All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S04E02.Secret.of.Supervillain.Island.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator: a vast complex
At the ends of the earth.

Auerbach:
No one wanted to end up here.

And if you did, it was likely
You would never leave.

Narrator:
A concrete cavern created to
Protect a merciless tyrant.

Meigs: it's like it's something
Out of a james bond movie.

The ultra-villain who's gonna
Take over the world

Must be inside there somewhere.

Narrator:
And the ruins of a ruthless
Regime's deadly prototype.

Narrator:
And the ruins of a ruthless
Regime's deadly prototype.

Nusbacher: it's strange.
It's weird.

Why would somebody put
This much cement

In the middle of the woods?

*

Narrator: engineering marvels
Now abandoned,

Ruins shrouded in mystery.

Within these decaying structures
Are the echoes of history.

They speak of death
And destruction,

But also human ingenuity
And endeavor.

But also human ingenuity
And endeavor.

Each haunted shell
Ready to be unmasked

And tell its own unique story.

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

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

*

Off the coast of croatia,

In the crystal-clear
Waters of the adriatic sea,

Is the beautiful island of vis.

Is the beautiful island of vis.

But not all is as it seems.

Bell: vis island is a hugely
Popular tourist destination,

And you can see why.

But every now and then,
You catch a glimpse

Of something you feel
Shouldn't really be there.

A relic from a bygone era.

Meigs:
If you sail around this island,

It looks like a mediterranean
Vacation paradise.

It looks like a mediterranean
Vacation paradise.

And then you come across
This bizarre concrete structure.

It's like a keyhole leading
Into the island itself.

Narrator: what purpose could
This curious structure have?

The concrete cave is
Just the beginning.

Bell: as you delve deeper
Into the island,

You realize there's a vast
Network of tunnels

That point to something
Really quite major,

That point to something
Really quite major,

But what their purpose was
And who built them

Is initially mystifying.

Narrator: does the location
Of vis provide a clue

To these structures' purpose?

Local guide tomislav mileis

Knows how strategically
Important the island is.

Meigs: going all the way back
To the time of the greeks

And the romans,
Military leaders

Have recognized this island's
Incredible strategic location

And how useful
It is to control it.

Narrator: after world war I,

Vis became part of a newly
Formed nation --

Yugoslavia.

Within 30 years,

This young country would become
A communist republic

This young country would become
A communist republic

And would be center stage
In the battle

Between the ussr and the west.

The structures on vis
Are key to this story.

The origins of this hidden
Labyrinth of tunnels and caves

Stretch back to the heights
Of the cold war.

Stretch back to the heights
Of the cold war.

It was built to defend
The island

And its country, yugoslavia,

From the horror of a nuclear
Attack by an unexpected enemy.

This is a secret communist base.

A maze of tunnels extend
12 miles across the island,

A maze of tunnels extend
12 miles across the island,

Connecting camouflage bunkers,
Caves, and gun emplacements.

And on the northern coast

Lies the centerpiece
Of these fortifications.

Probably the most impressive
Installation

Is an imposing concrete
Submarine pen

That leads right
Into the island hills.

And although it's obvious
From the water,

It's invisible from the air.

Narrator: code named "Lobster,"
This concrete cave

Narrator: code named "Lobster,"
This concrete cave

Could hide submarines
Like the sava,

A yugoslavian attack vessel
Capable of disappearing

1,000 feet underwater,
With 10 huge torpedoes.

But why did communist yugoslavia
Need this fortress

In the adriatic?

Was it a defense against
The military might of the west?

At the center of this story

Is the country's most infamous
Leader, josip tito,

And the dangerous
Political tightrope he walked.

Josip tito was a communist
Partisan fighter

Against the nazis
In world war ii,

Against the nazis
In world war ii,

And a very effective one.

When the war ended,
He was able to unify yugoslavia

Under his own very particular
Brand of communism.

Narrator: as world war ii
Came to an end,

The iron curtain was descending
Across europe.

