1 00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:07,040 Throughout time, governments 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:08,720 and the people who work for them 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:11,240 have done strange and even terrible things 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:13,280 in the name of national interest, 5 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:18,160 and sometimes they turn to unlikely allies for help. 6 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,280 Tonight, a partnership with the FBI 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,120 transforms a small time gangster 8 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:27,200 - into Boston's kingpin. - It's crazy. 9 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,440 You have this combination of this FBI deal 10 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,920 and a crooked agent giving bulger the power 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,200 to take over the Boston mob world. 12 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,040 The CIA commissions assassins from the underworld. 13 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:42,840 They have to get Castro 14 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:44,840 out of the picture permanently. 15 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,240 It's a bold and risky move. 16 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,600 The idea of the CIA partnering with the mafia 17 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:55,000 is so outrageous that no one will possibly believe it. 18 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,440 And a pharmaceutical company partners with the Nazis 19 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,280 to create super soldiers. 20 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,080 They take the entire country in five weeks. 21 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:06,240 It's a crushing victory. 22 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,600 It's time to bring these unholy alliances to light. 23 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:21,680 It's 1945. 24 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:23,920 World war ii is coming to an end, 25 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,440 and the allies are hunting down Nazi war criminals, 26 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:28,976 but when many of the fuhrer's henchmen 27 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,120 escape to freedom in South America, 28 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,040 it's clear someone is aiding them. 29 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,800 Who could be helping the Nazis escape? 30 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,760 When world war ii ends, 31 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:46,800 the allies are obviously desperate 32 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:48,720 to capture every surviving Nazi 33 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,720 and put them on trial for their horrific crime, 34 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,480 but amongst the Nazis trying to flee 35 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,680 are hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees, 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:00,840 all on the move and all in search 37 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,200 of a new life abroad. 38 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,640 To prevent Nazis escaping, every road, 39 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,120 train, and boat leaving Europe is being watched. 40 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,520 Nothing and no one leaves without being checked. 41 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:15,800 They tightened up the travel restrictions 42 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:20,240 to the extent that really there was only one Avenue available, 43 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,440 and that was obtaining a red cross visa 44 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:25,960 that would allow you to get out. 45 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:28,760 Despite the allies capturing hundreds 46 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,480 of high ranking Nazis, many of Hitler's 47 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,680 most senior officers are missing. 48 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,920 The U.S. believes someone is helping them escape Europe. 49 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,520 But who? 50 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:43,720 In 1947, an American attaché 51 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,480 in Rome named Vincent la vista is put in charge 52 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,240 of monitoring this situation to determine whether or not 53 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,240 former third reich officials or military members 54 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,440 were attempting to use the red cross visa 55 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:57,160 to escape from justice. 56 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,320 La vista starts the investigation at the red cross. 57 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,120 And that's when he hears that there's something called 58 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:08,840 the papal refugee center. 59 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,160 Apparently, some refugees there 60 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,080 are able to get a Vatican issued letter 61 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:15,160 of recommendation to leave, which means 62 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:17,920 they can skip the red cross's background checks. 63 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:21,840 La vista asks his contacts 64 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,000 if there's been any suspicious activity 65 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:25,800 at the refugee center. 66 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:29,080 One name starts to come up again and again, 67 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:35,160 a mysterious German based in Rome known as Dr. Nix. 68 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,480 What la vista discovers is that this mysterious doctor 69 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:40,680 is one of the leading characters 70 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:43,000 facilitating these pathways that are being used 71 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:44,960 by former third reich officials 72 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,640 to escape out of Germany and into Rome 73 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:50,640 and then South America. 74 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,160 Dr. Nix and his collaborators 75 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,480 are using escape routes called ratlines, 76 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,600 a reference to rats getting off a sinking ship. 77 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,960 But even more shocking is who is protecting nix. 78 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,320 An anonymous source tells la vista that nix, 79 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,040 he's being sheltered inside the Vatican. 80 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,960 Apparently, nix not only has the protection of the Vatican, 81 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,040 he's actively working for the Vatican. 82 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,400 The theory is that nix is sheltering the Nazis in Rome, 83 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:32,280 and he's connecting them with catholic bishops 84 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,040 who can assist them in obtaining these letters 85 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,680 and identity paperwork that are critical 86 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:39,720 for them to achieve the red cross visas 87 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:42,400 that will allow them to leave Italy. 88 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:45,120 The Vatican is working hand in hand 89 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:47,480 with Nazi war criminals 90 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,960 because the church and the Nazis share common ground. 91 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,240 They both despise communists. 92 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:57,160 In the aftermath of the conflict, 93 00:04:57,280 --> 00:04:59,520 there are major communist movements 94 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:03,440 in czechoslovakia and France and also in Italy. 95 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,040 Communism was in direct conflict 96 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:07,520 with the Roman catholic church 97 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:11,040 because it is atheistic at its core. 98 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,200 And the catholic church is concerned 99 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:16,040 that communist leaders will take over 100 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,560 Europe and Latin America. 101 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,560 South America is almost entirely catholic. 