All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S11E02.Schindlers.Deception.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

[narrator] A Moroccan
stronghold governed by a ruler
with friends in high places.

[intense music playing]

[Bell] Charlie Chaplin,
Winston Churchill,

General George Patton.

They all came to pay homage.

[intense music continues]

[narrator]
In the Czech Republic,

a place of hope
in an age of tyranny.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
He was watching
the Holocaust happen.

He had to move people
to where they might have

a fighting chance
of survival.

[narrator]
And an Amazonian paradise

that fell victim
to the lure of reality TV.

Celebrities and dignitaries

all made the same trip
to this stretch of jungle

that proved to be
both a blessing and a curse.

[intense music playing]

[narrator] Decaying relics...

Ruins of lost worlds...

Sites haunted by the past...

Their secrets waiting...

to be revealed.

High in Morocco's
Atlas Mountains,

an isolated settlement
appears like a mirage,

straight out of
The Arabian Nights.

[dramatic music playing]

Large areas are in ruins,
but it is a pretty
imposing structure.

It has high walls
and narrow windows.

It doesn't shrink
into the landscape,
it dominates it.

This place
was clearly fortified.

[narrator] Yet, behind
the mud brick ramparts,

a labyrinth
of unexpected grandeur awaits.

Every passageway
leads to something
completely different.

Either a crumbling ruin
or a beautiful room
covered in mosaics.

[narrator] Built by a dynastic
family of great influence,

it evolved
into the lavish outpost
of an enigmatic leader.

Up here, a mountain warlord
rose to become one of the most
powerful men in Morocco,

and one of the wealthiest
in the world.

[narrator] Yet hubris
would lead to his downfall.

To some, he was a pragmatist
who saw the imperial tide
crashing in and adapted.

To others, he was a traitor
to his country.

[intense music playing]

[narrator] Brice Bexter
is directly descended

from the powerful clan
that once occupied this site.

[Bexter] I first came here
in March 2020

in order to discover
where I was from.

It does
give me goosebumps.

My ancestors started
our family's name
and our family's legacy here.

[narrator] Yet, under the rule
of Brice's controversial
great-grandfather,

Thami El Glaoui,

the family's legacy
was tainted.

[Bexter] It is...

undeniable our name
comes back a lot in the press,

whether it's positively,
whether it's negatively.

I don't think
my great-grandfather
was a perfect person.

Uh, definitely not.

But I also always tell people
to not judge their history
100 years later.

[narrator]
This is Kasbah Telouet,

the extravagant seat of power
of the El Glaoui family

that first rose to prominence
in this region 200 years
before Thami took control.

A kasbah is essentially
a fortified residence
for a ruler.

[Luke] They often
house key buildings

like garrisons for troops,
mosques, and residences.

They also guarded
trade routes which is why
this one is located here.

[Bexter] That's how the family
slowly and surely built

its strength
by controlling taxes

and caravans as they were
coming through ins and outs
of Morocco in the south.

[narrator] By 1860,
the El Glaouis had amassed
enough money

to build this commanding
symbol of dominance.

As their wealth increased
from salt, saffron,
and the olive trade,

so too did the size
of their kasbah.

Over the centuries,
every one of my ancestors
added their own touch

and you can see
the evolution of all
the different time periods.

[narrator] The biggest change
was still to come.

In 1893, a rare event
provided the family
an opportunity

to elevate their status
even further.

At the time, Brice's
great-grandfather, Thami,
was 14 years old

and served
as second-in-command
to his older brother, Madani.

The sultan of Morocco
was in the Atlas Mountains

when he and
his men were caught
in an unexpected snowstorm.

My great-grandfather
and his brother brought them
back here

until the harsh winter passed,
so they had to feed an army
of 3,000 people

as well as the king himself.

In return for their
hospitality, the family
was given political power

over Morocco,
south of the Atlas Mountains.

He gave the Glaoui
a 77-millimeter Krupp cannon.

And this was the only weapon
of its kind in Morocco
outside of the Imperial Army.

The Glaoui used this weapon
to subdue rival warlords.

The whole region
was mostly in their hands
during that time.

[narrator] The El Glaouis'
stronghold grew to reflect

their unrivaled wealth
and authority.

[Bexter] This is the main
entrance to the kasbah.

And so, when my ancestors
used to welcome the people,

they were always coming
through this courtyard first.

