All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S13E12.Churchills.Shadow.War.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-RAWR_track3_[eng]

In London, England,
a secret subterranean network

said to have influenced
a world famous author.

It's rumored
that his visits here,

inspired Q Branch's secret lair
in his novels.

An epic structure
in New Jersey,

where an extraordinary craft

met a tragic end.

The sight of this was
unimaginably horrifying.

Oh, the humanity!

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 clandestine facility built

to defend 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
faced its darkest hour,

these tunnels housed
an elite organization.

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

in enemy-controlled 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 organization that purchased

these tunnels from a
telecommunications company

in 2024.

They plan to raise more than
$200 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 depth 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,

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.

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.

In November 1940, early
in the war, hundreds of workers

began carving out two parallel
tunnels by hand.

They were more than 16 feet
across, 1,200 feet long,

and had space for almost 10,000
Londoners, with access shafts

leading to street level
at each end.

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 civilian shelter.

For the next two years,
the tunnels were used

as troop accommodations.

But soon, this underground
labyrinth was given

a new top-secret mission.

In January 1944,
towards the end of the war,

a secretive organization
moved into these tunnels.

They were 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 organization
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
specialized 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 Germans'
ability to respond.

While the exact role
of the SOE agents working here

is still a mystery,

it's claimed their activities
inspired an iconic author,

and a blockbuster movie series.

So Ian Fleming was
the 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 flamethrower,

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 objective

during an era of global crisis.

The United States
had been on the brink

of nuclear Armageddon,

and this place
was called into action

to make sure
that didn't happen again.

2
Beneath the streets of central
London are the remains

of a top-secret World War II
tunnel network.

During the Cold War,
they were given a new purpose.

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 2 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 stood on the brink

of mutually assured destruction
that the 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 event a catastrophe
like this happened again,

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 principal 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,

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 this 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 re-imagining
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 utilized
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 Program.

In 1921, the navy established
Lakehurst Naval Air Station.

It served as its headquarters,
and its first major facility

was Hangar 1.

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 1 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 the 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 this feat was more
than a publicity stunt.

It proved that airships were
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 are 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 new form
of transcontinental travel.

In October 1928,
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 II 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 Germany.

You gotta figure,
for Adolf Hitler, it was a good

propaganda tool.
It had the swastika on it.

For the next 12 months,
the Hindenburg operated

a luxurious passenger service
between Germany and Lakehurst.

On the 3rd of 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.

2
On May 6th, 1937,

hundreds of onlookers were
gathered outside the hangar

at Naval Air Station Lakehurst.

They were waiting
for the arrival

of the Hindenburg.

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,

a reporter called Herb Morrison
from WLS Radio

and film crew were also
in attendance.

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 cracked 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,

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.

The back motors of the ship are
just holding it,

just enough to keep it from--

It burst into flames!

Get this Charley!
Get this Charley!
It's burning and it's crashing!

It's crashing terrible!
Oh my, get out of the way
please.

It's burning, bursting into
flames and it's--

and it's falling
on the mooring mast...

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 1.

...this is terrible.

This is one of the worst
catastrophes in the world.

And oh, it's--

Oh, the humanity!

13 passengers, 22 crew,
and one member

of the ground staff died,

but miraculously,
62 people survived the crash.

An 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.

The government recognized
it had certain

military applications,
such as airships,

and forbid 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 II.

After the war,
their importance declined,

and in 1961, the Secretary
of the Navy terminated

the Lighter-Than-Air Program.

Hangar 1 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 building's size suggests
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.

2
In Grimsby,
on England's North Sea coast,

sprawling remains
chart the rise and fall

of a once vibrant industry.

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* listed
building, which means

it's in the top 4% of important
historic buildings

in the country.

What it enabled 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.

Grimsby's 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

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,

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 vapor.

And then, when that pressure
is released, it's cold.

They use 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.

It's lowered into the brine,
and over 24 hours,

those big tanks of water
get frozen into essentially

very large ice cubes.

The ice went up
through elevators to conveyors,

which took it out
to the trawlers.

