Original subtitles

[narrator] Famous, yet deserted.

Prized, coveted and assaulted.

The wreckage of sites that became battlegrounds.

A town drenched in infamy.

The victim of a notorious raid.

[Jim Meigs] Everything is in the same state of decay.

This isn't just a ruin. It's something more.

[narrator] A facility famed for break outs,

subjected to a daring break in.

subjected to a daring break in.

[Katherine Landdeck] In this case, the idea of who is the invader,

and who is the invaded, is pretty blurred.

[narrator] The musical heartbeat of a city,

brought down by racial division.

[Onyeka] There were raids. There were arrests.

People were taken away.

[narrator] And a micronation off the coast of England,

stormed by a band of mercenaries.

So Sealand was now occupied by a gang of Germans

with guns and plenty of money.

with guns and plenty of money.

[narrator] This is Mysteries of the Abandoned.

Raiders and Invaders.

Decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting to be revealed.

Hugging the banks of the River Glen, in west Central France,

is a settlement that appears derelict,

yet tenderly preserved.

[Rob] This looks like the perfect place

to have a very happy, very productive agricultural village.

So why is there no one here?

[Jim] What's striking is how

[Jim] What's striking is how

everything is in about the same degree of decay.

As if this town was abandoned

and destroyed all at once.

[Katherine] You come into the church

and you see this giant bell.

But it's not right. It's been melted.

And you can't imagine what kind of heat must've done that.

[narrator] Nearby, in the village's cemetery,

rows of neat headstones seem unremarkable, until you look closer.

rows of neat headstones seem unremarkable, until you look closer.

Many of the graves share the same date.

And many of the graves belong to children.

[Rob] Your heart just sinks.

It makes you wonder what on earth happened here.

[Philippe] For me, going through the village is a pilgrimage.

You can imagine the life before.

You can imagine the people who lived in these houses.

[narrator] Philippe Lacroix has been mayor of this area since 2014.

His village and their shattered site share the same name.

Oradour-sur-Glane.

Its ghostly streets disguise a thriving past.

[Philippe] It was very commercial.

[Philippe] It was very commercial.

There were a lot of shops and professionals.

It was a very active village.

We had about 1,600 inhabitants in the whole commune.

[narrator] Day trippers, shoppers,

and pupils attending the village's two schools, swelled its numbers.

Among them were members of Philippe's family.

So why has this thriving community vanished?

[Jim] One clue is this ancient car,

[Jim] One clue is this ancient car,

that's sitting in a very prominent location,

gradually rusting away.

This is a very particular type of car.

It's a Peugeot 202.

A model that was introduced just a couple of years before World War II.

[narrator] The fate of Oradour is wrapped up in the chaos and destruction

of the second World War.

But this relatively tranquil part of France

never echoed to the sound of battle

or the waves of bombers that pounded Europe from the skies.

The village lay in the so-called free zone of France.

While the Germans occupied the north and west of the country,

this was an area administered by the Vichy regime,

French collaborators who ruled on behalf of their German masters.

[Jim] Life in Vichy, France was a very tenuous affair.

[Jim] Life in Vichy, France was a very tenuous affair.

In theory, they had a certain amount of governmental autonomy.

And yet the German military was always there, hovering over everything.

And always suspicious of the local population.

[Katherine] They're going to be essentially left alone,

as long as they do what they're told.

As long as they collaborate or at least don't actively fight

against the Germans that are in the area.

[narrator] Not every French citizen was so compliant.

[narrator] Not every French citizen was so compliant.

Disparate bands of guerrillas, collectively known as "The Resistance",

disrupted the German war effort in any way possible.

You can imagine the fault lines of distrust

running through French society during this period.

[narrator] For four years, Oradour-sur-Glane

existed under this uneasy atmosphere.

But then events far away, on the beaches of northern France,

But then events far away, on the beaches of northern France,

would change everything.

The date was June 6th, 1944.

D-Day.

The liberation of France had begun.

Seeing the German defeat imminent, galvanizes the French.

It fires up the French spirit.

[Katherine] The French Resistance is ramping up their activities.

They're becoming more aggressive and taking even more risks.

They're becoming more aggressive and taking even more risks.

[Jim] The sense of excitement must've been overwhelming.

Here, finally, after years,

the allies were coming to save France from the Germans.

The villagers must've thought they can only hold on until the allies get there.

[Philippe] What we do know, is that in Oradour, there was no resistance.

And as they had done nothing, they thought they were protected.

So for the people from Oradour, they felt safe.

So for the people from Oradour, they felt safe.

The war was over.

[narrator] But on June 10th, 1944,

four days after D-Day, Germany soldiers arrived.

The villagers had no idea why.

Local mayor, Philippe Lacroix,

recalls speaking to eye witness, Robert Hebras,

about how he felt during this mysterious visit.

[Philippe] His mother told him,

"You should hide because they are going to take you to Germany."

He replied, "But I see them everyday.

He replied, "But I see them everyday.

I see soldiers everyday in Limoges.

They have never done anything to me.

My papers are in order. There is no risk."

The population and the villagers felt completely at peace.

[narrator] Unfortunately, these were not the typical German troops

Robert Hebras had lived alongside for the last four years.

These were members of the second SS Panzer Division,

Das Reich.

[Lynette] The SS is in a sense,

[Lynette] The SS is in a sense,

the Nazi Party's own army.

It's Hitler's own army.

It's separate from the older, more traditional German army.

[Rob] They were the fanatics of the Germany army,

trusted to carry out Hitler's most barbaric orders, without hesitation.

[narrator] The unit that crossed the village's bridge that warm afternoon,

[narrator] The unit that crossed the village's bridge that warm afternoon,

were ominously known as "Der Fuhrer Regiment."

Led by SS Commander, Adolf Diekmann,

and hard bitten from years of fighting in hellish conditions

on the eastern front,

they had been resupplying in the area,

when they received the order to move north,

to reinforce their beleaguered comrades in Normandy.

[Lynette] The whole German armed forces

operating in the Soviet Union, have been brutalized.

operating in the Soviet Union, have been brutalized.

These are no longer soldiers in war time.

These are monsters in uniform.

[Jim] They weren't just passing through.

They came like they had a mission.

The SS troops said they needed to check people's papers.

They started rounding everybody up,

pulling them out of shops and homes

and assembling them in the central square.

[Philippe] And then they brought up the idea that there were weapons.

[Philippe] And then they brought up the idea that there were weapons.

And that those who had weapons would be searched for.

And those who did not have weapons, will be released.

It was a way to neutralize and reassure the population at the time,

when they were beginning to have concerns.

[narrator] It was all a lie.

In fact, Diekmann and the Der Fuhrer Regiment

were carrying out a murderous plan,

perfected on the battle ravaged towns throughout the eastern front.

[Katherine] The SS comes up onto this village

and they're very clever about the way they do this, right.

They come in one end of the town, but only half of them do.

The other half goes to the other end

and surrounds the town so that no one can escape.

[Jim] They began to divide the townspeople up into groups.

The women and children were taken

and ordered inside the local church,

and ordered inside the local church,

the biggest building in town.

