Original subtitles

Narrator: a marooned site That hides a dramatic story...

This site on the end Of the breakwater here

Feels like the key to unlocking What all of this is about.

That's why I want to get inside.

*

Narrator: ...A vast facility that helped Tear apart a nation...

In so many ways that are So important to underscore,

It really leads To the expansion,

It really leads To the expansion,

The entrenchment of slavery.

Narrator: ...An island fortress

That became the scene Of a major cover-up.

They destroyed the buildings, Burned the files.

They didn't want people To know what happened.

*

Narrator: decaying relics,

Ruins of lost worlds,

Ruins of lost worlds,

Forged through years of toil, Now haunted by the past,

Their secrets Waiting to be revealed.

*

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

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

*

Off the south coast of england Near the isle of portland

Lies a site that conceals a link To a dramatic past life.

Lies a site that conceals a link To a dramatic past life.

*

Gough: it's a monster Of a structure, solidly built,

Clad in metal With all sorts of additions

Attached to the tops And the sides of it.

This is a genuinely Unusual structure.

This was not one simple Purpose-built structure.

This has evolved perhaps Over a century.

This has evolved perhaps Over a century.

Narrator: with a history That somehow links it

To a prison on the island,

Once inside the confusion Of what this was only deepens.

Gough: you immediately wonder What was kept out there?

Why was it separated From the rest of the land?

Barratt: this is an incredibly Claustrophobic structure.

It's hard to get in,

And it feels like It's impossible to escape from.

Narrator: this structure, However, is not alone.

Narrator: this structure, However, is not alone.

The land nearby is littered with Crumbling relics of the past.

As you pan out and view The whole area,

You see an entire Series of structures.

This is something That is the result

Of a serious engineering project Over a long period of time.

Gough: there is clearly so much Going on in this place

In different periods of history,

But just how it's all related Remains elusive.

Narrator: so what lies within That circular structure,

Narrator: so what lies within That circular structure,

And what was this all built for?

During the second world war,

Thousands of us military Personnel descended on this area

For a decisive stand In the war against nazi germany,

But the ruins here don't all Appear to fit into that story.

Rob bell has come To the isle of portland

To investigate why this place Became so important

To investigate why this place Became so important

In the fight against the nazis.

I've come across a good few Old ruins

And abandoned structures Dotted around the island now.

It's almost like you're going To bump into something

Hidden around Every corner,

And some of them look like They're as solid as ever,

But others are on the brink Of collapse,

Just falling to pieces.

Narrator: Having gained special permission To access these sites,

Rob is now able to get a glimpse Of these old ruins up close.

Rob is now able to get a glimpse Of these old ruins up close.

Looking over At these buildings up here

And these ruins Through the windows,

There's some old light Fittings in there,

So there was electricity Supplied at some point.

An old furnace in here, look, Left rusting away,

Clearly providing heat Or power for some use,

But it doesn't seem like There's any one structure

Or any one single piece Of engineering

That tells you What all of this was for.

Narrator: but finally, One feature stands apart.

Narrator: but finally, One feature stands apart.

*

Well, this feels very, Very different here now.

I thought it was just another Old, abandoned ruin here,

But this has a very different Form to it.

Look at this.

Okay.

Right.

All of this circular structure

And this little raised platform Here in the middle.

This tells me this is Some kind of gun placement,

This tells me this is Some kind of gun placement,

But not just any gun.

Look at the scale Of all of this.

The gun on there would have been Absolutely phenomenal.

Narrator: During the second world war,

These installations would have Been crawling with soldiers,

And all eyes would have Been trained on the horizon.

The nazis, they were sending E-boats right near the shore.

U-boats were Patrolling the area,

And the whole region was right On the brink of the action.

And the whole region was right On the brink of the action.

Narrator: The threat of attack was real, And the nazi gaze was focused

On key naval positions Along the south coast,

The harbors of which Were filled to capacity,

Ready for a battle To turn the tide of war.

Corum: what you would see Are hundreds of ships,

All packed into Every available space.

All of this, all of the men And the ships are building up

All of this, all of the men And the ships are building up

To the decisive moment In the war in western europe.

Narrator: the remains Scattered across the area

Appear to reveal very little Of what that event was

And how this place Played a part,

But to add to the confusion,

These structures also seem To have another story to tell.