[narrator] The farther in
you went, the more exclusive
the spaces became.

So we're in the riad.
In Morocco,
riads are open courtyards.

All of our houses always have,
like, a common area

with most of the time,
a fountain in the middle.

Well, here, you don't have
much left of it.

But you can get an idea
of what it used to look like.

[narrator] Below ground,
Brice finds the quarters
of the servants

who supported
the family above.

You can hear the bats.

So, we're under
the main room here.
And it's not always safe.

But it gives you access
to the upper parts,

and ways
for all the employees
to get around the palace.

[narrator] By 1909, although
Thami had not ascended
to be head of the El Glaoui,

he had still made full use
of his family's influence

to secure the coveted position
of governor, or pasha,
of Marrakech.

Three years later, the world
outside the kasbah walls
was changing

and Thami's time
would come.

In the European scramble
to divide up Africa,

Morocco lost its independence
to France in 1912.

[Bexter] The French
quickly understood
that in order to do anything

in southern Morocco,
you would have to
ally yourself with the pasha.

For the younger El Glaoui
brother, this was a moment
of reckoning.

He could either fight
for independence,

or cast his lots
with the new European powers.

[narrator] In 1912,
after the French conquest
of Morocco,

Thami El Glaoui,
the Pasha of Marrakech,

was left facing
a stark choice.

To join the foreign invaders
or stand by his country
against them.

For a man of his ambition,
there was only one option.

El Glaoui sided
with the French.

And in return, gained rule
over a large swathe
of Southern Morocco.

[Bexter] My great-grandfather
was quickly associated as a
collaborator with the French.

So, obviously,
he was considered a traitor
by most of the people.

[narrator] Then, in 1918,
after the death of Thami's
older brother, Madani,

the French further repaid
his support by appointing him
as head of the family,

instead of his siblings' sons
who where the rightful heirs.

Over the next two decades,
Thami leveraged his position
to consolidate his wealth

and become one
of the world's richest men.

[Bell] This was the pinnacle
of his power and influence.

And this was a man
who enjoyed flaunting it.

This was built
by my great-grandfather
back in the 1930s.

Of course,
he liked to show off.

You know, like anyone
who's successful in life
at some point, I guess like...

You wanna show, you know,
the extent of that success,
so yeah, it was a statement.

He amassed so many riches
that everyone either wanted
to see or be seen with him.

[Luke] Charlie Chaplin,
Winston Churchill,
and General George Patton

all came to the kasbah
to be hosted by the Pasha.

[narrator] But as the 20th
century wore on,

Moroccan nationalist tension
grew under continued
French rule.

El Glaoui, still aligned
with the colonialists,

was about to make
a fateful decision.

And no amount
of powerful friends
could save him.

In 1953, he conspired
with the French to overthrow
Sultan Mohammed V.

[Bexter] It was intense.
It was a lot of pressure.

And that came
from the French being around

and wanting to keep their,
their hands on Morocco
as long as possible.

[narrator] Thami El Glaoui
had misread the mood
of the nation.

[Luke] An independence
movement to Morocco was
simmering under the surface.

The next two years
was an eruption of violence

and a unified demand
for the return
of their sultan.

In 1955, the French
were forced to concede
and bring him back to Morocco.

And this spelled disaster
for the Pasha.

In an extraordinary scene,
the Pasha was publicly shamed

when he was brought to Paris
and forced to beg and grovel
at the Sultan's feet.

It was the end
of a stunning fall from power.

The Pasha died
just months later.

[narrator] In March 1956,
two months
after Thami's death,

Morocco gained independence.

The impact on Kasbah Telouet
proved fatal.

That's when most
of their palaces,
most of their goods,

and most of their fortune
was seized.

We did get the place back
in the late '80s.

But I mean, the state
of the kasbah was already
totally degraded.

So, we were left with almost
everything you see today.

[intense music playing]

[narrator] Now reunited
with his family's property,

Brice must come up
with inventive ways
to keep the kasbah standing.

I was lucky, I guess,
to bring a movie set here

that had this Arabian Nights
feeling to it and it was
beautiful to be able to see

what was it like to live again
like this and to be able
to imagine

what it would have looked like
back in the days.

[narrator] In the Czech
Republic, 100 miles
east of Prague,

a rundown facility
tells an extraordinary tale

of deception and survival.