Corum: tito and stalin
Were allies until 1948,

But tito is very, very
Afraid of yugoslavia

Becoming an east germany
Or a poland,

Becoming an east germany
Or a poland,

Which is effectively a colony
Of the soviet union.

In 1948, he will take the step
Of formally breaking with stalin

And saying that yugoslavia
Will not cooperate.

"There will be no soviet bases,
No soviet troops."

In fact, tito cleverly played
Off the powers of east and west

Against each other

And was instrumental
In creating the third way,

Or what was called
The non-aligned movement.

Or what was called
The non-aligned movement.

Narrator:
So, tito refused to support
The russians or the west.

But this left the country

Constantly under the threat
Of invasion,

Or even nuclear attack,
By the soviets.

Yugoslavia's very existence
Was at risk.

How could tito
Protect his homeland?

The way to do it is
What he learned during the war,

Is establish these bases
All throughout the country,

Is establish these bases
All throughout the country,

And if the soviet union and its
Allies should invade yugoslavia,

They can retreat
To the mountain areas.

They can retreat to these
Fortified bases,

And they can
Carry out resistance.

Narrator:
It was a plan that put vis
Directly in the line of fire.

The island had been home
To tito's headquarters

When he led resistance to the
Nazis in the second world war.

When he led resistance to the
Nazis in the second world war.

Tito never forgot the strategic
Importance of vis

And kept a tight grip
On the island,

Making it one of
The main naval bases

Of the yugoslav people's army.

Narrator: so, these concrete
Caves and tunnels

Were built to defend yugoslavia
From the mighty red army.

But was vis attacked
By the russians?

And is that why these
Mighty fortifications

Are now abandoned?

Are now abandoned?

*

Narrator: on the mediterranean
Island of vis,

This cold war base
Was designed

To help communist dictator
Josip tito

Keep control of yugoslavia.

But the leader's cold-blooded
Determination to hold onto power

Had brutal consequences
For his country's citizens.

Tito ran a ruthless
Internal policy

Tito ran a ruthless
Internal policy

To suppress any
Internal opposition.

Narrator:
Tito's merciless regime is
Thought to be responsible

For hundreds of
Thousands of deaths.

But what became of this
Heavily armed hidden base?

But what became of this
Heavily armed hidden base?

If the soviets succeeded
In invading yugoslavia,

They could take over the base
On the island

And even use it to launch
Nuclear weapons across europe.

Corum: the purpose of this
Massive defense system

In yugoslavia
Is not offensive.

It's purely defensive.

It is to make it so difficult
To overrun yugoslavia.

It's a deterrence policy,

And it's a very effective
Deterrence policy.

And it's a very effective
Deterrence policy.

Narrator:
Tito's game plan worked.

Creating this forbidding
Fortress

Helped ensure the russians
Never attacked.

But there was another
Serious threat

To the existence
Of yugoslavia on the horizon.

After tito's death,
That iron-fisted rule

That held yugoslavia together
Went away

And the different regions

And the different
Tribal animosities

Began to manifest themselves

Began to manifest themselves

And the country
Really fractured into different,

Sometimes warring, segments.

Narrator: no amount of
Military bases could stop

The brutal civil wars
Of the 1990s.

Yugoslavia tore itself apart.

Tito's socialist republic became
Seven independent countries

Divided along ethnic lines.

The island of vis
Is part of croatia,

Which pulled away and became
Its own independent state.

Which pulled away and became
Its own independent state.

Narrator:
After years of conflict,
This new nation wanted peace,

And the base in the adriatic
Was abandoned.

Synonymous with sunshine
And vacations,

Vis today is a long way
From tito's dark vision

Of an island defense
Against the soviets.

But these concrete ruins
Offer a chilling reminder

Of how different things
Could have been.

Of how different things
Could have been.

This submarine base reflects
The very real threat

Of nuclear attack that existed
At the height of the cold war.