Groups of men were taken to a variety of barns

and other buildings in smaller groups

and ordered inside those structures.

You can only imagine the anxiety, the fear

that was going through these people's minds.

But I doubt they really expected what would happen next.

[narrator] Their fate would shock the world

and pose questions that many are still struggling to fathom today.

and pose questions that many are still struggling to fathom today.

[narrator] June 10th, 1944.

Four days after the Normandy landings began,

the SS Der Fuhrer Regiment

ordered north in response to the allied invasion,

roll into the village of Oradour.

Initially explained as a simple exercise to check papers,

they then began separating the townspeople.

Once the villagers were all split up,

the murdering began.

[narrator] This was one of the six killing sites.

The Laudy Barn.

Here, after the initial volley of fire,

the German soldiers passed through their victims

shooting any that moved.

They then set the building on fire.

Five men, including Robert Hebras,

played dead before escaping the inferno.

played dead before escaping the inferno.

As similar horrors unfolded in the other barns,

more than 400 women and children huddled together

in Saint Martin church.

They certainly thought that in this place they would be protected,

which unfortunately, was not the case.

[Jim] In the church where the women and children were gathered,

they attempted to set off some kind of a smoke bomb or a gas bomb,

they attempted to set off some kind of a smoke bomb or a gas bomb,

to kill the people inside.

[Philippe] There was an explosion and smoke spread throughout the church.

In the extreme heat, as it was mid-June, and mixed with the gas,

stained glass windows then exploded

and air came rushing into the church.

At that moment, the SS came back in.

They shot at the women and children.

Once they subdued most of the occupants,

the SS piled wood on top of their bodies, some still alive,

and set the place ablaze.

[narrator] In the chaos, some sensed an opportunity.

A local woman, Madame Rouffanche.

She saw her own daughter killed when the shooting began.

She knew that there was a step ladder behind the altar.

She got the step ladder and propped it up,

climbed out through the window and dropped ten feet to the ground.

climbed out through the window and dropped ten feet to the ground.

[Philippe] A mother with her baby followed her out.

They jumped through the central window.

Unfortunately, when they arrived in the meadow, just behind,

the baby screamed.

A guard close by heard and killed both the mother and the baby.

He also shot Madame Rouffanche several times.

She passed herself off as dead.

They thought she was dead, so they didn't finish her off

and she was found alive two days later.

[narrator] Elsewhere, soldiers searched the village

for anyone that had evaded the initial round up and finished them off.

By the end of the day,

only seven people are thought to have survived the horror.

Six hundred and forty three had been brutally murdered.

[Philippe] This tragedy was extremely painful,

especially for mothers who lost their children.

Some of which disappeared in the massacre.

Some of which disappeared in the massacre.

And some from other villages were present in Oradour that day too.

So after the war,

a lot of towns had no children.

[narrator] As the village burned, a question remained.

Why was Oradour-sur-Glane targeted?

[Lynette] The commanding officer of the Der Fuhrer Regiment

was angry that a German officer

had been captured by the French Resistance.

had been captured by the French Resistance.

And the response was to kill the local population,

as a demonstration of German power.

[Katherine] But normally when that happens there's a lot of...

grandstanding and verbalization that this is why,

and messaging.

But there was none of that.

There's no good explanation other than just pure cruelty.

[narrator] Even some of the battalion's SS superiors

were appalled by their actions.

Diekmann faced a court-martial.

But soon, he and many of his murderous comrades

were killed in the battles raging in Normandy,

and the matter forgotten.

Eventually, in 1953,

some of the soldiers from the SS unit

were tried for their parts in the massacre.

were tried for their parts in the massacre.

Two of them were sentenced to death.

All the others were given a prison sentence of only eight to 12 years.

[narrator] Survivor Madame Rouffanche,

having spent a year recovering from five gunshot wounds,

was there to give evidence.

But the death sentences were never carried out,

and the men released soon after.

General Charles de Gaulle decreed that the village should never be rebuilt,

but remain a memorial to French suffering and sacrifice.

but remain a memorial to French suffering and sacrifice.

A new village was built nearby,

where Madame Rouffanche remained till her death in 1988.

It's present mayor, Philippe, has his own deep connection to this harrowing site.

On June 10th, I lost five members of my family

in the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane.

I lost my uncle, my aunt, my grandfather's brother, and his wife,

I lost my uncle, my aunt, my grandfather's brother, and his wife,

and our three little cousins, who were three, two, and 16 days old.

In our family, we didn't talk about it.

And we weren't the only ones.

Many families were in this situation.

There was very little talk about it.

That's why I always thought that everything had to be done

to prevent it from happening again.

[narrator] Today, these haunting ruins and their tragic story

[narrator] Today, these haunting ruins and their tragic story

attract people from across the globe.

[Philippe] Oradour is the most visited site in the Haute-Vienne.

We have between 250,000 and 300,000 visitors per year.

This place has a special meaning.

Because when the landscape disappears,

the whole memory disappears.

Hence, the need to preserve the village.

[narrator] Off England's east coast is an outpost,

[narrator] Off England's east coast is an outpost,

once declared terra nullius,

nobody's land.

As you come up on this, this looks like an abandoned oil platform

or something like that with these two big towers that are kind of rusting.

But it's too small to be a modern oil rig.

[Dominic] Once you're on board,

you can see that the whole thing is just botched together.

you can see that the whole thing is just botched together.

It's got masses of rusting old metal,

rivets that are decades old, and everything just slathered in black paint.

[narrator] But inside are signs of recent habitation.

[Rob] The structure in the middle looks like

it's been randomly thrown together.

It's steampunk meets Swiss Family Robinson.

[Lynette] The fact that we have evidence

[Lynette] The fact that we have evidence

of stuff left lying around says that perhaps,

there was no organized departure from this place.

Perhaps people left in a hurry.

Perhaps they haven't left at all.

[narrator] What makes this rusting platform so precious,

that raiders would try to seize it?

that raiders would try to seize it?

[narrator] Out in the middle of the sea,

is a curious structure that has been fought over for decades.

[Dominic] This place is ten miles off the east coast of England

in the freezing North Sea.

If you're gonna come here,

you're probably gonna get wet.

There is no dock, there is no jetty.

You just pull your boat up,

You just pull your boat up,

and ask the people up above if they wouldn't mind lowering the winch

to haul you up on deck.

[narrator] Liam Bates knows this place better than most.

[Liam] It was a lot less welcoming back then.

There were heavy machine guns all over the place.

There were heavy machine guns all over the place.

It-- it was a-- It was very much an active working fortress.

It would've been quite a-- Quite a frightening place to be.

[narrator] This is a Maunsell Fort,

built when Britain faced invasion.

[Katherine] So this platform was built during World War II

with the idea that it was going to be a defensive position.

Something that's going to keep the Germans from laying mines in the area.

Something that's going to keep the Germans from laying mines in the area.

And it's going to be a forewarning

if German aircrafts come towards the shore.

[Dominic] There were loads of these built in the North Sea.

But after the war, most of them were demolished.

