All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S12E03.Nazi.Hospital.Horrors.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

In Germany,

a therapeutic country retreat

commandeered for a disturbing goal.

Gebhardt becomes
a credible contestant

for the title
of the most twisted
Nazi doctor.

In Malaysia,

an engineering workhorse
drawn into
a colonial conflict.

This is a story
of conquest, greed
and exploitation,

and it doesn't end well.

And a rural site
in Texas

that impacted the lives
of millions

for better and for worse.

It wasn't until years later
that I really understood

what I had participated in.

In the sleepy German town
of Lychen,

70 miles north of Berlin,

is a collection
of magnificent buildings

tainted by
an unspeakable tragedy.

We're away
from the city here.

We're out in the fresh air
of the countryside.

We've got charming
German-looking buildings.

It could be a boarding school.
It could be a barrack.
It could be a spa.

I mean, you go down
to the lower level,

and there are these big
sort of bathing pools.

When you take a closer look,
you start to see hints
of what this place was.

We see the tiled floors,
the tiled walls.

This place is designed
so that whatever splatters
on the walls,

can be scrubbed down
and disinfected.

It has all the hallmarks
of an old hospital.

Under the influence
of a tyrannical regime,

its function veered
dangerously off course.

Historically,
this site has many layers,

but it's the role it played
during World War II

that is particularly chilling.

This was meant to be
a place of healing.

It turned into
a place of terror.

What happened here
is the stuff of nightmares.

The first day
I was here in Lychen,

it was the same weather
as today.

It's beautiful
in the summer here.

It's beautiful in the winter.

Developer Max Siegmann
bought this property in 2021.

He was drawn to its potential
as a peaceful retreat
for busy Berliners.

He also understood
it is a site burdened
by its past.

For us,
it's important

that the history
will not be forgotten

and we are responsible
for this place,

even the dark historic.

In the beginning,

its purpose couldn't
have been more different.

The facility
was originally founded in 1902
by the German Red Cross

to treat patients
suffering from tuberculosis.

People were breathing
bad air

and their lungs
were becoming infected,

and it was believed
that you had to remove them
from the urban environment

and get them
into a clean place

where they would
breathe clean air.

We have
patient rooms
with a lot of windows.

They have a lot of space
compared to modern
hospital buildings.

It was a very famous place.

It was called
the Hohenlychen Sanatorium.

In the decades to come,
it would become infamous.

The history
of this site

was transformed
by the activities of
Dr. Karl Gebhardt.

When he emerges
in the '20s and '30s,

he's seen
as a very innovative surgeon.

He served
in the First World War.

He became fascinated
with treating
battlefield injuries.

After
the First World War,

there were these militias
called Freikorps,

of people who were trying
to exert political power

through violence,

and Gebhardt

and Heinrich Himmler,
chief of the SS,

were buddies from that period.

And Gebhardt becomes
someone who earns

his credibility with the Nazis

by having been in
from the beginning.

And so he's then recognized
as being this leading surgeon

by the Third Reich.

Himmler adopts
Dr. Karl Gebhardt

as his personal physician.

As Hitler
consolidated his grip on power

in the 1930s,

he began removing
Jewish people
from positions of authority

and replaced them
with trusted Nazi allies.

The Jewish physician
that ran this sanatorium

was one of those stripped
of his role.

In 1933,
Gebhardt was given control
of Hohenlychen.

Under his leadership,

it became the first
sports-medicine clinic
in Germany.

It was all part
of the Nazi vision

to create a superior
master race.

So Karl Gebhardt
was revolutionary
in his methods.

He believed in physiotherapy.

He believed
in treating the injured

with open air
and physical exercise.

He's a sports scientist.

He's all about
taking sports injuries
like a torn meniscus

and repairing it

and making
excellent sports people,

better sports people.

We are now
in the operation rooms

where the surgeries
took place.

And as you can see behind me,
we have a glass window

so trainee doctors
could watch the operations.

At the Berlin Olympics
in 1936,

Gebhardt got the chance

to demonstrate
his achievements to the world.

Dr. Gebhardt became
chief physician
of the Olympic Games,

and this facility became
the main hospital
for the Olympic athletes.

The site here grows again
in that time period.

They built
a swimming hall.

They built a sports hall.

The controversial games

are best remembered
for American sprinter
Jesse Owens,

winning a record
of four gold medals.

The Buckeye Bullet
stepped into his destined role

to win in the phenomenal time
of ten and two-third seconds,

breaking all existing
world records.

