be forbidden.

Propagandists declare
a day of return

to ancient symbols of the order.

A spectacle designed

to captivate their most
impressionable adolescent minds.

Hitler famously said, "Whoever has
the youth, has the future."

And what he really means by that
is that if you can

control the minds of the youth,

you can ensure that they think
the way that you want them

to do when they become adults in
the future.

As a young man,

Adolf Hitler himself was
captivated by

the romantic allure
of European castles.

Long before his sinister ambitions
took hold,

his sketchbook was filled with

the intricate details
of towering stone facades

and imposing turrets that adorned
the German countryside.

For Hitler, these drawings were more
than mere artistic exercise,

but windows into
a world of potential,

a dream waiting to be seized.

Among these architectural musings
was Neuschwanstein Castle,

a majestic structure nestled in
the foothills of the Bavarian Alps.

This castle, it's iconic.

It is in this mountainous region

with forests, deep forests,

and...and it's positioned on
an elevated point,

and it looks like it's out of
a dream.

This actually inspired Walt Disney

for the Magic Kingdom.

And you can see that parallel.

It's quite clear there.

Unlike its medieval counterparts

scattered across central Europe,

this mist-shrouded fortress is dated
to just the 19th century,

an era that rarely saw new castles
being erected.

Born from the whimsical desires of
an extravagant monarch,

it stands as a monument
to aesthetics rather than authority.

Neuschwanstein Castle is
commissioned by

King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

And Ludwig II is also referred
to as Mad King Ludwig,

and he was a great patron of
the arts.

He was very interested
in art and music.

He loved the music
of Richard Wagner,

but he was also a quiet man
who wanted to be able

to find a place where he could kind
of retire

and be away from, kind of,

the hustle and bustle of his daily
activities.

Another fan of Wagner is
Adolf Hitler.

Murals of Wagner's Parsifal
opera illuminate

the singer's hall,

while paintings
of European folktales enliven

the parlours and study.

As beautiful inside as it is out,

this private paradise cements
Ludwig II's legacy as

the fairy tale king. However,

he himself only enjoys its splendour
for a brief time.

In 1886,
before the castle can be completed,

he drowns under
mysterious circumstances.

And half a century later,

Hitler's watercolour fantasy is
brought to life as

the Nazis claim Neuschwanstein
as their own.

In a region engulfed by war,

why would the Nazis invest resources
into this secluded bastion

tucked away in the Alps?

It's not until May of 1945,

as the Reich begins to crumble

beneath the Allied onslaught,

that the true purpose
of this castle is unveiled.

Tracing a trail of records from
a museum in France,

a special Allied task unit,

famously known as the Monuments Men,

is led up the winding path
to Neuschwanstein.

On the Eve of the Nazi surrender
in Bavaria,

they enter the unguarded palace,

unaware of the staggering discovery
that awaits within its walls.

The Monuments Men were
a group of Allied soldiers with

a background in art history
or curation or museum work,

and their goal was

to protect priceless cultural
treasures

from the depravity of war.

As the Allies pushed into Germany

and Nazis begin to surrender,

the Monuments Men were tasked
with finding

and recovering plundered art - works
of art that were stolen

and pillaged by the Reich.

They knew that this happened,

but they really weren't aware of
the extent.

When the Monuments Men
enter Neuschwanstein

and discover this cache
of over 20,000 artefacts

and items that had been looted by
the Nazis,

they notice that there is in
the corner of these works of art,

the inscription ."ERR.

Hidden behind the ornate doors of

the palace chambers lies
a dark wartime secret.

Neuschwanstein Castle,
once a peaceful sanctuary,

has been transformed into
a storehouse of plunder.

ERR stands for the Reichsleiter
Rosenberg Taskforce.

The ERR was established by Hitler

and the directive was

to go into museums, libraries,

and families' personal homes
and take any items

and artefacts of any value.

Room after room is crammed
with crates,

shelves and chests overflowing
with priceless relics.

