Original subtitles

Narrator: the towering remains Of a mountainside structure

Built to withstand A colossal force.

What is it? What happened to it?

What caused it to explode?

Narrator: a sprawling cityscape That's been deserted

And left to the elements.

It's like a giant been Brought to its knees,

But by what?

Narrator: and strange Military platforms

That harbor secrets Of an underwater war.

That harbor secrets Of an underwater war.

Talvik: Suddenly, 200 meters from us...

Dook, dook, dook, dook.

We were really like, "Ah, what is this?"

Narrator: once, they were some Of the most advanced structures

And facilities on the planet,

At the cutting edge Of design and construction.

Today, they stand abandoned, Contaminated,

And sometimes deadly.

But who built them? And how?

But who built them? And how?

And why were they abandoned?

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

*

*

In europe, high up in The mountainous region

Of the central italian alps

Stands a large cathedral-like Structure.

Stands a large cathedral-like Structure.

*

Bell: towering 140 feet Above the valley floor,

This structure looks almost Alien in the landscape.

*

It's like a fortress From "Lord of the rings"

That's been brought to life.

The eerie gray concrete

Alongside The windswept mountains

Alongside The windswept mountains

Makes you shiver inside.

Gough: this huge structure

Is set in this glorious Natural setting.

There's mountains, There's lakes.

As you move around The side of it, you look and go,

"Uh-oh, what happened here?"

If it were complete, It would stretch

From one side of the valley Right across to the other.

But there's a massive Gap in the middle.

But there's a massive Gap in the middle.

Narrator: years ago, The central section

Of this great wall Was ripped out.

Gough: was it bombed? Was there an earthquake?

This would've been An event that caused

A whole lot of Disruption and death.

How could something That appears so solid

Have failed so spectacularly?

Narrator: so what happened?

And is new evidence Challenging our understanding

And is new evidence Challenging our understanding

Of it's catastrophic demise?

The story unfolded In the unstable years

Around the first world war,

When italy was Struggling to catch up

With the industrialized Powers of europe.

To energize the growth Of new factories,

Rich capitalists invested in Hydroelectric power stations

In the mountainous Region of the alps.

These are the remains of One of those projects,

The gleno dam.

But it was built In troubled times

When anarchists were Staging occupations

Of factories nearby And even planting bombs

At targeted sights.

Italy in the north was a place Of great political unrest.

You had the capitalists Who were effectively

You had the capitalists Who were effectively

Under siege from A communist movement

That had a whole different Direction in mind.

Turmoil and violence, those Were a day-to-day occurrence.

Bell: the man who financed The project

Was from the vigano family,

A family of wealthy Industrialists from milan.

Vigano constantly Criticized the local workers

That he did employ.

His preference was to Use milanese workers

His preference was to Use milanese workers

Instead of local workers, Which caused a lot

Of bad feeling.

So, if the people that Are trying

To put this structure together Are not working together

In unison, then you are Gonna get a problem

In the actual end product.

Narrator: Construction began in 1917

With the first world war In full flow.

But a few years into The job, the costs soared.

The design was Changed drastically,

The design was Changed drastically,

And the vigano Family cut corners

By using cheaper, Lower grade materials.

Bell: construction of the dam Used poor quality concrete,

Reinforced with first world war Anti-grenade netting.

Neither of which Were appropriate

For this kind of structure.

Whenever any of those Workers complained

About those materials, They were immediately fired.

Agrawal: foundations are Critical to all structures.

Agrawal: foundations are Critical to all structures.

If you start to Put in scrap metals,

You don't really know What the composition

Of those metals are.

They may have rusted, and so, Then, when you're pouring

Concrete around that, You might not get

A very good bind between The metal and the concrete,

And that is really, Really important

To maintain the strength Of the structure.

Narrator: so was this a disaster Waiting to happen?

In october 1923, With the dam built,

The reservoir was filled to Capacity for the first time,

But problems had already Begun to surface.