Yet Owen's triumph
was not enough

to stop the Germans
from winning the most medals,

and Gebhardt was lauded
for the success.

After the Olympic Games,
Dr. Gebhardt's position rises.

Next to Hein Himmler,
all other high-ranked
Nazi persons

got their surgeries here.

Even Hitler
visited this place.

But after the outbreak
of World War II,

Hohenlychen was turned
into a military hospital,

and the type of operations
carried out here by Gebhardt

would follow
a much darker path.

They are the kinds
of activities

that are so extraordinarily
abhorrent

that they stand against
the very notion

of what we think
a doctor should be capable
of doing.

2
In Germany,
are the remains
of a sports medicine hospital

run by pioneering Nazi doctor
Karl Gebhardt.

Under his leadership,
it would turn into
hell on earth.

It all started
when a high-ranking
SS official

named Reinhard Heydrich

was badly injured
in an assassination attempt
by the Czech resistance.

They chuck a grenade
into his car

and Heydrich's body is filled
with bits of springs and dirt,

and Heydrich
is dying of sepsis.

Who better to try
to bring him back to life
than Dr. Gebhardt?

At the time,

German doctors had access
to an early antibiotic

called sulfonamide.

But Gebhardt was skeptical
about its effectiveness,

and declined to use it.

And so Heydrich dies.

He might have died anyway,
his injuries
are pretty severe.

But Gebhardt's rivals
inside the Nazi states
are saying,

"You see,
Gebhardt killed Heydrich

because he wouldn't use
sulfonamide on him."

Gebhardt was facing ruin.

He had to prove
that his methods

weren't the reason
for Heydrich's death.

Himmler advised him
to conduct human experiments

to prove that sulfonamide
would not have saved Heydrich.

Gebhardt
gets women from Ravensbruck
concentration camp,

women who are going
to be killed
by the Nazis anyway.

He breaks their legs,

he drives
bits of wood and hair
into their bodies.

These poor victims
fester for days on end

as the infections develop
and gangrene develops.

Gebhardt then
administered sulfonamide
to some of the patients,

leaving others
as a control group.

But the experiment was rigged
to ensure

Gebhardt got the results
he wanted.

Gebhardt creates
a house of horrors.

They are tortured to death
with infection.

In total,
84 women were put
through this sickening ordeal.

Twenty-one of them died
either from infection

or because they were murdered
to cover up the evidence.

But Gebhardt
didn't stop there.

His experiments continued,

this time to treat
amputee soldiers.

He's basically...
takes concentration camp
prisoners and he says,

"Hey, you know,
this German soldier
needs an arm.

Why don't I just take your arm
and try to attach it
to this German soldier?"

The German authorities
regarded all of these

activities as justifiable

because they regarded those
that were being

experimented on

as being genetically
and racially inferior.

The terrible crimes
perpetrated here

continued until
Stalin's Red Army
defeated the Nazis

at the Battle of Berlin
in 1945.

The Soviets then took control
of Hohenlychen
to use as an Army hospital.

But Karl Gebhardt's
vile actions
were not forgotten.

Miraculously,
many of the poor

concentration camp inmates
survived,

and they would testify
against him after the war,

when he was brought to justice
at Nuremberg.

Karl Gebhardt.

They lived to see
Gebhardt executed.

Their character was stronger

than the Nazi death machine.

What happened
at Hohenlychen
will always be remembered.

Now, Max Siegmann is working
towards a brighter future.

In the past,
we have a dark history.

But it does have
a beautiful architecture,
it's worth saving this place.

We will develop
a wellness resort.

We have holiday flats.
It's a place
for everybody here.

In the Malaysian state
of Perak,

is a technological heavyweight
that helped build a nation.

We're in a swampy
tropical area,

and this massive structure
is floating in the middle
of this body of water.

It must be 200 ft. long,
five stories high.

At first glance,
it could be a giant
fishing trawler,

but there's only one problem
with that.

The ocean is over
30 miles away.

In fact,
this entire waterway
is landlocked.

How did this hulking beast
get here in the first place,

and what was it for?

A cavernous interior
lined with heavy machinery

is the first piece
of the puzzle.

There are massive cogs,
thick metal cables.

These are all telltale signs
of a massive
industrial enterprise.

On the front,
you've got these huge,
rusting buckets

which seem to be designed
for scooping stuff
out of the ground,

and you can only assume
that was something valuable.

It would transform
the economy,

making this place
one of the most
profitable countries

ruled over by the British.

The resources'
incredible value
also made it a target.

