All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S12E08.1080p.WEB.h264-FREQUENCY_track3_[eng]

[narrator] A palatial ruin
in Philadelphia,

built from the riches
of an industrial golden age.

[Jim]
All the wealth in the world
couldn't protect him

from losing many
of the people he loved.

[narrator] In France,
a remote outpost

that threatened
the lives of millions.

[Lynette] This is designed
to be the hinge

on which the fate
of Europe turns.

[narrator] And in Poland,

a power-hungry dictator
caught in a twisted romance

at a fairytale stronghold.

[Rob] At first,
the relationship
was shrouded in secrecy,

but he was clearly happy
with the bargain being struck.

[narrator]
In southeast Pennsylvania
stands the relic of an era

when the titans
of industry ruled America.

[Jim] In the countryside
just outside Philadelphia,

you see this grand
neoclassical building

with tall columns
and two enormous wings.

It feels like
you could be standing
in a grand European palace.

[Michele]
But this is in the USA,

and we're pretty famous
for not having a monarchy,

we dealt with that
in the 1700s.

But if a royal
didn't live here, who did?

[narrator] The man behind
this ostentatious residence

was the very epitome
of the American dream.

This was once the home
of one of the wealthiest
Americans of his day,

a man whose life was blessed
with riches.

[narrator] He was also a man
driven by a burning desire

to leave a lasting legacy.

It is truly one
of the greatest
collections of art

ever assembled in one location
and probably global history.

[Natasha] But all the money
in the world

could not save this family
from tragedy.

That tragedy would involve
one of the greatest disasters
in history, the Titanic.

[Edward]
I first found this place
when I was 11 years old,

and it just awestruck me.

I had never seen
anything like it before.

[narrator] In 2023,

Edward Thome headed up
the group that purchased
this property...

with the seemingly impossible
task of restoring it
to its former glory.

[Edward] We are now
solely responsible for this
building and its wellbeing.

Um, so there's...
there's a great sense
of responsibility

that comes
with that as well.

It was so reminiscent
of the palaces of Europe,

such as Versailles
or Buckingham Palace.

It's not something
that you're used to seeing in
the United States of America.

[narrator] The origins
of this lavish residence

began in a period
of great prosperity

known as the Gilded Age.

In the late 19th century
and the early 20th century,

the American economy
was just in overdrive.

[Natasha] A few individuals
made a fortune from
the booming industries,

such as steel,
railways and shipping.

[Jim] People like
John D. Rockefeller
and Andrew Carnegie,

these were men
who'd started out

from very humble backgrounds,
even poor,

and became
these titans of industry.

[narrator] Philadelphia native
Peter Widener
was one of those men.

He was born in 1834,

the son of a German
immigrant bricklayer,

and began his career
as a butcher.

In the early days
of the Civil War,

he won a contract
to supply mutton
to the Union troops

within a 10-mile radius
of Philadelphia.

And with that mutton contract,
he earned $50,000,

which is about $850,000.

He invested that windfall
in up-and-coming industries.

He was involved
in U.S. Steel,

Standard Oil,
American Tobacco.

[narrator] Peter also invested
heavily in the American
public transit system

and amassed a fortune
in the region of $35 million.

Yet from early on,
his personal life
was marked by tragedy.

He lost the eldest
of his three children, Harry,

to typhoid fever
at the age of 15.

[Edward] The final blow
was his wife passing

in 1896 due
to an unexpected heart attack.

And at that point,
his two sons,
George and Joseph,

were living out on their own
and building their own houses.

[narrator] Widener's grief
would drive the creation of
his most important investment.

[Edward] He said
to George and Joseph,

"I don't wanna live alone
for the rest of my life.

If I build a house
large enough
that we can all coexist,

then will you move in
with me?"

And of course, they said yes.

[narrator] Peter's new
family home took two years
to build

and cost around $300 million
in today's money.

By December 1899,
Lynnewood Hall was complete.

[Edward] It was one
of the largest homes
in the country

and remains so today.

There were 44 in-house staff

and there was about 160
on the estate as total.

All the family portraits
hung in here

of Peter and his two sons.

This leads
right into the dining room,

which is where the family
would spend a lot of time
every evening.