[Onyeka] This looks like
an ordinary Czech town

but in the center,
there appears to be
abandoned warehouses

configured around
a central courtyard.

What was its purpose?

[Selwood] Inside, you see
raised concrete plinths

and sturdy pillars
holding up the floor,

all of which suggest that
this place was once filled

with heavy machinery
of some sort.

[Dr. Nusbacher] You see there
are sacks of fiber and there
are bobbins.

So clearly, there's some
textile industry
going in here.

This structure seems to be
part of an operation that's
been forgotten by history.

[narrator] Yet within
these walls,
an improbable savior

risked everything to defy
a ruthless killing machine.

[Onyeka] He was
an entrepreneur, a spy,
and a playboy.

And he conned one of Europe's
most dangerous regimes.

There's no doubt, it's one
of the most important stories
of the 20th century.

[Selwood] The events that took
place here inspired
an Oscar-winning movie

known as Schindler's List.

[intense music playing]

So I first came back in 1973
when I was very young
and with my father.

This was my
grandfather's factory.

This is where he worked
with his two brothers.

[narrator] Dr. Daniel Low-Beer
is the custodian
of this site today.

In the early 1900s,
this was the beating heart

of his ancestors'
thriving textile business.

[Daniel] Our family
had been here for many
hundreds of years.

And they felt very much
part of this land.

They were accepted
in Czechoslovakia.

This is where the Jews
could express themselves
fully culturally.

[narrator] But in 1938,
the rise of a terrible evil

left Daniel's
grandfather, Walter,
staring into the abyss.

So, from one day to the next,
Czechoslovakia is one country
and then it's split into two.

And the border goes along
the stream that goes
through our factory.

And my grandfather wakes up
and on the other side
of the river

is a battalion
of Nazi soldiers
who had come in

partly to invade,
partly to loot, partly to find
what they could.

He said, "You can't come
over this river.
This is the border.

Go and check your orders
and your borders."
And he held them up.

A Jew on that border,
holding up the Nazis
for three days.

[narrator] Walter was just
one man standing
against an entire army.

Shortly thereafter,
the Low-Beers
were forced to flee,

leaving their life's
work behind.

In the early years
of the Second World War,

a variety of companies
worked at the factory,

producing textiles
and armaments
for the German war effort.

[narrator] Then, in 1944,
the site underwent
a horrifying transformation.

[Daniel] This was
a concentration camp.

So you first of all
have to imagine the barbed
wire which closed it off.

The watchtowers
which would be looking
over this place.

There was 80 to 100
armed SS guards here,

some of them
extremely dangerous.

[narrator] Around 1200 Jewish
captives were transported

from Poland to work
in this labor camp.

But the Nazi industrialist
who brought them here
had an extraordinary secret.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
What this place
produced was hope.

And that's a precious
commodity in dark times.

[narrator] In the Czech
Republic, is the site
of an old textile factory.

During World War II,
it was seized by the Nazis

and turned into a labor camp
to make weapons.

But for the man
in charge of the facility,

it had a hidden purpose.

[Onyeka] He certainly
was no saint,

he didn't regard himself
as an humanitarian,

but even ordinary people
can behave
in extraordinary ways.

[narrator]
His was Oskar Schindler.

And this was to be a safe
haven to protect a people
under siege.

At the start of the war,
his motivation could not
have been more different.

Schindler is getting rich
taking over factories
that belonged to Jews.

Schindler is coining money,
he was stuffing his pockets
'cause he's a Nazi,

he's friends with Nazis,
there's Nazi money to be made.

And Schindler is living well.

But somewhere or sometime
during the Second World War,

he began to change
his perspective.

People are being taken
from Poland's ghettos

to Poland's death camps

and they're being murdered
on a wholesale basis.

Schindler was watching
the Holocaust happen.

[Selwood] It seems
that it was during this period

that Schindler's
motivations changed.

If he had done nothing,
all of his Jewish workers

would have been deported
to extermination camps,
most likely Auschwitz.

[narrator] It was then
that Schindler came up
with a plan

to outsmart the Nazis.

His path to redemption
had begun.

[Onyeka] Oskar Schindler,
with the help
of his employees,

began to draw up lists.

Lists of people
who would effectively
be saved

by working
at his labor camp.

Schindler told the SS
that those on the lists
were highly-skilled workers

and essential to setting up
and running the factory.