102 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,200 The Vatican is absolutely terrified about anything 103 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,600 that might hinder its influence 104 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,200 among catholic populations around the world. 105 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,040 Anyone that opposes the spread of communism 106 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,560 is someone that ought to be supported. 107 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,040 And surprise, surprise, if there's anybody in 1945 108 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:42,560 that has a reputation for being anti-communist, 109 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:44,240 it's the Nazis. 110 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,800 So someone gets the idea to give them free passage 111 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,720 out of Europe and set them up as allies 112 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:55,120 to fight communism and save the catholic church 113 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:56,280 across the globe. 114 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:01,640 La vista sends everything he has 115 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:05,840 on the Nazis and the Vatican back to the U.S. government, 116 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:08,200 but the report disappears. 117 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,280 It will be 37 years before the Vatican's dark secret 118 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,920 and U.S. silence will be revealed. 119 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,240 In 1983, historian and renowned Nazi hunter 120 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,560 Charles r. Allen Jr. files 121 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,400 a freedom of information act request. 122 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,480 It unearths a really dark chapter of Vatican history 123 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,640 helping Nazis escape justice. 124 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:34,680 The story is picked up by "the New York times" 125 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,560 and becomes a global news sensation. 126 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:42,160 All eyes turn to the Vatican demanding answers. 127 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:45,800 The Vatican strongly denies being involved in this process, 128 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:50,440 and that instead, a series of rogue bishops acting alone, 129 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:52,320 they were responsible for doing this 130 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,376 and that they were all stripped of their positions, 131 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:56,360 and they're no longer a problem. 132 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,000 The U.S. doesn't just turn a blind eye 133 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:00,840 to the Nazis on the run. 134 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,440 It gives them jobs. 135 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,240 They recruit hundreds of German scientists 136 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:11,200 to fight on a new frontier against the Soviets in space. 137 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:17,800 In July of 1969, 138 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,200 650 million people tune in to watch... 139 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,000 Ignition sequence start. 140 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,360 The enormous saturn v rocket 141 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,400 launch American astronauts out of orbit 142 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:32,880 and towards the moon. 143 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,160 Then four days later, they make it to the moon 144 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,520 and Neil Armstrong etches his name into the history books. 145 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:45,120 One of the most proud viewers 146 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,200 of the launch of the saturn v rocket 147 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:49,560 was the man that was at the heart of its creation, 148 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,920 wernher Von braun. 149 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:56,000 He was the face of the American rocket program 150 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,720 for more than two decades, and the saturn v 151 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:02,160 was the culmination of a lifetime spent 152 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,760 inventing and testing rockets. 153 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:10,880 By the late 1960s, wernher Von braun 154 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:12,920 is a household name in the United States, 155 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,000 and he's even been on the cover of "time" magazine. 156 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:18,680 But very few people know what he did 157 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,080 before building rockets for NASA. 158 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,120 In 1985, "the New York times" 159 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,520 exposes the truth about Von braun's past. 160 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,000 The article takes a deep dive into declassified files 161 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,520 that were produced as a result of a freedom of information act 162 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:38,640 request by a journalist named Linda hunt. 163 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:42,160 Hunt found that Von braun was a commissioned major 164 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,440 in the waffen ss, a branch of the German military 165 00:08:45,560 --> 00:08:50,000 notorious for being a place where the true believers went. 166 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,520 Ss major Von braun's past shocks the American public, 167 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:56,720 but not the U.S. government. 168 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,200 They knew about it all along. 169 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,240 He's not some disassociated scientist 170 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:03,960 who's just inventing rockets. 171 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,880 His production facilities for the rockets 172 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,920 that he's so devoted to employ slave labor, 173 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,200 and those slaves are literally being worked to death, 174 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,240 and Von braun is well aware of that fact. 175 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,160 At the same time, they're prosecuting Nazi criminals 176 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,640 at nuremberg, the American government 177 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,120 were prepared to Bury their morals 178 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,320 just so they can beat the Soviets in the space race. 179 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,720 The contradiction just blows your mind. 180 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,040 Von braun is far from the only Nazi scientist 181 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,160 working in the U.S. 182 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,680 It turns out there are more like him. 183 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,800 Hunt reveals a top secret operation called paperclip 184 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:46,800 that president Truman authorized 185 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,360 during the closing weeks of the second world war. 186 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,280 Operation paperclip is a program 187 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:54,360 to try to capture as many Nazi scientists 188 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,760 and engineers as possible. 189 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,640 Germany was regarded as the mecca of hard science. 190 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,520 So the Nazis we really want are the Nazis 191 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:07,800 that are a part of their high technology programs, 192 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:12,360 and we'll do almost anything to get our hands on those people. 193 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:15,600 We're going to have to hold our noses 194 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,560 and accept any help that we can potentially get 195 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:23,560 from these Nazi inventors in order to be able to offset 196 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:26,240 the rising power of the Soviets. 197 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,160 Secrets fester if left uncovered, 198 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,800 but thanks to Linda hunt, the truth about Von braun 199 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,280 and operation paperclip is revealed. 