But not this one, apparently.

[Liam] So this room in wartime in the second World War,

would have been for the officers to spend time in.

It was, um, part of the honor of being, you know, a higher-ranking officer.

To be able to actually spend some time up on the deck level.

To be able to actually spend some time up on the deck level.

'Cause the marines and sailors would have been, uh

spending the vast majority of their day down in the towers.

[narrator] But things have changed since this was an officer's mess.

This is the home of Prince Liam of Sealand.

In 1966, Liam's grandfather, Roy Bates, lived in the UK.

He ran a pirate radio station.

[Lynette] In Britain, back in the '50s

and right on through the '60s,

commercial radio wasn't really a thing.

And people created illegal commercial radio stations called pirate radio stations,

by putting them on top of buildings in city centers that would be hard to detect.

[narrator] Roy Bates made money broadcasting pop records.

But it was against the law.

But it was against the law.

[Liam] And the British government did everything they could.

They used every law in the book to shut them down.

And for all intents and purposes, they did.

So, my grandpa,

not being the kind of man that could take no for an answer,

he thought, "Well, where's the next jurisdiction

which's out of the UK government's reach?"

[narrator] Roy put his young family on a fishing trawler,

and sailed to a site outside British territorial waters.

[Katherine] They get to this platform and claim it as their own.

[Katherine] They get to this platform and claim it as their own.

They raise a flag that they've designed themselves,

declare themselves Prince and Princess

of the new Principality of Sealand.

[Rob] Prince Roy declared it a principality mainly for practical reasons.

He couldn't declare it a kingdom and call himself the King,

because the Queen of England might have had a thing or two to say about that.

[Liam] I think this was another excuse for another big adventure.

[Liam] I think this was another excuse for another big adventure.

And so, off he went, further out to sea.

[narrator] From Sealand,

Prince Roy could broadcast radio signals outside the law.

But the outpost also became a home.

So, this is a bedroom.

It's got all the creature comforts you'd expect

anywhere in the world.

I don't know if you can hear, but that's actually

I don't know if you can hear, but that's actually

the waves lapping up against the side of the tower.

And if you follow me through here,

we have another bedroom.

[Dominic] Apart from being one hell of a conversation starter,

Sealand was the real long-term home

of Prince Roy and his family.

But they also found a way to work the land

as a data storage center,

for companies and individuals that didn't want governments prying on their information.

[Liam] Well. Trying to sum my grandfather up in a--

In a few words is a bit challenging.

Hard as nails,

larger than life,

and he just had this sheer passion for adventure.

[narrator] Yet, Sealand was about to receive some unwelcome guests.

[narrator] On an artificial island known as Sealand

in the North Sea,

resident Prince Michael was alone.

His son Liam recalls the dramatic events

-that unfolded that day in 1978. -[helicopter whirring]

A helicopter approached from the direction of Europe over there.

And as they approached, he was trying to persuade them not to land, you know,

and waving them away,

and waving them away,

when he recognized who they were.

On board, was a German, a business associate of his father's.

And the man said that he'd just done some business deal with Michael's father,

and now needed to come on board to sign some paperwork.

The main defense is very rudimentary.

It's actually just this mast that you can see here.

And that-- That'll prevent helicopters from being able to land

'cause, uh, it's quite a small space anyway.

[Katherine] Michael is not feeling really good about this,

but there was just enough truth

but there was just enough truth

to the story that the Germans were giving him,

that he said okay, and lowered the defenses.

[narrator] A group of men stepped onto Sealand.

Each of them armed.

[Lynette] The invaders

grab hold of Michael and they lock him up.

[Liam] I think his main concern

as he's told me over the years was that he was put in this room

with no food or water,

with no food or water,

and nobody knew he was here.

Apart from the guys that had thrown him in here.

There is no way out.

The whole room you're standing in now,

is made of steel that's nearly an inch thick.

[narrator] Sealand had been conquered.

And Prince Michael was a prisoner in his own home.

The mercenaries, inspired by the idea of an international takeover,

had grand plans to expand Sealand with additional forts.

had grand plans to expand Sealand with additional forts.

A bank, hotel, and casino.

Yet, after just three days,

they let Prince Michael go.

Whatever the reason,

releasing him would soon backfire.

[Liam] A few days after my father was released from captivity,

him and his father hatched a plan to recapture Sealand.

They code-named it, "Operation Trident."

[Katherine] Fortunately for Roy,

he has a friend who is not only a stuntperson,

he has a friend who is not only a stuntperson,

but flies helicopters for shows like James Bond, right?

They take the doors off,

they bring ropes with them, and they arm themselves.

They fly out to Sealand.

[Liam] To approach Sealand stealthily,

they made sure that they approached into the wind,

and that would suppress the sound of the helicopter to a great degree.

-They also flew very close to the sea, -[helicopter whirring]

and at the absolute maximum speed that the helicopter would allow.

and at the absolute maximum speed that the helicopter would allow.

[Dominic] When they arrived over Sealand,

they noticed that the Germans had put the anti-helicopter defenses up.

So Roy and his team rappelled from the helicopter

down onto Sealand.

And they were armed with shotguns.

[Liam] I don't think that they ever stopped to consider that they might get killed.

Obviously, it was a risk.

They went out armed to the teeth.

Even the pilot had a revolver in his jacket, you know.

[Katherine] They rappel down, uh, to the platform,

[Katherine] They rappel down, uh, to the platform,

and they fire one shot off a rifle.

And this big "boom."

[gunshot]

[Liam] My father launched himself off of the helipad

down onto the deck here, at which point

the butt of his sawed-off shotgun hit the deck,

let a round off right next to his head,

and all of the invaders ran out of the buildings

with their arms in the air in surrender.

[Rob] The invaders decided that they weren't so into this fight after all.

They weren't willing to go down fighting for the glory of Sealand.

They weren't willing to go down fighting for the glory of Sealand.

But Roy was.

[narrator] The Prince had retained the throne of Sealand.

Most of the invaders were released.

but their leader was sent below.

[Liam] His name's Putz.

Putz was tried for treason by my grandfather, Prince Roy.

He was sent to the jail down at the bottom in the north tower here.

He was sent to the jail down at the bottom in the north tower here.

He served three months of his sentence.

[Katherine] It gets to the point where Germany

sends a diplomat from their London office

to Sealand to negotiate for the release of this German national.

Of course, Bates does release the prisoner and let's him go.

[Liam] He would have been here indefinitely, I'm sure,

if the German ambassador hadn't negotiated for his release.

I mean, you know, the punishment for treason

is a lot more heavy in every other country.

[narrator] Since 1978,

Sealand has never been invaded again.

But if anyone should try, Liam's family will be ready.

[Liam] We have various contingency plans

and plans drawn up for that kind of thing.

So, yeah, we're prepared.

[narrator] Today, the sovereignty of Sealand remains an open question.

[narrator] Today, the sovereignty of Sealand remains an open question.

[Dominic] In a strictly legal sense,

Sealand is part of the archipelago of Great Britain,

and so has no independent sovereignty.

