All language subtitles for A.E.S15E12.1080p.WEB.h264-CODSWALLOP_track3_[eng]

In London, England, a secret
subterranean network

said to have influenced a world
famous author...

It's rumoured that his visits
here inspired

Q branches secret lair in
his novels.

..an epic structure in New Jersey USA
where an extraordinary craft

met a tragic end...

The sight of this was unimaginably
horrifying.

TV COMMENTATOR: Oh, the humanity!

..in Grimsby, a once glorious symbol
of prosperity drawn into

a devastating North Sea battle...

Ultimately, countries like the US
stepped in, as the conflict

threatened to undermine
international security

at the height of the Cold War.

..and an Italian country retreat
designed with a dark objective.

This is a place to brainwash young
people.

After a stay here, they're all going
to be fascists.

In the heart of London is a covert
facility built

to guard against a tyrannical regime
during a global war.

There are shops and restaurants
and commuters going back

and forth.

It's a perfectly typical city scene
at first glance.

But in one nondescript service area
is the entrance

to something pretty amazing.

It feels like a forgotten railway
tunnel

but, you notice that it doesn't
really add up to that.

There are huge generators,

rows of electronics and even office
spaces.

You have to imagine that hundreds
of people were down here. But why?

For more than 80 years,

this network of tunnels has been
a key part of

the protection of the citizens of
the United Kingdom.

At a time when Britain was facing
its darkest hour,

these tunnels were home to
an elite organisation.

Its role was to wage a secret war
against Hitler's forces

in occupied Europe.

If they failed, the country could
fall into the hands of the Nazis.

They are also said to have inspired
a really important franchise.

This is truly part of the life that
Ian Fleming led that became

the character that we know
to be James Bond today.

Angus Murray heads the organisation
that purchased these tunnels from

a telecommunications company in 2024.

They plan to raise more than £150
million from investors

to open them up to the public.

It's a vast network, almost a
citadel, right in the middle

of Central London

but, really, nobody has seen
the depths and size

of what is within this complex.

This site was first created
in response to

Hitler's ruthless bombing campaign
that began in September 1940,

it became known as the Blitz.

This was not just an attack on
military targets,

it was a terror attack on British
civilians,

in the heart of their major city.

The constant wail of air raid sirens
became like this grim soundtrack

for life in wartime London.

So, the British government ordered

the construction of purpose-built

structures like this one.

This was a deep-level air raid

shelter for London civilians

built underneath the London
Underground system.

Construction began in November 1940,
when hundreds of workers began

carving out two parallel tunnels by
hand.

They were more than 16 feet across,

1200 feet long

and had space for almost
10,000 people

with access shafts leading
to street-level at each end.

The tunnels would contain two
decks each

and they would supply bunk beds,

medical supplies

and kitchens for up to 9600
terrified Londoners.

They were completed in March 1942

but by the time they were finished,

Nazi Germany had changed
its strategy.

The bombing campaign against
London had lessened.

So, there was no longer a need
for a civilian shelter.

For the next two years, the tunnels
were used as troop accommodations

but soon, this underground labyrinth
was given a new mission.

In January 1944, towards the end of
the war,

a secretive organisation moved in.

It was called the Special Operations
Executive

or SOE for short.

The SOE was a top secret group set
up by Winston Churchill

to instigate all kinds of
clandestine operations

on the continent against the Nazis.

So it was an organisation of very
brave men and women.

Nearly 13,000, of which, about 3,200
people were women.

These agents were trained

to do operations in enemy
occupied territory.

Often parachuting in and performing
acts of sabotage

and espionage or even to aid local
resistance groups.

But in order to do all of this,
they needed specialised equipment.

One branch of the SOE said
to have been based here,

was the Inter Services
Research Bureau.

They designed pistols with
silencers

for discreet attacks, suitcase
radios...

They even had something they called
the exploding rat,

that was packed with explosives.

Around six months after
the SOE took up residence,

they would be involved in the largest
amphibious assault in history...

..D Day.

We believe they stayed for the
entire period of 1944

so we assume that they were heavily
involved in that

particular operation.

Churchill said he wanted the SOE
to set Europe ablaze.

By that he meant that when it
finally came time for

the Allies to retake France,

the ground would already be
softened

by these resistance groups that had

disrupted rail networks,
destroyed ammunition,

anything they could do to degrade
the German's ability to respond.

While the exact role of

the SOE agents working here is still
a mystery,

it's claimed that they inspired
an iconic author

and a blockbuster movie series.