They would sit around
a giant table here
in the middle

with, you know, Peter
and George and Joseph

and the wives
and all the children.

[narrator] Yet Lynnewood Hall
was always intended to be

much more
than just a family home.

[Michele] Widener had
a particular affinity

for European
old master paintings.

And he spared no expense
in acquiring

some of the most celebrated
works of his time.

This entire wall
was covered with Romney,

Hoppner, Gainsborough,
Reynolds.

We had two El Greco's here
on either side of this door.

We had the largest
private collection
of Rembrandts

anywhere in the world
at the time outside
of Buckingham Palace.

[narrator] But Peter
wasn't just motivated
by personal pleasure.

His humble start in life
also played a role.

[Edward]
He was very proud of that
and had a great appreciation

for this art collection
and wanted to share it
with everyone.

And they opened up
Lynnewood Hall as a kind
of museum to the public

for months every year
for the grand price
of 5 cents.

His son, Joseph, later said,

"Art belongs
to those who appreciate it.

Others merely own it."

[narrator] Yet heartbreak
continued to follow
his every achievement.

[Natasha] Peter Widener
had been part of the creation

of the very thing
that would bring grief
to his family once again.

[narrator] In the early 1900s,
he purchased a stake

in the International
Mercantile Marine Company.

Peter's son, George,
was also a shareholder,

and he, his wife, Eleanor,
and their 27-year-old son,
Harry, arranged

passage on the maiden voyage

of the company's
newest cruise ship.

This kind of travel
was a huge part of the lives
of America's economic elite

during this period.
That was supposed to be

the most elegant way
to cross the Atlantic.

[narrator]
Eleanor, George and Harry
were already in Europe

attending to business matters.

This journey would bring them
back to America.

[Michele] At 6:30 p.m.,

on April 10, 1912,

they set sail
aboard the RMS Titanic.

[narrator]
Little did they know

not all of them
would make it home.

[Jim] The officers
of the Titanic

really did enforce
this rule of women
and children first.

[narrator] In Pennsylvania

is the former home
of wealthy industrialist,
Peter Widener.

The self-made millionaire
had it all.

But on April 14, 1912,
his life changed dramatically

when his family traveled back
to America

onboard the Titanic.

[Edward] One of the things
that's interesting to me

is many people are aware
that there was a lavish
dinner party on Titanic.

What's not known

is the fact that the Wideners
were the ones who threw
that dinner party

as a retirement present
for Captain Edward J. Smith.

After the dinner, I believe
Eleanor retired to her room
with her lady's maid.

And the gentlemen, of course,
went to the smoking room

for cigars and brandies
and such.

[narrator] At 11:40 p.m.,
disaster struck.

[Jim] Of course,
everyone knows the story

of the Titanic hitting
the fateful iceberg

and the roughly
two-hour period

when the ship was sinking.

[narrator]
The vessel's officers
enforced a strict women

and young children only rule
in the limited number
of lifeboats...

while the adult men were left
to fend for themselves.

The Widener family
had the experience
that many families had

of separating right there
at the rail.

It was a heartbreaking scene.

[Edward] George, you know,
pulled his wife aside

and he took off
a golden emerald ring
and gave it to her,

and he said, you know,
"Don't forget about me,

but I want you to do
everything that we talked
about doing."

Eleanor and her
lady's maid survived.

George and his
27-year-old son, Harry,

unfortunately, all perished
in the sinking.

[Michele]
Eleanor and her maid
made it home on April 19th.

There they found
Peter distraught

with the news of the deaths
of his son and grandson.

[narrator] Peter Widener
was never the same again.

Overcome with grief,
his health suffered
dramatically.

[Edward] We've been told
that Peter would come out
to this balcony

and... and stare
at the driveway,
which is to our left,

just hoping one day
that a car would show up

with both George
and Harry in it.

[narrator] Only three years
after the disaster,

Widener died
at Lynnewood Hall.

He was 80 years old.

[Edward] The incident
had such an impact on him

that his doctor even said that
he died of a broken heart.

[narrator]
After Peter's death,

the property passed to his
last remaining son, Joseph.