But the longer it's tolerated and not interfered with,

arguably the more rights it and its people may acquire.

[narrator] But the invasion may have had an unintended benefit,

when Prince Roy hosted the German ambassador.

He uses that point from that moment forward,

He uses that point from that moment forward,

that Germany is essentially recognizing the Principality of Sealand

as a legitimate nation.

And that is the tool that they're able to use from that moment forward.

[narrator] In San Francisco Bay on a tiny outcrop,

is a complex everyone knows.

is a complex everyone knows.

[Jim] The setting is iconic.

You can see the San Francisco skyline.

There is no doubt about where you are.

[narrator] Known as The Rock,

it's possibly the most infamous prison in the world.

Everybody knows it as one of the most remote

and secure prisons in all of history.

[narrator] Surrounded by icy waters,

[narrator] Surrounded by icy waters,

escape stories, both real and imagined, have become legendary.

But once upon a time,

a determined group actually decided to break in.

This is a lesser-known story about Alcatraz,

but equally as significant as the rest.

Alcatraz became a place of symbolic resistance.

In this place the line is blurred between who are the invaders

and who are the invaded.

and who are the invaded.

[reporter] It's hail and farewell to Alcatraz.

The big Rock in San Francisco Bay plays host to the press on its closing day.

[narrator] Shutdown in 1963,

it was designated surplus land by the federal government.

Six years later, though,

a group set out on a mission

that would capture the world's attention.

[Onyeka] As one journeys through this once penal institution,

[Onyeka] As one journeys through this once penal institution,

one sees the signs of recent occupation.

These signs indicate that this became a place of resistance.

[Katherine] There's writing on the water tower.

And then you go to the cell blocks,

and there's writing,

and it's names of American presidents.

Why are their names written in these prison blocks?

[narrator] Those responsible for their scrawling,

[narrator] Those responsible for their scrawling,

saw this as a place where a great injustice could be challenged.

Elijah Oakes' family was among them.

[Elijah] So, when the occupiers first arrived on the island,

my grandfather and my family ended up staying right over here

in the second window from the side.

[narrator] Elijah's grandfather was one of 14 Native Indians

that made it past the coast guard on a cold night in 1969.

that made it past the coast guard on a cold night in 1969.

[Sascha] They called themselves the "Indians of All Tribes."

And when they landed on Alcatraz,

they dispersed in all directions to assume control.

[Katherine] They had real plans.

They wanted to start an American Indian cultural center.

They wanted to start a school.

They wanted to make this something special.

[Jim] The organizers also saw it as a platform

[Jim] The organizers also saw it as a platform

for them to get out an urgent message

about what was going on in native communities around the country.

[Sascha] Native Americans, to this very day,

are subject to extreme racism,

they have fewer economic opportunities.

And let's not forget,

that the entire continent once belonged to them.

[narrator] Elijah's grandfather was Richard Oakes, leader of the revolt.

[narrator] Elijah's grandfather was Richard Oakes, leader of the revolt.

For him, this small island could symbolize that very fact.

[Elijah] Indians of All Tribes decided to occupy Alcatraz

because in my grandfather's words,

now, on one side of the United States

you have the Statue of Liberty,

and this is pretty much the entire opposite.

The quote from my grandfather is that,

"Those entering the Golden Gate will first see Indian land.

Let's be reminded of the true history of this nation.

A land once ruled by free and noble Indians."

[narrator] Occupying federal land was hugely controversial.

But to many,

what they were doing was simply reclaiming what was rightfully theirs.

[Onyeka] For 400 years, the Native Americans had been robbed

and their land had been stolen from them.

The island of Manhattan for example,

was sold on the basis of a few colored beads and silk cloth.

It is this precedent that Native American activists seized upon

It is this precedent that Native American activists seized upon

when they tool Alcatraz,

and said that they would also pay

$24 worth of beads [chuckles]

and some silk cloth for the island of Alcatraz.

in recompense for what the Americans had done to them.

[Sascha] As far as the Indians of All Tribes were concerned,

this wasn't an invasion.

It was a reclamation.

The land that was once theirs would be so again.

And this place of imprisonment

And this place of imprisonment

would become their place of freedom.

[narrator] In fact, it was written into U.S. law

that the Native American people had rights to this land.

[Onyeka] So, Alcatraz had been labeled as surplus land.

And under a number of treaties,

surplus land was supposed to be available

for occupation by Native American people.

This clause was probably one of those

that the writers had never intended

that the writers had never intended

that Native Americans would be able to act upon.

But that's precisely what these activists intended to do,

acting upon the letter of American law.

[narrator] How would the U.S. Government respond?

Would they abide by the laws they set,

or forcibly remove the occupiers?

[narrator] In 1969,

a group of Native Americans landed on Alcatraz Island

with a mission to reclaim what was once theirs,

and to highlight the prejudices

they suffered under American imperialism.

But living on an abandoned prison island

But living on an abandoned prison island

would prove challenging.

They had to establish shelter, food,

and how they were gonna deal with the media.

[Sascha] Most of the occupiers moved into the Broadway cell block.

And you had whole families living behind bars

in cells that once held America's most dangerous criminals.

[Katherine] Of course this is an isolated space.

It's an island, and they don't have the ability to grow food.

They don't have wells for water.

So everything has to be brought in by ships

and get around the coast guard who's trying to actively stop them from getting supplies.

[narrator] At first, what they were doing was greeted with admiration by many.

Money and supplies flooded in.

[Sascha] The occupiers found the perfect billboard for their cause,

the water tower, easily visible for miles around.

So they put slogans up

like, "Welcome to free Indian land.

Indian's welcome."

Indian's welcome."

[narrator] Prison cells were assigned to those responsible for racist policy.

Among them, Governor of California,

Ronald Reagan.

Their message was strong and clear,

and the people of America were listening.

But something was about to happen that would change everything.

[Katherine] In early 1970,

about six months after the occupation had begun,

there's a fire.

We don't know how it was started.

But the warden's house is burned down.

And importantly, the lighthouse is destroyed by fire.

Now, this is gonna be significant

because the lighthouse was still actively used

there in San Francisco Bay.

And not long after, you have two oil ships

that collide and spill hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil.

So this is a real turning point

[Sascha] Luckily, no one was killed in the fire.

But it's at that point that the headlines turned against the occupiers

and you started to see stories about how they were anarchists,

or hooligans,

or just students too lazy to work.

[narrator] Though they claim they didn't cause the fire

and made attempts to fix the lighthouse,

public support waned.

And then,

the group were dealt another blow.

the group were dealt another blow.

[Katherine] Richard Oakes was such an important part

of the leadership of the occupation of Alcatraz.

But tragically, uh, his 13-year-old stepdaughter died.

[Elijah] What had happened is that they were playing in the Ira Hayes building

and she had slipped in a fall while she was playing with other children.

And they had called, uh, 911,

and they had flown her to Oakland Hospital.

and they had flown her to Oakland Hospital.

And two to three days later she was pronounced dead.

And, uh, yeah, at that point,

my family had decided that they were going to leave.

It's too big of a tragedy.