We're talking
invasion by the Japanese

and violent attacks
by Communist guerrillas,

all of which played their part

in the downfall
of the world's biggest empire.

If you looked around
this region
half a century ago,

you'd have seen
over 50 machines like this

dominating the landscape.

Today, this rusting relic
is one of the last.

What we see here
is a great example

of taking an industry
that had been around
for over 100 years

in a low tech way,

and then mechanize it,
even supersize it.

That industry
was tin mining,

and it was one of the reasons
the British Empire
became so powerful

in the late 19th
and early 20th century.

To understand
Britain's complex relationship
with Malaysia,

you have to rewind
to the 1700s.

Back then,
Malaysia didn't exist.

And this region was part
of the Malay Peninsula,

which consisted
of multiple regional kingdoms.

This was an era
when much of Europe

was trying to establish
different empires.

The British were desperate
to get a foothold
in Southeast Asia

to protect and dominate trade
with China.

To do
their dirty work,

the monarchy used the services
of the East India Company.

The East India company
was possibly

the most powerful corporation
in history.

The English crown said,

"You can have
an exclusive contract
to venture out there,

trade with the natives,
subdue them if you have to,

and bring back anything
of value."

After that,
it was only a matter of time

before the empire's tentacles
spread further across
the region

until eventually
they controlled
all the Malay states

and Singapore.

This was classic colonialism,

and for its time,
it was very, very successful.

At first,
the British made their money
through taxation and trade.

But that all changed
after the discovery
of large tin deposits

in the mid-1800s.

Tin is valuable,
partly because
it resists rust very well.

So when you hear
the phrase "tin can",

it's not actually a can
made of tin.

It's a steel can
coated with tin.

Initially, the British leased
the mining operations
to the Chinese,

who had fled
from their own country

to escape instability
and poverty.

Local museum curator
Jacky Chew

is an expert on the history
of tin mining in this region.

In the year of 1860,

we have about
20,000 Chinese miners.

And another 10 years
down the road,

40,000 Chinese miners.

In the early stages,
the Chinese mining method,

basically,
is human labor intensive

without any help
of the machineries.

Even so, they still produced
a large amount of tin,

which made the British
a small fortune.

About a quarter of the demand
came from
the United States of America

in the late 1800s.

The British
soon realized

they could get
an even bigger share
of the revenue

by taking more control
of the industry,

and they knew
that in order
to maximize profits,

they needed to mechanize.

2
In Malaysia
is a mechanical marvel

central
to the British Empire's plans
to control

one of the country's
most valuable
natural resources.

It was called
the Tanjung Tualang
Tin Dredge No. 5

or TT5 for short.

This one first began operating
in 1938.

The dredge
has a long series
of large buckets

connected on a chain
that can

roll down
into the water,

scoop up the material
and then bring it up

and dump it inside
the structure.

This was then
transported along
the length of the dredge,

where heavy machinery
would separate out

the valuable tin
from the waste

which was dumped out the back.

So the purity
of the tin ore

would be as high as 70%.

All this tin ore

will be pumped out
from this two outlet

to this big metal bucket.

It was a tough job
with long hours.

And in return,
the workers were well paid,

and their families received
education and health care.

But soon,
the TT5 would grind
to a sudden and dramatic halt.

War was coming,

and there was nothing
anyone could do to stop it.

Many people believed
that Japan's first
major attack of World War II

took place at Pearl Harbor.

But 90 minutes earlier,

the Japanese launched
a surprise invasion of Malaya.

The British troops
were not remotely prepared
for this attack.

The British have
wrong strategies
to defend Malaya

because they always assume

the Japanese will be invade
from the sea, from Singapore.

Instead,
the Japanese launched
simultaneous operations,

invading from the north
of the country
near the Thai border.

They then
fought their way south,

inflicting heavy losses
as they went.

Despite
their numerical inferiority,

it was a total bloodbath.

In the end,
85,000 troops were captured.

Churchill described the defeat

as the greatest disaster
that has ever befallen
British arms.

One of the motives
for the Japanese invasion

was to take control
of the tin industry,

which they needed
for their war effort

and economic self-sufficiency.

The British
knew exactly
what the Japanese were after

and did everything they could
to destroy
the tin mining operations

as they retreated.

The Japanese occupation
lasted three-and-a-half years

until their surrender in 1945,

after which
the British quickly returned
and rebuilt the mines.

Yet there was a bigger issue
they now had to face up to.

The British Empire was dying
and its colonies
could smell blood.