Gough: In the autumn of the year,

There was An extremely heavy rainfall,

And this caused some Minor leaks in the dam

That should've Served as a warning,

But in fact, they Were regarded as,

"Mm, that's not a problem."

Narrator: As the downpours continued,

The water level soon crept

The water level soon crept

Above the maximum Permitted depth,

Testing the dam's structural Integrity to the limit.

By december 1st, it seemed to Have reached breaking point.

It was just another day When the caretaker

Was carrying out his Routine checks on the dam,

And then he felt a tremor.

45 minutes later, The whole dam burst.

Bell: according to news Reports at the time,

There was a violent Blast of air.

Then water rushed down Into the valley below.

Narrator: Over a billion gallons of water

Suddenly forced its Way through the opening

At a speed of 45 miles per hour.

Carnage was inevitable.

The water would've been Like a giant tidal wave,

A tsunami with debris

A tsunami with debris

Just rushing through The valley below,

Causing devastation Wherever it went.

Bell: the flood wave took about 45 minutes to crash its way

Along down the valley.

The flood destroyed Three villages,

Five power stations, And countless numbers

Of isolated buildings And factories along the valley.

Narrator: by the time The waters had settled,

Over 350 people had been killed.

The blame was directed Towards the vigano family

And the dam's engineers,

But they protested Their innocence.

In the court case that followed,

Inconsistencies between The findings of the prosecution

And defense meant that, On appeal,

The defendants were acquitted.

For almost a century, this was How the story was laid to rest.

For almost a century, this was How the story was laid to rest.

But it would begin To be rewritten

When benedetto bonomo,

The current mayor of one Of those destroyed towns,

Uncovered some new evidence.

[ bonomo speaking italian ]

Interpreter: just after The collapse of the dam,

In the prison of The city of cremona,

An inmate made A very important claim,

Saying that he was the head Of a group of subversives

Who were putting Bombs everywhere

In what was the rising Industrial area.

In what was the rising Industrial area.

*

Narrator: Was there a cover-up that took

Almost 90 years to unearth?

Could everything be Pointing to what seems to be

A terrorist attack?

*

Narrator: high in the mountains Of northern italy,

The collapse of The gleno dam in 1923

Sent a wave of destruction Hurtling through the villages

In the valley below.

Once believed to Have been caused

By poor construction Techniques and materials,

A recently uncovered court Document from the trial

Shows the failure came From a targeted attack.

Shows the failure came From a targeted attack.

[ speaking italian ]

Interpreter: I quickly found The document that says

The judge had actually Asked the most renowned

Experts in the world To do a survey...

Which showed that A bomb had exploded there.

*

Narrator: the survey proved

That water pressure alone

Could never have Caused the collapse.

Then it was revealed that 75 kilograms of dynamite

Had recently been stolen From the construction site.

Had recently been stolen From the construction site.

It seems that sabotage Was the only explanation.

Because of this Lack of integrity

Between the materials And the foundations,

It's possible that these Explosives actually caused

A much bigger event Than, you know,

The saboteurs actually intended.

Gough: it could've been A disgruntled worker

Who wanted revenge For the vigano family.

Or it could have Been an anarchist,

Or it could have Been an anarchist,

Because they were blowing up Sort of power stations

And power plants all Around the north of italy

At that time.

Narrator: but a final theory Suggests total destruction

May not have been The intention at all.

The idea could've been Just to create a small leak

And thereby force The dam to be decommissioned.

So no one knows for sure, But all we do know

Is an explosion of that kind

Should not have had The devastating effect

Should not have had The devastating effect

That it did.

Narrator: the cover-up had aimed To protect the government

From embarrassment after A spate of bombings

In the area meant they Should've been guarding the dam.

Interpreter: telling the truth 95 years later,

It's something that hurts.

People looked death in the eyes.

A whole district was Completely swept away.

Whole families were erased.

The whole story of a small Village was buried forever.

The whole story of a small Village was buried forever.