Lynnewood Hall
remained in his hands
until he died in 1943.

After Joseph's death,
neither his children
nor his extended family

wish to take on
the vast responsibility of
taking care of the property.

[Jim] The Widener's
fabulous art collection

was donated
to the National Gallery.

Those grand rooms
must have seemed

very empty when all those
paintings were gone.

[narrator] Today,
Edward Thome
and his colleagues

at the Lynnewood Hall
Preservation Foundation

are working hard to keep
Peter Widener's story alive...

and to realize his dream
of making his home
accessible to all.

When you have a building
of this significance,

not just in its design
but its history,

it is so important to share it
with the community
moving forward.

The goal is to, again,
open it to the public
as a cultural center,

art museum
and a recreational venue.

[narrator] In northern France

is an ominous collection
of buildings

intended to decide
the fate of Europe.

[Luke] It almost feels
like an entire town

is laid out
next to the railway,

but there are no houses
or shops to speak of.

So what is this place?

[Lynette]
This construction is low,
it's close to the ground.

Whoever built these buildings
did not want them to be seen.

The style
of architecture tells us
that this was not created

for the sake
of pleasure or comfort.

[narrator]
When the world was plunged
into the chaos of conflict,

these structures were designed
to oversee the glorious
victory of a cruel regime.

The blood of hundreds,
if not thousands

of slave laborers
is cast in this concrete.

We can smell the evil
of Nazi construction.

[Onyeka] Hitler had so much
hubris that he believed
that from here,

he would witness
the downfall of Britain.

[narrator]
Yet in the dying days
of the war,

the men stationed here
received chilling
new instructions.

[Lynette] An order comes off
the teleprinter

that could result
in the deaths of thousands.

[Didier] I discovered
the site in 2007,

but it was forbidden
because it was military land.

[narrator] Didier Lede
was one of the first
to explore these bunkers

when the shroud of secrecy
was finally lifted.

[Didier] It took me
several years of research

to discover
the real history of the site.

It was as if
I had discovered treasure.

[narrator]
But this was a treasure
with a menacing origin.

These structures date
to a time in World War II

when the Allied Forces
were being crushed
by the Nazi war machine.

[Luke] By 1940,
Germany had blitzed its way

through Poland, Belgium
and into France.

Hitler wanted to stay close
to his troops

on the frontline
to give orders.

This site was supposed to be
the platform

by which Hitler would
oversee Operation Sea Lion,

the conquest of Britain.

In 1942,
they set about constructing

the largest
Third Reich headquarters

ever built during the war.

[narrator] The name
of the complex catered
to Hitler's vainglorious ego.

He called his new base of
operations Wolfsschlucht Zwei,

AKA Wolf's Lair Two.

Hitler attached
considerable myth
to his persona.

One of those ideas
was that he was a wolf,

a wolf like the beast

um, who inhabited
German mythology.

[narrator] From the beginning,

its construction was stained
in innocent blood.

Over a period of 18 months,
22,000 workers

worked day and night
to build these bunkers.

We have prisoners of war,

prisoners of common law
and forced laborers.

[narrator] By early 1944,

Hitler's command center,
designed to orchestrate

the destruction of Britain,
was complete.

Up to 3,000 men
were based here,

although the Fuhrer himself
had still never visited.

But its role
in Germany's war effort
soon had to change.

On June 6th,
the largest amphibious
invasion force ever assembled

stormed the beaches
of Normandy,

just four hours away
from this site...

Hitler's troops were caught
completely off guard.

[Lynette]
Hitler has got to act quickly

to halt the invasion of France
on the beach.

But Hitler is indecisive.

[narrator] In France
are the remains

of a Nazi compound

built to oversee the conquest
of the United Kingdom.

On June 6, 1944,

its function was forced
to change.

[Lynette]
So, when the Allies land
on D-Day, Hitler is in battle.

And nobody wants to be the one
who wakes up the Fuhrer.

By the time
Hitler's senior officers
actually do get him awake,

the commanders find
that Hitler doesn't know

which way
to send reinforcements.

[narrator] After
the Allied invasion began,

it took Hitler 11 days
to decide to go

from Germany
to Wolf's Lair Two
to in France

for the very first time.