The image of the British,
the mighty British

started to crumble

after the Japanese occupation
in Malaya.

In 1947,
India gains independence
from the British,

and this sets off
a chain reaction

all over the empire.

Malaya's
multicultural population

was a powder keg
set to explode.

And the tin mining industry
would yet again

be caught in the crossfire.

So 37% of the country
was Chinese

and they lived
in the poorest conditions

and had the fewest
civil rights.

The Communist Party
of Malaya

and their armed wing,

the Malayan
National Liberation Army,

took advantage of
their discontent

to start a rebellion.

What followed
became known as
the Malayan Emergency.

It began in 1948.

The MNLA targeted
police stations,

derailed trains

and attacked
rubber plantations
and tin mines,

including tin dredges
like this,

The use of tin
in canned goods

generated so much money

for Britain's
struggling economy.

The government had to do
everything in their power

to protect the industry.

As these
insurrections got
more violent,

Britain decided to
bring in troops
to defend its operations.

By around 1955,

many of the insurgents
had been killed or captured,

but the MNLA refused
to give up.

The British command realized

that they needed to win
hearts and minds

and so promised to grant
independence to the country

once the guerrillas
were defeated.

The plan worked

with the support
of Malay battalions.

The insurgency was crushed.

And on August 31st, 1957,

Britain granted Malaya
its independence.

In 1960,

the new Malaysian government
declared the emergency

officially over.

Throughout the conflict,
the TT5 remained operational.

In 1976,
almost 20 years
after independence,

a Malaysian owned
mining corporation

took control
for the first time.

This was a significant

and symbolic step
for the country.

But this new era
of Malaysian run mining
didn't last long.

In the 1980s,

a perfect storm
of reduced demand
and rising costs

led to the complete collapse
of the global tin industry.

In 1982, the owners
of the TT5 ceased

all tin mining operations
and retired the dredge.

The effect was devastating
for the local community.

For so many years,

it had been
such a stable employer.

After the collapse
of the tin industry,

most of
the Malaysian tin dredges

were dismantled
and sold for scrap.

But not the TT5,
that survived.

Then, in 1997,

it was donated
to the state government

so it could be turned into
a historical site,

a way to preserve
some of the history
of this region.

In West Texas,
near the city of El Paso,

is a dilapidated ruin

where hope
and hardship collided.

Right on the edge of town
is a strange compound

of single storey
adobe buildings.

Initially,
you're thinking this might be
some kind of ranch

with the central space
used for horses
or other farm animals.

But there's something odd,

almost prison-like,
about the layout.

Over time,
the role of this site

would change
from a place of shelter

to a den of exploitation.

One structure in particular

symbolizes the level
of mistreatment.

It looks like
you would have been forced

to walk through this long,
windowless metal tube.

Hundreds of
thousands of people came.

They didn't know
what to expect.

They were often very young.

They were scared.

Those who arrived here

did so by choice.

For some, it was a decision
they lived to regret.

This was the start
of a national program

that changed the face
of America forever.

However, many of the people
were treated like animals,

and faced racism

from the very people
they were here to help.

2
In Texas,
on the outskirts of El Paso,

is a neglected structure
that was supposed to deliver

the dream of a better life.

Yolanda Leyva is a historian
at the University of Texas.

She grew up near this
dusty border site

with a complex past.

I just think of
all the stories of the men

that came with such hope.

They went through
very extensive medical tests

while they were here.

When first conceived,

it was part of the solution

to an unprecedented
state crisis.

The original reason
this place exists

dates back to
the Civil War era.

Of the 70,000 or so Texans
that served,

about 24,000 were
killed outright.

Suddenly,
Texas had more widows

and orphans than ever before,

and this was well before
any type of

social program
like Social Security.

So counties would
set up what were
called poor farms

for poor people.

And basically provided
them room and board.

But they would have to work.

This poor farm,
which opened in 1915,

catered to elderly people
and children.

And it was run by
the O'Shea family.

They called it
the Rio Vista Farm.

Life was tough, but for many

it was their best shot
at survival.

Helen O'Shea Keleher
would go to at El Paso

every Monday and go to court.

And see which children were
being taken

from their mothers,

usually because the mothers

were not able to
provide for their kids.

And she would bring them here.

So several thousand children
went through this place.

Helen O'Shea Keleher's
kindness meant Rio Vista

became a beacon of hope
for those that needed it.

But in the early 1940s,

America's involvement
in a global conflict

began the process
of turning this site

into something
far more ominous.