*

Narrator: talk of repairs And putting the dam

Back into use has Never been far off.

But without the financial Backing necessary,

The gleno dam has remained In its failed state

Ever since its explosive end.

*

Near the center of Detroit, michigan,

Near the center of Detroit, michigan,

Is a sprawling landscape Of deserted buildings

Left to disintegrate Over decades.

*

Towering above abandoned Streets,

This line of structures Stretches across

Around half a mile.

Bell: what's most striking About this structure

Is its size.

It seems to go on forever.

It looks like some kind Of industrial metropolis.

A relic from a world That's long been forgotten.

Wisdom: It is complete devastation.

Block after block after block.

Roofs have fallen in,

Water is flowing on the floor,

There is no glass in Any of the windows.

Nature has taken its course.

Dickrell: something big Happened here.

Dickrell: something big Happened here.

Almost out of a horror movie.

Narrator: inside are vast, Desolate open spaces,

Their remains having been Ripped apart by the elements.

Bell: there's something about These cavernous, empty rooms.

It's like a film set From "Blade runner"

Or "The walking dead."

Wisdom: It is an incredible place

And clearly has really Suffered over the years.

And clearly has really Suffered over the years.

Narrator: but what was this Series of buildings used for?

And what caused this Devastation and downfall?

*

The answer lies in The history of a product

That changed the face of The united states forever --

The motor car.

Bell: in the early 20th century

The american automotive Industry was very much

The american automotive Industry was very much

In its infancy.

Only one in every 10,000 Americans owned a car,

And most of those Were powered by steam.

With it's vast land area

And scattered, Isolated settlements

The u.S. Needed cars More than anyone.

Narrator: the problem, though,

Was how to manufacture Enough cars.

Previously, factories were Cramped, dingy,

And dirty places.

And dirty places.

It's hard to believe now, But this facility

Was the start of something new.

Agrawal: this design complexity Revolutionized

The space in which You could actually

Manufacture the cars.

The workers had Better conditions,

And actually, It improved their morale

And also their productivity.

Dickrell: the u.S. Led The way in production

In terms of number And volumes of automobiles

In terms of number And volumes of automobiles

Largely because of The factory improvements

And the ability to crank out

Lots of cars in A short amount of time.

Narrator: the pioneering company Leading the charge was packard.

Look to packard for the easiest Handling car ever built.

This brilliant new packard All but drives itself

Thanks to packard Power steering,

Ultramatic drive, And packard power breaks.

America's new choice In the fine car field.

Narrator: this was packard's Automotive plant.

Construction began in 1903,

And it soon grew Beyond all expectation.

The packard car plant Was the most advanced

Auto factory in the world.

It was built over 35 acres of land

And had over three and a half Million square feet of space.

And had over three and a half Million square feet of space.

It became the gold standard For car factory design

Throughout the u.S.,

And production Rates skyrocketed.

Narrator: and the secret To its success

Was the use of Reinforced concrete.

This material Transformed how a factory

Could be laid out.

As local tour guide Jacob jones explains.

Jones: we are on the ground

Where the packard assembly Line would've been.

Moved through this entire Space here at its peak

Going up to the floor above us

As well as the two floors below.

The blend of the steel And the concrete

Added that extra Support of strength.

It was nearly unbreakable.

This is where some of The finest luxury cars

In modern history were built.

The ones that al capone and Franklin roosevelt drove.

The ones that al capone and Franklin roosevelt drove.

They came off of this stretch

Of concrete And steel right here.

Narrator: but there was A problem -- the price.

A packard car could Cost over $3,000,

When a ford cost just $850.

So how could packard compete?

Once again, it was down to The design of the plant.

With a focus on high standards

With a focus on high standards

To justify the high price tags,

Practically every Part of every packard

Was built somewhere On this site.

Jones: the 80 skilled Trade departments --

An absolutely massive number.

Everything was so Compact here at packard

That it was really easy To move parts, people,

And cars, really, From place to place.

