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- [Narrator] In 1947 Major Karl Plagge,
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a former commander of a
Nazi forced labor camp
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was tried for his part in the
German occupation of Vilnius
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(gunshots banging)
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during which 100,000
Lithuanian Jews were murdered.
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(gunshot bangs)
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To everyone's surprise,
a few Jewish survivors
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of the labor camp came
to testify on his behalf.
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What they revealed was a covert operation
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set up to save the lives of
the last Jews of Vilnius.
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(dramatic music)
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In modern Vilnius commuters are oblivious
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to this low rent building complex.
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It was once called HKP,
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and it's the only Holocaust
labor camp in Europe
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that hasn't been destroyed
or turned into a memorial.
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During the second world war
hundreds were saved here.
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Hundreds more were
murdered and buried here.
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Before these old buildings are torn down
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a team of scientists, historians
and survivors converge here
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to revive the story that
was almost forgotten.
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Using the latest noninvasive technologies,
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basing themselves on survivors'
testimonies and sketches,
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they hope to unearth the mass grave
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of those who didn't make it
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and the hiding places of those who did.
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These old buildings on
the outskirts of Vilnius,
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conceal a dark secret.
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(ominous music)
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The current residents
may very well be living
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on top of the bones of
the previous occupants.
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They were Jews imprisoned by the Nazis.
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During the Holocaust, they
fought for their lives
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in the very rooms these
people live in today.
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At the time one Nazi
major called Karl Plagge
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risked his life, lying to the Nazi command
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in order to carry out a daring operation
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to save the Jews imprisoned here.
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Their story and Major Plagge's actions
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were largely unknown until Michael Good,
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an American family doctor,
found out that his mother
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was one of those saved by Major Plagge.
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- And so I just kept on
having these questions
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pop into my head, who
was this Major Plagge?
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Why would a Nazi major be running around
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and protecting and saving Jews?
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When the rest of the Germans in Vilna
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were committed to slaughtering them?
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- [Narrator] Dr. Good's ensuing research
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finally brought to light
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one of the most remarkable
stories of the Holocaust,
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about a Nazi who decided to save Jews
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by creating workshops to
fix German army vehicles
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and demanding Jewish
workers to labor in them.
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- This vehicle repair shop was
different than all of those
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other places because families, men, women
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and children were housed together.
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Plagge argued to his superiors
that they had to be together
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to make them more enthusiastic workers
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so that they would do really good work.
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So his vision of what this HKP was,
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was more than just a repair shop.
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For many of these people this
was their permit for life.
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- To really appreciate
what Karl Plagge did
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we need to go to his workshops.
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The workers, they were
totally without skills.
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They were shopkeepers,
school teachers, accountants,
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businessman, and they had
absolutely no automotive skills,
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even though Plagge had certified them
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as being skilled mechanics.
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But very quickly,
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they started to learn
more and more skills.
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And before too long,
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they actually were the skilled workers
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that Plagge claimed them to be.
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But then the SS wanted to
take the women and children
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and kill them because they were idle.
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So he made arrangements to
set up clothing workshops
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in the camp and imported sewing machines
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and put the women and
older children to work.
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- On the one hand, you have Plagge
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trying to keep a Jewish workforce alive.
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On the other side, you have
the SS who are committed
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to the destruction of all
the Jews in this vicinity.
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So what that represents
the permanent conflict
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that exists between Plagge in
particular and the SS in Vilna
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who would seek to destroy
as many Jews as possible.
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- [Narrator] But Plagge's
plan didn't always work.
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Before HKP is torn down for urban renewal,
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scientists armed with the latest
in archeological technology
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are here to identify mass graves.
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- HKP is unique in the
history of the Holocaust.
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It's still in the same form
as it was 75 years ago,
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a killing field where
people are still living.
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So this is the target
that we're looking for.
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This is the original place
where this group from July 2nd
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and July 3rd, were basically killed?
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- That's right?
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- [Narrator] According to
survivors' testimonies,
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the Nazis executed hundreds of prisoners
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on the side of the Western building.
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The bodies were then hastily
buried in shallow pits.
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- And then they moved the bodies
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from the original killing
trench to another place.
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- That's right.
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- [Narrator] After the
liberation of Vilnius,
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the corpses were exhumed
and reburied in a mass grave
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somewhere in the courtyard
between the buildings.
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- First thing is before we start anything,
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we're going to drone
the whole area, right?
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We've sort of cornered the
market on doing really good
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science in areas where you
cannot do traditional archeology.
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Noninvasive archeology means
that you can identify locations
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of where things happened
without having to excavate them.
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- First, we'll be taking high resolution,
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aerial imagery using a drone.
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So we'll be taking hundreds
of photos over the site,
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putting them together in a composite image
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with a resolution on the order
of one centimeter per pixel.
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(camera clicking)
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- [Narrator] The scientists
now discover a patch of grass
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that looks different from
the surrounding vegetation.
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- Here we clearly see this
area of stressed vegetation.
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- [Narrator] This might
indicate that an excavation
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took place in the area,
maybe to dig a mass grave.
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- Okay so 40 meter line.
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- [Narrator] They now deploy
ground penetrating radar
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or GPR, to see what lies underneath.
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- We're trying to locate
a mass burial site.
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The hypothesis we have here is
that bodies were moved here,
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potentially around this
building, placed in here
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and then covered up
for their final burial.
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And so what we're doing here
is using ground penetrating
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radar to image into the subsurface.
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- [Narrator] FM radio
waves are transmitted
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from the device into the soil.
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By measuring how quickly the signals
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are reflected back to the
unit, GPR can reveal figures
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in the ground that don't look natural.
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The GPR data will take
several days to analyze,
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only then will they
know if they've located
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the victims of HKP.