[narrator] With their charismatic leader gone,

others soon followed.

The Nixon administration seized the opportunity.

[Sascha] The government took the extraordinary step

of cutting off the electoral supply to the island.

At that point, life on Alcatraz,

already inhospitable, became even more difficult.

[narrator] In June of 1971,

the Federal Government finally decided to send in agents

to forcibly remove anyone still on the island,

going against the laws they, themselves had set.

The following year, Richard Oakes was killed,

and the white man who shot him was acquitted of all charges.

and the white man who shot him was acquitted of all charges.

[Jim] The occupation of Alcatraz

didn't turn into the kind of permanent outpost

that the organizers had hoped for,

but their message did endure.

[Katherine] They inspired an entire generation of American Indians,

of Indigenous people to take their own charge,

to have their own voice

in the civil rights movement and the activism of the day.

in the civil rights movement and the activism of the day.

[Elijah] It's a real sense of honor

to be out here and, uh, experience

the island now, you know,

and the impact that it's left for the entire Indigenous rights movement.

It's a tremendous legacy. It really is.

It's, uh, it's powerful indeed.

Yeah.

[narrator] Next up on Mysteries of the Abandoned, Raiders and Invaders...

[narrator] Next up on Mysteries of the Abandoned, Raiders and Invaders...

An epic ruin built to defend the most unlikely of treasures.

A music mecca in New Orleans

that dared to take on the authorities,

and paid the price.

And the legacy of a military exercise that terrified the West.

[narrator] On Mysteries of the Abandoned, Raiders and Invaders...

A complex of ruins,

the epicenter of a terrifying show of strength.

A famous club visited by musical greats,

yet besieged by police.

And the sort after island,

targeted by pirates and nation-states alike.

In the state of Louisiana,

where the great Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico,

lies the vibrant city of New Orleans.

[Jim] We're on LaSalle Street

in the central city neighborhood.

It's not a neighborhood that tourists usually spend a lotta time in.

[narrator] Among well-kept homes are a scattering of rundown structures.

One such building could easily be overlooked.

One such building could easily be overlooked.

It's dilapidated, some of the windows are boarded up,

and you can see where the old signs and hoardings used to be.

As you enter through the old doors,

you see what looks to be a reception area or ticket booth.

[Jim] In one part of the complex,

there's a perfectly preserved barber chair.

[narrator] Out front, one distinctive sign has survived.

[narrator] Out front, one distinctive sign has survived.

and reveals what this place once was.

And this sign should call up memories

for any fan of American roots music.

This locale has a legendary name in music history.

The Dew Drop Inn was a light, and this light attracted people

from all over New Orleans and all over America.

[narrator] As well as great names, it attracted huge controversy.

[narrator] As well as great names, it attracted huge controversy.

This place was victim to constant raids.

[narrator] The Drop was pushing the boundaries,

and it would bring the wrath of the local law.

Curtis Doucette is a property developer

trying to restore this club to its former glory.

So we are in the space that was the nightclub, and there was a stage here.

It wasn't just music, there was full entertainment, I mean, a full show.

[narrator] By the 1950's, The Drop, as it was known,

had become a mecca for America's R&B greats.

You had folks like Duke Ellington, um,

Ella Fitzgerald, Ike and Tina Turner.

People like Ray Charles, Otis Redding, James Brown,

Little Richard even wrote a song about it.

This was a gathering place.

Not just to see great music being performed,

but a place where musicians could hang out when they're in town.

but a place where musicians could hang out when they're in town.

One newspaper called it the South's swankiest nightspot.

[narrator] It's fame and popularity was born

out of the restrictions of living in the Jim Crow South.

[Onyeka] So Jim Crow is the colloquial name given

to the laws that separated American citizens from each other.

White institutions were financed and maintained.

Whereas, the separate institutions for African Americans,

Whereas, the separate institutions for African Americans,

were left to dilapidate or didn't exist at all.

In some cases, hotels were white only,

and there were no hotels for African Americans.

[Jim] One of the great ironies and injustices of this era

was that Black musicians were often invited to play white clubs,

but they couldn't even necessarily sit at the bar and have a drink in that club,

or stay in the neighborhood where the club was located.

or stay in the neighborhood where the club was located.

[narrator] That left a gap in the market.

A fact not lost on one young man working nearby on LaSalle Street.

The man behind this whole complex was named, Frank G. Painia.

And he was a real visionary,

and a real representative of a kind of entrepreneurship

that helped build the Black community

that helped build the Black community

in the days of Jim Crow and segregation.

[narrator] His grandson, Kenneth Jackson,

recalls how he seized the opportunities these laws could offer.

[Kenneth] He was a barber by trade and he started his barber business.

And when the property came up for sale,

he and his brother decided to purchase one side of the building.

And they had the idea to start a club, you know, to start, like a bar,

And they had the idea to start a club, you know, to start, like a bar,

and then they added on live entertainment.

[narrator] Kenneth has fond memories of living here as a kid,

and enjoying this unusual playground.

[Kenneth] We'd come in and when they were cleaning up the bar,

and they had a set of instruments that were on a stage.

And you could get up there and beat on a drum,

or play with the piano or stuff like that, you know?

It was a festive environment.

Everybody wanted to have a good laugh,

and it just felt like a family.

and it just felt like a family.

[narrator] Frank had also purchased the other side of the building.

Allowing him to further expand the business.

[Curtis] There's 29 rooms here, most of them are very small rooms.

So this is a... one of the smaller rooms,

and one of the few rooms that actually have a bathroom in it.

[narrator] Soon, the Drop was added to the famous Green Book.

[Nehemiah] So this was basically a guide

[Nehemiah] So this was basically a guide

for how African American motorists were to navigate the Jim Crow South.

and let them know where they could be arbitrarily denied service, food, lodging.

Not to mention, being arrested for no good reason.

This was an essential tool for anyone Black in that age trying to travel.

[Onyeka] The Dew Drop Inn therefore, formed part of a network

of Green Book led institutions that kept up,

and maintained a space for African American entertainers.

and maintained a space for African American entertainers.

In many ways, these places provided a heartbeat,

and a lifeline for this culture.

[Jim] It's heartbreaking to think this was necessary,

and the injustice of it still rankles, but this was the reality.

So the Dew Drop Inn was kind of a beacon

on this landscape of hospitality for anyone who came through the area.

[narrator] Ray Charles and Little Richard

made the most of Frank's hospitality.

made the most of Frank's hospitality.

Both lived and recorded here in the mid-1950's.

But it was Frank's open door policy

that was so unusual for the time.

You had, uh, guys, that dressed up like women,

and, you know, it was just part of the atmosphere.

[narrator] At Frank's request,

the famous female impersonator, Patsy Vadalia

became resident bartender, performer and emcee.

became resident bartender, performer and emcee.

Vadalia, known as The Toast of New Orleans,

hosted an annual gay ball, held here each Halloween.

We're talkin' a who's who of entertainment back in the days.

It was just a place where musicians,

if they weren't playing there, they would come there to find out where work was.

[Jim] So the Dew Drop Inn was an anchor for a whole network of musicians.