Bell: at it's peak, the complex Employed up to 40,000 workers.

Bell: at it's peak, the complex Employed up to 40,000 workers.

The company became known As producing some of

The highest quality luxury Vehicles in the u.S.

Created what was called The gray wolf,

The first race car that Was commercially available

In the united states,

And ultimately became A symbol of packard's success.

Narrator: in the early decades, Packard went

From strength to strength,

But the market changed in 1929 When the wall street crash

But the market changed in 1929 When the wall street crash

Shattered the economy.

Suddenly, the money Was drying up.

*

So could this site Be adapted to compete

With the likes of ford?

Or did this spell the beginning Of the end for packard?

*

Narrator: in detroit, The packard automotive plant

Was known as a beacon Of luxury car design,

But in the 1930s, packard Began to try their hand

At the production Of cheaper cars.

Then, suddenly, the outbreak Of the second world war

Put the whole industry on hold.

Bell: in 1942, like other Car factories,

It stopped producing cars

And instead focused On manufacturing

Rolls-royce aircraft And naval engines

For the u.S. And its allies.

Jones: these automotive Factories shut down

Car production for a few years, Building just over 100 cars

During world war ii Throughout the entire country.

Dickrell: in many ways, The packard car plant

And other factories like it

Were very, very key and integral

Into winning that Conflict for the allies.

Into winning that Conflict for the allies.

Narrator: the postwar years were Highly competitive.

The big three -- ford, General motors, and chrysler

Still dominated the mass market,

But the designs of luxury Cars were rapidly changing

And packard was Being left behind.

Popularity of packard Cars slowly declined

Due to its ability To not compete

With other luxury Car manufacturers.

With other luxury Car manufacturers.

They started to get A bit of a reputation

For their cars not Being as attractive

As perhaps they could be.

Some were called "Pregnant elephants,"

Some were described as bathtubs.

The cars were not popular With the public now.

Narrator: with falling sales And their reputation

Taking a beating,

A desperate bid for Survival in the mid-1950s

Saw packard move off This site for good.

This towering facility that Had overseen their rise

This towering facility that Had overseen their rise

Was left abandoned, And the company soon folded.

Ultimately ford's style And price had won out

Against packard's More expensive models.

From what remains today, It's hard to imagine

This facility forever changed The way cars were built.

Wisdom: you look at what Its become now

And it really is a shadow Of the world it once knew.

And it really is a shadow Of the world it once knew.

It's a good example of how The mighty can easily fall.

*

Narrator: in eastern europe,

Just over 30 miles from Tallinn, estonia's capital,

Is a bizarre construction lying In wait just off the coast.

Stretching out across the water

Is a set of long Concrete platforms.

Is a set of long Concrete platforms.

Bell: tucked away in a secluded Corner of the world

No one really knew What went on there.

It was all very top secret.

Talvik: when we were young Playing on a beach,

And suddenly, 200 meters from us...

Dook, dook, dook, dook, dook, Dook, dook.

We were really like, "Ah, what is this?"

Narrator: almost no clues Remained

To indicate what this Strange structure

To indicate what this Strange structure

On the edge of the sea once was.

It's like a carcass Been stripped bare

By the harsh baltic winds.

Caldwell-evans: Something fairly serious,

Something fairly major Was installed there.

This wasn't just your typical Industrial, commercial port.

I don't know exactly what Was the building's meaning,

But it goes three Floors under the water.

But it goes three Floors under the water.

Narrator: but why is this place

Still shrouded in secrecy?

And what finally caused It to be abandoned?

The answers are linked to The tension-filled years

Of the cold war.

In 1962, as the cuban Missile crisis unfolded,

The soviets deployed submarines,

Some armed with Nuclear missiles,

To hold tactical positions In the atlantic ocean.

To hold tactical positions In the atlantic ocean.

*

One of the hottest parts Of the whole cold war

Was the undersea war, The submarine war.

[ sonar pinging ]

The submarine is one of The original stealth weapons.