200 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:41,880 For decades, James whitey bulger 201 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,520 runs Boston's underworld with an iron fist. 202 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,560 He's in that position because the authorities 203 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:54,000 who should be taking him down are actually working with him. 204 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,400 It's January 1995. 205 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,920 It's early in the evening and workers are headed home, 206 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:01,320 but the day has only just begun for the FBI 207 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,480 and the Massachusetts state police 208 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,760 sitting in unmarked cars, staking out a restaurant. 209 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:11,040 For the last six years, the FBI and the state police 210 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:14,080 have been trying to build an airtight case against 211 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:16,960 two of the city's most reputed mob leaders, 212 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:22,320 James whitey bulger and his number two, Stephen flemmi. 213 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,120 Bulger is not above utilizing any means 214 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:27,440 to consolidate power in the city. 215 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:30,120 He's connected to some 19 murderers 216 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:34,400 and is seen as a vicious and ambitious gangster. 217 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,760 The task force is finally ready to make their arrests. 218 00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:40,760 The plan is for the Massachusetts state police 219 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,840 to grab flemmi while the FBI simultaneously 220 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,760 takes down bulger. 221 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,240 The state police were able to corner the unsuspecting flemmi. 222 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,680 But when the FBI swoops in to arrest bulger, he is gone 223 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:57,360 and nowhere to be found. 224 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:58,600 This isn't the first time 225 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:00,280 he has slipped through the net. 226 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,040 Very few people knew about the coordinated arrests, 227 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,360 so the state police want to know, 228 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:10,320 how does bulger keep getting away? 229 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,160 They become so suspicious that they start 230 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:16,880 to actually think that someone in the FBI 231 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,200 is tipping bulger off. 232 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,080 The FBI was actually starting to get frustrated 233 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:24,920 by these accusations that were being made against them 234 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:26,520 by the state police. 235 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:29,960 So in a show of good faith, 236 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,680 they have now joined forces with the state police 237 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,640 to lead the investigation into bulger. 238 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,040 The FBI investigation does not say 239 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:40,200 how bulger evades capture. 240 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,320 That only comes out three years later 241 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:47,880 at the trial of his right hand man, Stephen flemmi. 242 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,080 When Stephen flemmi takes the stand 243 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:51,640 at his racketeering trial, 244 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,320 he's got a bombshell secret to share. 245 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:58,960 He reveals that he and bulger had been recruited by the FBI 246 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:01,400 in the early 1970s, and have been 247 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:03,600 protected informants ever since. 248 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,440 Flemmi's testimony forces the FBI 249 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:10,840 to admit their alliance with bulger. 250 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,480 They confirm that bulger was recruited in 1975 251 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,960 by FBI agent John connolly to help take down 252 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,840 one of Boston's most powerful mafia families, the patriarcas. 253 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:24,800 The deal was simple. 254 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,680 If bulger was to feed the FBI 255 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:30,280 enough intel on the patriarcas, 256 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:33,760 they would turn a blind eye to all his criminal ventures 257 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:37,000 and provide him with immunity from prosecution. 258 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,400 Just like that. 259 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:41,560 According to flemmi, the FBI isn't just 260 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:44,760 turning a blind eye to bulger's crimes. 261 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,600 At least one fed is actively helping him. 262 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,400 Flemmi's testimony is damning. 263 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,440 He tells the court that every time 264 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,360 law enforcement built a case against him and bulger, 265 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,640 they were tipped off by an insider, 266 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,560 which allowed them to stay one step ahead of the law. 267 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:06,760 The man on the inside, flemmi lets go, 268 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,960 is actually their FBI handler, John connolly, 269 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:11,360 who's been working with the pair 270 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:14,040 for more than 20 years. 271 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:18,080 The Boston FBI is caught completely off guard. 272 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:20,760 They discover that connolly and bulger 273 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,120 had actually grown up in the same neighborhood 274 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:25,120 and developed a personal relationship. 275 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:26,760 They were old pals. 276 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:28,840 The revelation is just mind blowing. 277 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:34,120 But why would FBI break bread with a notorious gangster? 278 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,560 Because of their close ties, once bulger becomes 279 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:39,800 a confidential informant, 280 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,160 connolly is easily corrupted by him. 281 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:43,720 So in exchange for bribes, 282 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:45,920 connolly is feeding bulger information 283 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:47,880 about the police investigations. 284 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,760 The relationship with connolly and bulger 285 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:55,560 is exactly what empowers bulger to basically become 286 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,360 the kingpin of the mob world. 287 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:00,600 It's crazy. 288 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,640 You have this combination of this FBI deal 289 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,120 and a crooked agent giving bulger the power 290 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:08,880 to take over the Boston mob world. 291 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:10,320 They made a monster. 292 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:14,840 By 1999, the FBI has gathered enough evidence 293 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:16,400 to arrest connolly. 294 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,640 He's eventually convicted of racketeering 295 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:21,160 and second-degree murder 296 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,680 and is sentenced to 40 years in prison. 297 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,960 Meanwhile, bulger remains a fugitive 298 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,320 on the FBI's most wanted list for 16 years. 