[Jim] So the Dew Drop Inn was an anchor for a whole network of musicians.

During a period when these musicians

were not only transforming American music,

they were making music that would transform popular music around the world.

[narrator] But in such a racist, divided society,

this level of tolerance and success would draw some serious heat.

[narrator] In the 1950's, the Dew Drop Inn was famous for attracting R&B royalty.

But its open door policy wasn't going unnoticed.

[Onyeka] Frank Painia, the organizer,

made a space that was inclusive, not exclusive.

made a space that was inclusive, not exclusive.

African Americans mixed with their white counterparts.

They even embraced notions of gender fluidity.

And had theme nights in which people were able to explore various forms of sexuality.

In a way which would have been unheard of, in the established nightclubs of New Orleans.

[Kenneth] My grandfather didn't care, you know.

It was like he felt that, you know, they deserved to be seen in their own way.

It was like he felt that, you know, they deserved to be seen in their own way.

[Sascha] It really took an immense amount of courage

for him to offer this open door policy, but he did suffer for it.

[Onyeka] The authorities decided to shut down the Dew Drop Inn.

This meant that on a weekly basis there were raids,

there were arrests, people were taken away.

[Kenneth] If they knew that they had white people in here,

they would arrest everybody in the place,

and take 'em all down, and charge 'em with racial mixing.

and take 'em all down, and charge 'em with racial mixing.

[Curtis] There's also times when there weren't just raids,

but there was just harassment.

Police driving by telling people,

"You better not go inside, if I catch you inside there, then I'm taking you to jail."

[narrator] These arrests were commonplace.

But after one particular raid, Frank decided to fight back.

[Jim] In 1952, the actor, Zachary Scott got arrested at the Dew Drop Inn

for disturbing the peace. And Frank Painia got arrested

for disturbing the peace. And Frank Painia got arrested

for the crime of serving Blacks and whites together,

which was actually against the New Orleans city code.

[Kenneth] After that raid, you know,

that's when they went ahead and filed a lawsuit.

[narrator] Frank sued the city,

arguing the Jim Crow laws were unconstitutional.

[Sascha] Painia took the suit all the way up to a federal court

but before a verdict could be reached,

the civil rights laws were passed in 1964, legally ending segregation.

the civil rights laws were passed in 1964, legally ending segregation.

[Nehemiah] This is absolutely what Frank wanted, but incidentally

it actually contributed to the demise of the Dew Drop Inn.

[Curtis] People didn't come to the Dew Drop

as much as they did because they had options.

And particularly, options that had been taken away from them

for a very long time.

[narrator] Sadly, Frank died of cancer

just a few years after the dance hall closed, in the late 1960's.

just a few years after the dance hall closed, in the late 1960's.

[Kenneth] As a person, my grandfather was a real, all-around nice guy.

And he loved for people to enjoy themselves.

He tried to help people whenever he could.

[narrator] In 2005, a deadly blow was delivered,

not just to the Drop, but many businesses in the area.

Those of us who were here during Hurricane Katrina,

we remember the infamous water marks.

This is one of the ways we know how high

This is one of the ways we know how high

the water settled, in, in a place like this.

So this, you know, looks like, maybe two and half feet or so, that the water settled.

[narrator] The impact of the hurricane was so great

that what was left of the business was forced to close,

and has sat abandoned ever since.

Though devastated, this place is far from forgotten,

Though devastated, this place is far from forgotten,

and Curtis hopes to bring it back to life.

[Curtis] I would say my day job is an affordable housing developer.

When I found out about this place,

really the history of it is what made me fall in love.

And so this is a passion project for me.

My goal for the Dew Drop Inn is to make it

as close as possible to what it used to be.

[Kenneth] It's in need of a lotta repair, of course,

but I feel lucky or blessed to have it still in existence.

but I feel lucky or blessed to have it still in existence.

And with the potential of bein' refurbished, and reborn.

[narrator] In a remote region of Indonesia,

is a defensive structure built in an age of discovery, conquest and greed.

[Michele] It's an island paradise, it's hot and humid,

[Michele] It's an island paradise, it's hot and humid,

there are fishing boats dotting the landscape.

And at the water's edge, there's a cluster of one-story buildings.

[Sascha] Further up the hill, is what looks like a castle.

The imposing structure suggests a military history.

But just whose battleground was this tropical island?

[narrator] The brutal construction,

at odds with the serene beauty of the surrounding land,

suggests it was built by people a long way from home.

suggests it was built by people a long way from home.

It's design is typical of the pentagon-shaped fortresses found across Europe.

But here it's on the remote island of Banda Neira in Indonesia.

[Rob] There's a courtyard in the center with what looks like a well,

and these strange, square blocks,

where it's really not clear what their purpose was.

[Amma] From the outer wall, still armed with cannons,

you can see miles into the distance.

you can see miles into the distance.

[Sascha] So clearly, this was set-up

to stave off any threat from the oceans.

[narrator] What was it here that required such immense protection?

And what foreign force risked slaughter

by launching a daring raid to get their hands on it.

[Rob] This relic was once the site of a furious battle.

raged over the most unlikely of treasures.

raged over the most unlikely of treasures.

[narrator] The Indonesian island of Banda,

has long been coveted for its natural resources.

Lukman Ang is a local guide.

born and raised in this tropical paradise.

[Lukman] My profession is a photographer,

but I also have another profession as a history observer.

but I also have another profession as a history observer.

And I learned the history of my homeland

because this is where the roots of world history begin.

[narrator] For hundreds of years,

the location of the Banda Islands

and their sought after riches

remained a closely guarded secret.

Their eventual discovery, would change everything.

You need to know that many of the great European empires built today

You need to know that many of the great European empires built today

all started from this land.

[Rob] We've all heard the phrase, "money doesn't grow on trees."

Well, here in Banda, it did.

[Sascha] Space was really the most valuable commodity of the age.

And the Banda Islands were the jewel in the crown of this trade network.

It was the only known place in the world

where you could grow nutmeg and mace.

where you could grow nutmeg and mace.

Nutmeg was especially important

as it was thought to prevent plague.

[Amma] What value would you put on something

that could cure you of the plague?

Unsurprisingly, Europeans would pay an extortionate amount

for this medicine.

[narrator] In the early 1500's, only Asian and Arab traders

knew where to find the prized spices.

Among Europe's fledgling colonial forces

Among Europe's fledgling colonial forces

the race was on

to find the islands and seize control

of the lucrative trade for themselves.

[Lukman] Banda became a place that was like an arena of war

for European sailors.

Starting from the Portuguese and then the Spanish.

[narrator] The Dutch were next to discover the islands

and they swiftly forced out their European rivals.

At first, they tried to strike a peaceful deal with Bandanese nobles

At first, they tried to strike a peaceful deal with Bandanese nobles

that would grant them exclusive rights to the island's riches.

But this contract alone wasn't enough

to guarantee a monopoly.

And they soon turned to another means of control.

In 1609, the Dutch Admiral Verhoeven,

arrives in the Banda Islands with a request to build a fort.

But the Banda people aren't going to hand over their land so lightly.