Furniture and sculptures are piled
high to the ceilings.

The Nazis kept meticulous records,

and that habit, or that
practice, benefits

the Monuments Men in their mission.

It helps them establish

the provenance of these paintings
that were looted and plundered.

So I think Hitler also did have
this ambition to develop

the Fuhrer Museum, and obviously

to make that museum world-class

and one that would have the...

the best pieces of art from around

Europe was, was probably something
that Hitler was aspiring to.

Throughout the course of the War,

it's estimated that
the ERR is responsible for

the theft of over two million
artworks

and three million culturally
important books.

To store their poached goods,

the Nazi organisation sets up

a regional headquarters
at Neuschwanstein,

and beneath the castle's
fairy tale facade,

a full-scale looting operation
unfurls.

Neuschwanstein is this incredible
secluded castle,

really in the middle of nowhere,

in the foothills of
the Bavarian Alps.

However, clearing the castle of

its ill-gotten loot would prove

to be a gruelling task.

Navigating this castle is difficult,

let alone it being packed
with crates

and boxes of precious pieces of art
and sculptures

and various artefacts.

One by one, the Monuments Men must

carefully carry 600 crates

of invaluable treasures down
four floors of steep,

winding staircases,

a process that takes over six weeks
to complete.

Clearing that out,

moving that, is a project
on its own as well.

While Neuschwanstein will long be
remembered as

a gilded cage for stolen valuables,

a different kind of clandestine
operation unfolds

some 500km to the north,
in the German state of Saxony.

Here, concealed behind chapel walls,

lavatories and phantom partitions,

a maze of chiselled tunnel
snakes beneath

the grounds of Colditz Castle,

not dug by the Nazis
but by those they have captured.

Colditz Castle is
a Renaissance-era fortress,

but sits atop a hill overlooking
the Mulde River.

In a castle of this scale,
there are,

there's several passageways.

There are nooks and crannies.
There are big cellars.

They're thick walls.

Sound doesn't necessarily translate
through these thick walls.

Over its history,

it's been used for
a number of different purposes,

including a zoo
and a psychiatric hospital,

but always with

the intention of keeping
its residents contained within.

The seemingly impenetrable Colditz
Castle rests atop

a steep, craggy hill and is
encircled by a two-metre thick wall.

Each door is guarded

and each window fortified
with strong iron bars.

And the reason for this is
Colditz is where

the Germans put their most
problematic POWs.

And what I mean by problematic,

the ones that were
the most effective at escaping.

However,
as resistance begins to simmer,

only a select class
of prisoners are chosen

to be contained here,

high-ranking officials who are prone
to escape.

So Colditz Castle is
a little bit of a paradox.

So on the one side,

you've got this amazing fortress

that you can securely place
all these problematic POWs

that are regularly escaping.

But by putting them all together,

you're allowing all these escape
artists to collaborate

with each other. So in many aspects,

you're creating a whole new problem.

Escape attempts were numerous
throughout World War II,

and some Allied officers were
especially talented in this pursuit.

For those that were caught in
the act,

many of them would be funnelled
to Colditz Castle,

now known as Oflag IV-C.

To locate your prison facility
away from

the borders of any states, any,

any other states means that once you
escape that prison,

if you manage to escape the prison,

traversing all that distance without
getting caught is survivability

really. That's the... That's
the issue.

Oflag IV-C quickly gained infamy
across Europe for being

the only German prison
with more guards than inmates.

For prisoners to achieve
a clean break,

they must navigate
a series of daunting obstacles,

descending unnoticed
to the main floor,

crossing terraces under armed watch,

and clearing a courtyard
with just two exit points.

If they can make it here,

then they must surmount
a barrier of barbed wire

and scale a massive defensive wall,

beyond which lies
a 75-metre drop into

the murky river below.

In the eyes of the Nazis,

Colditz is escape-proof.

But nothing will stop their inmates
from trying.