What's curious for me is that Even from here you can see,

Looking up on the ridge Of the cliffs up there,

Looking up on the ridge Of the cliffs up there,

There are big stone walls That look like they date to way

Before the second world war, So the question for me is,

What were all those Older buildings doing here,

And did they play a role In making this area

So crucial In the second world war?

Narrator: To search for clues, rob is Heading out to a structure

That is separated from the rest

At the end Of the harbor's breakwater.

I've been around A number of the old,

Abandoned sites In this area now,

But there's one that I've only ever seen from afar,

But there's one that I've only ever seen from afar,

And it's that one over there,

And I've got A sneaking suspicion

That's the one that's going to Help expose the real story

Of what this whole place Was about.

Narrator: somehow related To an old prison on the island,

From the outside at least,

The damage wrought On this structure

Seems to have obscured The clues to its former use.

It's hard to tell At first glance

Whether those windows Have been sealed up

Whether those windows Have been sealed up

To keep people out Or to keep people in.

Was it a quarantine site, Or was it perhaps a prison?

Why were they trying to keep it Separate from the mainland?

Come have a look at this Down here.

This feels like a massive clue

As to what this whole place Was about.

Those are huge guns.

*

*

I've been told there's a Definite link between this site

And the prison Over on the island.

When you see artillery Of this kind of scale out here,

That tells me that This was some kind of fort.

So what was the link To the prison then?

I'm hoping if I get inside, I can find out.

*

Narrator: so what lurks within This structure,

And how was this site thrown Into the heat of battle

And how was this site thrown Into the heat of battle

During the second world war?

*

Narrator: With special permission granted, Rob bell is investigating

A restricted site Of the south coast of england.

Helping set up A new access route

To the top of the structure Is gordon le pard,

A local marine archaeologist.

Like rob, gordon has never Set foot inside.

Like rob, gordon has never Set foot inside.

It's a first chance to get A glimpse of the innards

Of this old fort.

*

Bell: wow. This is certainly Very impressive.

Something I'd like, if you can, Help me clear up here,

I know there was a link To the prison with this fort,

But what exactly is that?

What is was was that the prison Was built to supply the labor

To quarry the stone,

To quarry the stone,

And they built the breakwater From there

Using the stone The prisoners quarried.

Naturally defended to the north, West and south,

In the middle Of the 19th century,

Fears of vulnerability from The east led to the decision

To build up a breakwater Over 1 1/2 miles long.

Gough: this was a huge job, And they used the prisoners

Who were kept on the island To man the quarry,

To create these huge blocks,

To assemble these straight lines That cut out into the sea.

To assemble these straight lines That cut out into the sea.

Narrator: once complete,

This was the largest man-made Harbor in the world,

But was this protection From the powerful storms

Or a known enemy?

The clues are inside,

But some areas Are too dangerous to enter.

I mean, where you've got A little bit of daylight

Coming in through there, Is that what I see

From the outside, Those bricked-up openings?

Le pard: yes. They would have been opened,

Or at least with metal covers On them

When they weren't in use... Yeah.

...But that was where the guns Pointed out and fired.

...But that was where the guns Pointed out and fired.

And when we talk about guns, Are they the guns

That I saw down In the water there,

Almost looked like They had been dumped

In a pile there Next to the breakwater.

Yes, Those are the breaches,

Just part of the guns That were here.

They're the first guns that were Placed inside the fort

In the 1870s.

To cover the sea leading Towards the harbor,

14 such guns were evenly placed Around the circular fort,

But built decades before The nazis threatened to invade,

Where was the danger Coming from?

Where was the danger Coming from?

What was the threat?

What was the idea behind Building this fort there?

When it started,

There was a perceived Threat from the french.

They were fortifying Their own coast.

They were massively mechanizing Their navy,

And it was perceived That there could be a threat

To the southern English coast.

Britain and france had been at Each other's throats for years,

And although there was Peace of sorts at the time,

There was this fear that A new battle might be emerging.

There was this fear that A new battle might be emerging.

Narrator: the construction Of forts in the coastal waters

Was seen as the solution.

You can see that at one point, It was a well-engineered,

Thriving purpose-built location With all of these passageways

And tunnels Having a specific use.

Oh, we're really descending Down here now, gordon.

Look around you, though, Still all these...

These handrails Just rusted away.

These handrails Just rusted away.