*

Narrator:
On the west coast of the usa,

In the shadow of
The golden gate bridge,

Is a rocky bay covered
With bizarre remains.

Meigs: you see this ruin here.

You have no idea how old it is.

If you were in
The mediterranean,

You might think it dates back
To the time of the romans.

Scott: at first glance, you just
See these weather-beaten

Concrete foundations.

But the more you look,
The more you see.

Jerram: it's clearly something
That's been built in and around

Using the landscape
As part of it, but why was that?

Narrator: this eery debris
Extends beyond the cliff tops.

Narrator: this eery debris
Extends beyond the cliff tops.

Beneath the rocky shoreline,

A series of basins
Emerge out of the waves.

Meigs: this thing is huge.

This is not just
One little pool.

This covers an area
Of about two acres.

Narrator: what was this all for?

And why would an area like this,
Right on the brink of the water,

Be chosen for such
A complex design?

There was obviously a reason
Why they chose that location --

There was obviously a reason
Why they chose that location --

That the sea obviously played an
Important role in this building.

But building that close
To the sea

Is always gonna
Give you trouble.

Narrator: this coastline
Construction would have to face

The full force of the pacific.

But that was just one of
The dangers it would encounter.

100 years ago, this site
Would have been full of people

100 years ago, this site
Would have been full of people

From nearby san francisco.

In the 19th century,
The city was booming,

And its growing population
Had money to spend

In their spare time.

One businessman saw
An opportunity.

Millionaire engineer adolph
Sutro bought the land

Known as naiad cove in 1881.

Meigs:
Pacific coast near san francisco
Is very rocky with high surf.

Sutro noticed that there
Were a lot of tide pools

Sutro noticed that there
Were a lot of tide pools

And the waves would wash up
On the rocks and then flow down.

That gave him an idea.

What if he took some of
These natural tide pools

And connected them
To a larger manmade pool?

He could turn that
Into an aquarium.

Narrator: the first step was to
Build a basin to catch seawater,

As local historian
John martini explains.

This is where it all began --
At the very tip of point lobos,

Furthest west point
In san francisco.

Furthest west point
In san francisco.

The workers blasted away
The tip of the point,

And they created this basin they
Called the wave catch basin.

Narrator: a hidden tunnel
Would then carry that water,

Using gravity,
To a tank inland,

Where spectators could observe
The sea creatures within it.

But to construct something
So sophisticated

On the edge of a cliff
Would be a huge challenge.

On the edge of a cliff
Would be a huge challenge.

Martini: this was a very
Dangerous place to work.

You're literally at the edge
Of the ocean.

They could only work
At low tide.

Narrator: and the elements
Weren't the only threat

To this ambitious plan.

One night, something
Washed up nearby

That would endanger
Its very existence.

Would this put an end
To sutro's dreams?

And how do we explain the rest
Of the ruins on the shore?

*

*

*

Narrator: on a californian beach
Lie the remains

Of what appears to be
A vast coastal construction.

Why is it now no more
Than rubble?

In the late 19th century,
Engineer adolph sutro

Was building an aquarium
In one corner of the site,

Until something deadly drifted
Towards the shore.

Until something deadly drifted
Towards the shore.

We're inside the walls
Of the original aquarium.

This collapsed section reflects
The damage that occurred

When a sailing ship
Loaded with dynamite

Wrecked on the point
Right out there.

And shortly after midnight,

It blew up with
A monstrous explosion.

A huge piece of the ship
Was sent sailing

Through the wall
Of the aquarium.

Narrator: with the site
Not yet completed,

Narrator: with the site
Not yet completed,

This could have been a disaster,

But in fact, sutro used it

As an opportunity
To expand his vision.

What sutro had learned from this
Is that he'd come up

With this system
Where he could work

With the tides
To fill up pools further inland.

And that sparked
His imagination.

Meigs: he decided he wanted
Something more.

He wanted a place where people
Could actually swim.

Narrator: these are the remains
Of the sutro baths.

Narrator: these are the remains
Of the sutro baths.