299 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:36,880 In 2011, they finally take whitey bulger down. 300 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,880 At his trial, he is sentenced to life in jail. 301 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,520 But seven years later, bulger pays the ultimate price. 302 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,240 For all those years as an FBI informant, 303 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,880 an ex-mafia hitman murders him in his prison cell. 304 00:15:57,920 --> 00:15:59,120 It's 2019 in Berlin. 305 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,040 A man is gunned down in cold blood. 306 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,440 The dead man is a well-known enemy of Russia, 307 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:09,080 and his killer's name is a mystery. 308 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:17,160 An assassin is in the bushes 309 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:19,080 waiting for a Georgian national 310 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,920 to come walking by in a public park in Berlin. 311 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,040 His target is zelimkhan khangoshvili, 312 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,480 a longtime enemy of the Russian state 313 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,160 who has fought against them in two wars 314 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:35,360 in the '90s and was now living in exile in Germany. 315 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,000 Khangoshvili walks past. 316 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,560 The hitman emerges from the bushes. 317 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:52,200 He fires, and khangoshvili dies instantly. 318 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,320 After the assassination, despite trying to blend in, 319 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:00,440 the German police find this guy and quickly arrest him. 320 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,320 The assassin is carrying a Russian passport 321 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,840 under the name of vadim sokolov, 322 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,720 but neither the passport nor its holder is real. 323 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,040 When the assassin is apprehended 324 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,680 and they find his passport under the name vadim sokolov, 325 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,480 they go searching through the records 326 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:18,960 but aren't able to find this guy. 327 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:20,680 He's a ghost. It isn't a real name. 328 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:23,040 It isn't a real passport. 329 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,040 The German police announce to the world 330 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,760 that they have arrested a killer, 331 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,240 but they have no idea who he is. 332 00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:33,280 The news explodes around the world. 333 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:34,640 Everyone wants to know, 334 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,040 who is this mysterious assassin? 335 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:41,000 Who is he working for, and has he killed before? 336 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,480 A group of European journalists 337 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:48,400 start investigating this murder, 338 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:51,880 and they go out looking for other assassinations 339 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:53,600 that there are similar methods used, 340 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,240 and they find one that's eerily similar to this. 341 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,560 Six years earlier in Moscow in 2013, 342 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,400 a Russian entrepreneur is gunned down in the street. 343 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,160 Like the Berlin murder, 344 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,120 it looks like a professional hit job. 345 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:09,400 The killer shot his victim multiple times 346 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,120 and fled on a bicycle. 347 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,920 The prime suspect in the case is a man named vadim krasikov. 348 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,040 The investigative journalists want to know, 349 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,960 are krasikov and sokolov the same person? 350 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,760 Back in 2013, Russian police quickly launched 351 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:29,680 a worldwide search for him 352 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,320 and a red notice warrant was filed with Interpol. 353 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:34,920 There's an interesting thing about this red notice. 354 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,600 It has a picture on it, and that picture 355 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,240 is almost identical to the person 356 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:42,400 that they know as vadim sokolov. 357 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:45,840 So they discovered that sokolov is 358 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,680 actually a guy named krasikov. 359 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:52,040 In December 2019, the journalists hand over 360 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,280 their findings to German investigators 361 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,680 working on the assassination of zelimkhan khangoshvili, 362 00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,480 the man killed in the Berlin park. 363 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,600 Because of the efforts of these journalists, 364 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:08,000 krasikov is put on trial in 2021 in Germany 365 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,120 and is convicted of the murder of khangoshvili. 366 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,640 The German government sentences him 367 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:16,600 to life in prison. 368 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,240 Krasikov is identified, 369 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:22,560 but there is still one question. 370 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:25,680 Who is he working for? 371 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:28,000 As the judge delivers the verdict, 372 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:30,360 he makes a shocking disclosure. 373 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:32,960 The court believes krasikov was acting 374 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:38,000 on a state contract authorized by Vladimir put in himself. 375 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:41,400 When that information comes out, 376 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,360 the kremlin vehemently denies that. 377 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:46,960 The Russians really categorize these allegations 378 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,840 as absurd and unproven. 379 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,280 Three years later, cameras capture 380 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,040 the largest high profile prisoner exchange 381 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:58,720 between Russia and the west in recent history, 382 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:03,040 and the truth is finally available for all to see. 383 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,040 The U.S. and other western countries 384 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,440 have agreed to the release of 15 people held in Russia. 385 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,240 They will be swapped for Russian prisoners 386 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:11,920 held in the west. 387 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,880 A middle aged man in a tracksuit walks down the steps. 388 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,680 When he reaches the bottom, he receives a warm embrace 389 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,000 from president put in. 390 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:25,320 The man being greeted like an old friend is vadim krasikov. 391 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,880 The cozy hug between tyrant and hitman 392 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,040 confirms what the world knew all along. 393 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:39,920 Vadim krasikov is working for Vladimir put in. 394 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,920 Putin is blatantly making a mockery of the west, 395 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,160 because he first publicly denies 396 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,640 having any kind of relationship with krasikov, 397 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:51,840 and then here he is rolling out the red carpet for the guy, 398 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:54,560 effectively confirming the alliance. 