Narrator: This was the first step In the isle of portland's

Modern fortifications,

And every inch of the site Had a part to play.

*

This is one of the rooms where The explosive charges were kept.

Beside us we've got One of the hoists.

Some of these around the edges Here, in would go a shell

And the charge and the fuse, And they would be hoisted up.

And the charge and the fuse, And they would be hoisted up.

Well, what's the idea Of separating the shells

And the ammunitions down here From the artillery,

From the guns up above?

If you had an explosion Up on top,

You did not want the explosion To come down here.

It would be a disaster if The explosion was to get through

To one of the shell stores.

While this site May have been central

To the defense of the area,

The breakwater fort was far from The only piece of the puzzle.

Nearby, other fortified Defenses had been built,

Nearby, other fortified Defenses had been built,

Adding to a vast Engineering project,

But when completed,

All these structures Faced a harsh reality.

Military technology Was advancing

At such a rate Around the turn of the century

That by the time You had built something,

It was already out of date.

These forts, They were built as a reaction

To the threat from the french.

They took decades to build,

And in fact, When they were finished,

They were an embarrassment Because the threat had moved on.

They were an embarrassment Because the threat had moved on.

Narrator: seemingly stuck In a previous century,

Why would this area Soon end up being chosen

To play a vital role In the second world war?

The first clues can be seen On the roof of the fort.

What we've got feels like It's a gun turret,

And it looks like it's almost Replicated over there,

But what strikes me Is that this seems way

More modern Than the fort down below.

Oh, it is.

Oh, it is.

The fort itself Was built in the 1870s,

But it's been Constantly updated.

You can see the lots Of different periods

Culminating In the second world war

When one of these Two emplacements

Had the last really active gun,

The bofors gun, During world war ii.

When the second world war Consumed western europe

And the nazis steamrolled Through france in 1940,

Suddenly the south coast Of britain

Became the new frontline.

In the harbor you had large Targets for bombing attacks.

In the harbor you had large Targets for bombing attacks.

You would have had guns here Bolted down,

Where you can see The fittings today,

The barrel pointing up Into the sky

Essentially as an anti-aircraft Gun protecting the harbor.

But would the area's old Defenses survive

The inevitable onslaught Of a nazi attack,

And how would this place Help transform

The fortunes of the allies?

*

Narrator: In 1940, the isle of portland's Harbor and it's aging defenses

Were bracing themselves For the impending nazi attack.

Now back on dry land, rob bell Has come to blacknor fort

To see how these sites Were made ready.

So I'm up on the cliffs On the west side of portland

Here with another Enormous gun emplacement.

Here with another Enormous gun emplacement.

Installations like this as well As a whole range

Of other defensive structures Are found

Right along the south coast, Forming a strong defensive line.

Narrator: From the end of the 19th century And into the second world war,

Updates to the defenses Had continued to be added

Around the harbor and beyond, An extension of the breakwater,

Additional artillery positions And even supporting

Forts batteries Further along the coast.

Forts batteries Further along the coast.

Bell: these sometimes victorian,

Sometimes first world war Structures received upgrades

So that they're now capable Of dealing with the threat

That the germans posed.

It was feared that that nazi Attack was imminent.

Corum: in the summer of 1940, Battle of britain,

Portland was in fact

An important target For the luftwaffe.

Ships were sunk Within the harbor.

Portland was also under repeated Bombing attacks during day

Portland was also under repeated Bombing attacks during day

And night raids From german medium bombers.

Narrator: the visual mix Of structures and additions

To the breakwater fort represent What made portland so effective

When it was Finally called into action.

Corum: What you see is a evolution In this one location

From the mid-19th century Into the mid-20th century,

And rather than you get rid Of these massive stone-armored

And rather than you get rid Of these massive stone-armored

Structures, You adapt them.

Narrator: In june 1944, the real battle That the isle of portland

Was waiting for arrived.

However, it wouldn't be used In defense but in attack,

And it wasn't germans Landing here, it was americans.

This location was chosen to host The launch of a key part

Of the largest invasion In history, d-day.

Of the largest invasion In history, d-day.

This place had everything You needed right from the start.

Its location gave it This barrier of the beach

Down one side and then The quarry for the rocks

To build the breakwater On the other.

It had incredible foundations Of defense all around,

So add to that The upgrades it received,

You've got yourself a place with The infrastructure it needed

To handle The incredible responsibility

For what was to come.