The trawlers contained
insulated holes 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.

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.

This was enough to fill
three and a half

Olympic swimming pools
every week.

But the fishing trawlers,
the factory supplied,

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

their three mile limit
to four miles,

then 12, and then 50.

In 1975, they went
one step further.

Tensions peaked as Iceland
unilaterally extended

their fishing limits to 200
nautical miles.

The UK was not gonna 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 coast guards
chased British trawlers

and ripped up their nets.

You are
interfering with lawful fishing

on the high seas.
Over.

In some cases, ships were
ramming each other,

which could be fatal
out in the open ocean.

The violent conflict became
known as the "Cod Wars."

The target of the gunboat 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 over a billion dollars

a year in today's money.

Iceland's Coast Guard
and fishing trawlers

were no match for the strength
of the Royal Navy.

But the Icelandic government
had a secret weapon

in their armory.

These waters were critical
to international security,

and Grimsby's fortunes were
caught in the crossfire.

2
In the English port
of Grimsby, are the ruins

of an ice factory
that supercharged

the town's fishing fleet.

But when Iceland banned foreign
fishing within 200 miles

of their coast, it sparked
an international conflict

dubbed the "Cod Wars."

The UK sent out the Royal Navy
to patrol the contested waters

and protect
its fishing vessels.

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 southwest coast

and played an important role

monitoring Russian
nuclear submarines

in the North Atlantic.

This caused serious alarm
among western Allies,

especially the United States.

At the time of the Cold 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.

This 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
$35 million per year in 1974

to just $1 million.

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 installment
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 center
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.

Exploring deeper,
the rest of the building

is entirely bare.

Many of the hints of its past
life stripped away.

Some rooms have 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,
rumor 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.

Apologies, I'm a bit emotional.

A lot of people have been
happy here.

It's been an important part
of the history of our valley.

It was needed to prevent
a phenomenon that afflicted

youth at the time, rickets.

But the building's original
function was not

to treat a condition
that affected children's bones.

It was to shape their minds.

These camps were built because
we must acknowledge

that at that time, the regime
focused a lot on youth.

Fascism took root in Italy
at the end of World War I,

when great poverty
affected the country.

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 terrorize 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 masses.

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

One other way he promoted
his fascist ideals was

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

particularly from
deprived neighborhoods.

Construction on this one
began in 1934,

and took just five months
to complete.

It was called
the Colonia di Rovegno.

The camp was open
during the summer.

Children would come in shifts
throughout that period,

about 500 at a time.

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.

My father told me
that during gatherings,

they received specific
information about behavior,

education, respect, conduct,
on how to talk to others.

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.

The fact that the fascist
regime did this to its own

advantage and raised
a generation that would be

welcoming to this regime,
that cannot be denied.

But only six years
after the site opened,

its function
would be transformed.

On June 10, 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.

2
In Italy, is the ruin
of a building

built by Mussolini's
Fascist regime

to indoctrinate
thousands of local children.

After Italy sided with Germany
during the Second World War,

it would be taken over
by retaliatory force.

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

The allies are about to invade.

In September, the new
anti-fascist 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 population was brutalized,
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.

They had a headquarters here.

Now there are roads,
but at the time, there was only

one road going up, and it was
very, very hard to reach,

so it became a stronghold.

It was the perfect base
to hide out from Nazi soldiers

and organize guerrilla attacks.

It was also used to detain
Italian fascist loyalists

and German prisoners of war.

Hundreds of these prisoners
were routinely executed

by partisans and buried
in the woods around the camp.

In those moments, of course,
lines were crossed.

It happens everywhere
in the world.

Judgments were summary,
and justice was violent.

And it's a sad part
of the history of Italy.

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

counterinsurgency campaign
in Northern Italy.

And that is a massive suck
on German combat power.

On April 26, 1945,
the Italian resistance movement

freed the city of Genoa
from German troops.

This was the first time during
World War II that an army corps

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 a vitamin D deficiency

that weakens the bones,

called "rickets."

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.

Imagine what it must have
looked like

with all the sunbeds,

all these 500 children here.

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.