So, Ian Fleming was a naval liaison
officer to

the Special Operations Executive.

Ian Fleming would have been
coming down

to these tunnels as we were
leading up

to what was obviously
a naval operation.

There's no question that this

location inspired him along
with what

the Special Operations Executive
was doing,

to become Q branch in James Bond.

In the James Bond world,

we have things like
exploding suitcases,

a cigarette lighter that becomes
a flame thrower,

coins that can track your location.

The kinds of things that we can

imagine being worked on or dreamed
about in this underground workshop.

In 1946, a year after the war ended,
the SOE was disbanded.

For the next six years, the tunnels
were used to store official documents

until they were given a crucial new
purpose during the Cold War.

The whole tunnel complex was
significantly expanded between

the period of 1950 to 1952 when the
British government determined

it needed a deep-level
telecommunications exchange.

In a pre-digital age a telephone
exchange provided a place

to manually connect incoming
and outgoing calls.

In the event of nuclear war,

a secure location was needed to keep

the country's communication
lines open.

This expansion was designed
to do just that.

Telephone technology was
advancing rapidly.

They needed room for switching
stations and cables

and power systems.

This massive facility opened in
1954 and had

5,000 cables that were handling
up to two million calls per week.

Two years later, the deep-level
tunnel network became the

London terminal for the world's first
transatlantic telephone cable,

the TAT-1.

This was the first time that you
could carry

the human voice clearly across
the Atlantic in a split second.

It was not until after the world had
stood on the brink of destruction

that the true value of this
transatlantic cable became clear.

In the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis,

the Soviet Union had installed

a battery of nuclear-tipped
missiles in Cuba,

basically right off the US Coast.

For the US, the Soviet Union had
crossed a line.

It was a crisis for President John F
Kennedy who had to find

a way to force the Soviets to remove
those missiles

without provoking a nuclear war.

This required delicate negotiations
with the Kremlin.

But with no dedicated connection
between Washington and Moscow,

it could take as long as 12 hours
for leaders

to communicate through secure
diplomatic channels.

In the end, Kennedy and his team
negotiated a very deft

and top secret agreement with

the Soviets that convinced them
to remove their weapons.

To avoid a repeat of this near
catastrophe,

a quicker solution needed
to be found.

So, after that, a direct line of
communication was established

between the United States and Moscow
using the TAT-1 cable

that ran right through here.

The receivers at either end were not
what you might expect.

When you think of a Cold War
hotline,

you might envision a big red
telephone sitting in

the Oval Office

but it was actually
a teletype machine.

It was believed that

a written message would be
less likely

to be misinterpreted than
a phone call.

For the next 30 years, the tunnels
continued to handle millions of

government and civilian
communications.

But after that, this set of tunnels
is basically abandoned.

The advances in
telecommunications equipment

and technology made it pretty
much obsolete.

Today, the tunnels are being
transformed into

an immersive tourist experience.

The principle objective we have is
to tell that story of

the men and women that sacrificed
so much

to give us our democratic rights.

In New Jersey USA,

on the edge of the Pinelands
National Reserve,

is a site of extraordinary

innovation and an infamous tragedy.

We're in central New Jersey,

about an hour south of New York.

It's pretty obvious this is some
kind of military base.

As you enter the grounds,

you see the structure which looms
over everything.

It's got to be longer than
an entire city block

and hundreds of feet tall.

When you step inside,

it opens up to this vast open space
from floor to ceiling.

There's nothing in here except
storage space

but surely you wouldn't build

something this big just
for storage.

Yet, that's exactly what this
aircraft hangar was built for.

What could the military be flying

that could warrant
a space this big?

What passed through these doors was
a revolutionary development.

Anything airship related really has
its genesis here.

It was a marvel at the time
and everyone wanted to see it.

But with innovation, came great risk.

This is the location of one of

the most notorious disasters in
aviation history.

This structure dates back to
a time when

the United States was completely

reimagining its air power.

At this time, the Navy was searching

for a better way

to detect submarines off the coast

and scout ahead of naval fleets.

Germany utilised the innovative
technology of rigid airships.

This was a blimp

but with a metal
interior framework.

They were called Zeppelin

and the German military used them

for aerial reconnaissance and
bombing.

Their success caught the attention
of the United States

and they initiated the Lighter Than
Air programme.

In 1921, the Navy established
Lakehurst Naval Air Station.

It served as its headquarters and
its first major facility was

Hangar One.