[Dr. Nusbacher] Schindler
needs to insulate the people
he's trying to save

from the deadly,
casual brutality
of the SS guard force.

By housing the workers
inside the factory,

and the guards
in a separate building,

he reduced the likelihood
of these attacks.

[Daniel] So there's
three floors, the first two
would be used for production.

And they would have
lived above this floor.

This was a relative
place of safety.

[narrator]
From the very start,
Schindler had no intention

of using his factory
to make weapons.

Yet, he had to convince
Nazi officials
of the exact opposite.

Schindler has got to pretend
that he is building
German armaments

in his factory
even though

he's producing approximately
no German armaments.

It was tense from
the morning to the evening.
There was danger everywhere.

And when the inspections came,
yeah, there would be
a huge flurry.

He would have
to find munitions, he would
have to forge documents.

[Dr. Nusbacher] Every hour,
every day, every breath

that those people took
was an act of defiance

against the Nazis.

[narrator] Schindler and his
workers maintained the
deception for over six months

until Germany's
total surrender
came on May 8, 1945.

But only the Jewish prisoners
knew Schindler's secret.

In the eyes of the advancing
Allied forces,

he was a wanted
Nazi war criminal.

It's at five past midnight
that the roles change.

He was in charge of his camp,
and then suddenly,
becomes the hunted.

[narrator] Some of the workers
put together a letter,

explaining that Schindler
had done everything he could

to save the largest number
of Jewish lives possible.

It also asked anyone
he showed the letter to

to help him
in any way they could.

[dramatic music playing]

[Dr. Nusbacher]
But paper burns,

and ink dissolves.

So they made him
a ring.

[Daniel] And there's no gold

anywhere, apart
from on their teeth.

And so they melt
this ring out of their teeth.

But on it, there's a phrase
which is taken
from the Talmud,

which says,
"If you save a life,
you save the world entire."

[narrator]
While the workers waited

for the camp's
official liberation,

Schindler fled west
to American lines

with the letter, the ring
and a remarkable story.

He had helped save
1,200 people
from the Holocaust.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
And it is estimated that

the descendants
of those 1,200 people,

7,000 to 9,000 people

are alive today,

because Oskar Schindler
risked everything

to save the lives of people
to whom he owed nothing.

[Daniel]
It's not clear why

he did what he did.

But in some ways,
that's what

keeps the story alive,

and allows the next generation
of children to make

their own mind up.

And then,
most importantly,
what would you do

in the same situation?

If Schindler could do it,
why couldn't more people
do it?

[serene instrumental
music playing]

[narrator] In 2019,

Daniel was able
to buy back

his family's old factory.

Today, he is working to turn
this site into a museum

dedicated to those
who survived here.

[Daniel]
In the Jewish sense,
when the world is shattered,

you wanna put it
back together again.

And I think it's a little bit
the impetus we have here

in this ruined factory,

is to put something
back together
which can tell a story,

and show survival.

[narrator] In Brazil,

deep in the Amazon rainforest

are the neglected remains
of a pioneering venture.

[intense music playing]

[Gutierrez-Romine]
As you navigate
through the waterways,

you come across this ruin
that's just

rotting on the side
of the jungle.

There is this
mess of stilts

and beams, and they

reach up
hundreds of feet into the air.

You can see
the remains of a boardwalk

and some platforms
teetering high
above the water.

[narrator] As more skeletons
emerge from the forest,

the extent of this site
becomes apparent.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
This area is

remote and exposed.

It's not exactly a place
where you would

imagine there
to be a settlement.

[Michele]
This is a footprint
of a vast complex.

To build somewhere like this
would have required

specialist local knowledge.

[Morgan]
It makes you wonder, why

was this created?

Was this some sort of
an industrial facility?

[Gutierrez-Romine]
This place was built with

one thing in mind.

An existential threat
to humanity.

[narrator] In the heart
of the Brazilian rainforest,

are the fallen remains
of a bold enterprise,

conceived
with a noble intention.

[Roberto speaking Portuguese]

[translator in English]
Everything I have,
including my family,

comes from here.
Best friends were made here.

So, looking at it now,
in ruins,

it's hard to talk about.

[narrator]
Roberto Abdias has worked

in the Amazon
all his life.

For 17 years,
this was home.