In fact, by going underwater, It can remain invisible

And get very close To an enemy shoreline

Enemy naval base, Launch some kind of attack.

Narrator: The world was teetering

On the brink of All-out nuclear war,

On the brink of All-out nuclear war,

But the water around cuba Wasn't the only arena

Feeling the heat.

Almost 5,000 miles away, In the baltic sea

The action was Already well underway.

The baltic was still a really Intense area of activity.

Corum: the russians needed This baltic area

To train up and practice With their submarines

And to develop better submarines And better techniques.

And to develop better submarines And better techniques.

Narrator: In soviet-occupied estonia,

The russians built this site

To advance the capabilities Of their fleet.

This was hara submarine base.

Completed in the late 1950s,

It was once a state-of-the-art Top secret facility.

But what was its unique purpose?

But what was its unique purpose?

And how could it give The soviets the edge in the war

Under the sea?

*

Narrator: during the cold war, Just off the coast

Of formerly occupied estonia,

The soviets were aiming To radically advance

Their submarines' capabilities.

But the battle in the baltic Was not focused on firepower.

It was all about Secrecy and strategy.

Unlike a surface vessel, Where you design that

Unlike a surface vessel, Where you design that

For speed and efficiency,

A submarine you Design for silence.

Caldwell-evans: the baltic Was the forefront

Of intelligence gathering.

Submarines were Creeping along the coast

Morning, noon, and night to spy On the military capabilities,

To tap into communications.

They were both equipped With missiles

That could be used To target land sites,

Plus they had torpedoes For attacking warships.

But I think their spying Role was probably critical.

But I think their spying Role was probably critical.

Narrator: today, the site is A shell of its former self,

But local politician Artur talvic

Can still picture what It used to look like.

Everything here Was full of cables.

Those two quays were United by bridges.

Special cranes moved Here back and forth

Special cranes moved Here back and forth

To cover the ships With, say, cables.

Narrator: hanging huge Quantities of cables

Across the submarines Is an unusual practice.

This is not part of standard Repair and maintenance work.

So what was going on here?

And how did this base help With spying in the baltic?

The whole thing About a submarine

Is making it difficult to find.

Is making it difficult to find.

Caldwell-evans: the problem is It's made of steel,

And any steel object Moving through the water

Is gonna generate A magnetic signature,

And that can be detected.

Narrator: hara was built to Solve this issue.

Caldwell-evans: it's essentially A base that demagnetizes,

That reduces the magnetic Signature of soviet submarines

So that it can Sneak up quite close

To nato naval bases and still Remain effectively invisible.

Corum: the actual demagnetizing

Is actually a pretty quick And efficient process.

Is actually a pretty quick And efficient process.

Getting the submarine into The lock and lifted up

That takes all the effort.

So the submarines came in here,

And then they were checked --

What is the magnetic Field situation?

Caldwell-evans: you establish Your cable system around it,

You run the current Through that, and that will

Lower the magnetic Signature of the submarine

Which can then go On its merry way.

Narrator: With this process completed,

The submarine would now Be much harder to track.

The submarine would now Be much harder to track.

But this wasn't only to Help them avoid detection

By the enemy.

These waters contained other Deadly threats, as well.

Talvik: the first need for The base like this

Was because of The magnetic mines.

Not far away from here, 1941 was one of the biggest

Sea battles in all history, Called juminda mine battle.

Sea battles in all history, Called juminda mine battle.

Narrator: it's estimated That during

The second world war, Almost 70,000 mines

And other explosive obstacles

Were laid in the nearby Area of the baltic sea.

And a number of The magnetic versions

Were likely still there.

A magnetic mine can Sit there dormant

Not being affected by anything

Until a ship comes.

Its trigger mechanism Is set to respond

Its trigger mechanism Is set to respond

To the magnetic Signature of a vessel

Coming within range, And this detonates.

Narrator: but demagnetization Only lasted so long

Before the signature Built up again

And the process Had to be repeated.