James Warrick joined
the Air Force 37 years ago.

He now serves as the historian
for this joint base.

The hangar was opened in June
of 1921.

Hangar One is 961 feet
from door-to-door.

It's 350 feet wide

and about 200 feet tall.

The Titanic could fit in here.

Inside this building, naval
engineers assembled

the first American-built rigid
airship

the USS Shenandoah.

It made its maiden flight from
Lakehurst on September, 4th, 1923.

The Shenandoah became
the first Navy ship

to fly completely across
the continental United States.

The journey took the crew of around
40 people 19 days

but it was more than
a publicity stunt.

It proved that airships could be
a valuable military tool.

Having the ability to loiter for

a long period of time
was beneficial,

especially when it comes to
reconnaissance.

You know, you can stay over an area
for days

if you were equipped properly.

Despite their promise, these ships
were still new and risky vessels.

In 1925, the Shenandoah ran into
a severe storm that broke

the ship apart and killed 14 of
the crew.

But the Navy still supported
the venture,

in part due to the success of
the German Zeppelins.

And, it wasn't just

the military that were interested
in these new airships.

As one of the few airship ports in
the world,

Lakehurst was a destination for a
new form of transcontinental travel.

In October, the German airship, the
Graf Zeppelin,

made the first transatlantic
commercial flight.

It flew from Friedrichshafen
to Lakehurst with 40 crew

and 20 passengers.

The journey took four
and a half days,

which was considered blazingly fast
by the standards of the time.

In 1936, the Graf Zeppelin was
eclipsed by an even bigger airship,

one that made its inaugural flight
as part of

the newly established Nazi Germany,

three years before World War
Two began.

At a massive 804 feet long,
it became the flagship for

the fleet of transatlantic passenger
airships.

This was the Hindenburg.

So, for the Hindenburg
to come here during 1936,

it was a major achievement for,
for Germany.

You gotta figure for Adolf Hitler it
was a good propaganda tool.

Had the swastika on it.

For the next 12 months, the
Hindenburg operated a luxurious

passenger service between Germany
and Lakehurst.

On the 3rd May, 1937,

the Hindenburg took off on its
63rd flight.

It departed from Frankfurt

to Lakehurst carrying 36 passengers
and 61 crew.

What followed would be seared into
the minds of hundreds of thousands.

Well, because of the weather, the
Hindenburg was about 12 hours behind

and the captain of naval air station
Lakehurst said,

"No, this weather's not conducive."

So, the Hindenburg flew up and down
the east coast a little bit.

It flew over New York City.

Since this was the airship's first
flight of the season,

Herb Morrison. a reporter from
WLS Radio.

and a film crew were recording
its arrival.

Behind me and to my right, over
where that tree line is,

that's where, you know, Herb
Morrison and those other film crews

were, you know, standing, doing
video.

It's starting to rain again.

The rain had, uh, packed up a little
bit.

And so, as the Hindenburg made its
approach,

you know, it flew roughly from our
left to our right over our heads.

Uh, made a series of left turns
before it came back into

its final configuration to land.

Basically, right above where we're
standing now.

The awestruck crowd watched on as
more than 100 ground crew readied

themselves to catch the Hindenburg's
guide ropes.

TV COMMENTATOR: As the motor to the
ship adjusts,

holding this just enough
to keep it from...

It's burst into flames!

Get this, Charlie! Get this, Charlie!

It's on fire, it's in flames.

It's terrible.

Oh, my! Get out of the way, please.

It's bursting into flames and it's
falling...

The hydrogen gas that filled

the various compartments quickly
caught fire

and in moments, the entire vessel
was aflame.

Within 34 seconds, the Hindenburg
crashed in

the open field, just west of Hangar
One.

TV COMMENTATOR: This is terrible,
this is one of the worst

catastrophes in the world...It's...
Oh, in all humanity...

13 passengers, 22 crew and one
member of the ground staff died

but, miraculously, 62 people
survived the crash.

An official investigation followed.

The leading theory was that as

the Hindenburg came into land,

a structural wire broke free,

slashing open the hydrogen cells
inside the ship.

Then, a static charge caused by

the stormy weather created
a spark, igniting the volatile gas.

The disaster of the Hindenburg
really shattered

the public confidence in airship
travel and that was the end of it.

It remains one of the most notorious
disasters in aviation history.

In a tragic twist of fate, it's
possible the Hindenburg's fiery end

could have been avoided, if it had
been filled with

the more stable helium instead
of hydrogen.