Verhoeven and his men were ambushed and killed.

Verhoeven and his men were ambushed and killed.

The Dutch responded

by destroying local ships, plundering villages and executing local leaders.

[Sascha] This extraordinary violence

led to the signing of a peace treaty.

Which recognized Dutch authority over Banda and even more importantly,

over the spice trade.

And so, what began as, you know, trade.

really involved colonization and occupation.

[narrator] Fort Nassau, built in 1609,

would prove to be only the first of a number of strongholds

constructed to safeguard Dutch interests in the area.

What follows, is a tragic story.

Stained in the blood of locals,

spilt at the hands of foreign invaders.

By 1621, the Dutch still felt

that they didn't have a secure monopoly on the nutmeg trade.

that they didn't have a secure monopoly on the nutmeg trade.

[narrator] Some locals continue to trade with other nations

in defiance of their treaty with the Dutch.

The Dutch had all the excuse they needed to initiate a massacre.

Nobles were beheaded, villages razed, and islanders tortured.

It was a blood bath.

[Amma] The native population

fell from 15,000 to a thousand

fell from 15,000 to a thousand

and maybe even less than that.

By virtually annihilating the Bandanese people,

the Dutch secure their monopoly but at a horrible cost.

In fact, the Dutch had killed so many Bandanese people,

that they needed to turn to and bring in

enslaved labor from India and China to work on the plantations.

So 1621 started a new chapter.

In which the Dutch took total control of Banda.

In which the Dutch took total control of Banda.

They built new infrastructures

and opened nutmeg plantations

which were much more modern and better

than the previous plantations.

[Rob] But the Dutch weren't alone in their endeavors.

The British also had their eye on the region.

[narrator] The spice wars were about to enter a dangerous new era.

and for that, the Dutch needed a new stronghold.

and for that, the Dutch needed a new stronghold.

[Amma] As tensions increased,

the Dutch built the larger and more strategic, Fort Belgica.

The Nassau Fort is easy to attack by anyone, openly.

So they took the initiative to build a fortress on the top of this hill.

[Michele] The Belgica Fort which is still standing today

was begun in 1667, it took six years to complete.

And once completed, it could garrison 400 troops.

And once completed, it could garrison 400 troops.

[narrator] And every inch of the fort's construction.

was intended to inspire fear among locals

and deter any would be European attackers.

[Lukman] Every time I visit this place,

there is a kind of feeling that reminds me

of how cruel it was in the past.

Hundreds of years ago.

Because they forced our people to build this fort at gunpoint.

Because they forced our people to build this fort at gunpoint.

[Nehemiah] The outer ring consists of a low wall

designed with five bastions to cover all angles.

The inner ring was built much higher

with five circular towers that offer panoramic views.

[Lukman] This is a watch tower

whose function was to monitor incoming ships from the west and east.

whose function was to monitor incoming ships from the west and east.

And, at the same time,

to oversee Dutch nutmeg plantations in the Banda Islands.

[Sascha] From here it was easy to spot

anyone trying to smuggle spices illegally.

Those whom they caught,

they threw into these cramped prison cells.

They were built for political prisoners.

But also for any of the locals

who dared to sell nutmeg to anyone but the Dutch.

[narrator] Capture didn't just mean imprisonment.

[narrator] Capture didn't just mean imprisonment.

It often meant a death sentence.

So this place used to have a pole.

A tall pole, quite high.

The prisoners are usually tied up

and then they were tortured, flogged,

sometimes constantly interrogated.

"Why did you have to get involved in the war against the Dutch?"

"What was the reason?"

Some people were found guilty

and then killed in this place.

Their blood will then flow through this water channel.

Their blood will then flow through this water channel.

And while the execution goes on

the Dutch people watched from benches provided here.

[narrator] But Dutch domination of the Island's people

and the money spinning spice trade

was nearing its end game.

The British were coming.

[narrator] For almost 150 years,

Fort Belgica helped Dutch colonial invaders

control the Banda Islands.

And the lucrative trade of nutmeg and mace.

It would take an audacious sea born raid

to change the course of the spice wars.

[Rob] The British had never relinquished

their desire to get their hands on the spice trade.

their desire to get their hands on the spice trade.

[Nehemiah] And when the Netherlands fell to France

in the Napoleonic Wars,

The British sensed an opportunity and invaded the islands.

[narrator] In August, 1810,

A naval squadron commanded by Captain Cole

arrived in the waters of the Banda Sea.

[Lukman] The British troops came from the Lontar Strait

to the west of the Banda Islands.

They entered then anchored in front of Nassau.

And finally, went up to the fortress of Belgica to attack.

And finally, went up to the fortress of Belgica to attack.

[Sascha] From the towers of this bastion

it seems impossible the British could've avoided detection.

The guards in their sentry boxes

would've sighted them as soon as they came over the horizon.

But Captain Cole was clever.

He arrived at night

under the cover of darkness.

[Sascha] At sunrise, Cole and his men

launched their surprise attack and stormed Fort Belgica.

They threw ladders against the side of the ramparts and climbed up

They threw ladders against the side of the ramparts and climbed up

under heavy musket fire.

[narrator] Rather than stand and fight

the Dutch soldiers fled for their lives.

[Michele] Within hours the battle was over.

And the British claimed control over the rest of the island.

[narrator] The Dutch were in no mood

to give up their prized asset so easily.

They rallied their troops and hit back.

They rallied their troops and hit back.

[Rob] It wouldn't be long before the Dutch reclaimed their stake.

But Cole and his men

uprooted hundreds of nutmeg seedlings

to replant in other colonies.

[narrator] With this,

the Dutch stranglehold on the spice trade. further weakened.

And as the colonial era faded into history,

so too did the fort's significance.

By the mid 1900's it was completely abandoned.

By the mid 1900's it was completely abandoned.

In 1991 Fort Belgica was restored

and now serves as a tourist destination.

Today, it's a powerful reminder of a brutal era.

When savagery and greed ruled supreme.

[Lukman] Like many places,

buildings with a dark history need to be preserved

buildings with a dark history need to be preserved

to learn how oppressed our nation was.

[Sascha] The ruins at Fort Nassau and Belgica

stand as a sign of the violence

and destruction wrought on this region by the colonizers.

The Bendera really suffered under European colonialism.

[Rob] These were state funded trading organizations.

With the aim of increasing influence on the world stage.

But in essence, they were just pirates.

[narrator] In the former Soviet republic of Belarus,

near the Russian border

is a disturbing reminder of more troubled times.

[Sascha] It's actually very hard to make sense of this complex

when you first see it, and that's kind of the point.

[narrator] Crumbling interiors

reveal a construction design to command and conquer.

[Rob] There are bunker like structures

built with thick, reinforced concrete.

Meant for keeping whoever was on the inside

safe from something.

And yet they afford a very good view of the surrounding landscape.

That was no accident.

[Amma] This complex was built way out in the middle of nowhere.

And that's crucial.

And that's crucial.

Given what they were doing here

they could not be near any large residential areas.