And that means
that a bunker system
that was built to prepare

for the invasion of Britain
needs to become a complex

capable of commanding
multiple army groups

to defend Nazi held France.

On June 17, 1944,

Adolf Hitler summons
the generals
and field marshals,

Rommel and von Rundstedt,
to this bunker.

The conference that's going
to take place in this bunker

is going to be
very, very tense.

[Luke]
Just as they were debating,

the air raid
warning sounded.

Allied bombers were in the air

and the whole party
scrambled into the shelters

deep in the hillsides
where the meeting continues.

[narrator] At this point,
Hitler demanded
the V-1 rocket,

built to pound London
into submission,

be used against
the invading forces.

[Onyeka] He seemed to believe
that this would act

as some sort
of sword of Damocles

um, striking down the enemy.

[Luke] The artillery general
advised it was far too risky

to send the V-1
to the frontlines.

These things were
entirely unpredictable,

and he worried
that they would kill
their own men

if they fired them
anywhere close
to the invasion forces.

[narrator]
The supposedly great Fuhrer

was visibly shaken
by the general's reaction

and dismissed
their recommendations

to retreat from Normandy
and regroup.

After only 12 hours
at Wolf's Lair Two,

he makes a feeble excuse
to leave

while his generals
return to the frontlines

to try and hold back
the Allied invasion.

And Hitler appears
not to be a man
of great physical courage.

Hitler's response is,
"I am in such danger
here in France,

I am going
to get back to Germany.

I'm going to command
from someplace
where I can feel safe."

[narrator] After Hitler
returned to Germany,

he never again stepped foot
inside Wolf's Lair Two.

On August 25, 1944,
the Free French Allied forces

entered Paris
and declared it liberated.

The next day, from the safety
of his Berlin bunker,

Hitler would send
an alarming message

to this base's
communications center...

calling for the bombardment
of the French capital.

Hitler gives
a scorched earth order

to destroy the entire city.

[Luke] The order was received
by General Hans Speidel

who just months earlier
had been part

of the failed plot
to assassinate Hitler

and take control
of the armed forces.

[narrator]
The residents of Paris

were completely unaware
how close they came
to complete annihilation.

[Didier] The general
who receives the message,

who reads it,
understands that Hitler
is crazy.

It's useless to destroy Paris

who will have
no military interest.

So he tears up the message.

He destroys the message.

[narrator] As the Allies
advanced through France,

the Germans fled
Wolf's Lair Two.

After their
eventual surrender,

the U.S. Army
occupied this complex

until 1946.

It then served
as a NATO base

and school
for French Special Forces

until it was abandoned
in 1993.

[Dr. Onyeka] After NATO left,
the site became overgrown,

and many of the stories
of its history
became forgotten.

[Luke] Since then,
a local association

has worked
to maintain these buildings.

And plans are underway

to convert it
into a museum site.

[Didier] Last year
we had 2,700 visitors,

and every year it increases.

It goes up and up.

[narrator] On the small
Italian island of Procida,

off the coast of Naples,

is an ominous structure

that harbored aristocrats
and villains.

At the island's highest point,
your eye is immediately drawn

to this building
that's commanding

and daunting in equal measure.

As you approach
along the driveway,

you are met by these
two large wooden doors.

But were they meant
to keep people out,

or in?

[Sascha] Beyond the gates
is a large, open courtyard

lined with stoneworks.

It's a demonstration
of lavish opulence.

[narrator]
When you step inside,
the mood drastically changes.

[Alexis] You've got
piles of shoes,

rows of rusting beds,

baskets of thread
all over the place.

Maybe it was a factory
of some sort,

but, honestly,
it's just creepy.

Exploring deeper into
the building's underbelly,

you can see a place
that is even more unsettling.

[Sascha] That's when you see
bars on the windows.

And there's the real giveaway.

Nobody came here by choice.

[Alicia] What began
as the stronghold

of a really powerful dynasty,

slowly emerged into something
much more sinister.

This building
used to be home

to some of the most
dangerous people in Italy.

[narrator] On the Italian
island of Procida,

an imposing ruin
dominates its surroundings.