But the United States controlled
almost all of

the world's helium supply at
the time.

The US Government recognised that it
had potential military applications,

such as airships, and banned its
export to Germany in 1927.

That meant that the Germans were
forced to use

the much more combustible
and unstable hydrogen.

At Lakehurst, airships continued to
fly,

but strictly for military purposes,
through World War Two.

After the war their importance
declined and in 1961,

the Secretary of the Navy terminated
the Lighter Than Air programme.

Hangar One is now a registered
historical landmark

and is open for tours to educate

the public on its unique place in
aviation history.

On England's east coast is
the remnant of

a proud enterprise,
cut short in its prime.

Towering over these misty docks is
this industrial looking beast.

This complex is vast.

Inside is kind of a wonderland of
old technology,

giant pipes and pumps and big
machines.

So, clearly, this is a facility that
was meant for moving

and processing some kind of product

but what that product was
isn't clear.

The sheer size of the building
suggests that whatever was made here,

was being done on an epic scale.

This factory didn't just serve
the needs of

the surrounding area.

It was involved in an industry that
spread across

the entire North Atlantic.

And at that time, Grimsby was the
largest

and busiest fishing port in
the world so this, enabled that.

The commodity being caught was cod.

In the late 1950s, the dominance of
Grimsby's industry,

of which this building was
a key part,

would be drawn into

a maritime conflict over a thousand
miles away.

At first, it was low-level sabotage
but tensions boiled over

and boats literally began to ram
into each other.

The situation became so tense,

British Royal Navy warships were
called into action.

It ultimately led to a sweeping
change in international law.

Jon Lowe is a heritage consultant

and part of the team tasked
with preserving

the structure that helped put this
town on the map.

It's a Grade II star listed building
which means it's in the top 4%

of important historic buildings in
the country.

What it enabled was...was amazing.

When we think about the kinds of
resources upon which empires are

built, we don't usually think of
fish

but cod from the North Atlantic was

an incredibly vital resource

going back many centuries.

In Grimsby, a fishing port can be
traced back almost a thousand years.

By the mid-1800s, the industrial
revolution triggered

a population boom and the fishing
industry here

rapidly expanded to feed the masses.

Demand was exploding and any fish
caught out at sea

had to be kept cold and preserved

and, in an era before refrigeration,

the only way to do that, was on ice.

But where are you gonna get
the ice?

Well, the answer is shockingly
simple.

Boats headed for Greenland and
the edge of the Arctic Circle,

literally, carved ice off of the
glaciers

and brought it back to Grimsby.

By the late 1800s, Grimsby's fleet
of trawlers had grown

so large it was impossible
to keep them supplied using

the ice harvesting method.

If the fishing industry was
to continue to prosper,

an answer needed to be found.

This is the Grimsby Ice Factory
which opened in 1901.

This was an ice plant on a scale
never before imagined.

For a time, it was the largest ice
factory in the world.

So, we're in the compressor house
which is

the beating heart of the factory.

This is where ammonia gas
was compressed,

converting it from a gas to
a very high pressure,

high temperature vapour.

And then,
when that pressure is released,

it's cold.

They used that cold to chill down
vats of brine.

When you add a lot of salt to
water,

it gets a much lower freezing
temperature.

Into these vats of super-chilled
brine,

they would lower canisters
of fresh water.

Just load into the brine
and over 24 hours,

those big tanks of water get frozen
into, essentially,

very large ice cubes.

These were then hoisted into
a thawing tank so

the blocks could be removed
and then put into a crusher.

From the big crusher drums,

the ice went up through elevators

to conveyors which took it out
to the trawlers.

The trawlers contained insulated
holds to stop

the ice from melting while
the vessels were out at sea.

That means the trawlers can go
further afield.

They can stay at sea for longer.

The catch stays fresher.

The catch can travel longer
distances to market.

Here was a fishing port that ran
like a modern factory.

You had massive trawlers going
longer distances

and yet bringing back their catches
perfectly preserved in ice.

It enabled Grimsby to become

the biggest fishing port in
the world.

Demand for ice continued to grow
and by 1931,

the factory was producing
a staggering 1,100 tons a day.

That was enough to fill three

and a half Olympic sized swimming
pools every week.

But the fishing trawlers themselves
were headed for dangerous waters.

As these boats could go out farther
and catch more fish,

they were beginning to impinge on
the interests of

other fishing nations, in
particular, Iceland.

Fishing was absolutely crucial
to Iceland's economy

and they felt increasingly
threatened by larger foreign fleets

over-fishing in their waters.