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Karl Plagge was born in Darmstadt Germany.
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He grew up here as a German nationalist.
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- There is a tradition in the
family to be in the military
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and to be a very loyal
subject to the government
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and to want best for the country.
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- He was old enough to serve
in the first world war.
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He was captured by the
British, becomes a POW
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for three years, was sent home in 1920.
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And then in the 1920s, his family undergo
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exactly the same privations
as most German families
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do during the German inflation,
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where their savings were
more than likely wiped out.
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- He wanted to be a doctor
but he couldn't pay the fee
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and therefore he was engineer.
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He didn't want to construct things,
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he wanted to cure people, to help people.
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- He's unusual in the sense
that he joins the Nazi party
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in 1931, which is very early
for somebody taking that step.
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- He was convinced that
Hitler and his promise
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to bring would be a kind of solution.
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He was also unemployed
and Hitler also promised
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to bring those thousands and thousands
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of unemployed back to work.
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- When we get to 1940,
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he's drafted in to form part
of this engineering facility,
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which ultimately brings him to Vilnius.
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- [Narrator] It was here
that he stopped identifying
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with the Nazis.
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(gunshots banging)
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At the time, the SS was in
the process of murdering
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the 100,000 Jews of Vilnius.
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Karl Plagge was horrified
by the atrocities committed
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by his people and their
local Lithuanian helpers.
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He decided that he must do
something to help the Jews.
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As he wrote, "I decided
to work against the Nazis.
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I saw unbelievable things. I was ashamed."
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- [Sidney] So we came
here in September of '43.
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- [Narrator] Dr. Good now
invites Sidney Handler
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to join him at the site.
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Sydney is 84 old. He was
nine when he moved into HKP.
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Some parts of these buildings
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haven't been explored since 1944.
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- We lived around here someplace.
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So I was nine and there were
other children in the camp.
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- Were you aware that there were
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any other children who survived?
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- No. I had no knowledge of that.
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See the hallways, Michael?
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That's exactly what we had before.
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Let's try a door here, maybe
we can see one of these.
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(knocking on door)
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- Doesn't look like anybody's home.
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- Let's see if we can get in here Michael.
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(knocking on door)
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Hi. Gracia?
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May we come in.
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(woman speaking foreign language)
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This was it Michael, this was it.
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About four families here.
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- Four families?
- Four families.
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Eight people, they had bunk beds.
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- Bunk beds.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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It was all tiny, tiny.
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Do you know what happened
here during the war?
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- [Narrator] To find evidence
of the execution pits
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the scientists now deploy
another scanning technology
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known as electrical
resistivity tomography, or ERT.
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- This box connected to
our array of 81 electrodes
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will measure the resistivity of the ground
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along the entire length of 40 meters
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to a depth of six or seven meters.
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- [Narrator] The control unit
powered by an electrical car
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battery fires hundreds
of electrical pulses
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through the metal spikes into the ground.
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It measures the way soil
conducts electricity
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and creates a map,
distinguishing natural soil
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and manmade disturbances
like killing pits.
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- There is an eye witness
testimony that there was a trench
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that was dug in this general
area behind this building here.
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And we want to see
evidence of that trench.
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So we want to see where
the ground was dug into
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and where it was backfilled.
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- And we have that
information from testimony.
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And we also have it from the
bullet holes at head height
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behind me and all along
the wall of this building.
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- [Narrator] For years,
Major Plagge worked
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to make sure no harm
befell his Jewish workers.
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For the most part, he was successful.
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- Plagge had really set up a
very unusual atmosphere here.
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He gathered around him a group of officers
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who were like minded,
and he gave them orders
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that the civilians should
be treated with respect.
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So there was no brutality.
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There are no tales of
Jewish workers being beaten
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or savaged within the Plagge workshops.
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He went to great efforts
to try to get more food
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because the SS was allowing
only starvation rations.
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He got firewood for them so
they didn't freeze to death
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during these winters, and
he actually found doctors
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so that they wouldn't get disease.
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He thought of a lot of details.
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- [Narrator] Plagge
feared that one day the SS
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would get the better of him
and remove him from his post.
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To prepare for that moment
he allowed the inmates
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to build secret spaces called malinas
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in which they would be
able to hide and survive.
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The archeologists have
expanded their work.
250
00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,840
They're now not only
looking for the mass graves,
251
00:15:57,840 --> 00:15:59,793
but for the malinas as well.
252
00:16:03,860 --> 00:16:07,010
Paul and Alastair are in one
of the apartments on the ground
253
00:16:07,010 --> 00:16:11,610
floor, looking for remnants
of one of these hiding places.
254
00:16:11,610 --> 00:16:14,710
- So we're going to use radar
to look through the floor
255
00:16:14,710 --> 00:16:16,950
inch by inch to see if there's a shaft
256
00:16:16,950 --> 00:16:18,450
leading into the malina below.
257
00:16:19,740 --> 00:16:21,990
- [Narrator] According
to survivors testimony
258
00:16:21,990 --> 00:16:24,480
it was underneath what is now a kitchen.
259
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,480
- 15 centimeters below the surface here.
260
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:28,020
- [Narrator] To see below the floor,
261
00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:32,163
they deploy a Conquest 100
concrete imaging device.
262
00:16:33,010 --> 00:16:35,750
Using radio waves it works in the same way
263
00:16:35,750 --> 00:16:38,133
as the larger ground penetrating radar.
264
00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:42,920
Concrete imaging is used
to scan smaller surfaces
265
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,773
and provides a detailed view
inside walls and floors.
266
00:16:48,020 --> 00:16:51,980
- So here we have feature
that's, about 15 inches,
267
00:16:51,980 --> 00:16:54,770
18 inches by 18 inches.