With the onslaught of
World War II,

there were new challenges,

and one of those
was related to labor.

Thousands of young men
were shipping abroad to fight,

and American farms were facing

a desperate shortage
of workers.

The U.S.
was in danger
of running low on food

and the government was forced
to turn to a former rival
for help.

Mexico agreed
to assist

with the temporary
worker program.

They saw this as a way
to assist the war effort

and boost their own economy.

It became known as
the Bracero program,

a Spanish term
meaning manual labor.

They worked on farms
throughout the country,

making it possible
for the U.S. economy

to face the challenges
imposed upon it by the war.

When the Bracero program
first started in 1942,

it was very celebrated.

There were parades,
for the Braceros,

and they called them
soldiers of the fields.

The program was
so successful, it continued,

even after World War II ended.

By 1951,

a new site was needed to house
the U.S. headquarters,

and Rio Vista's location
next to the border

made it the perfect base.

Celia Castro Berton
was a secretary here
when it first opened.

When I started working
at Rio Vista,

I was 19-years old

and we were asked
to ask questions
of the Braceros

and type the contract.

The contract included,
like the name, the address,

age and where they wanted
their money to be sent.

This agreement included
basic provisions

for living conditions
and wages,

specifically 30 cents an hour
for agricultural workers.

People waited
by the thousands

at these recruitment centers,

hoping for a chance
to cross the border.

It's estimated that some
880,000 Mexican workers

were processed
through this farm.

But none
could have predicted
the high hardship

and trauma
that awaited their arrival.

It was an ordeal that began
when the program first started

during World War II.

This hut
is the most important
building here

because this is what
the men remember.

When they talk about it,
they cry.

In this purpose filled
metal hut,

they were fumigated
with toxic chemicals.

This was supposedly
to delice the men.

The men
who sprayed them
were instructed to spray them

in their hair,
to spray in their ears,

to spray in their genitals.

While the officials
wore masks,

the workers were offered
no such protections.

We know that
it was DDT, which in the 70s

was banned because
it's carcinogenic.

What the men always remember
is that that was the beginning

of feeling like
they were treated
like animals.

At the time,

the effects of DDT
were not well recognized.

Even so, much of what happened
was kept hidden from the women

working in the contract rooms.

I don't believe
that this was part of

what they wanted
to be known to the public.

It wasn't until years later
that I really understood

and knew what was going on

or what I had participated in.

After being processed
and fumigated,

the Braceros were relocated
to farms across the country.

When the men left Rio Vista,

their mistreatment
only continued.

While this program offered
certain protections,

the cracks would
soon begin to show.

2
In Texas
is the ruin of a site used

to process
Mexican agricultural workers
brought to America

as part of
the Bracero program.

The men came
for a better life.

The reality they found
was very different.

Despite the regulations,

many farmers tried to
get around them.

Providing crowded
slum-like housing

or even charging people rent

for lodgings
that should have been free.

So I have actually seen
a paycheck of a Bracero

that was one cent
after they took away
all those charges

that the employer
charge them for.

Over time,
the program began to
come under fire,

drawing more
and more criticism
for worker exploitation.

It would take
a tragic accident

to draw national attention

to the abusive
Bracero program.

In September 1963,

58 workers were riding

on their employer's
crudely made bus
in Chualar, California.

When crossing
a set of railroad tracks,

the makeshift bus
was hit by a freight train.

Thirty-two people were killed
and 25 more were injured.

It's said to be
the most fatal car accident

in all of US history.

The Chualar bus crash

shone a light
on the poor treatment
of Braceros,

proving that their employers
did not care about
their well being

even to the the point
of providing safe transport.

Under pressure from unions
and other social
welfare groups,

the program was discontinued
in 1964

After this,
the Rio Vista farm was
no longer needed.

It first passed into
the hands of the local county

and then
to the city of Socorro.

Throughout those years,
the old buildings
fell into ruin.

But
many of the men remained

and in the 1980s,

where there was
an amnesty program,
many of the men were able

to legalize their status,

and that was
20 years of being here

without papers.

In 2023,

Rio Vista Farm was designated

as a national
historic landmark.

Ensuring that its story
will be told
for future generations.

The Bracero program had
a very important legacy
for the United States.

It saved our economy
during World War II,

but also
the men who stayed

became US citizens

and their children
were born here.

They have contributed
so much to their communities.

In northeast Italy,

In the shadow
of towering mountain peaks,

lies the devastating outcome
of Mother Nature's fury.

In the foothills of the Alps,

as beautiful and dramatic
as the scene is,

hidden among the vegetation,

eerie remains begin to appear.