My childhood was spent
in the shadow
of this building.

It has always fascinated me
to imagine what was inside.

[narrator] In 2017,
Luigi Primario

got the chance to find out,

when he became
a city councilor,

tasked with the regeneration
of this foreboding site.

What he discovered was a tale
of intrigue and depression

that echoed the very history
of Italy itself.

It was
a very important building,

but at the same time

it was terrible
for the island.

[Alicia] The oldest part
of this palatial ruin

dates back
to the 16th century,

when Italy wasn't
the unified country

we know and recognize today.

The region
was under the control

of the Spanish
Aragonese dynasty,

who ruled
over the kingdom of Naples.

Procida was entrusted
to the d'Avalos family

who were an influential clan
of Spanish dukes

who controlled
a powerful mercenary army.

[narrator] In 1563,
a prominent member
of the family,

Cardinal Innico
d'Avalos d'Aragona,

decided to make Procida
his home.

He called
his new island fortress

the Palazzo d'Avalos.

For the next century,
the d'Avalos family
ruled over Procida.

But their reign
was dramatically cut short
in the 1700s.

[narrator] Following the death
of childless Spanish monarch,
Charles II,

this region was caught up
in a European conflict
of secession.

The Spanish House of Bourbon,
emerged victorious.

By 1736,
the future Bourbon king,
Charles III,

had conquered Naples
and Sicily.

He kicked out
the d'Avalos family,

and took the palazzo over
for himself

to have a grand hunting lodge.

[Sascha] For the people living
under Bourbon rule,

life couldn't have been
more different.

These people were often
under the oppressive thumb

of their feudal lords.

[Sascha] Discontent ran deep,

and it was only
a matter of time

before that exploded
into violence.

[narrator] In the wake
of the French Revolution,

rebellion swept
through Europe,

and the ruling Bourbons
faced a series of uprisings.

In order to maintain rule,

the Palazzo d'Avalos
entered a dark new era.

[Alexis] By 1831,

this, once regal, residence

had been converted
to a prison

to house political enemies
of the state.

Many tales depict
this prison complex

as one of the cruelest
in history.

[Alicia] The conditions inside
were horrific,

and the prisoners often faced

beatings, starvation
and torture.

[Alexis] For many, it seemed

their only option for survival

was to escape.

But they were wrong.

[Sascha] In 1848,
around 140 prisoners

arrived on Procida
from Sicily.

Reports suggest that
they tried to break out,

but they were trapped
by the guards,

and then ruthlessly massacred.

[Luigi] One hundred
and thirty two inmates

were gunned down
in the citadel
of Terra Murata,

which surrounds
the prison complex.

[Alexis] The event sent
shock waves through Europe.

It's actually said to be one
of the reasons that Gladstone,

who was the British
prime minister at the time,

broke off diplomatic relations
with the Bourbon monarchy.

[Sascha] Instead,
he chose to back

the Italian rabble-rouser,
Giuseppe Garibaldi,

the heroic revolutionary
that overthrew the Bourbons
in the 1860s,

and was finally able
to unify the country.

[narrator] While the birth
of modern Italy had arrived,

the Palazzo d'Avalos remained

a place of incarceration
for the next century.

And soon, the prison
needed to expand

to meet the growing demand
of a particular breed
of criminal.

[Sascha] In the 1970s,
the prison started

to be overrun
with Italian mafioso.

We're talking mob bosses,

hitmen, henchmen,
the whole range.

[narrator] Giacomo Retaggio

started working here in 1963

as the prison's only doctor.

Over the next 25 years,

he got to know
some of the prison's
most dangerous convicts.

I would establish
this empathy,

rapport with the inmates,

meaning they would
never say no to me.

The secret is to acquire
the mindset

and the needs of an inmate.

[narrator] In 1982,

this included Naples'
public enemy number one,

Camorra Mafia boss,
Luigi 'the King' Giuliano.

Luigi headed up
the powerful Giuliano clan,

which had a reputation
for being one of Naples'

most bloodthirsty
criminal families.

[narrator] At the time
he was arrested,

Giuliano was in the midst
of a brutal war

with a rival Camorra gang

led by Raffaele
'the Professor' Cutolo.