268
00:16:54,770 --> 00:16:57,640
- So on the grid there
that's pretty small.
269
00:16:57,640 --> 00:16:59,358
- It's small, but it's big enough.
270
00:16:59,358 --> 00:17:01,280
- Big enough to get your hips through.
271
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,410
- Well we don't have anything
that definitively looks
272
00:17:03,410 --> 00:17:06,690
like a shaft, but we do
have what clearly looks
273
00:17:06,690 --> 00:17:11,000
like some square framing, big
enough for an adult to fit in.
274
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,430
It's not to say that this was
the entrance to the shaft,
275
00:17:13,430 --> 00:17:14,823
but it could be.
276
00:17:15,730 --> 00:17:18,000
- [Narrator] The result is not conclusive,
277
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,580
but it suggests that there
might still be spaces
278
00:17:20,580 --> 00:17:24,570
beneath the building that haven't
been filled with concrete.
279
00:17:24,570 --> 00:17:27,600
- It's exactly at this
location on the template,
280
00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:28,433
on the floor.
281
00:17:29,740 --> 00:17:32,878
- [Narrator] For over two
years, Plagge's plan worked.
282
00:17:32,878 --> 00:17:37,657
Both he and the Jews
of HKP began to believe
283
00:17:37,657 --> 00:17:42,390
that the families under his
protection would survive.
284
00:17:42,390 --> 00:17:45,400
That's when he allowed
himself to go on leave
285
00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,370
to see his family,
286
00:17:47,370 --> 00:17:50,633
a decision that would haunt
him for the rest of his life.
287
00:17:57,740 --> 00:18:02,740
- There was a Kinder
Action, a child capture.
288
00:18:04,620 --> 00:18:08,393
- It actually occurred in all
the camps across Lithuania.
289
00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,883
It was March 27th, 1944.
290
00:18:14,358 --> 00:18:17,025
(ominous music)
291
00:18:18,690 --> 00:18:22,840
Early in the morning, after
the men had gone to work,
292
00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:27,470
the SS surrounded the camp
with Lithuanian SS troops,
293
00:18:27,470 --> 00:18:31,410
and then began coming into the buildings,
294
00:18:31,410 --> 00:18:33,956
yelling that the children
295
00:18:33,956 --> 00:18:38,053
must present themselves for vaccinations.
296
00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,120
- The SS take advantage
of Karl Plagge's absence
297
00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:52,320
to mount a raid on these
premises, on these buildings
298
00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,503
to roust out all the children.
299
00:18:59,580 --> 00:19:01,440
- We knew that the
front wasn't going well.
300
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,330
And by that time my father was gone,
301
00:19:03,330 --> 00:19:06,667
my brother was gone, everybody was gone.
302
00:19:06,667 --> 00:19:10,260
Everybody had lost family
here already in the camp.
303
00:19:10,260 --> 00:19:13,673
So it was nothing that
we didn't expect exactly.
304
00:19:14,950 --> 00:19:17,457
The final finish to our lives.
305
00:19:17,457 --> 00:19:19,957
(tense music)
306
00:19:27,100 --> 00:19:31,250
- The mothers were just frantic, fighting.
307
00:19:31,250 --> 00:19:35,523
They were being beaten off
and smashed with rifles.
308
00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,340
The SS men took the children by their feet
309
00:19:40,340 --> 00:19:45,060
and flung them into the truck
so that they landed head down
310
00:19:45,060 --> 00:19:46,430
and smashed their heads
311
00:19:46,430 --> 00:19:49,763
and they could hear the
children crying in pain.
312
00:19:51,610 --> 00:19:53,510
- My mother and I came down the stairs
313
00:19:54,380 --> 00:19:59,380
and there was a guard up there,
there was a guard down here.
314
00:19:59,740 --> 00:20:03,090
My mother saw the closet open
315
00:20:03,090 --> 00:20:06,610
and she just pushed me
in there with her tush.
316
00:20:06,610 --> 00:20:10,190
And I stayed in this closet all day long,
317
00:20:10,190 --> 00:20:14,000
including the time some
German soldier came by here
318
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,403
and shoved their bayonet into that closet.
319
00:20:18,747 --> 00:20:20,910
The bayonet went right by me.
320
00:20:20,910 --> 00:20:24,280
And I was so scared.
I didn't utter a word.
321
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:25,703
I defecated my pants.
322
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,433
- My father used to go
out to work every morning.
323
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,790
That morning when the Kinder Action was on
324
00:20:39,790 --> 00:20:41,113
he didn't go out to work.
325
00:20:41,950 --> 00:20:44,610
He had a feeling that he has to stay home
326
00:20:44,610 --> 00:20:45,633
and take care of me.
327
00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:51,023
And he hid me on the top of the roof.
328
00:21:29,368 --> 00:21:33,035
- He put me on the roof
and I held myself up
329
00:21:34,941 --> 00:21:39,323
on the cantements of the roof.
330
00:21:40,620 --> 00:21:45,620
And I sat on the roof when
the Action was going on,
331
00:21:45,810 --> 00:21:49,303
when they were taking the
children to be killed.
332
00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,423
And I was saved on top of the roof.
333
00:21:54,430 --> 00:21:59,060
And I laid there from
the morning till evening.
334
00:21:59,060 --> 00:22:00,230
- And the door stayed open.
335
00:22:00,230 --> 00:22:03,680
I heard every child that
came down the stairs.
336
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,050
Every mother came down
the stairs I heard them.
337
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:14,010
And that's all I remember is
the mother's crying, crying,
338
00:22:14,010 --> 00:22:18,843
crying, crying, because the
kids were taken away from them.
339
00:22:18,843 --> 00:22:21,760
(distant shouting)
340
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,190
- The men had no idea what
was happening at the camp.