Throughout the 1950s, '60s and early
'70s,

Iceland worked to ban foreign vessels
from fishing off their coast,

first by expanding its three mile
limit to four miles,

then 12 and then 50.

In 1975, it went one step further.

Tensions peaked as Iceland
unilaterally extended their fishing

limits to 200 nautical miles.

The UK was not going to take that
sitting down.

They told their fishing fleets
to go ahead

and fish where they wanted and the
UK would back them up.

But it became almost a dare for
the English trawlers

to break and breach into the
forbidden waters, as it were,

and things got quite nasty.

The Icelandic coastguard chased
British trawlers

and ripped up their nets.

RADIO: You are interfering with
lawful fishing

on the high seas. Over.

In some cases, ships were ramming
each other,

which could be fatal out on
the open ocean.

The violent conflict became known as
the Cod Wars.

TV COMMENTATOR: The target of the gun
boat was the Grimsby trawler,

Carlisle.

She could only stand helplessly by
as Baldur and Diomede continued

the skirmish which ended in yet
another Cod War collision.

The British responded by sending out
Royal Navy ships to protect them.

The North Atlantic was turned into
a battleground.

In total Britain deployed 37
warships to escort

the country's fishing fleet,

protecting a UK industry worth around

a billion pounds per year in
today's money.

Iceland's coastguard

and fishing trawlers were no match
for the strength of the Royal Navy.

But Iceland had an ace up its
sleeve.

They threatened to close the
strategically vital NATO base

at Keflavik.

Keflavik was positioned on
Iceland's south west coast

and it played an important role in
monitoring Russian nuclear submarines

in the North Atlantic.

This caused serious alarm amongst
western allies,

especially the United States.

At the time of the Cod War,
it was a very,

very tense environment

and every piece of information was
critical.

The British Government,

under pressure from the United States

and other NATO allies, was forced to
negotiate.

The UK chose to back down in 1976
and accepted the 200-mile limit.

British fishing fleets were granted
limited access to

the waters but with severe
restrictions on catches.

The agreement had
a devastating impact on

the UK's long-distance fishing
industry and the port of Grimsby.

Essentially, the fishing industry
was decimated almost overnight by

the cessation of fishing as far
afield as Iceland.

Soon, most countries around
the world adopted

the 200 mile limit.

By the late '80s, the value of fish
caught by Grimsby's trawlers

had dropped from around £14 million
per year in 1974

to just £500,000.

In 1990, the Ice Factory was forced
to close.

It was a status symbol.

It represented so much to
the community

and it still does today.

I think a new chapter in its life
is needed.

Today the port of Grimsby is finding
new life

in a new resource push which is
offshore wind power.

This is another instalment in
the life of one of

the great port cities of the UK.

The old ice factory is set to be

a part of Grimsby's regeneration.

Josephine Waugh is a member of

the team working to revive
the building.

There is an existing legacy here
of cutting edge technology and so

the intention through the
redevelopment of this space is

to have this be a centre
and a hub for research

and development into
renewable energy.

In Northern Italy, 20 miles from the
city of Genoa,

a secluded forest conceals a story of
vengeful retribution.

There's a clearing and we can see a
massive structure.

It's got wings, it's got a clock
tower

and it's not the kind of thing you
expect to see in

the Italian countryside.

The location is stunning,

so you might guess it was some kind
of sanatorium or a hotel even.

A closer look reveals that
the rest of

the building is entirely bare
with many of

the hints of its past life
stripped away.

Some rooms had the remains
of showers, toilets,

but the facilities feel far more
functional than you'd expect

in luxury accommodation.

The biggest clue though as
to its origin,

is the style of the architecture.

The design is typical of the 1930s

and that means only one thing,

it was built during the reign of
the fascist dictator,

Benito Mussolini.

This was a site intended
to indoctrinate

and secure the loyalty of

the next generation
of Italian children.

But, during the Second World War,

it was taken over

and used against

the regime it was designed
to protect.

In the woods around this place,

rumour has it that there
are hundreds

of soldiers in unmarked graves
buried here in

the name of freedom and revenge.

Giuseppe Isola is the Mayor of
Rovegno.

When he was young,

this was a scenic getaway that had
moved on from its

unsettling beginnings.

But the building's original function
was not to treat

a condition that affected
children's bones.

It was to shape their minds.

In March of 1919,

Benito Mussolini creates
the Fascist Party

and he's going to recruit
unemployed war veterans

and he's going to put them all in
black shirts.