For what was to come.

Narrator: from here, Many of the 1,000 ships

That comprised task force o Would sail across the channel

To fight the nazis at omaha Beach in northern france.

Thousands of troops lined up To board those ships,

All of them no doubt anxiously Waiting that command to go

To filter down From the powers above.

It's just impossible to imagine The emotions

It's just impossible to imagine The emotions

They must Have been going through.

Gough: Here they were in the relative Safety of the confines

Of this well-defended harbor.

This place was all About defense,

But that also made it The perfect site

For the launch pad on d-day.

In the west, this is the moment Of world war ii.

If the allies Can directly attack

The main force of [indistinct]

The main force of [indistinct]

And defeat it, the nazi regime Will be brought down.

Bell: When that order finally came On the 6th of june, 1944,

All of those ships sailed out Past the forts over there.

As eisenhower's order stated, The tide has turned.

The free men of the world are Marching together to victory.

*

Narrator: following the war, With the threat gone,

Narrator: following the war, With the threat gone,

The breakwater fort Was gradually stripped

Of its weapons and eventually Locked up for good.

Today, the harbor is primarily For commercial use

And for leisure,

But standing proud, The old structures remain now

Looking out Over more peaceful times.

*

Narrator: in the heart Of america's deep south

On the banks of autauga creek

Are the aging remains Of an enduring legacy.

Are the aging remains Of an enduring legacy.

*

This is a site near montgomery, Alabama that looks

Completely out of place.

Auerbach: it's dominated by this Industrial complex,

Which makes it resemble More like a mill town

In northern england.

As much as you see these Industrial buildings,

It's very hard to ascertain

Exactly what these Buildings were used for.

Exactly what these Buildings were used for.

Narrator: the sheer scale Of the operation suggests

Whatever was made here Was of great value.

Auerbach: a tunnel leads you Down to the water's edge,

And there you encounter The immense power of the river.

Somara: clearly there was a Connection between the river

And what was going on In this complex.

Narrator: Inside, few signs of this site's Former glory appear

To have survived.

It's amazing to imagine That this quiet,

It's amazing to imagine That this quiet,

Vast area would have been Bustling with noise

And chaos of machinery In action.

Now it's empty offices, Abandoned desks, typewriters,

Papers strewn everywhere.

It seems like the place Was suddenly evacuated.

Narrator: up on the hill Behind the complex

Are more clues to its past.

An eerie cemetery overlooks The vast property below.

An eerie cemetery overlooks The vast property below.

Mitchell: The fact that there are Confederate flags make you think

That there's a connection To the civil war,

To sort of a bloody conflict That ripped the country apart.

Narrator: So what was produced here,

And what role did it play In dividing the nation?

*

*

Narrator: Ann boutwell is a local Historian fighting to preserve

This set of structures That provide a window

Into a lost world.

I tell people when you lose A building,

You lose the opportunity To tell the story of the people

Who lived and worked In those buildings.

Narrator: the man behind This particular site

Had a profound impact On the southern united states.

What he made would help Transform america's economy

Into the world's most powerful

And divide the nation Like never before.

Daniel pratt arrived in alabama From new hampshire in the 1830s,

And he is literally one of the South's first industrialists.

Boutwell: At that time, alabama was pretty Much still wilderness areas,

Boutwell: At that time, alabama was pretty Much still wilderness areas,

And he felt That he could provide jobs

And a better lifestyle For the local people,

But he also, He was a visionary.

Mitchell: So he's building a complex Of a scale and size

That people in alabama Would not have seen before,

And he is building it So that he can produce one

Of the most important machines Of the early 19th century.

Narrator: yet not even pratt Could have imagined the wealth

This machine would generate

This machine would generate

Or the scale of the destructive Impact it would have.

Initially, pratt came to alabama Just with the sole purpose

Of building And selling cotton gins.

The cotton gin revolutionized Cotton farming

Because of the speed At which it could comb

The fibers out of the seeds.

Somara: This machine could actually Process 50 pounds of cotton

As opposed to one pound Doing the whole process by hand.

As opposed to one pound Doing the whole process by hand.

Narrator: originally invented By eli whitney

Four decades earlier,

Its true potential Was only realized

When pratt spotted an Opportunity in a growing market.

Whitney first patented it In 1794.

He wouldn't see much profit From it, oddly enough,

Though by the middle Of the 19th century,

Cotton would become The single largest export

Of the united states.