341
00:23:19,190 --> 00:23:22,600
And so at the end of the
day, when they returned home,
342
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,473
they came home to just a horrible scene.
343
00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:30,143
The women were wailing
and crying and weeping.
344
00:23:35,500 --> 00:23:40,500
The survivors describe this horrible cry
345
00:23:40,610 --> 00:23:42,900
emanating from the camp
that you could hear
346
00:23:42,900 --> 00:23:45,130
from every corner of the neighborhood.
347
00:23:45,130 --> 00:23:47,773
And this crying went on for days and days.
348
00:23:50,580 --> 00:23:53,760
This traumatic event was so horrific
349
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,030
that the parents were just unable,
350
00:23:57,030 --> 00:24:00,713
just unable to bring themselves
to get up and come to work.
351
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,560
And I think that these
women wouldn't have cared
352
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,823
if the SS threatened to shoot them,
353
00:24:07,674 --> 00:24:09,003
they just could not go on.
354
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,090
And so for three days after March 27th,
355
00:24:15,090 --> 00:24:16,443
the workshops were empty.
356
00:24:19,630 --> 00:24:22,223
- In the evening when
the Germans already left,
357
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:28,680
I went down and my father
came up to take me.
358
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,700
And then my father looked
for a place to hid me.
359
00:24:33,700 --> 00:24:35,883
So they wouldn't take me away.
360
00:24:37,410 --> 00:24:41,330
- After the Kinder Action,
any child who remained,
361
00:24:41,330 --> 00:24:44,090
had to be hidden from view,
362
00:24:44,090 --> 00:24:48,090
they couldn't let them
be seen by any Germans,
363
00:24:48,090 --> 00:24:50,630
because there were
supposed to be no children
364
00:24:50,630 --> 00:24:52,090
in the camp anymore.
365
00:25:20,830 --> 00:25:24,340
- Karl Plagge felt guilty
that he was in Darmstadt
366
00:25:24,340 --> 00:25:28,360
at the time when the Kinder
Action took place there.
367
00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:30,510
And he thought that if he had been there,
368
00:25:30,510 --> 00:25:33,060
he could have done something.
369
00:25:33,060 --> 00:25:34,100
He did not know what,
370
00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:37,373
but he thought he could
have done something.
371
00:25:38,630 --> 00:25:41,100
- [Narrator] Plagge returned to HKP
372
00:25:41,100 --> 00:25:44,163
where the situation continued to unravel.
373
00:25:48,030 --> 00:25:51,710
With the SS gaining ground it
was apparent that the malinas
374
00:25:51,710 --> 00:25:55,173
would be the last resort
for the Jews of HKP.
375
00:25:57,510 --> 00:25:59,660
Paul and Alister continue to search
376
00:25:59,660 --> 00:26:01,340
for these hiding places.
377
00:26:01,340 --> 00:26:03,990
This time they're looking at the basement
378
00:26:03,990 --> 00:26:05,723
underneath the old buildings.
379
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:08,543
- That's old newspapers.
380
00:26:09,470 --> 00:26:12,790
- [Narrator] Using a micro
CA-25 inspection camera,
381
00:26:12,790 --> 00:26:15,340
commonly called plumber's camera
382
00:26:15,340 --> 00:26:18,143
Paul can see through cracks
in the basement walls.
383
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:20,800
- Anything behind the walls?
384
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,130
- Not yet, it's pretty
constant temperatures.
385
00:26:25,470 --> 00:26:28,070
- [Narrator] Alastair uses
a thermal imaging camera
386
00:26:28,070 --> 00:26:30,823
in an attempt to detect
voids behind the walls.
387
00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:34,470
If there is a malina in
there, it will show up
388
00:26:34,470 --> 00:26:36,793
as a different color on the device.
389
00:26:39,379 --> 00:26:42,050
- I got a gap in the wall here Paul.
390
00:26:42,050 --> 00:26:43,350
Drops a couple of degrees.
391
00:26:46,540 --> 00:26:48,030
- Look at that.
- Oh, it's a bolt.
392
00:26:48,030 --> 00:26:49,490
- It's a bolt just sitting on the floor,
393
00:26:49,490 --> 00:26:52,019
but that's brickwork in there.
394
00:26:52,019 --> 00:26:53,980
I think it's the real thing.
395
00:26:53,980 --> 00:26:57,000
Yes. I think there's a whole
lot of room back there.
396
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:58,320
Seriously. Look.
397
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,663
It keeps going way back
and you can see brickwork.
398
00:27:01,630 --> 00:27:03,300
So this is really interesting.
399
00:27:03,300 --> 00:27:05,050
There's no entrance into this room.
400
00:27:08,017 --> 00:27:09,783
Oh, so I think we found a malina.
401
00:27:14,490 --> 00:27:17,191
- I can't believe I'm
going up to the attic.
402
00:27:17,191 --> 00:27:22,191
I haven't been there since '44.
403
00:27:24,871 --> 00:27:27,371
(tense music)
404
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,470
- The beginning of the
end started on July 1st.
405
00:27:32,470 --> 00:27:34,831
The Soviets were coming
in and it was clear
406
00:27:34,831 --> 00:27:39,410
that the battle for Vilnius
was going to take place.
407
00:27:39,410 --> 00:27:42,590
And the Nazis had to
leave as little evidence
408
00:27:42,590 --> 00:27:43,690
of what happened here.
409
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:49,880
- The SS tightened the
guards around the camp.
410
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,550
And at a certain point,
none of the men were allowed
411
00:27:52,550 --> 00:27:54,550
to leave the camp to go to work anymore.
412
00:27:54,550 --> 00:27:57,060
Everybody was just trapped in the camp.