Sutro envisioned a grand
Cathedral-like structure

On the shore

Enclosed with 100,000
Square feet of glass.

As well as seawater pools,
This complex would include over

500 changing rooms, 7 slides,
And a grand, sweeping staircase.

But could this epic plan
Be made into a reality?

You're building a structure
That has to sort of deal

With large waves,
Small waves,

Depending on
What the ocean's doing.

So it's a real interface between
Engineering and nature

That was being attempted here.

Who was gonna win?

Narrator:
The whole design relied on it,

But building so close
To the ocean

Meant nothing could be taken
For granted.

These derelict ruins suggest
Things didn't go to plan.

Sutro made several attempts
To contain his pool,

Sutro made several attempts
To contain his pool,

And at first, they kept getting
Washed away by the storms.

Narrator: it was only
With the construction

Of a monumental concrete wall

9 feet deep and 285 feet long
That workers were able to begin

Building the rest
Of the complex.

Martini: it wasn't just
A single big pool.

It was subdivided.
There were five smaller pools --

One, two, three, four, five --

That were heated
To different temperatures.

That were heated
To different temperatures.

The warmest one was the one
That was right behind me.

Narrator: five boilers heated up
To 2 million gallons of water

Brought in from the ocean,

Which was then released
Into the different pools.

Overall, the structure could
Accommodate up to 10,000 people.

Sutro had created the world's
Largest indoor swimming baths.

When the sutro baths
Opened in 1894,

People were just overwhelmed.

People were just overwhelmed.

The scale of the place
Was just so huge.

Meigs: it wasn't just a pool.

It was an amphitheater.

He knew that not everyone
Would want to swim.

Some people just came
And watched the swimmers.

So he had rows
And rows of seats.

The entire place was decorated

Like some kind
Of lovely fantasy land.

Sutro did nothing halfway.

Scott:
Not only was it beautiful,
But it was also genius.

Scott:
Not only was it beautiful,
But it was also genius.

When the tide was high,

The water would come
Into the bath,

And then obviously,
When the tide became low,

It would take the water with it.

And in that way, he had built
A self-regulating swimming pool

That would refresh
With the tides twice every day.

Narrator:
The baths were a success.

So why is there so little left
Of them today?

Scott: this building did not
Have an easy life.

It's on the coast,
So it was battered by storms.

Meigs: and although they
Didn't know it yet,

Meigs: and although they
Didn't know it yet,

It's one of the world's
Most dangerous areas

In terms of earthquakes.

Man: the west coast city
Of san francisco

Was struck by
A violent earthquake in 1906.

Narrator: although it lasted
Less than a minute,

As much as 75% of the city
Was destroyed,

But not the sutro baths.

So, what was it that demolished
This colossal monument?

*

Narrator: on the west coast
Of the u.S. Lie the remains

Of what was once the world's
Largest swimming baths.

The sutro baths served
The people of san francisco

For nearly 80 years.

Scott:
This beautiful building

That had been able to withstand
An earthquake

But also decades of being
That close to the sea

Was finally destroyed,

Was finally destroyed,

In a bizarre twist of fate,
By fire.

Narrator: in 1966,
A fire broke out on the site.

Fed by strong winds, it quickly
Became a raging inferno,

And within hours,

The once magnificent baths
Were raised to the ground.

Today, the site is maintained
By the national park service.

And although they're long gone,
The baths still intrigue.

And although they're long gone,
The baths still intrigue.

Martini:
As one person said, you know,

San francisco's
A very young city.

We don't have a lot of ruins,

But, by god,
These are our ruins.

And every day, hundreds,
If not thousands of people

Are crawling around
Basically trying to figure out

"What was this place?"

Narrator: at the southern tip
Of australia,

On the remote island of tasmania

Is a collection
Of imposing buildings.

Is a collection
Of imposing buildings.

*

Auerbach: at first glance, this
Looks like a grand site --

A royal
Or aristocratic home.

But there's more here
Than meets the eye.