399 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,040 Krasikov was, I guess, the perfect person 400 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,240 to become putin's personal hitman. 401 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:03,160 Putin joining forces with a contract killer 402 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,400 made headline news, but Russia isn't the only nation 403 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:08,760 to do a deal with a killer. 404 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,320 In order to eliminate a common enemy on foreign soil, 405 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:16,840 the CIA will join forces with the mob. 406 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:21,720 In 1959, fidel Castro leads his communist party to power 407 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,160 in the Cuban revolution. 408 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,760 The island of Cuba is barely 100 miles from america, 409 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:29,440 but it's a threat too close for comfort 410 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,040 for the U.S. government. 411 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,520 The CIA want communism out of Cuba, 412 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,000 so that means they have to get Castro 413 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:39,600 out of the picture permanently. 414 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,320 It's a bold and risky move. 415 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:47,480 The CIA does not want to be tied back to the crime. 416 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:51,960 The CIA reaches out to a fixer, 417 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:53,320 someone who has connections 418 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:55,000 to the U.S. criminal underworld. 419 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:56,920 And he comes back with the names 420 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:58,920 of two potential collaborators, 421 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:02,800 mobsters John roselli and Sam giancana. 422 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,600 It's a serious gamble to try and approach them, 423 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,120 but in a way, it's kind of a masterstroke too. 424 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,600 The CIA is confident that if word gets out, 425 00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:15,880 the idea of the CIA partnering with the mafia 426 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,360 is so outrageous that no one will possibly believe it. 427 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,680 The mobsters agree to meet with the CIA. 428 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,880 It seems they have their own agenda. 429 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,440 Roselli and giancana have their own interests 430 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,400 in seeing Castro removed from Cuba, 431 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:33,200 as he's been shutting down their lucrative casinos 432 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,560 in the island nation as well. 433 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:38,880 The mob don't just hate Castro's politics. 434 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,680 The Cuban leader is also bad for business. 435 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,600 The CIA offers them $150,000 to do this hit. 436 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:49,520 And they don't just decline the offer. 437 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:51,640 They offer to do it for free. 438 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,240 Giancana and roselli are happy to take this on 439 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,800 without compensation because they believe 440 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,840 that this will constitute a get out of jail free card 441 00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:01,320 for them later on. 442 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:03,840 This is doubly crazy. 443 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:06,400 You've got the CIA trying to take out a foreign leader 444 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,560 and the mafia turning down money for the hit. 445 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:16,040 These mobsters want to take a more subtle approach. 446 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:18,480 They don't want to shoot Castro. 447 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:20,240 They want to take a lethal pill 448 00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:23,200 and put it into his food or his drink, 449 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:26,560 and the CIA actually gives this operation 450 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:28,600 basically a rubber stamp. 451 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,760 Finding someone in Cuba who's willing to poison Castro 452 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,520 is the easy part. 453 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:36,800 Roselli knows an anti-communist worker 454 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:38,760 at Castro's favorite restaurant. 455 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:44,200 In April 1962, he arranges for poison pills 456 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,840 to be delivered to the assassin. 457 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,240 The months pass, and Castro still isn't dead. 458 00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:53,240 It could be because Castro never went to the restaurant. 459 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,560 It could be because the guy took the money and disappeared. 460 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:00,000 Or it could be that Castro is just too well protected. 461 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:04,120 The delays make CIA's top brass increasingly nervous 462 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,800 about relying on the mafia to do their dirty work. 463 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,440 So in October 1962, the CIA and the mobsters 464 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,400 agreed to abandon the plot and keep their alliance top secret. 465 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:20,240 This was one deal that was never meant to be made public, 466 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,720 but in 1974, the truth was revealed 467 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,080 with fatal consequences. 468 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,280 "The New York times" publishes an exposé 469 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:33,120 which accuses the CIA of being involved 470 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:35,600 in assassination attempts against foreign leaders 471 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:37,840 like fidel Castro. 472 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,120 A government investigation is immediately launched. 473 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,080 During the investigation into plots to kill Castro, 474 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,400 roselli and giancana are identified 475 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:48,440 and summoned to testify. 476 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:53,000 But before giancana can take the stand, disaster strikes. 477 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:55,880 He's shot dead in his Chicago home. 478 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:59,280 Roselli fears he will be next. 479 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:01,560 But rather than go into hiding, 480 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,280 roselli risks his life to tell the senate the truth. 481 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,320 "The New York times" was right. 482 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:11,400 The CIA did recruit him to kill Castro. 483 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:15,720 But just weeks later in Miami, 484 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,240 his body is found stuffed inside an oil drum. 485 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:21,440 Who killed the two hit men? 486 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,360 Well, someone knows, but they're not telling. 487 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,600 To this day, no one's been charged with either murder. 488 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,720 In the run up to world war ii, 489 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:36,840 Hitler believes his blitzkrieg tactics 490 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,160 require troops with superhuman stamina. 491 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,280 So he strikes a deal with a pharmaceutical company 492 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,280 to supply his soldiers with a brand-new drug, 493 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:48,520 methamphetamine. 494 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,800 What German scientists discovered in the 1930s 495 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,080 is that methamphetamines can be used 496 00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:59,400 to treat a whole host of conditions. 