Narrator: Before long, pratt's empire Began to rapidly expand.

The gin company that he built Became the largest

The gin company that he built Became the largest

Gin factory in the world.

He was shipping cotton gins To france and russia.

Mitchell: It underscores why pratt Is one of the first

Major industrialists In the south.

Narrator: Pratt was so successful He built an entire town

In the image Of his new hampshire home

To house The ever-increasing workforce.

He even names it after himself.

All over prattville, His fingerprints can be found.

All over prattville, His fingerprints can be found.

Boutwell: absolutely It was pratt's town,

And most of the people Worked in his industries

And went to the churches That he built

And the schools That he provided.

The town of prattville Was held up as an example

For other southern towns To follow.

So there's a uniformity.

There's a sense Of something again

Sort of evoking new england.

That was sort of purposefully Built and created by pratt

In terms of the vision That he had for prattville.

In terms of the vision That he had for prattville.

Narrator: Yet while pratt's machine

Was creating jobs and prosperity In prattville,

It was having a very different Impact on other people's lives.

Ironically enough, it was this Very modern invention,

The cotton gin, that created A demand for a older,

More traditional form of labor, Slave labor.

Narrator: whereas previously Cotton seeds

Had to be separated From the fibers by hand,

Had to be separated From the fibers by hand,

Now machines rapidly Sped up the process.

Greater productivity Meant demand

For cotton Laborers skyrocketed,

And the south met this demand With slaves in the fields.

Cotton is a crop that doesn't Exhaust the soil so much,

And by creating a machine That cleans it more rapidly,

The cotton gin literally,

Literally enables the expansion Of slavery into the deep south.

Pratt manufactured a machine

Pratt manufactured a machine

That not only revolutionized Slavery in america

But entrenched it.

Narrator: and pratt, a devout Christian from the north,

Wrestled with The clear hypocrisy

Between his religious beliefs And being a slave owner himself,

But the question Of slavery meant

That he would soon Have to take up sides,

And in the family graveyard That overlooks the old factory

Is a clue as to which side Pratt chose.

Is a clue as to which side Pratt chose.

*

He's a northerner in the south, So he argues against secession,

Perhaps out of A commitment to union,

But ultimately When the south secedes,

The throws his hat in With the confederates.

There was even a military Company named after him,

The prattville dragoons, which He supplied with artillery.

The factory Also supplied textiles

Which would be used In confederate uniforms.

Which would be used In confederate uniforms.

Narrator: throughout The terrible conflict,

Most of the fighting Took place on southern soil,

And it soon found its way To this small town.

*

Would pratt's empire

Become yet another casualty Of the bitter civil war?

*

Narrator: As bloody conflict raged Across the states,

War finally found Prattville, alabama,

Threatening daniel pratt's Monumental cotton gin factory.

Boutwell: We do know that there were Troops in this area,

But we have been puzzled To this day

As to why pratt's industries Were not destroyed.

We don't know if that was Because he had some influence

We don't know if that was Because he had some influence

Because he was a yankee Or what caused the union

To leave his industries alone.

Narrator: Whatever the reasons, pratt's Complex remained undamaged.

His finances, however, Did not survive intact.

Auerbach: the people that had Worked in his factories,

Especially those that had sold His products across the south,

Were called to serve In the military.

Somara: because of the war, Blockades were put in place,

And pratt wasn't able To export his gins,

And pratt wasn't able To export his gins,

And that had a massive impact On his business.

Mitchell: the war is very costly To daniel pratt.

Some scholars argue that he lost About $0.5 million

And that the war comes close To ruining him financially.

Narrator: after the civil war,

The prospects Of pratt's cotton gin business

Looked bleak.

Faced with the harsh realities Of postwar reconstruction,

How would the factories And town they built survive?

It took him quite some time To get his industries restarted

It took him quite some time To get his industries restarted

And get the production Levels up.

He was determined to do that,

And he was eventually able To recover that wealth.

Narrator: In fact, pratt was instrumental

In not only reviving His business interests

But also in safeguarding Alabama's own economic recovery,

Securing a future for people Like ernie edwards

To work here well Into the 20th century.

Edwards: when we were very busy And cotton was at a peak

Edwards: when we were very busy And cotton was at a peak

Price-wise and machinery Was selling very well,

We might have three shifts Running in here.