So could this one base really Cope with the soviets' needs?

Or is there more to this site Than first meets the eye?

The demagnetization Doesn't happen only here

The demagnetization Doesn't happen only here

In the quay but also In the bay area.

There were 18 kilometers Of cables here.

They spent maybe A week or even more

Just moving back and forth,

And then they came Into the harbor

And measured, is the ship Enough demagnetized or not.

Narrator: As the cold war progressed,

Narrator: As the cold war progressed,

Hara likely played a key role

In the secretive battle for Position and information

That took place beneath The waves of the baltic.

But why has it been Stripped of almost all signs

Of that former life?

And could it have Done more than just

Demagnetize submarines?

*

Narrator: on the north coast Of estonia,

A country formerly occupied By communist russia,

Lies hara submarine base.

During the cold war, this Was a top secret facility.

But today, with the collapse Of the soviet union

Over 25 years in the past,

Why is there still an air of Mystery surrounding the site?

The russians were quite Paranoid about anybody

Finding out about Their submarines.

No foreigners were allowed Within any distance of this.

Caldwell-evans: no one was Supposed to see what's going on.

The fact that it was Doing this crucial role

In trying to reduce The magnetic signature,

Make submarines Harder to detect,

Meant that it really had to be A very top secret installation.

Narrator: but these concerns Didn't end with the cold war.

Narrator: but these concerns Didn't end with the cold war.

As the russians withdrew

And the occupation Of estonia ended,

Bases like this were Stripped of their assets

To prevent the leak Of military secrets.

With the little that Remains at hara today,

Offering only a glimpse Into the past life

Of this facility,

Full story of this submarine Base and its capabilities

Will continue to Remain a mystery.

*

*

In central europe, In the northeast of poland,

Is a giant concrete Structure hidden from view

By the surrounding woodland.

*

Deep in the rural hinterland,

This decaying object sits Frozen to the ground.

Dickrell: you'd be very confused If you came across it.

It'd be very incongruous,

This almost alien Structure plopped down

This almost alien Structure plopped down

In the middle of the woods.

Nusbacher: you've got all of That green countryside...

You've got that Beautiful still water.

Why is there this enormous Block sitting on top of it?

Narrator: whatever was once Trapped inside here

Wasn't getting out.

Wisdom: when you look At it from above,

You realize one thing -- It's a mystery.

The center is Effectively a vast pool.

Is it some kind of cooling tank?

Is it some kind Of power station?

Outside is a water Course running up to it.

That might be a clue.

Narrator: so why build this Heavy weight structure

Out here in The polish countryside?

Out here in The polish countryside?

And why was it left in the Woods, abandoned and forgotten?

The first clue to Solving this mystery

Can be found carved into The face of the concrete.

Wisdom: when you're looking At the structure,

You see the concrete's Been bleached by time.

But in the middle of it is The outline of an eagle.

Now that could only Mean one thing.

This building is From the third reich.

This building is From the third reich.

It's a nazi eagle.

Narrator: in 1934,

The nazis had taken Control of germany.

And hitler had begun to Build his new empire.

The agricultural Region of east prussia

Soon became a focus.

But marooned on its own,

The nazis recognized Its vulnerability

As tensions across The continent began to rise.

When hitler decides that He wants his new empire

When hitler decides that He wants his new empire

To be self-sufficient,

Suddenly it becomes Really important

To grow a lot of Grain in east prussia.

But east prussia is The part of germany

That's closest to russia.

Narrator: this land was The place where those two sides

Had gone head to head Around two decades earlier.

Dickrell: it was a very intense Area of conflict

And a very fought after And sought after region.

And a very fought after And sought after region.

If germany is going to Control its own food supply

In time of war,

It has to be able to Defend this territory.

Narrator: but the inland areas Barely had enough people

To work the land, Let alone defend it.

Despite the wishes of The germans to have this

Big population in east prussia,

Population didn't Want to live there.

Population didn't Want to live there.