413
00:27:57,060 --> 00:27:59,220
So they knew that they were penned up,
414
00:27:59,220 --> 00:28:01,023
like animals awaiting slaughter.
415
00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,600
- In the end with Germany losing the war,
416
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:08,080
with the front coming closer and closer,
417
00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,960
whatever efforts Plagge has
put into this environment
418
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,120
and into this site are
going to be lost anyway.
419
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:16,560
All he can hope for is
that some of the people
420
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,400
that are still sheltering
in these buildings
421
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,500
somehow find a way to stay
out of the hands of the SS
422
00:28:21,500 --> 00:28:24,013
for long enough to be
liberated by the red army.
423
00:28:27,490 --> 00:28:30,250
- [Narrator] Under the
watchful eye of the SS,
424
00:28:30,250 --> 00:28:33,810
Plagge now told the inmates
that he was being sent away
425
00:28:33,810 --> 00:28:38,260
and that the SS was going
to take over the camp.
426
00:28:38,260 --> 00:28:41,190
- And he says, well, we
had wanted to take you
427
00:28:41,190 --> 00:28:43,910
our very skilled workers with us,
428
00:28:43,910 --> 00:28:46,620
but unfortunately this is not possible,
429
00:28:46,620 --> 00:28:50,980
but you shouldn't worry because
you too will be evacuated.
430
00:28:50,980 --> 00:28:55,450
And during your relocation,
you will be escorted by the SS,
431
00:28:55,450 --> 00:28:57,800
which as you know, is
an organization devoted
432
00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:00,310
to the protection of refugees.
433
00:29:00,310 --> 00:29:04,810
When the Jews heard this, they
understood the coded message.
434
00:29:04,810 --> 00:29:08,040
The SS was coming for them on Monday.
435
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,273
And the time to go into hiding was now.
436
00:29:17,750 --> 00:29:20,200
- [Narrator] About half
of the 1000 prisoners
437
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,073
that were left, went
into their hiding places.
438
00:29:24,210 --> 00:29:27,180
The other half showed up for roll call,
439
00:29:27,180 --> 00:29:29,880
hoping the SS wouldn't murder them
440
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,720
with the red army about
to roll into Vilna.
441
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,980
But everyone who showed up was executed
442
00:29:36,980 --> 00:29:41,100
in the Ponary forest, where
the Nazis were in the process
443
00:29:41,100 --> 00:29:46,100
of murdering the last of
the 100,000 Jews of Vilna.
444
00:29:46,410 --> 00:29:48,640
- [Michael] Now 500
prisoners were missing.
445
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:53,470
And so the SS began to search
and tear apart the camp
446
00:29:53,470 --> 00:29:56,320
looking for their missing Jews
so they could murder them.
447
00:30:10,950 --> 00:30:14,513
- Michael, it hasn't changed in 73 years.
448
00:30:15,660 --> 00:30:17,040
- So where were you guys hiding?
449
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,670
- We were hiding underneath the floor.
450
00:30:20,670 --> 00:30:23,213
There were floorboards here.
451
00:30:24,230 --> 00:30:25,630
- There was a space under the floorboards-
452
00:30:25,630 --> 00:30:28,320
- There was space that was cut out.
453
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,410
It was about this high
and we'd just lay there.
454
00:30:31,410 --> 00:30:34,580
The door was open. When we
heard anybody come up here,
455
00:30:34,580 --> 00:30:37,330
we'd just lift up the
boards and put them over us.
456
00:30:37,330 --> 00:30:41,423
Other than that, we just lay
there and lay there for days.
457
00:32:07,620 --> 00:32:09,350
- In the attic it was hot as hell.
458
00:32:09,350 --> 00:32:12,093
Must have been 110, 145 degrees.
459
00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:17,397
I recommended we uncover
the boards with wood
460
00:32:17,397 --> 00:32:18,993
just to get the fresh air.
461
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:20,753
- What could you hear?
462
00:32:20,753 --> 00:32:22,028
What was going on?
463
00:32:22,028 --> 00:32:24,170
- We could hear everything
that was going on downstairs.
464
00:32:24,170 --> 00:32:25,950
Don't forget the door was open.
465
00:32:25,950 --> 00:32:27,620
We could hear people speaking.
466
00:32:27,620 --> 00:32:30,140
We could hear what was
going on in the courtyard.
467
00:32:30,140 --> 00:32:32,040
Mostly what we heard in the courtyard
468
00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:35,290
was the machine gun
being fired constantly.
469
00:32:35,290 --> 00:32:38,000
- It sounds like as they discovered people
470
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,010
in their hiding place,
they would haul them out.
471
00:32:41,010 --> 00:32:46,010
- That's all we could hear
was crying, screaming,
472
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,344
machine gun, silence.
473
00:32:49,344 --> 00:32:51,927
(somber music)
474
00:32:53,590 --> 00:32:55,573
We heard somebody running up the steps.
475
00:32:56,530 --> 00:32:59,980
Guy ran up. We had no idea who it was.
476
00:32:59,980 --> 00:33:03,067
Looked out the window
and he got a bullet hole
477
00:33:03,067 --> 00:33:06,383
right in his head.
Dropped down right here.
478
00:33:07,334 --> 00:33:09,320
We heard again, the steps.
479
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,493
Now, these were boots
running up the stairs,
480
00:33:14,710 --> 00:33:18,453
we covered up again with the wood.
481
00:33:19,850 --> 00:33:22,023
We could see it was a German soldier.
482
00:33:27,623 --> 00:33:30,260
We could see the guy's boots.
483
00:33:30,260 --> 00:33:34,000
Came up, ran up here, looked at the body.
484
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,873
Looked around. Nobody else was here, left.
485
00:33:41,010 --> 00:33:43,933
We could smell the body
for days afterwards.