Narrator: Yet the end was in sight.

In 2009, for the first time In over 150 years,

The vast halls fell silent,

No longer able to compete In a changing economic market.

Edwards: I miss the people.

I miss the people More than anything else.

I miss the people More than anything else.

It's sad to see, To go through that plant

And see the condition That it's in.

I'd like to see the industry Come back.

Narrator: locals are fighting To save what remains

Of this important Historic site.

It still faces An uncertain future.

It looks like it's going to be Converted into apartments

And office spaces rather than Being torn down entirely,

So at least The distinct architecture

So at least The distinct architecture

And some element Of the history of the site

Will be preserved, one hopes.

Narrator: in the heart Of the mediterranean sea

Sits the island of crete.

Tucked away in one of its bays

Is a tiny yet Highly dramatic islet.

*

Scott: It's such a beautiful island.

Scott: It's such a beautiful island.

This is paradise.

But as you approach, Foreboding walls loom over you.

And now it starts to take shape

That this is a fortress And a strongly built one.

So it looks like they were Defending themselves

From an outside force,

Or perhaps they were trying To keep those on the island in.

Narrator: Once inside the outer walls, Cavernous walkways and tunnels

Narrator: Once inside the outer walls, Cavernous walkways and tunnels

Lead to a mixture Of ruined stone buildings.

So who lived here, And did they interact

With the people on the mainland?

Narrator: Back then, it was forbidden For anyone to visit the island.

The truth is by the afternoon,

I couldn't wait To get out of here.

Bell: this island has become Famous now,

Yet little of the truth Is actually out there.

And when you learn about it,

You see that the government Had tried to cover it all up.

What was the secret Of this place,

What was the secret Of this place,

And why did the greek government Try so hard

To convince people That it didn't exist?

*

These imposing walls Were built

By the venetians Back in the 16th century,

And they were part of a fort, But as time went on,

These walls became used for A slightly different purpose.

This island, up until the 1900s, Was inhabited by the turks.

This island, up until the 1900s, Was inhabited by the turks.

They wanted to drive the turks From the island,

So that's why they decided It would be a good idea

To bring the lepers here So the turks would go away.

After that, a danish doctor Decided to use the island

As kind of an experiment, A clinical trial.

Narrator: this danish doctor Was the seemingly

All-powerful edvard ehlers.

He believed, like everyone At the time,

That leprosy was contagious And that after 10, 20 years,

That leprosy was contagious And that after 10, 20 years,

When all the lepers Had been sent here and died off,

The mainland would be Free of leprosy.

Narrator: this is spinalonga.

It would eventually become part Of a government cover-up,

But early in its life,

Greek lepers were rounded up And deported here.

Even the most beautiful place, If you are imprisoned within it,

Can turn into a horror.

These lepers had bells Strung around their necks

These lepers had bells Strung around their necks

To warn the healthy They were near,

And when they arrived, they were Faced with an imposing entrance.

This one, designated for lepers,

Was nicknamed dante's gate In reference to hell.

Scott: One story goes that a wife Couldn't bear to be separated

From her husband, Couldn't bear to leave him,

To have him Deported there by himself,

That she actually Injected herself with his blood

That she actually Injected herself with his blood

So that she became infected With leprosy as well.

These lepers were thrown Into a savage environment.

It was around 1910 when a girl,

A young woman That was about to get married

Was diagnosed with leprosy.

They brought her here,

But at that time life here Was extremely harsh.

Shortly after arriving, She was raped,

So what she did was she took Herself up to the tower

So what she did was she took Herself up to the tower

And committed suicide.

She would rather be dead Than live on the island.

That's how horrible it was.

Narrator: dr. Ehlers did little To alleviate

Their pain and suffering.

He offered no treatment Or medicine

And prevented news reports Of potential medical cures

From reaching The leper community.

From then onwards, Everyone was out for themselves.

Everyone would only see To their own needs,

And if they had to step On someone else, they would.

And if they had to step On someone else, they would.

*

Narrator: so what became Of these lepers,

And what revelations Would maurice unearth

When he began investigating The island in the 1960s?

*

Narrator: When writer and anthropologist Maurice born first visited

Spinalonga in 1968, It was no longer a leper colony,

And the island was forbidden To outsiders,

But he was on a mission to Reveal the island's dark past.