Nusbacher:
In all of this lush vegetation,

To see what looks like a created
Ruin of a medieval abbey

With all of its dormitories
And workshops and church,

With all of its dormitories
And workshops and church,

It's a little bit strange.

Auerbach: it's a bewildering
Mix of buildings --

Different sizes and shapes.

Selwood: it looks as if
It might have had some factory

Or warehouse purpose.

There's even a feeling
Of something

Slightly sinister about it.

It doesn't quite, as a building
And an ensemble, make sense.

Auerbach:
It really feels like you're at
The very edge of the world.

Auerbach:
It really feels like you're at
The very edge of the world.

You get the sense that whoever
Designed this place

Wanted to isolate its population
From everyone else.

Narrator: why build such
A diverse group of structures

In this far-flung location.

Behind their grand facades,

These buildings
Hide a dark purpose.

Nusbacher: it's odd how only
A few dilapidated buildings

Can take a gorgeous scene
Of beautiful countryside

Can take a gorgeous scene
Of beautiful countryside

And turn it into something
That feels as though

There's deep
Human misery involved.

This became one of the most
Feared places in the region.

No one wanted to end up here,

And if you did it was likely
You would never leave.

Narrator: why did
This remote site strike terror

Into the hearts
Of all who knew it?

Into the hearts
Of all who knew it?

These buildings may be on the
Edge of the southern hemisphere,

But their origins are
10,000 miles away in britain.

In the 18th century,

Attitudes to crime
And punishment were changing,

And the courts began
Sentencing convicts

To transportation
To the country's new colonies.

Nusbacher:
Because people were starting
To view capital punishment

As unfair and inhumane,
Instead of hanging people

As unfair and inhumane,
Instead of hanging people

Who were repeat offenders
Or serious criminals,

We'd just send them away.

Narrator:
Transportation from the
United kingdom to australia

Began in 1778,

Just 18 years after british
Explorer captain cook

Landed in botany bay,
Naming it new south wales.

Eventually, this new location
Would hold over 165,000 people

Eventually, this new location
Would hold over 165,000 people

From across the british empire,

Becoming, effectively,
The empire's largest prison.

Narrator:
So before long, penal colonies
Had been established

Across this vast
Southern continent.

And here in tasmania was
The largest

And most infamous of them all --
Port arthur.

Auerbach: it was designed to be
Escape-proof.

Auerbach: it was designed to be
Escape-proof.

There was only one passage
To the mainland,

And the water
Was full of sharks.

And that one passage
To the mainland had fences,

Armed guards,

And even half-starved dogs
To ensure security.

Narrator:
Located on a remote peninsula

Surrounded by water
On three sides,

The port arthur penal colony
Held 1,200

Of the british empire's
Most dangerous prisoners.

Selwood:
Port arthur became notorious
For two sorts of offenders --

Repeat offenders,

Those who willingly chose
Not to be reformed

And continue
Their life of crime,

And those who committed some of
The most heinous offenses.

Narrator:
So, how did this prison punish
The world's worst convict?

And could port arthur
Really contain them?

*

*

Narrator: on the australian
Island of tasmania

Lie the remains
Of port arthur penal colony.

In the 19th century,

It held some of britain's
Most dangerous criminals.

But this wasn't just
An ordinary prison.

This place is an idealistic
Settlement for prisoners,

And the idea is that we'll allow
The prisoners, through work,

And the idea is that we'll allow
The prisoners, through work,

To redeem themselves.

Narrator: this site
Was a giant experiment,

Testing out a cutting-edge
Approach to criminal justice.

Selwood:
One of the driving ideas of this
New thinking was productivity,

The idea that if people
Could made to be useful,

Then they would feel
Some purpose.

So in addition
To being a prison facility,

It also became in a very
Major sense, a production site.

It also became in a very
Major sense, a production site.

Narrator: port arthur was
An industrial prison

Where convicts were used
For forced labor.