[Roberto speaking Portuguese]

[translator in English]
As a jungle survival guide,
every day there's a connection

with nature.

It is something inexplicable.

[narrator] Today,
these derelict ruins

are only accessible by boat.

When first built,
a helicopter was

the favorite method
of transportation for those

who could afford it.

[Morgan] To see it now,

you wouldn't think that some
of the richest people

on Earth came to visit this.
But they did.

[narrator] Its story began

with a chance encounter
more than four decades ago.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
In 1982,

one of the most renowned

explorers, Jacques Cousteau,
came and visited
this part of the Amazon.

He explored the world,
and he brought attention
to matters

like the
disappearing rainforest.

[narrator] It was
while staying at a hotel
in the city of Manaus,

Cousteau grew close
to its owner,

Francisco Ritta Bernardino.

[Michele]
Cousteau made a prediction
to his new friend.

He predicted that,
within 15 years,

the whole world
would be talking
about the Amazon.

Not just climate scientists
and biologists, but also
regular, concerned citizens.

[Morgan] Bernardino

was inspired by Cousteau.

In an effort
to prevent

further deforestation,
he wanted
to make a difference.

[narrator] He was also
a keen businessman,
with an eye

for opportunity.

When Cousteau
encouraged him

to consider the fast-growing
industry of ecotourism,

it seemed
like the perfect fit.

This is all
that remains of Bernardino's
Ariau Towers Hotel.

[Morgan] By establishing
a resort like this,

people could come
and experience

the Amazon
without damaging the Amazon.

They could take away
from it memories without

leaving anything behind.

[Michele] This would be

a unique building
that would immerse people
right into the heart

of this incredible ecosystem.

[narrator] Bernardino began
his ambitious project
in 1984.

From the beginning,
there were challenges
to overcome.

For half of the year,

this area is under water.

-[Roberto speaking Portuguese]
- [translator in English]
He first went

and spoke to the local people.

"Look, you know how

to work with wood
like nobody else.

I want to build a hotel
on stilts.

And since the water rises
and falls every year,

I need a specific wood
that can be used on the water

and doesn't deteriorate."

And the local people knew
how to do that,
because they lived there.

[narrator]
After two years of building,

Ariau Towers was ready
to welcome

its first guests.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
What Bernardino

achieved really
was this massive

feat of construction
and engineering.

He built on stilts

300 rooms, a helipad,

dining rooms
and so much more.

[Morgan] There were walkways
that linked one building

to the next.

There were catwalks
that were

up in the trees,
so that

you could experience
the part of the Amazon

where most
of the life lived.

They'd be able to see
pink dolphins. They'd
be able to see

any number of

brilliantly colored birds.

[translator] If those clients
wanted more activities,

I would take them
to the jungle
and spend the night.

It was a spectacular
thing that.

Staying overnight
in the jungle was something
from another world.

[narrator] Ariau Towers

tapped into a growing trend.

And its exclusivity
attracted the rich

and famous.

[Morgan] This was built

in an era when problems
with the Amazon rainforest

were just becoming

general knowledge,
and the way that

that elimination of rainforest
was also displacing

tribal people that lived
in the Amazon rainforest.

At its height,
it wasn't uncommon

to see celebrities
or politicians here.

-[Roberto speaking Portuguese]
- [translator in English]
We had Bill Gates,

Kevin Costner,

Jennifer Lopez,
Arnold Schwarzenegger

They came from Manaus

to this helipad.

[helicopter hovering]

[narrator]
Business was booming,

and Bernardino's investment
appeared to be paying off.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
In the late '90s,

it is estimated that

revenue was somewhere
around $12 million

from the 36,000 guests

it was receiving per year.

[narrator] Then, in 2002,
a reality TV juggernaut

came calling, and it seemed
like a lucrative opportunity,

too good to miss.

[Gutierrez-Romine] The hit
reality series Survivor

was looking for a location
for its sixth season.

And Ariau Towers
fit the bill.

[Michele]
The production went ahead

and they booked out
the entire place for months.

[Roberto speaking Portuguese]

[translator in English]
I even trained
the reality participants.

And, by the way,
they paid me very well.

But I guarantee you,
I would rather have not
earned that money,

and the reality show
didn't happen here.

Because it was the reason
that bankrupted the hotel.

[narrator] Ariau Towers

was headed toward disaster.