When I was here in crete,

Whenever I would go through The archive records,

Remoundakis' name Would keep coming up.

Remoundakis' name Would keep coming up.

Narrator: born decided To seek out this man,

Epaminondas remoundakis.

He found him at a leprosarium In athens,

Where remoundakis helped unravel The mysteries held behind

Spinalonga's towering walls, Beginning with his own story.

He had leprosy From the age of 12.

His family helped him Escape crete for athens,

Joining his brother,

Using the big city for cover, Trying to blend in.

Using the big city for cover, Trying to blend in.

He tried to get an education

So he would truant from school Or move schools

So he wouldn't be found out,

And he did manage to graduate From high school

And even got a law degree,

But then one day, His secret was discovered.

Narrator: His arrival in 1936 would have A dramatic effect on the island.

One of the first and only lepers Who could read and write,

He was asked by the others To try and lead the community,

He was asked by the others To try and lead the community,

To organize them and help Create better living conditions,

So remoundakis formed a society, The brotherhood of the sick.

First, they created A set of laws

And tried to get The whole community

Working for themselves And for each other.

They cleaned streets,

Painted the houses, Organized games and music,

And once they had gotten Their own community in order,

Remoundakis started writing Letters to the outside,

Remoundakis started writing Letters to the outside,

Trying to change people's image Of what leprosy was

And trying to campaign For better treatment

For the people stuck In this veritable prison.

Narrator: But would remoundakis and his Brotherhood ultimately manage

To escape this prison And return to their families?

Dr. Ehlers was far from pleased With the progress on show.

Auerbach: The director of the leprosarium Tried to put an end to all this.

He tried to quash any hope Amongst the residents,

And he forbade them From intimacy, but that failed.

And he forbade them From intimacy, but that failed.

The residents fell in love.

They had families, And they even had children.

Narrator: The greek orthodox religion,

With its strong emphasis On family,

Was something even dr. Ehlers Could not override,

But this arrangement Didn't last long.

In 1937, a team from athens, Including nurses,

Came to take the children away

To a newly formed orphanage In the capital.

To a newly formed orphanage In the capital.

Now surprisingly, The lepers accepted this

Because like any parent,

They wanted the best For their children,

And they thought the best lives For their children

Would be away from this island,

In a city where There was proper health care

And just the opportunities That a big city brings.

Narrator: Just a few years after letting Their children leave,

A cure became available in 1941.

Had their long years Of suffering

Finally come to an end?

Finally come to an end?

So the cure did not arrive here On the island until 1948.

Then after 6 or 7 months, Everyone was cured,

But neither the state Nor the locals,

Who were making an income Out of the island,

Wanted the lepers To leave or for spinalonga's

Leprosarium to be closed down.

Narrator: still ostracized By both state and society,

The lepers were held here Until 1957,

The lepers were held here Until 1957,

16 years after the cure Had been invented.

It was the last leper colony To close in europe

And was then forbidden, Out of bounds to the public.

For 2 years, Remoundakis worked with born,

Revealing the truth behind The island's mask,

But when maurice returned To the island in the 1980s,

He was surprised to find people Had already been there.

Someone was trying To erase the evidence.

Someone was trying To erase the evidence.

I can tell you that When I was here on the island,

All of the archived records Were here.

They were all scattered On the pharmacy's floor.

Unfortunately, I did not steal Any of them

Because now everything is lost, All of them.

No trace of the records Exists anymore.

Everything was burned In the 1980s.

But this cleanup operation went Way beyond simply burning files.

And so it happened, everything That was specially built

And so it happened, everything That was specially built

From the 1930s To the 1940s was destroyed,

And the records I'm telling you About were burned,

So today there are not Many things left.

Narrator: born believes it was Part of a larger cover-up.

But the state would lie to The world health organization.

They were making up numbers, Concealing the truth, lying.

Narrator: Ironically, the mystery Of this forbidden island

Created by this cover-up Simply served

To increase interest Among tourists,

Helping it become One of the most visited

Historical sites in crete.

Despite much of the leper Colony's evidence

Having been erased, Its legacy lives on,

In no small part Thanks to remoundakis.

Born: he died in [indistinct]

Born: he died in [indistinct]

Leprosarium in 1978 From a heart condition.

Until the end, he was still Fighting for lepers' rights.

I lost not only a good friend, But one of the most original

And sincere people I have ever met in my life.