486
00:34:10,695 --> 00:34:12,660
- I remember these, excuse my language,
487
00:34:12,660 --> 00:34:15,413
I remember these fucking stairs everyday.
488
00:34:16,723 --> 00:34:20,825
Every fucking day I remember these stairs.
489
00:34:20,825 --> 00:34:22,654
I'm in the car alone. I think about it.
490
00:34:22,654 --> 00:34:25,230
I'm in the shower, I think about it.
491
00:34:25,230 --> 00:34:26,723
It just goes on and on and on.
492
00:34:31,782 --> 00:34:33,365
There's no closure.
493
00:34:34,630 --> 00:34:37,480
That's a word invented by people
494
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:39,723
that never experienced bad times.
495
00:34:50,969 --> 00:34:52,019
The Russians came in.
496
00:34:54,507 --> 00:34:56,830
We were in a shock.
497
00:34:56,830 --> 00:35:00,310
I mean, absolutely in a shock,
you didn't know what to do.
498
00:35:00,310 --> 00:35:03,520
You didn't know where to turn, what to do.
499
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:04,723
Just shocked.
500
00:35:07,430 --> 00:35:09,220
- When the Jews did emerge,
501
00:35:09,220 --> 00:35:12,080
they found that there was a
trench that was filled with dead
502
00:35:12,080 --> 00:35:15,830
bodies and had a very thin
layer of dirt on them.
503
00:35:15,830 --> 00:35:18,470
But you could actually see
arms and legs sticking out
504
00:35:18,470 --> 00:35:21,040
and people could recognize
some of their friends
505
00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:22,680
and relatives in that trench.
506
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:25,330
And then there were bodies and corpses
507
00:35:25,330 --> 00:35:27,513
just strewn throughout the courtyard.
508
00:35:29,220 --> 00:35:32,763
- The tremors didn't have
enough time to dig a deep grave.
509
00:35:33,730 --> 00:35:35,850
So after the Russians came in,
510
00:35:35,850 --> 00:35:39,613
we came back here to rebury them.
511
00:35:41,750 --> 00:35:45,150
The bodies were swollen from the heat.
512
00:35:45,150 --> 00:35:48,583
Pulled them out, dug a deeper
grave and pulled them back in.
513
00:35:51,710 --> 00:35:52,713
I was 10 years old.
514
00:35:54,070 --> 00:35:57,973
I've seen more dead people
than you can imagine.
515
00:36:09,190 --> 00:36:10,190
- Hello.
516
00:36:10,190 --> 00:36:13,620
- [Narrator] Michael, now gets
his son Jonathan to join him.
517
00:36:13,620 --> 00:36:16,130
Maybe they can find
the actual hiding place
518
00:36:16,130 --> 00:36:17,947
of Michael's mother, Pearl.
519
00:36:18,950 --> 00:36:22,400
Armed with homemade sketches
based on the memory of family
520
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:26,343
members, they now embark on
their own personal search.
521
00:36:28,950 --> 00:36:30,860
- [Michael] This is building number two.
522
00:36:30,860 --> 00:36:32,830
The memoir say that grandma's apartment
523
00:36:32,830 --> 00:36:34,410
was on the first floor,
524
00:36:34,410 --> 00:36:36,770
which for Europeans means the first floor
525
00:36:36,770 --> 00:36:37,890
above the ground floor.
526
00:36:37,890 --> 00:36:41,720
- So if we want to find
mom's malina entrance,
527
00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:44,070
that's underneath the stairs.
528
00:36:44,070 --> 00:36:45,773
Well, let's go find the staircase.
529
00:36:49,770 --> 00:36:52,170
- [Jonathan] Alright.
This is all new down here.
530
00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:02,360
That's not new.
531
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:03,690
- Holy shit.
532
00:37:03,690 --> 00:37:05,790
It looks like there's a light switch here.
533
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:08,710
Watch your step, Johnny.
534
00:37:08,710 --> 00:37:10,110
- [Jonathan] Thank you, Pop.
535
00:37:18,607 --> 00:37:21,873
- Alright. let's try to figure
out what's going on here.
536
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:24,640
- Well, I mean, it might've been this,
537
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:26,483
if this pipe wasn't here.
538
00:37:29,330 --> 00:37:31,830
- This could be it. This is like a space.
539
00:37:31,830 --> 00:37:35,870
So according to the drawing,
this wall was solid.
540
00:37:35,870 --> 00:37:38,500
Read to me what grandpa had to say.
541
00:37:38,500 --> 00:37:41,190
- Working diligently we
blocked off the farthest room
542
00:37:41,190 --> 00:37:44,750
in the basement by a brick wall
and excavated an underground
543
00:37:44,750 --> 00:37:48,210
passage to gain access
to this isolated space.
544
00:37:48,210 --> 00:37:50,240
For this we had to chisel a large hole
545
00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:52,340
through the stone foundation of the house.
546
00:37:54,030 --> 00:37:56,020
Well, is it hollow?
547
00:37:56,020 --> 00:37:56,853
- Let's see.
548
00:37:57,788 --> 00:37:59,120
(thudding)
549
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:00,250
Listen to that.
550
00:38:02,660 --> 00:38:05,350
This could be where the
hole was that extended
551
00:38:05,350 --> 00:38:09,210
down under the foundation
and into this space.
552
00:38:09,210 --> 00:38:11,960
So let's go take a walk and
see what we find down here.
553
00:38:36,540 --> 00:38:37,390
- How's this way.
554
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:43,533
- This is like Indiana Jones and son.
555
00:38:45,690 --> 00:38:49,730
So this whole space in here
must've been the malina.
556
00:38:49,730 --> 00:38:51,180
- Keep the light right there.