497 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:03,080 Things like narcolepsy, weight loss, 498 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:05,840 but they can also enhance athletic performance. 499 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,240 The Germans are hosting the Olympics in 1936, 500 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:15,480 and Adolf Hitler wants to show the superhuman capabilities 501 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:17,800 of German athletes. 502 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,600 Methamphetamine tablets are prescribed to these athletes. 503 00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:26,400 The third reich decides to go one step further. 504 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,760 German military doctor named Otto rank believed 505 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,120 that methamphetamine could be used 506 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,120 to turn soldiers into super soldiers. 507 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,440 Drugging a whole army with amphetamines 508 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,440 doesn't sound like a very wise plan, 509 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:46,400 but Hitler is convinced that it is his path to victory. 510 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:51,960 In 1939, Germany is planning an invasion 511 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,600 of Poland, the event that will ignite world war ii. 512 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,360 Germany since world war I has been thinking about 513 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,360 how to potentially fight the next war, 514 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,240 and they have figured out a better way 515 00:27:04,360 --> 00:27:06,720 to use the materials at hand, 516 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:08,680 and that way is blitzkrieg. 517 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:14,760 Blitzkrieg means lightning war. 518 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,440 It's all about speed and mobility. 519 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,560 In 1939, there are a million men 520 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,440 in the German military, a force that is soon to be 521 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,040 launched across the world. 522 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,360 So how does the third reich get enough pills 523 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:35,280 to supply every soldier within a matter of months? 524 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,880 The high command strikes a deal with Germany's 525 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,400 biggest pharmaceutical company, temmler. 526 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,240 Temmler make a type of meth they call pervitin. 527 00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:47,840 For temmler, this represents a money making opportunity 528 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,800 because they're going to produce tens of millions 529 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:52,760 of doses of pervitin. 530 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:54,960 For the Nazi regime, they're going to 531 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:58,560 chemically create the superhumans that Hitler 532 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,360 already believes Germans to be. 533 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:05,360 It's a match made in financial heaven. 534 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,320 On the Eve of the invasion of Poland in 1939, 535 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,360 the German troops are issued pervitin pills, 536 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,720 and the result is that they are able to hike 537 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:15,600 35 miles without stopping. 538 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,880 They're able to persist for three days 539 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,320 without stopping to sleep. 540 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,160 They take the entire country in five weeks 541 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:25,680 and kill 100,000 Polish soldiers in the process. 542 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,400 It's a crushing victory. 543 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,440 But these are the early days of the war. 544 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:33,520 To keep the blitzkrieg going, 545 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,360 they're gonna need a lot more pills, 546 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:40,720 so temmler agrees to ramp up production of pervitin. 547 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,880 Between April and July 1940, the temmler factories produce 548 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:48,000 over 800,000 pervitin tablets every day, 549 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:50,240 and that turns into 35 million tablets 550 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,160 across the entire German military. 551 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,360 The use of pervitin is going to fuel Nazi armies 552 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,240 to conquer the low countries. 553 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,920 In a matter of only a few short weeks, 554 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,600 German armies drive the British off the continent. 555 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,880 The speed of the advance is mind-boggling to the west. 556 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:14,640 In 1941, the Nazis discover that soldiers 557 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,640 using their wonder drug are facing dire consequences. 558 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:22,480 They become addicted to pervitin. 559 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,520 Some even die from heart failure and suicide. 560 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:29,360 But despite the risks, 561 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:31,080 the drug continues to be given to troops 562 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,680 for the remainder of the war. 563 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,440 The alliance between the pharmaceutical company 564 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,360 and the Nazis remains hidden until 2015, 565 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,040 when author Norman ohler 566 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,360 unearths lost military documents. 567 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:48,840 Even after world war ii ends, 568 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,200 temmler continues to produce pervitin 569 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:53,840 all the way until 1988. 570 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,440 Macon, Georgia, 1932. 571 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,960 A medical experiment is about to be launched. 572 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,560 On the surface, it looks fine. 573 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,880 A government agency working with a respectable university 574 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,360 to research a life-threatening disease, 575 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,320 but the truth behind their partnership is much darker. 576 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:24,000 Life in the U.S. in the early 1930s 577 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,520 is incredibly tough. The economy has collapsed. 578 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:31,560 Millions of Americans are struggling to get by. 579 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,560 Macon, Georgia is one of the poorest regions 580 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:37,040 in the nation in the 1930s. 581 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,640 It's also predominantly African American. 582 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:41,480 In the fall of 1932, 583 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:43,880 signs began appearing in macon offering 584 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,640 free blood tests and medical treatment, 585 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,800 particularly for African American men. 586 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:51,480 Charlie pollard is one of the men 587 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:53,040 who takes up the offer. 588 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,000 Like many African Americans in macon county, 589 00:30:56,120 --> 00:30:58,680 he has never had access to medical care. 590 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:01,680 A sample of his blood is taken, 591 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:03,280 and when the results return, 592 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,120 he is told that his blood is bad 593 00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:07,720 and that the cause is unknown, 594 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,240 but doctors promise to monitor the situation. 595 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:12,880 But the doctors know exactly what's wrong 596 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:14,120 with pollard's blood. 