Sat high above the town

is what was
once quite a grand church.

But the roof is missing

and entire walls
have come crashing down.

So what happened?

Inside the town's buildings,

it's evident that
whatever misfortunes
struck here occurred quickly

and with phenomenal force.

You start to
see the scraps
of people's lives

as furniture, shoes, clothes

and children's work books open

as though they've just
finished their homework.

Which suggests they could have
been running for their lives.

In the moment,
there was panic.

Everything was shaking.

People could barely stand.

The threat was always
hanging over here.

It was part of daily life.

But eventually,
some would pay
the ultimate price.

My dad, my mum, myself,
my wife

and my children
used to live in this house.

We used to live well
because we also
had some farmland.

We had cows.

Giuseppe Bulfon
was born in this rural town

in 1936.

For 40 years,
it was the place
he called home.

There were two taverns
and two shops.

We had everything
we needed to live here.

This is the town
of Portis.

For centuries, it stood proud

with a small
yet thriving community.

So this town is really
what you would think of

when you think of rural Italy.

On Saint's days,
people would march

to the town and have
celebrations and festivals.

It was a beautiful,
quiet life here,

but little did
the residents know

that disaster
was just around the corner.

2
In the centuries old
Italian town of Portis,

residents lived
an idyllic life.

But soon the peace
would be shattered.

At 09:00 p.m. on
May 6th, 1976,

the ground beneath
Giuseppe Bulfon's feet
began to violently shift.

Everyone came out
of their homes.

We were all outside.

I felt the ground shaking.

I couldn't walk.

It was a massive
6.5 magnitude earthquake,

and Portis was a little over
five miles from the epicenter.

Very quickly
giant cracks start to appear
in the buildings.

It is obvious that
the place is unsafe

and people are really scared.

Then the second
shockwave came.

It was rumbling.

The ground trembled
for one minute.

My wife came outside shouting.

"Come here.
So that we all die together,

together with our children."

Giuseppe and his family
were fortunate to survive.

Other members of the community
were not so lucky.

Unfortunately,
six people were killed

as they were trying to escape,

Running through those
narrow streets

when an old house collapsed
right on top of them.

In addition
to the town of Portis
that was destroyed,

over 150,000 people
across the region
were homeless overnight.

In the aftermath,

the town's residents
were forced to move

into temporary accommodations.

When the immediate danger
had passed,

they returned
to survey the damage.

They bury the dead

and try to figure out
what to do next.

Many hoped
they could rebuild,

forget the terrible event,

and return to life at Portis,

as it had been
before the earthquake.

The government
brought in geologists
to study this space.

They knew the people wanted
to continue to live there.

But unfortunately,
the geologists knew

that the town would
never be safe again.

The cause of the danger
was a steep sided cliff

that overshadowed Portis.

There was this
gigantic overhang of rock,

and the scientists found
that it had been fractured

by the first earthquake.

And feared that
if there was another one,

the whole thing could
come crashing down

right on top of Portis.

But the residents

did not want to give up
their homes without a fight.

Tensions get very high,
with the government saying

you can't come home again

and the people
of the town saying,

no, we're coming home again.

To the point of putting
giant signs up saying,

"Portis must be reborn here."

But just four months later,

the resident's
worst nightmares
became a reality.

On September 15th,
1976,

disaster struck yet again.

At the time,
Giuseppe Bulfon

was in the neighboring town,
catching up with old friends.

We were sitting
in the Caffè Vecchio

in Via della Stazione, drinking.

I just saw the mountain
coming down.

It was huge, yes, huge.

"Now it's all over", I said.

Thousands of
tons of rock
sheared off the mountain

and hurtled
towards the town below
with a deafening roar.

The landslide smashed
into the church cemetery

and made it as far as the road
that lies next to the town.

The town
is declared completely unsafe

and the line is drawn.

You will never go back
to your homes again.

Giuseppe
and all the residents
of Portis

had no choice
but to abandon their homes

and move to a nearby city.

Eventually,
on December 15th 1978,

the authorities announced
that they would found
a new town.

Portis Nuovo, New Portis,
less than a mile up the road,

I wanted to
go back to my town.

I was always here

even when I was living
somewhere else.

The land is calling.

Some of the people
that grew up there

or loved Old Portis,

still have that connection,
still want to be a part of it.

And while many of
the homes are deemed
too unsafe to enter,

the gardens are still tended
by some,

keeping the connections
to their ancestral homes
alive.