[Michele] It turns out that

interrupting your regular
stream of guests
for an entire three months

can really be disastrous
in the tourism industry.

[narrator] In 2002,
the reality series Survivor

chose the Ariau Towers Hotel

as the base
for their latest season.

The production's
high-profile presence
was supposed

to attract new business.

Former hotel employee,

Roberto Abdias, believes
it had the opposite effect.

[Roberto speaking Portuguese]

[translator speaking English]
Big operators had to

cancel their groups
because the hotel was rented

for a television show.

Imagine a group
of 100,

200 people in a hotel

that could accommodate 700.

The number of visitors
began to decline,

and soon there were

staff layoffs that followed.

[narrator] The hotel limped on
for another decade.

But the business
never recovered.

Operations ceased
in 2016.

And the Amazon
quickly reclaimed its ground.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
All of the locals
who helped to build

and operate Ariau Towers

really saw this
as their own.

So, when the facility
became defunct,

they took the timbers,

they took the beams
and the roofs, leaving

very little standing
there today.

-[Roberto speaking Portuguese]
- [translator in English]
I can confess to you

I also have a hotel door
in my house, that I will keep

for the rest of my life
as a souvenir

of a place
that made me so happy,

that made me achieve
everything I have.

[narrator]
The Ariau Towers Hotel

may have ended in failure.

But Roberto believes
it should be remembered

for the good
it tried to achieve.

[speaking Portuguese]

[translator in English]
The objective of the hotel

was to help preserve
the rainforest

and generate income
for the local people.

Thanks to the Ariau Hotel,

it educated a whole group
that today are still working

in ecotourism.

It was the best
jungle hotel

in the world.

[instrumental music playing]

[intense music playing]

[narrator] In Germany,
just outside of Berlin,

a peculiar collection
of buildings litters
the countryside.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
About 20 miles
east of the capital,

this sprawling city
gives way to these

portions of green
and dark patches
of woodlands.

[Meigs] Looking
through the trees here,
we start to see

some strange
stone structures.

Some of them look like
they might be

churches or maybe
medieval forts.

One place
we see something that

looks like it could be
a temple In Cambodia.

[narrator] Exploring deeper,
a confusing picture

begins to emerge.

[Gutierrez-Romine] There are
long, dark corridors.

And there are deep holes

that lead to nowhere.

On the lower levels

are the remains
of railroad track
and old carts

It's hard to figure out
what we're looking at,

or what was here.

[Michele] The rusting
metal remains suggest that

this was some sort of
industrial complex.

But for what trade?

[narrator] From the fires
of this vast complex,

one of Europe's
greatest cities was forged.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
Just from looking
at what is left here,

you would have no idea

of the role
that this place played

in the building
of modern Germany.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Kathrin Jurkat
is a historian

who works in the shadow
of this towering behemoth.

The ground
on which it's built

is the very reason
it exists.

So 240 million years ago

at this site,
there was an ocean.

There were
shells and other animals
living inside of it.

These shells, when they died,
were transforming
into limestone.

Limestone is a really great
material to work with

as a building material.

It's easier to cut into
different shapes than,
say, granite.

And it's easier to quarry.

Berlin really is a city
of limestone.
You can find it

everywhere, from the floors

of the Berliner Dom Cathedral

to the roads of
the working class
neighborhoods.

[narrator]
This is Ruedersdorf.

For over 750 years,

it was at the heart

of an industry that built
the German capital.

But this site produced
more than

Berlin's building blocks.

It also created

the vital ingredient
that held them together.

This is the chamber kiln.
It was built

in 1666.

And this is
the oldest structure
we have here

in Ruedersdorf.
It was used

for burning lime.

[Meigs] The cooking
of the limestone changes
its chemical structure.

If you'd let it cool down,
you could crumble

the rocks
into a fine powder,

what we call quicklime.

Then, if you add water,

and throw in some sand
and other things,

you would have cement.

[narrator] Quicklime's impact

on the city
is impossible to overstate.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
Berlin's population in 1701

had swelled to

over 100,000,
and it was growing

in all directions.

As European society advanced,
and bigger

and bigger stone buildings
were being built,

the demand
from these furnaces,

or kilns, was enormous.

[narrator]
In order to keep up,

it was the poorly paid
labor force

that suffered most.

Can you imagine

just how difficult
and dangerous
this work was?