Cutolo himself
was already behind bars,

running his empire entirely

from the notorious
Poggioreale prison in Naples.

Luigi begged to be sent
to Procida prison.

He knew that if he was sent

to Poggioreale prison,

where Cutolo's men
were locked up,

he would face death.

[Giacomo] Luigi Giuliano
was the boss.

But just like
every Camorra boss,

he was a very likable person.

A handsome fellow
with sky blue eyes.

He would send me coffee
every evening in my office.

He liked to be
a decent person.

But he still was who he was.

[narrator] But Giuliano
was wrong to think

he'd be safe on Procida.

[Giacomo] Prison is a sewer.

You need to walk in the sewer

without getting your
shoes dirty, unfortunately.

It's not easy.

[narrator] In 1982,
Italy's Procida prison

welcomed its most
notorious inmate,

the Camorra mafia king,
Luigi Giuliano.

Luigi had pleaded
to be sent here

to avoid his bitter rival,
Raffaele Cutolo,

who was locked up
in a neighboring prison.

But among the inmates
at Procida,

was one of Cutolo's
former henchmen,

and he had it in for Luigi.

In November, he was stabbed
by another inmate,

and left for dead.

[Giacomo] I was at home
and I got an emergency call.

And this guy
who was imprisoned here
with Giuliano,

to win his old boss's
favor back,

had stabbed Giuliano
in the liver twice.

He was about to die.

There was nothing I could do

other than stop the bleeding
as much as I could,

and prescribe
emergency hospitalization.

[Alexis] Luckily for him,
he survived.

Not so lucky for Naples.

After he was acquitted
of all charges,

he continued
his reign of terror
for the next 20 years.

[narrator] Giuliano
was eventually arrested
in 2000,

and turned
into a government witness
to avoid jail time.

But during that period,
the aging prison here

had already been forced
to shut its doors...

for good.

In July '88, they closed it

because the number of inmates
kept decreasing

until there were
only a hundred.

It was because of a certain
campaign from Procida

where they blamed the prison
for its failing tourism.

[Alicia] For 30 years,
Palazzo d'Avalos

sat completely abandoned

until the government
took it over

and made it a place
that tourists could visit.

It's now become
a place of culture,

a place that, truly,
everyone embraces.

And an asset for the island,
which had been forgotten.

[narrator] In the northern
Polish town of Kamieniec,

is the ruin of a site

where romance and patriotism

painfully collided.

[Hadley] There's little houses
and shops and a church.

It seems like a place
where things move slowly.

But at one end of town
is something quite unexpected.

[narrator] Set back
from the street
is a towering stone structure

ravaged by the passage
of time.

[Hadley] It's got
this big facade,

two wings spreading out
on either side.

It seems like somewhere
really important.

[Prof. Geoffrey]
Central Europe is dotted
with palaces, such as this.

But this one is remarkable
because of who ended up here

and with whom.

[Rob] One of the world's
greatest generals

was caught in a love affair.

For him, it was passion.

For her, it was duty
to her country.

She carried the very existence
of Poland on her shoulders.

But the question was,
would it pay off?

[narrator] Tomasz Dabrowski
is part of a group

dedicated to honoring
the role this building played

in his nation's struggle
for independence.

[Tomasz speaking]

[narrator] Its
epic story began

in the early 18th century,

when this region
was a battlefield

fought over
by neighboring states.

[Prof. Geoffrey] We're in,
what one historian famously
called, God's playground,

Poland, which was
at the intersection

of all the great powers
of Europe.

[Rob] This land was under
the control of Prussia,

a kingdom comprised
of northern Germany,

and much of modern-day Poland.

Its king, Friedrich Wilhelm I,

bestowed palaces and estates

upon the noble families.

[narrator] This one was called
Finckenstein Palace,

and it was named
after the ruling family
that constructed it in 1716.

[Rob] It would be
the von Finckenstein's home

but also a place
for the king to stay
when he traveled from Berlin.

At the turn
of the century, though,

it would host a very different
set of guests.

[narrator] In the late 1700s,

50 years after
Finckenstein Palace was built,

Poland was plunged into chaos.