557
00:38:59,630 --> 00:39:00,463
Move the light.
558
00:39:03,730 --> 00:39:05,403
Oh yeah, yeah, that's totally it.
559
00:39:14,330 --> 00:39:17,810
- So if we imagine that
this is a solid wall,
560
00:39:17,810 --> 00:39:20,490
how was an SS man going to
ever get in there right?
561
00:39:20,490 --> 00:39:23,490
So the key was the trap door.
562
00:39:23,490 --> 00:39:24,670
- Yeah. This is a good target.
563
00:39:24,670 --> 00:39:27,380
We could do a small localized radar survey
564
00:39:27,380 --> 00:39:30,630
to see if the remnants of
the shaft are still there.
565
00:39:30,630 --> 00:39:32,973
And going through this
hole to the other side.
566
00:39:38,260 --> 00:39:42,513
I think these pipes seem to
carry through to the next room.
567
00:39:45,550 --> 00:39:47,090
- We're using ground penetrating radar.
568
00:39:47,090 --> 00:39:50,040
We use FM radio waves or
electromagnetic waves,
569
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:53,023
just like we have on our
radios to look into the ground.
570
00:39:57,780 --> 00:40:00,460
- Using a plumbers inspection camera,
571
00:40:00,460 --> 00:40:03,390
to poke into all the
little cracks and spaces
572
00:40:03,390 --> 00:40:05,530
and behind bricks and through debris
573
00:40:05,530 --> 00:40:08,073
to see what might be
there, what we might find.
574
00:40:13,670 --> 00:40:17,080
- So what we're seeing is
a cut coming through here.
575
00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,330
If layering does not
connect up or gets broken,
576
00:40:20,330 --> 00:40:22,730
we can indicate that something
human has caused that
577
00:40:22,730 --> 00:40:25,290
in those areas, based on the descriptions,
578
00:40:25,290 --> 00:40:26,930
this would be that site.
579
00:40:26,930 --> 00:40:28,590
It would match up to those descriptions
580
00:40:28,590 --> 00:40:31,003
of having a shaft or a hole at the site.
581
00:40:38,620 --> 00:40:41,170
- Wow. Looks like an old shoe.
582
00:40:41,170 --> 00:40:44,323
Feels like a wooden shoe,
but it's a shoe mold.
583
00:40:46,490 --> 00:40:47,340
Wow. What's that?
584
00:40:50,590 --> 00:40:53,860
It's a wagon and it is so primitive.
585
00:40:53,860 --> 00:40:56,520
It's like scrap pieces
of wood punched out of,
586
00:40:56,520 --> 00:41:00,550
maybe for some piping that
some kid pulled together,
587
00:41:00,550 --> 00:41:03,260
a rusty nail for an axle,
588
00:41:03,260 --> 00:41:05,110
some copper wire to bind it together.
589
00:41:05,110 --> 00:41:06,943
And the wheels still spin.
590
00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:11,990
This is definitely something
a kid stuck in a hole
591
00:41:11,990 --> 00:41:14,753
for a few days would have taken with him.
592
00:41:21,370 --> 00:41:23,970
- This is really a significant find.
593
00:41:23,970 --> 00:41:28,340
It really speaks to a
very specific time period
594
00:41:28,340 --> 00:41:31,480
when people were making
these types of carts
595
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:32,880
for children to play with
596
00:41:34,460 --> 00:41:38,130
in a very specific
place inside the malina.
597
00:41:38,130 --> 00:41:40,600
And maybe that it was actually constructed
598
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:42,943
in this place where they had workshops.
599
00:41:44,300 --> 00:41:47,280
We have very little of the types of things
600
00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:49,710
that we call toys for children
601
00:41:49,710 --> 00:41:51,343
would play during the Holocaust,
602
00:41:52,190 --> 00:41:57,190
Their toys tell us more
about their lives than any
603
00:41:57,380 --> 00:42:01,483
of the other bigger issues
that we find at these sites.
604
00:42:03,210 --> 00:42:08,210
- So this is it, Jonathan,
this is where they hid.
605
00:42:09,010 --> 00:42:11,910
They had originally planned
to have about 35 people
606
00:42:11,910 --> 00:42:16,460
hiding in this space,
but desperate neighbors
607
00:42:16,460 --> 00:42:19,889
and people looking for a hiding
place forced their way in.
608
00:42:19,889 --> 00:42:24,800
And there were a hundred people
packed into these footings.
609
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:28,330
They couldn't breathe.
People were hallucinating,
610
00:42:28,330 --> 00:42:30,610
people were attacking each other.
611
00:42:30,610 --> 00:42:32,323
It was just this horrible scene.
612
00:42:33,860 --> 00:42:38,230
So in the end, when the
Russian army liberated Vilna
613
00:42:38,230 --> 00:42:41,280
from the Germans and occupied the town
614
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:43,688
about 250 Jews emerged
615
00:42:43,688 --> 00:42:47,130
from their hiding places in this building.
616
00:42:47,130 --> 00:42:50,150
And they represent the single
largest group of survivors
617
00:42:50,150 --> 00:42:51,573
of the Holocaust in Vilna.
618
00:42:53,100 --> 00:42:56,500
Just think, Jonathan, this
hole that they managed
619
00:42:56,500 --> 00:43:00,193
to find and secure is
what allowed us to live.
620
00:43:14,010 --> 00:43:16,190
- [Narrator] After days of data analysis,
621
00:43:16,190 --> 00:43:19,160
the scientists conclude
their investigation
622
00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:21,970
and the search for the mass graves.
623
00:43:21,970 --> 00:43:24,980
They've combined the
results from different scans
624
00:43:24,980 --> 00:43:29,340
and incorporated them into
one 3D map of the area.