They were moving chunks

of rock that were heated
to 1,000 degrees.

[crackling]

[Gutierrez-Romine]
If the burnt lime

came into contact
with their skin

or their sweat,

which was inevitable
in conditions like this,

it was like acid.

They could get
very severe burns.

[narrator] Despite the risks,

there was constant pressure
to keep the kilns burning

no matter what.

The entire
procedure, however,

was incredibly inefficient.

[Meigs] The problem
with this method is
you have to load the kiln,

build this intense fire
for four or five days,

you had to pull
the limestone out

and repeat
the process.

As demand for cement

increased, this method
wasn't fast enough.

[narrator] But
that wasn't the only issue.

The fuel
that fed the fires

was also in short supply.

[Michele] The chamber kiln

needed wood to run.

But the Brandenburg forest
was running out of trees

at an alarming rate.

[narrator] If Berlin's
growth was to continue,

Ruedersdorf needed
to find a solution.

Fast.

[narrator] Berlin
was undergoing

a rapid expansion
at the turn
of the 19th century.

But the resource
that fueled its rise

was under threat.

The city had depleted
its supply of timber

to fire
the quicklime-producing kilns
at Ruedersdorf.

An innovation
by British-American inventor

Lord Benjamin Rumford
in 1802
would prove vital.

The Rumford kiln
operates like

a kind of
vertical conveyor belt.

Workers bring
chunks of lime with carts

to the top of the structure

and they drop it
into the central shaft.

[crackling]

There's fires
that are kept burning
at all times

around the shaft.

As the limestone
cooks down,

they keep adding
more limestone at the top.

But at the bottom,
workers can open the shaft

and shovel out
the cooked limestone.

Whereas before it had taken
about a week

between loading
and unloading the kiln,

this one burned
continuously.

And instead of burning wood,
which was running out,

it used peat for fuel.

[narrator] Peat burns hotter,

and there was
an untapped supply
in the wetlands

around Berlin.

This, combined with
the Rumford kiln's
ability to operate

24 hours a day,

365 days a year,

saw production triple.

The technological leap
was good for business,

but did little to improve

the lives
of the labor force.

So this great invention
of the Rumford kiln

was not so good

for the workers.

Before that,
they didn't work that long,
but now they had to work

16 hours a day.

Also, it was
very harmful for them
to inhale the dust.

A lot of the workers here had
a problem with their lungs.

[Michele] This really was not
a healthy environment.

And, quite tragically,
many workers

never saw the age of 40
as a result.

[narrator] Despite
the human cost,

the kilns
worked around the clock.

[Gutierrez-Romine]
Even though

28,000 tons of quicklime

were being produced
every year,

there was always a need
for more.

[narrator] Berlin
was quickly becoming
one of the largest

cities in Europe.

In 1871,
with the unification,

Germany became
really a great power

for the first time.

And that led to
a much faster pace

of economic
and industrial development.

Berlin had become
the capital city
of the entire

German Empire.

And its population
had reached 800,000.

[Meigs] They needed
more raw materials.

They needed more cement.

[narrator] At this time,
Ruedersdorf had

five Rumford kilns
in constant operation.

It wasn't enough.

The answer
was to build
something even bigger.

[Jurkat] So this is
the shaft kiln battery.

It was finished in 1877.

So, the innovation here
is that

they put 18 kilns

right next to each other,
so that

it functioned like a factory.

[Michele] This structure

was built in
a kind of a ditch,

which at the top
allowed railcars

to reach the roof,
and from the bottom

carts could be loaded
straight onto the railway.

[Meigs] This complex,
located where it is,

is part of
why Berlin was able

to grow as rapidly as it did.

This place
helped build a lot of

what remains as kind of
iconic Berlin today,

including
the Brandenburg Gate.

[narrator]
For almost a century

these kilns burned,

producing hundreds

of thousands of tons
of quicklime,

fueling Germany's

path to become the nation
we know today.

But by the late 1960s,

the once cutting-edge
technology

was becoming obsolete.

And by 1967,

it had been abandoned.

Today, Ruedersdorf
is open to the public.

It provides
a unique insight

into a factory
that built a city.

[Meigs] It's interesting
that it was never

torn down or reused
for other purposes.

And that's

really great
because you can see

what's essentially a museum

and a tribute to
all the hard work

and innovation

that went into developing
these modern

building materials.