597 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,520 He has a deadly infection called syphilis. 598 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:19,160 It affects one in ten Americans, 599 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:23,040 and there are almost half a million new cases every year. 600 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,800 Its symptoms can be managed with treatment, 601 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:27,840 but there is no cure, 602 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:31,760 and, right now, little is known about how it progresses. 603 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,600 Syphilis is extremely infectious, 604 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:37,480 and it can start with a painless rash 605 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,240 that may not even be noticed. 606 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:42,760 But over time, it eats away at your body, 607 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:47,560 your brain, your spinal cord, your heart, your aorta. 608 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:49,320 It can be life-threatening. 609 00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:53,840 What pollard doesn't know is the United States 610 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:55,600 public health service has set up 611 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:57,280 a clandestine experiment 612 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:00,400 using African American men like him 613 00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:02,400 as human Guinea pigs to observe 614 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,000 the long-term progression of the disease. 615 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:08,200 They won't try and manage the disease. 616 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:11,720 Instead, they simply monitor their worsening symptoms 617 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:13,760 and prescribe them with placebos. 618 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:15,720 The U.S. public health service 619 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:17,600 can't carry out the study alone. 620 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:19,560 They need a site and they need people 621 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:21,800 whom the community will trust. 622 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,960 Just a ten minute drive from macon county 623 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:28,720 is an African American college named the tuskegee institute, 624 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,600 and it's the perfect place. 625 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,520 The public health service approaches the institute 626 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,720 and offers to underwrite the study. 627 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:40,120 For an African American institution in the 1930s, 628 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,040 funding is scarce. 629 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:46,520 It's an offer they can't turn down. 630 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,640 And so this unholy alliance is basically forged 631 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:51,120 by the fact that the United States 632 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:52,920 public health service has the funding 633 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,280 to provide to tuskegee, and in exchange, 634 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,200 the U.S. public health service promises 635 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:00,360 that they'll be on site to direct all the experiments, 636 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:01,920 to provide the medical treatment 637 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,600 for the test subjects. 638 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:06,400 The deal is done. 639 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:09,600 Now all they need is people. 640 00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:12,360 And they ultimately focused their attention 641 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:14,200 on African American men. 642 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,320 Given the existence of segregation at the time 643 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:19,560 and the belief in the inherent inferiority of black people, 644 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:21,840 it seems natural that they'll be able 645 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:23,880 to conduct the study on black men 646 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,200 with few consequences. 647 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,320 With the local men duped into participating, 648 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:33,280 the tuskegee study of untreated syphilis begins. 649 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,240 Patient Chris pollard is not alone. 650 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:41,320 Over the next 11 years, he and 600 other patients 651 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,960 will regularly make trips to tuskegee for medical treatment. 652 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:48,680 But in 1943, syphilis is rendered curable 653 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:50,560 with the arrival of the life-saving 654 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:52,800 antibiotic penicillin. 655 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:55,920 Despite this, the U.S. public health service 656 00:33:56,040 --> 00:34:00,160 decides to continue the tuskegee experiment. 657 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:05,280 So they're going to continue to let people die 658 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,440 when their syphilis could be cured by penicillin 659 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,120 almost instantly. 660 00:34:12,240 --> 00:34:16,240 This is just extraordinary. 661 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,920 It's tantamount to murder. 662 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,840 The project continues for another 29 years, 663 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,120 until 1972, when journalist Jean Heller 664 00:34:27,240 --> 00:34:30,760 exposes the alliance between the government and college 665 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,200 after documents detailing the experiment 666 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:34,760 land on her desk. 667 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:36,216 The United States public health service 668 00:34:36,240 --> 00:34:38,440 has violated the most fundamental tenets 669 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:42,080 of its mission to promote and protect public health, 670 00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,800 and in this alliance with the tuskegee institute 671 00:34:44,920 --> 00:34:48,160 has wreaked havoc and suffering. 672 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:52,240 It is a major betrayal of the public trust. 673 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,440 The world knows the awful truth. 674 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,600 The government is forced to act. 675 00:34:57,720 --> 00:34:59,240 Three months after the article, 676 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,720 an advisory panel is formed who finds the experiment 677 00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:08,080 medically unjustified and is finally terminated. 678 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,160 Pollard and the other surviving members of the study 679 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:13,240 launch a class action lawsuit, 680 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:16,960 and, in 1974, they are awarded $10 million 681 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:21,040 with free medical treatment for the rest of their lives. 682 00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:27,896 In the last days of the second world war, 683 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,480 an extraordinary alliance forms between enemy soldiers 684 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:35,400 to fight against fanatical ss stormtroopers. 685 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:39,760 In may 1945, the war in Europe is almost over. 686 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,760 Hitler has taken his own life 687 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:43,720 and the allies are heading towards victory. 688 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:45,880 In the Austrian alps, there are still 689 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:48,360 active units of the waffen ss, 690 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:51,360 the reich's most zealous defenders. 691 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:53,560 For them, the prospect of defeat 692 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:56,360 only increases their lust for blood. 693 00:35:56,480 --> 00:36:00,800 The waffen ss are Hitler's elite shock troops. 694 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:03,480 They are the most hardcore, fanatical Nazis. 695 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:05,800 They have no intent of surrendering, 696 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:09,200 even as the war is clearly about to be over. 697 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:11,320 They want blood, 698 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,920 and they're out to find suitable victims. 