A lot of them were moving Out and moving away.

It was a depressed farming area.

So how do you populate an area?

Well, you build An infrastructure.

And I suppose, if you Build it, they will come.

*

Narrator: so was this hulking Concrete structure

Part of a new nazi Defensive line?

Or could it hold The answer to transforming

Or could it hold The answer to transforming

The fortunes of east prussia?

*

Narrator: in the lead up to The second world war,

In former east prussia,

The nazis hoped to Develop this region

Through new major Infrastructure projects.

But how could this series Of concrete blocks and walls

Help with this aim?

It was part of a grand plan To kick-start the process,

It was part of a grand plan To kick-start the process,

As local historian Bartek plebanczyk knows well.

Nusbacher: east prussia needs Transport infrastructure...

To get industrial farm Machinery and fodder in

To get industrial farm Machinery and fodder in

And agricultural produce out.

Narrator: this mass of concrete Was to be a lock

On the new masurian canal.

These are the remains of Lesniewo górne.

The canal was planned To run along a distance

Of 30 miles from the lake Mamry to the lyna river.

But there was a huge Difference in height

But there was a huge Difference in height

Between those two points,

So locks like this One were needed.

There's ten total Locks along the canal.

And they could handle Craft up to 25 feet wide,

Being raised and lowered As the craft would move

Through the canal.

Wisdom: the remarkable thing About the lock system here

Is that it rises up 300 feet.

When you think about that, That is a boat going up a hill

And over the top And down the other side.

And over the top And down the other side.

That is what locks give us --

The ability to traverse Geographical obstacles

That water wouldn't Normally be able to flow on.

Narrator: of all the locks Along the route,

This was the largest With a level difference

Of over 50 feet.

The lesniewo górne lock Works like this --

We have two different Heights of water.

I think the boat goes Through into the lock,

The gates are closed,

Water is then Flooded into the lock,

Water is then Flooded into the lock,

Raising the level of The boat to the next passage,

And then the gate is opened

And the boat passes through, Proceeding along the canal.

Narrator: but today, there only Appears to be water

On one side of the lock.

So were the nazis ever Able to complete the route?

It turns out they weren't The first to attempt it.

People first tried To build a canal

Connecting east prussia To the baltic sea

In the 1800s,

In the 1800s,

But it's never economically Feasible,

And there's never Enough government money

To make it work.

Narrator: picking up where the Previous efforts had left off,

The construction also Helped solve another

Of the region's problems.

Corum: it's really A works project.

This is probably a scheme That's going to work

This is probably a scheme That's going to work

For all of those farm laborers

That were really living On the subsistence level.

Narrator: But even with an army of workers

Already busy on the project,

The outbreak of war in 1939

Amplified hitler's ambitions To a whole new level.

Hitler's vision goes from Making germany self-sufficient

To building A continent-wide empire

So swiftly that the impetus To keep building a canal

So swiftly that the impetus To keep building a canal

In east prussia is wiped out.

The masurian canal Is just left behind.

*

Narrator: a few years later, In december 1944,

When the tide of war had turned,

The soviet army was Pushing the germans back.

In a desperate bid to slow The approaching enemy,

In a desperate bid to slow The approaching enemy,

The nazis started Blowing up the bridges

Over the unfinished canal.

The masurian canal is Meant to be a piece

Of transport infrastructure.

It never becomes that.

Instead, for a very short while,

It just becomes a barrier Against the red army.

Not a very good one.

Narrator: today, This abandoned structure

Is hidden amongst the trees Deep in the polish countryside.

Is hidden amongst the trees Deep in the polish countryside.

But with the outline of The nazi eagle still carved

Above the entrance,

The memory of those dark Years is ever present.

Hitler's ambition to impose His concrete

Industrial will on the world Failed.

I am seeing An attempt to dominate

The green countryside of Poland turned to ruins.

The green countryside of Poland turned to ruins.

Hitler's thousand-year empire

Didn't even last long Enough to finish a canal.