For the next two years, Mussolini
used his own personal army

to terrorise political opponents

until eventually, he was invited to

join a coalition government.

By 1925 he'd taken complete control.

Mussolini relied heavily on
propaganda

to spread his fascist gospel to
the people.

An often used slogan was "Mussolini
is always right".

Mussolini wants everyone to know
that he is the most masculine guy

in all of Italy so he's ensuring
that he gets himself photographed

threshing grain, he plays with lion
cubs, he is fearless.

One other way he promoted his
fascist ideals was

to set up holiday camps all over
Italy for young people,

particularly from
deprived neighbourhoods.

Construction on this one began
in 1934

and took just five months
to complete.

It was called the Colonia di Rovegno.

The idea was to show these young
people a different way of life

to what they were used to, to build
character and to show them

the fascist future of which they
would be part.

From the regime's point of view,
this was vital

as these were the very people who
would be

the next generation of foot
soldiers.

But perhaps more worryingly,

they were indoctrinated
to believe in the regime

and to see Mussolini as

a father figure who would always
provide for them.

But only six years after the site
opened,

it suddenly had a very different
function.

On June 10th 1940 Mussolini declared
war on France and Great Britain

forming part of Hitler's Axis Powers
during the Second World War.

The Colonia di Rovegno was drawn
into the fighting.

Genoa was Italy's busiest
and largest port

and for that reason it was bombed
heavily by the allies.

The city was being devastated

and the residents needed somewhere
to evacuate their children.

The Colonia di Rovegno's remote
location only 30 miles from

Genoa, made it one of
the safest places to send them.

In October 1942 the dormitories were
turned into classrooms

where kids would both
sleep and study.

In winter it was brutally cold

but it was a much better option
than being in the city.

But soon the Allies would gain
the upper hand.

Mussolini's days as leader
were numbered.

In 1943, it all goes wrong for
the Italian fascists.

The Allies are about to invade.

In September, the new antifascist
government signed an armistice with

the Allies but the fighting was far
from over.

Hitler is not going to allow
the Allies

to take all of Italy

and to be just the other side of
the Alps from Germany and Austria.

And so begins the Third Reich's
bloodthirsty reign of terror

in Italy.

Any Italian who is suspected
of siding with the Allies

is ruthlessly tortured
and executed.

The Germans don't love the
Italians,

they never really did
but now it shows.

The population was brutalised

and the time had come
to fight back.

From the winter of 1944,

an intense partisan movement
gathered pace in

Northern Italy.

These resistance fighters vowed
to violently oppose

the German occupation
and fascist loyalists.

It was the perfect base
to hide out from Nazi soldiers

and organise guerrilla attacks.

It was also used to detain Italian
fascists loyalists

and German prisoners of war.

Hundreds of these prisoners were
routinely executed by partisans

and buried in the woods around
the camp.

After years of abuse of
the Italian population,

the partisans had had enough.

They do not want to see those
Germans going back

to Germany and picking up
their lives.

They don't want to see the fascists
going back to their communities

and pretending nothing ever
happened.

But you can't ignore the role
partisans played in

the conflict.

They fought doggedly to win back
their homeland.

The Italian partisans forced
the Germans to get into

a close fought counter-insurgency

campaign in Northern Italy

and that is a massive suck on
German combat power.

On the 26th of April 1945,

the Italian Resistance Movement freed

the city of Genoa from
German occupation.

It was the first time during
World War Two that

an army corps had surrendered
to civilian partisan forces.

When a German commander has got to
surrender to partisans,

Nazi Germany is humiliated.

Four days later, Adolf Hitler
committed suicide

in his Berlin bunker

and the war in Europe was
effectively over.

After the war, the Colonia di Rovegno
went back to being

a camp for children.

This time, to help those suffering
from rickets,

a vitamin D deficiency that weakens
the bones.

Exposure to sunlight was one way
to treat it.

It became a happy place for
the children of Genoa

to enjoy the countryside,

to learn new skills

and, most importantly, to get access
to sunshine.

But by the 1970s,

the funding had started to dry up

and it was also no longer needed.

It became abandoned.

All over Italy are a number of these
deserted colonies

which occupy beautiful locations.

These are places potentially
worth millions

but the authorities struggle
to muster

the political will to either bring
them back to life

or knock them down.

So until a new owner is found,

this site remains a prescient symbol
of what can happen

when a ruthless individual rules by
fear and hate.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media