Now, despite being one of

the most heavily fortified prisons,

Castle Colditz actually has

the highest success rate
for escapes.

Because of the intricacies of

the circulation throughout
this building,

there's blind spots.

The guards would not be able

to have eyes on all
of these different locations.

And the group

of prisoners here were experts

in exploiting those blind spots

and creating distractions

and creating opportunities
to squirrel away in

a small area that's unsupervised
and start digging a tunnel.

In April 1941,

French officer Alain le Ray becomes

the first Oflag IV-C captive
to flee the castle cells,

covertly darting into
an outbuilding during

a guarded excursion
to the prison park.

Many others that attempt
to follow utilise

a maze of tunnels burrowed through
the castle grounds,

including Le Metro,

a 140-metre-long shaft manoeuvring
through a clock tower,

two floors of cellars,

and ending just steps

from the edge of the Colditz Cliff.

Colditz contains
a number of hidden passageways,

large cellars and thick walls,

which create a number of nooks

and crannies that prisoners
can exploit

to assist in their attempts
to escape.

The most daring escape pursuit
of all,

however, is set to be airborne,

using a blind spot
on the tall chapel roof

and a makeshift glider plane.

The engineers draft
the specification for

the escape glider using

a textbook they actually found in
the prison library.

Building a glider?

That's tough with limited materials,

you're scrounging up whatever
you can get your hands on,

from bed slats to...to furniture

to pieces that you can pry off
of that furniture,

to sheet metal that you might
come across,

small pieces of material.

And then it also needs to be light
enough to fly, essentially.

And these people aren't
aircraft designers.

They're, they're winging it!

The departure date is set
for spring of 1945,

when a pulley system will send

the 240lb plane soaring off
a wooden runway from

the chapel roof.
Fortunately, however,

this perilous scheme is interrupted
when American troops stormed

the castle, liberating its detainees

and rendering an escape unnecessary.

Over 800km to the east,
in annexed Poland,

other inmates are not so fortunate.

Here in the city of Lublin,

the Nazis lay claim to
a 14th-century Gothic fortress,

where the sombre reach

of their power truly begins
to emerge.

Lublin Castle is a large,

rectangular-shaped fortress

overlooking one of

the oldest cities in Poland.

In the 19th century,

the castle is
under Russian occupation

and the Russians transform it into
a prison,

and it houses primarily Jewish
and Polish people,

and they are treated really,
really poorly by the Nazis.

Erected on a hill that rises above
a marshy plain,

Lublin Castle was once
a near impregnable fort.

But as Russian, and later Polish,
authorities took hold,

they would transform this
stronghold into

a place of dread.

Built to hold a maximum
of 700 inmates...

SS officials, with callous disregard
for human dignity,

pushed
the structure far beyond its limit.

The prison is overcrowded.

There is a distinct lack of food,

the conditions are terrible,

and many of the prisoners die
of hunger as well as disease.

Lublin Castle is chosen not just as
an ordinary prison,

but a holding centre for trials,

interrogations and, in many cases,

executions at the hands
of his merciless Gestapo.

Upon arrival,

prisoners were often taken to

a building called Under The Clock,

named for the clock at its entrance.

And there they would be subjected

to brutal interrogation

and torture at the hands of
the Gestapo.

Many people did not emerge alive.

Some were ordered to remain within

the horrid halls of Lublin,

others are condemned
to immediate death.

And yet, still worse,
many are sent on to Majdanek,

one of the largest concentration
camps in the Reich.

Immediately after
the Nazis take power,

they start opening
concentration camps.

And a Nazi concentration camp is
a brutal prison that

the Nazis used to put their enemies,

and they are to be used
and exploited,

whether that is used
to slave labour or to be killed.

Among the atrocities committed
at Majdanek

and other camps will be the use of

an abhorrent technology,

the result of a dark experiment
conducted in

the confines of another
faraway fortress.

Situated in a rural Austrian village

along the River Danube,

Hartheim Castle is

a quintessential Renaissance-style
structure built in

the 17th century.