625
00:43:29,340 --> 00:43:33,030
First, they address the
findings at the western building
626
00:43:33,030 --> 00:43:35,850
were executions reportedly took place
627
00:43:35,850 --> 00:43:39,650
along with temporary
burials in shallow pits.
628
00:43:39,650 --> 00:43:44,060
Incredibly science
confirms the oral history.
629
00:43:44,060 --> 00:43:47,538
- We investigated where their
were rumored to be two pits
630
00:43:47,538 --> 00:43:51,090
where people were either lined
up and shot into these pits
631
00:43:51,090 --> 00:43:53,610
or dead bodies were
dragged into these pits.
632
00:43:53,610 --> 00:43:57,580
Here's the Keller tomography model.
633
00:43:57,580 --> 00:43:59,850
We can see the dark red areas here
634
00:43:59,850 --> 00:44:01,650
are where you have the natural sand,
635
00:44:01,650 --> 00:44:04,520
but we can see where that
sand has been cut into
636
00:44:04,520 --> 00:44:07,500
to a depth of about two
and a half, three meters.
637
00:44:07,500 --> 00:44:11,280
So we have two distinct pits here.
638
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:13,720
One that's about 15 meters long here.
639
00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:15,853
And another one about 10 meters long here.
640
00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:19,783
We also have evidence that
there are bullet holes there.
641
00:44:21,370 --> 00:44:22,780
- [Narrator] Alastair now addresses
642
00:44:22,780 --> 00:44:26,330
the ground penetrating radar
results in the courtyard
643
00:44:26,330 --> 00:44:28,743
where they were searching
for the mass grave.
644
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:31,760
- In the area between the buildings
645
00:44:31,760 --> 00:44:35,100
we see the same features
that we saw in building two.
646
00:44:35,100 --> 00:44:38,060
And that is the sand has been cut into.
647
00:44:38,060 --> 00:44:40,880
It's been back-filled
with some other material.
648
00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:43,650
In the same location we
have anecdotal evidence
649
00:44:43,650 --> 00:44:46,450
of bones that were uncovered
during the installation
650
00:44:46,450 --> 00:44:48,593
of the heating pipes 15 years ago.
651
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:52,860
Combine those two pieces
of information we think
652
00:44:52,860 --> 00:44:55,370
we are looking at a mass grave.
653
00:44:55,370 --> 00:44:58,803
It's highly likely that there
are still bodies in that area.
654
00:45:05,730 --> 00:45:10,730
- Karl Plagge came back to a
totally destroyed Darnstadt.
655
00:45:14,899 --> 00:45:19,040
And he was quite sure that
everybody died in Vilnius.
656
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:24,040
And that was really on his
mind and on his conscience.
657
00:45:30,210 --> 00:45:32,750
- [Narrator] After the
war Plagge was tried
658
00:45:32,750 --> 00:45:35,720
as an accomplice in war crimes.
659
00:45:35,720 --> 00:45:39,450
He didn't defend himself,
but some Jewish survivors
660
00:45:39,450 --> 00:45:44,450
of HKP came forward to
testify on his behalf.
661
00:45:44,610 --> 00:45:46,933
As a result, he was acquitted.
662
00:45:48,010 --> 00:45:52,543
But unlike others, he did
not feel absolved from guilt.
663
00:46:13,539 --> 00:46:17,307
- Plagge never spoke about
what happened during the war
664
00:46:17,307 --> 00:46:19,973
and he never spoke about what he did.
665
00:46:22,570 --> 00:46:27,570
He thought it was his duty and
he didn't do it well enough
666
00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,453
because so many died.
667
00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:39,890
- [Narrator] Konrad
commemorates his godfather
668
00:46:39,890 --> 00:46:41,690
who went to his grave
669
00:46:41,690 --> 00:46:44,453
never knowing that he had saved hundreds.
670
00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:15,830
- We are always told that
a single ordinary man
671
00:47:15,830 --> 00:47:19,517
cannot make any difference
and of course that is true
672
00:47:19,517 --> 00:47:22,440
if you see it from the global perspective,
673
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:25,110
but it is also true that a single person
674
00:47:25,110 --> 00:47:28,950
can make a big difference as
my grand uncle Karl Plagge did
675
00:47:28,950 --> 00:47:32,323
when he saved here, the
lives of over 250 people.
676
00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:38,100
- [Narrator] Investigators and survivors,
677
00:47:38,100 --> 00:47:41,698
now commemorate the hundreds buried here.
678
00:47:41,698 --> 00:47:45,615
(chanting in foreign language)
679
00:47:55,610 --> 00:47:57,503
- I want to thank my mother
680
00:47:58,363 --> 00:48:01,163
who guided me my whole life through.
681
00:48:02,620 --> 00:48:07,620
My mother got me into HKP
which was a life saver.
682
00:48:08,535 --> 00:48:11,437
She saved me during the Kinder Action,
683
00:48:11,437 --> 00:48:15,160
she saved me after the Kinder Action.
684
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:20,160
She carried me down the stairs,
over here, on her shoulders
685
00:48:21,190 --> 00:48:24,015
and she got me out of Vilna
686
00:48:24,015 --> 00:48:27,053
and then we went to the United States.
687
00:48:28,110 --> 00:48:31,153
My mother survived and I survived.
688
00:48:31,153 --> 00:48:34,720
My father, brother, other
members of the family. No.
689
00:48:37,810 --> 00:48:42,427
Very mixed emotion coming
here after 70-odd years.
690
00:48:45,780 --> 00:48:49,883
I can't say I'm glad to be
here, but I'm glad I came.
691
00:48:54,759 --> 00:48:57,250
So thank you Ma for everything.
692
00:48:57,250 --> 00:48:59,833
(somber music)
53607
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