699 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:18,160 The ss have a target, 700 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:23,560 castle itter, an alpine hotel turned prisoner of war camp. 701 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,680 Castle itter had once been a luxury hotel, 702 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:28,960 but it was taken over by the Germans in 1938. 703 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:33,760 It was converted into a 19-cell prison in 1943. 704 00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:35,920 The prisoners in castle itter aren't just 705 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:38,040 your run of the mill pows. 706 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:39,960 These are fairly high-ranking individuals. 707 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,320 With rumors of a German surrender approaching, 708 00:36:44,440 --> 00:36:47,640 the commander at castle itter decides to take his life. 709 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:52,560 Their commander dead, the prison guards 710 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:55,240 fear they will be captured by the Americans, 711 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,720 so they abandon their posts. 712 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,240 When the commandant of castle itter commits suicide, 713 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:06,160 news of his death quickly spreads through the area. 714 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:10,840 There's a group of about 150 ss troops in the woods 715 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,440 in the vicinity, and they realize 716 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:18,000 that now castle itter is no longer under Nazi control. 717 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,600 They start moving toward the strong point 718 00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:23,120 with mayhem on their minds. 719 00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:26,080 The prisoners in the castle know that the ss is out there. 720 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:27,840 They're nearby, 721 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,280 and the prisoners are understandably quite concerned 722 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,520 that if the ss comes to the castle, 723 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:34,720 they'll execute all the prisoners. 724 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,160 They know if they're going to survive, 725 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:42,960 they need to take drastic action, 726 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:47,200 so they send the prison cook to find help. 727 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:51,800 He takes an sos letter to American troops 728 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:53,680 who are rumored to have captured 729 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,200 the nearby town of worgl. 730 00:37:56,320 --> 00:37:58,296 When he gets there, he realizes that the Americans 731 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:01,040 have not yet taken the town after all. 732 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,880 The cook encounters another German officer 733 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,160 named sepp gangl. 734 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:08,080 He hands the letter over, 735 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,920 but to his shock, gangl isn't hostile. 736 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:14,160 He's a battle-hardened major 737 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:17,000 who is disillusioned with the Nazi cause 738 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,000 and tired of all the bloodshed. 739 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:23,280 Gangl has troops with him, but he doesn't have enough 740 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:25,920 to put up a defense against the 17th ss 741 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,720 as they move through the area, and gangl understands 742 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:30,720 that if we're gonna save these guys, 743 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:32,480 we're gonna need help. 744 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:34,456 We're going to have to reach out to the American troops 745 00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:35,920 that are known to be nearby. 746 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,400 What gangl decides to do is to proceed 747 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:40,880 under a flag of truce, 748 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,360 essentially waving a white flag. 749 00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:46,640 Slowly and carefully approaches the Americans. 750 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:50,280 In front of him is 27-year-old captain Jack Lee. 751 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:54,040 When captain Lee spots a German soldier approaching, 752 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:55,880 he's on high alert. 753 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,960 He has no idea if this is a trap. 754 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:00,440 After a bit of back and forth, 755 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:02,160 Lee becomes convinced that gangl 756 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,320 is exactly what he claims to be, 757 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:07,040 and the two of them agree to combine forces. 758 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:09,800 After years of conflict, 759 00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:13,400 it's an unimaginable partnership. 760 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:16,880 Gis and Germans work together. 761 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,240 These guys have been machine gunning each other 762 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,240 and throwing grenades at each other for years, 763 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:25,080 and now suddenly, they're erstwhile allies 764 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:28,360 in defending against Hitler's most fanatical soldiers. 765 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:30,120 But they're heavily outnumbered. 766 00:39:30,240 --> 00:39:32,120 Even with the American reinforcements, 767 00:39:32,240 --> 00:39:35,880 there are only 24 armed men capable of resisting 768 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:40,160 an ss force of 150 fanatical Nazi troops. 769 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:42,640 But they do have an advantage in that 770 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,960 they are in a prepared defensive fortification. 771 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:51,280 And all of a sudden, the ss assault begins. 772 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:52,760 The chatter of machine guns, 773 00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:54,680 the explosion of mortar rounds. 774 00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:57,120 These troops are under siege. 775 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:02,680 After hours of bitter fighting, 776 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,800 somehow the alliance holds strong. 777 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:10,920 The ss are defeated and withdraw from the fight. 778 00:40:11,040 --> 00:40:12,800 The action is not without loss. 779 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:15,880 While trying to rescue one of the prisoners, gangl, 780 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,440 he's caught in a crossfire and shot by a sniper. 781 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:21,200 He's the only casualty of the action. 782 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:25,240 The operation is a success, 783 00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:26,920 but the involvement of major gangl 784 00:40:27,040 --> 00:40:28,600 and his countrymen is not mentioned 785 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:30,080 in American newspapers, 786 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:34,360 only in classified military reports. 787 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:38,000 It's more than 70 years later, in 2013, 788 00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:42,640 when gangl's role in one of the strangest alliances of the war 789 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:44,280 makes international headlines. 790 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,200 A full account of the battle of castle itter 791 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:51,720 is finally published by historian Stephen Harding. 792 00:40:56,400 --> 00:41:01,160 When nations vie for power, foes can turn into friends 793 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:04,640 and former allies can become enemies, 794 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,960 but as these files reveal, secret and unholy alliances 795 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:11,520 can influence history. 796 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:13,480 I'm David duchovny. 797 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:16,160 Thanks for watching "secrets declassified."