Its symmetrical stone
facade encloses

a serene courtyard framed by
four storeys of classic arches.

Once run by a Catholic sisterhood,

the setting was a refuge
for physically

and intellectually disabled citizens
in the north country.

At the end of the 19th century,

Hartheim Castle has become
a care home for the disabled

and includes about 200 patients.

Following the annexation of Austria
to Germany,

management of the facility is handed
over to the Reich.

Although the care home
remains operational

for existing patients,

the Nazis abruptly restrict
public access.

The Nazis took this space

and transformed it into
a progression of death and murder.

Locals begin to wonder what's
happening in Hartheim Home.

Families are no longer allowed
to visit their loved ones,

and people start to wonder if

the patients are being taken care
of.

Though barred from its
inner workings,

soon locals can't escape

the nauseating fumes that permeate
their fields and streets.

To quell public concern,

Hartheim's director,
Christian Wirth,

concocts a calculated lie.

The smoke, he claims,

is merely the by-product of

an oil processing machine vital
for German U-boats at war.

However, suspicion heightens yet
again when relatives of

the institution's residents begin

receiving a flurry
of death notices.

In 1939,

this 4,000 square metre
building undergoes

a complete transformation
to accommodate its new function.

The top floor is transformed into
a storage area for

the belongings confiscated from
the prisoners.

The middle two floors were turned
into offices,

quarters and kitchens for use
by the onsite staff.

But it's the ground floor that
would be transformed into

a chilling new killing centre.

The four wings surrounding

the courtyard are reconfigured into

a harrowing assembly line
to fulfil the agenda of

the Nazi's Aktion T4 project.

Hartheim is no longer
a care facility,

but a centre for
mass extermination.

Patients brought to Hartheim by bus
are discreetly unloaded

in a covered garage

to shield their arrival from
public view.

They are then ushered into

a series of adjoined holding rooms
in the north wing,

where they are greeted by nurses
before undergoing

a cursory medical examination.

The facility's renovation is
designed to deceive.

The prisoners were led through

a series of rooms that culminated

in what was called the shower room.

And whenever you hear the word
"shower"

in the context of Nazi Germany,

you should prepare
for something horrible.

This seemingly standard procedure
will not lead

to treatment,
because under the Fuhrer's command,

Hartheim Castle has been transformed

into one of six designated
euthanasia facilities in the Reich,

a station of the monstrous
Aktion T4.

This was a room that they were
locked inside,

and then poison gas was let in,
and they were murdered.

Aktion T4 is a covert operation
initiated by the Nazis

to kill people who were considered
"unworthy" of life.

In a grim Nazi experiment,

over 100 individuals are
trapped inside,

and 20 minutes later,
not a single person emerges alive.

By 1941,

the volume of murders here is
so high

a second chimney has
to be installed on site.

They also disposed of a lot of

the ashes by pouring them

into an offshoot of the Danube River

that flowed near the castle.

Hartheim Castle is
an effective venue for this

because it is secluded

and it also allows

for Hitler's terrible operations
to be masked.

The Hartheim showers claim
the lives of

an estimated 30,000 innocent people,

including children,

just a fraction of
the total euthanised

across Hitler's Aktion T4 centres.

Amidst the killings, burners,

nurses and medical staff
regularly gather

to celebrate their
murderous milestones.

Hartheim Castle was used throughout
the war

as a killing centre

for prisoners of
concentration camps.

On December 11th, 1944,
as Germany faces the loss of war,

the Nazis carry out their final act

of gassing at Hartheim Castle,

silencing the last concentration
camp victims

to be suffocated by the Reich.

All remnants of their deplorable
crimes

at the site are destroyed.

The chimney is dismantled
and the ovens demolished,

hoping to obscure the full extent of
their cruelty

from the eyes of both history
and justice.