European borders
were rapidly shifting,

and this region was caught
in the crossfire.

The great powers
of Prussia, Russia

and the Habsburg empire,

set about on a devastating
series of partitions

that really completely reduces
the Polish state to nothing.

[Rob] The result of this
was that Poland

was all but wiped off the map.

And if they had any chance

of restoring their statehood,

they'd need help from abroad.

[narrator] The Polish prince,
Josef Poniatowski,

in cahoots with his noblemen,

devised a strategy

to save the nation
from obscurity.

[Rob] The plan
they came up with...

well, it's been used
over and over again

throughout history.

A honey trap.

[Hadley] The prince
and his officials

identify the perfect person,

and she's a countess
named Marie Walewska.

Even though she was already
married and had a child,

she was known,
throughout Poland,
for her great beauty.

The scheming nobles
then set their sights

on an ambitious
neighboring ruler

who could champion
their cause for independence.

And at that time there was
only one real candidate,

Napoleon Bonaparte.

[Prof. Geoffrey] They realize
that Napoleon has
a natural interest

in fostering
Polish nationalism

as a way of weakening,
you know,

Russia, Austria and Prussia.

[Tomasz speaking]

[narrator] The Polish plan
appeared to be working.

When Napoleon returned
to his European campaign,

he didn't forget
his newfound mistress.

In 1807, Napoleon
invites Marie Walewska

to the countryside,
where he is resting

after another
important battle.

As she arrived,
she was greeted
by the magnificent facade

of Finckenstein Palace.

[narrator] Marie understood
the role she had been
chosen to play.

But she was also conflicted.

She would have to choose
between her family

and her country.

[narrator] In 1807,

Napoleon was at
Finckenstein Palace,

preparing for his next battle.

His mistress, Maria Walewska,

arrived on a secret mission

to help her country
achieve independence.

But it was one that caused
her great distress.

She's very concerned
about her reputation

because she's married,
she has a child,

she's of noble birth.

[narrator] Napoleon
was all too aware

of Maria's personal situation,

and continued
the affair regardless.

[Prof. Geoffrey]
So, they ended up
holing up in a bedroom

of the north wing
of the palace.

[Hadley] Marie had told
one friend that
she really felt

like she was married
to Napoleon at the time.

But, of course, she knew
she was actually...

in service
of a much greater cause.

[narrator] That cause received
a boost in April 1807,

when Napoleon made a deal
with the Shah of Persia
at Finckenstein Palace.

Napoleon's plan is to,
basically, create this
continental system

to close off all of Europe,

including the Russian empire,
to British trade.

[Tomasz speaking]

[narrator] After the treaty
had been signed,

Napoleon continued his war
with Russia.

At the Battle of Friedland
in June,

his army emerged victorious,

which forced the Russians
to make a settlement.

This was the moment
that Marie was waiting for.

The French are negotiating
with the Russians,

and the fate of Poland
is on the table.

[Rob] Marie had left behind
her husband and child

to spend two months
with Napoleon

in the hope his favor
would sway his decisions.

But in the end,
it'd all be for nothing.

[narrator] Under the terms
of the deal,

Russia kept most
of the Polish territory
they previously held.

Napoleon, merely elected
to form a small Polish state,

called the Grand Duchy
of Warsaw.

Poland's dream
of true independence...
was over.

[Hadley] Marie's mission
had failed, and it was
absolutely clear

that Napoleon would always
put his beloved France first

over any romantic involvement.

[Rob] Napoleon made sure
Marie was taken care of
for the rest of her life.

But the affair
was all but over,

and the hopes
of the Polish people
died with it.

[narrator]
As the years passed,

Finckenstein Palace
continued to be a home
for wealthy nobility.

But during World War II,

it was looted
by the Soviet Red Army,

as they advanced
through Poland.

And in 1945,
it was completely
destroyed by a fire.

[Rob] Today, the site
is privately owned

by a member of the
Polish Napoleon Foundation,

and it became a shrine
to a pivotal moment

in Polish history
that unfolded

within the walls
of this great palace.

[Hadley] The romance was even
immortalized in a film

starring Charles Boyer
and Greta Garbo.

And the film
was called The Conquest.