[narrator] This was a theater of power

and the drama that played out

intended to strike fear into the hearts of enemies.

Near and far.

[Rob] In some ways, what happened here

draws parallels with modern day Russia.

[Amma] An event of this size

looked like it could only mean one thing.

looked like it could only mean one thing.

A full scale invasion.

[narrator] How important was this structure

to an event that threatened to turn the Cold War red hot?

[narrator] In the wilderness of Belarus

a mighty slab of crumbling concrete dominates the area.

Yuriy Shapovalov was an officer in the Soviet army.

He first came to this location in 1981.

It's a pleasure to be here 40 years later.

It's a pleasure to be here 40 years later.

And see how everything has changed.

How the trees have grown.

The trenches we dug, everything has changed.

[narrator] At the time of Yuriy's visit

the world was a very different place.

[Yuriy] The anticipated enemy

was known to be from the west.

I can't even name the precise one.

I can't even name the precise one.

There were so many, so many potential targets.

[Rob] You would've had men in uniform

swarming all over this place.

Whistles, shouts.

Crashes booming all around.

It would've felt like utter chaos.

But this was organized chaos.

[Amma] Whoever was in charge here

needed to build something that was almost

a fully functioning city.

a fully functioning city.

And they had to do it in record time.

[narrator] And the super power behind it

had all the motivation they needed

to achieve the staggering feat.

[Lynette] Up until 1980, when the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan,

there had been a decade of detente

of increasing normalization of relations between the west and the east.

[Sascha] But by 1981, that was done with

and the Cold War was heating up all over again.

and the Cold War was heating up all over again.

[narrator] To make matters worse,

communist rulers in Moscow

were also facing growing unrest within their own borders.

[Rob] In the late 1970s and early 1980s,

there's a wave of anti-Soviet sentiment in Poland.

And this is not good news for the Soviet Union.

[narrator] The election of a Polish pope

only served to add fuel to the fire.

[Sascha] Even under communist rule,

[Sascha] Even under communist rule,

Poland had remained one of the most Catholic countries in Europe.

So to now have a Catholic Polish pope,

calling so visibly for resistance,

was a real threat to communist rule in the region.

So they need to take care of things very quickly.

[Lynette] Moscow goes to the Polish Defense Minister

and says, "You will crack down or we will invade."

[narrator] Soon, troops begin to amass

in the Soviet-controlled state of Belarus,

which shares a border with Poland.

[Yuriy] Here, we had to set up a camp.

Build the tents.

The toilets.

The washrooms.

And after that, we started setting up the firing positions

for the military purposes.

[Lynette] So western analysts

see the Soviet Army massing in eastern Europe.

And they have got to take seriously,

the idea that this is a Soviet land attack against NATO.

[Amma] Something of this scale

definitely looked like the precursor to an invasion.

[narrator] But not all was as it seemed.

[narrator] But not all was as it seemed.

These are the Dretun training grounds.

Site of one of the largest military drills ever performed.

[Sascha] It was called, "West 81" or "Zapad-81."

Zapad being the Russian word for "west."

And on the surface, it was just a massive military exercise,

but it was something more than that.

[helicopters whirring]

[helicopters whirring]

[Lynette] The Zapad exercise program is a proof of concept.

And the concept they're proving is that the Soviet Army

can survive an American nuclear attack

and then command and coordinate a response.

[Yuriy] We are now standing inside what used to be a command post.

[Yuriy] We are now standing inside what used to be a command post.

In 1981, it looked drastically different.

Everything was clean, tidy and safe.

Everything was prepared for the work of the commanders,

officers and soldiers.

Those are the observatory windows,

that allows you to observe the battlefield during the training.

that allows you to observe the battlefield during the training.

[narrator] Zapad-81

may have been presented as a carefully orchestrated training exercise,

but the west continued to observe with deep suspicion.

[Lynette] There was great uncertainty about what was going to happen next.

Everyone in the west is acutely aware

that this could be cover for World War III.

that this could be cover for World War III.

[narrator] How would the west react

to this menacing force that was poised to strike?

[narrator] On the Belarusian border in 1981,

NATO is concerned that an enormous Soviet war game

could be cover for an imminent attack on western Europe.

[Yuriy] The thing is, we didn't consider NATO or anyone.

We knew we had the strongest force.

We knew we had the strongest force.

And nobody even talked about NATO.

We knew they wouldn't last two hours.

[narrator] All the west could do was watch and wait as the drama unfolded.

The Soviets filmed the entire production.

Running it like the set of a Hollywood movie.

Only here, the missiles were all real.

This is Akatsiya.

Self-propelled artillery.

That fires at a 10 mile radius.

It's a horrible weapon, that can destroy the enemy's trench.

And its' fragments can kill anything within 200 meters.

[narrator] News of the exercises quickly spread around the world.

[Yuriy] Back then, the Soviet Army

was considered to be the scariest.

We knew that there was no task we couldn't accomplish.

And that was true.

[Lynette] It was theater.

It was national security theater.

It was national security theater.

The Soviet Army had a lot of amphibious armored vehicles.

And the problem is that the armored vehicles

could not cross rivers very well.

So what they did was they built concrete lanes

across the bottoms of the rivers, just for this exercise.

[Sascha] It was a demonstration to the rest of the world

that the Soviets had the numbers and the will

to overrun Europe if they so wished.

to overrun Europe if they so wished.

[narrator] But western leaders were not the only ones spooked

by this menacing Soviet propaganda.

The intimidation tactics were also intended

to send a very powerful message to Poland's dissenting population.

[Lynette] One of the reasons it has to look really good,

is that this is meant to make clear

to the Polish government

to the Polish government

that the Soviet Army is ready to invade Poland.

And there will be nothing that the Polish government can do about it.

That is very clearly intended here.

[narrator] The exercises at Dretun played out for eight days straight.

And are said to have involved up to 150,000 troops.

In Poland, the Soviets didn't have to mount a military incursion

to put down anti-Soviet demonstrations,

to put down anti-Soviet demonstrations,

in the way they had done in Czechoslovakia in '68.

So you could say that the show of force

was a big success from the Soviet perspective.

[narrator] And much to the relief of nervous NATO forces,

on September 12th, 1981,

the Soviet military packed up and headed home.

The Dretun training fields would never again

host military maneuvers of such magnitude.

host military maneuvers of such magnitude.

[Yuriy] They left everything behind for the next exercise.

But unfortunately, the Soviet Union fell and everything was abandoned.

[Amma] There have been many exercises in the following decades,

but none that could quite match this one,

in terms of the scale and global attention.

[narrator] Today, the war games at Dretun are over.

[narrator] Today, the war games at Dretun are over.

But danger still remains.

[Yuriy] There were cases where adults and even children,

found shells and tried to take them apart.

It usually results in missing legs, arms or eyes.

So don't do it.

[narrator] For soldiers like Yuriy,

the Cold War cast a long shadow.

And although full-scale war never erupted,

And although full-scale war never erupted,

the events of West 81 had a lasting impact.

[Yuriy] It's not a Soviet Union anymore.

So we should probably focus on peace more.

Focus on peaceful times.