For the Nazi regime
to destroy evidence

and to not leave behind any remnants

of the awful, heinous,

brutal acts that they were carrying
out is essentially

a way for them to exonerate
themselves

from the awful acts
that they committed.

Among these enigmatic structures is
Houska Castle,

a Gothic edifice in
the modern-day Czech Republic.

Built in the 13th century,

it stands as one of the most
well-preserved castles of its era,

complete with a grand chapel,

maintained chambers

and intricately painted murals.

In the wake of the Nazi invasion,

the Wehrmacht seized this
ancient vestige,

but their reasons for doing so

remain in question to this day.

Houska Castle doesn't seem

to have any strategic value.

It's in the middle of nowhere.

It is filled with all these
strange symbols

and references.
So why did the Nazis claim it?

Additionally, the castle has no
kitchen facilities

or running water supply,

making its use
all the more puzzling.

Inside the castle chapel,

a series of 14th-century frescoes
tell a curious tale.

Dedicated to the biblical
Archangel Michael,

known for leading an army

against the forces of Lucifer,

the chapel paintings depict
vicious battle scenes

and dead souls on
the Day of Judgement.

The frescoes inside this chapel are
quite unusual

because they combine Christian
symbolisms

and stories with these pagan symbols
and myths.

Some say the reason for

the SS capture lies beneath
the soil,

a feature that has haunted
the imaginations of locals

and visitors for centuries.

Here, under the thick stone floors,

a seemingly bottomless chasm yawns
into the darkness,

a void that some believe leads

straight to the depths
of Hell itself.

Legends about this pit

in Houska Castle date back
to the 13th century.

Even before the castle was built,

this pit was said to be
a gateway to Hell.

Local lore has long warned

of evil forces roaming these
Bohemian forests,

tales of otherworldly creatures

and winged demons scouring

for souls have all found
their origin in this deep abyss.

And the story goes that

the king of Bohemia in
the mid-1200s, Ottokar II,

offered prisoners condemned to death

a pardon if they would agree
to go down into this pit

and see what was actually going on
down there.

And according to local legend that's
been passed down over the centuries,

when these prisoners emerged from
the pit, they'd age rapidly.

Shortly after this,

King Ottokar II actually has

a castle built around this pit

to protect the community
from whatever was down below.

According to some,

this portal to hell may have held
special interest

to Adolf Hitler's right-hand man,
Heinrich Himmler,

one of the primary conductors of
the Holocaust, who held

an obsessive interest in the occult.

Heinrich Himmler was one of

the most powerful men in
Nazi Germany.

As head of the SS,
he wielded enormous power,

but he was also exceptionally evil.

He is overseeing the most vile

and evil organisation
in Nazi Germany.

Some theories suggest that
Houska plays host

to Nazi occult ceremonies

and experiments that summon Satanic
forces to win

the war and rule the world.

This theory gains credence in 2016,

when around 13,000 books
on the topic of the occult

and witchcraft are unearthed from

a Nazi vault near Prague,
all amassed by Himmler himself.

And the fact that Houska Castle has
this strange,

dark, kind of foreboding history

and mythology that links the occult

with kind of these symbolisms
of paganism

and Satanism is one reason why

we might think that perhaps this is
why the Nazis wanted it,

that it was, in fact,
the gateway to Hell.

The fall of the Reich in 1945

eventually sees Nazi-occupied
castles reclaimed by

the regions that birthed them.

Though most reminders of Nazi rule

of these ancient sites have since
been erased,

they will inevitably harbour

horrific memories for decades
to come.

The Nazis were responsible
for untold death,

suffering and devastation throughout

the territories that they ruled.

We're still discovering
the extent of that today.

So you have to ask yourself,

what other evidence
of evil acts is still hidden,

still buried underneath castles
or behind

the walls of these
historic structures?

Though Nazi Germany often restored
these castles

to their engineered splendour,

they would forever taint

the legacy of those
who constructed them.

These architectural marvels will now
forever bear

the memory of Nazi Germany
and the atrocities committed within.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media