For the prisoners
Who cut timber, built ships,

And ground grain,
Conditions were brutal.

One of the worst jobs
Was in the flour mill,

As historical archeologist
Richard tuffin explains.

So, this wall that we're looking
At is the treadmill ward.

This was where there was
A big wheel,

And that had 56 men on it
At any one time,

And that had 56 men on it
At any one time,

And they would be turning the
Wheel and grinding the grain.

These guys were doing
Thousands of steps per day,

So it was an incredibly
Harsh punishment.

You also have this
Economic element as they are

Just grinding the grain,
Making the flour

That is going into
The rations for the convicts.

Narrator:
But the port arthur system

Didn't just involve
Psychical suffering.

Central to the rehabilitation
Of the prisoners

Was psychological treatment.

Was psychological treatment.

Selwood: behind this new
Thinking were the ideas

Of one man in particular --

Jeremy bentham,
Who urged the world

To think that beatings
And floggings

Only entrenched
Criminal behavior

And that the world had to find
Another way to try and deal

With, minimize,
And repurpose criminals.

Narrator:
So, did this approach bring
About a less brutal system?

Or were the new rehabilitation
Methods even more extreme?

Or were the new rehabilitation
Methods even more extreme?

At the edge of the colony
Is the building

Chillingly known
As the separate prison.

Nusbacher:
This facility is for the people
Who are too rough

For the regular prisoners
In tasmania.

In this facility,

The prisoners are kept under
Constant observation,

In solitary confinement,
In thick-walled cells.

In solitary confinement,
In thick-walled cells.

Prisoners wore hoods.

They weren't allowed
To communicate

With other prisoners.

Selwood: it was a
Psychologically brutal system.

They were locked up for 23 hours
A day in isolation

And total silence was imposed
On them at all times.

This is the solitary punishment
Cell of the separate prison.

So most convicts would be kept
In the cells

For 23 hours
In the separate prison.

Those who continued to misbehave
Would be brought into this cell,

Which was a punishment cell
In solitary confinement.

Which was a punishment cell
In solitary confinement.

They would be in here up
To 48 hours on bread and water.

There were four doors,
Very thick walls --

No one could hear them scream
Out if they were in this place,

And what they would do
Is shut the doors,

And they would be left
In the dark.

Narrator:
To encourage the convicts
To reflect on their crimes,

Silence and isolation
Were enforced everywhere.

Nusbacher:
The prisoners are sent to church
For their improvement --

Obvious thing to do.

Obvious thing to do.

But we don't want the prisoners
To see each other.

So their church pews are built
As little stalls.

They can see the minister,
They can listen to the sermon,

But they can't look at or listen
To the other prisoners.

Auerbach:
It's hard to imagine a more
Dramatic stripping away

Of identity,
Of sense of self.

You must have felt that you were
Truly alone in the world.

You must have felt that you were
Truly alone in the world.

Narrator: so, what became of the
Convicts forced to live

Under port arthur's
Brutal system?

Some of these prisoners survived
And were trained as craftsmen

And became part of the permanent
Population of the colony.

Selwood:
For those who weren't so lucky,

There was a cemetery
On the campus as well,

Known as the isle of the dead,

And over 1,000 convict
Are known to be buried there,

A vast majority
In unmarked graves.

A vast majority
In unmarked graves.

Narrator:
With transportation from britain
Abolished in the 1850s,

In 1877,
Australia's largest

And most infamous prison
Closed down.

But port arthur quickly got
A new lease of life.

As soon as it closed, the public
Flocked in as tourists eager

To see and experience what the
Convicts had been put through.

Narrator:
The historic site evolved
Into a popular open-air museum

Narrator:
The historic site evolved
Into a popular open-air museum

And port arthur reverted

To being
A peaceful corner of tasmania.

But one last act of terrible
Cruelty would take place there.

In 1996, port arthur became
The site of the deadliest mass

Shooting in australian history.

Narrator: 35 people were killed
By a lone gunman.

The atrocity shook australia
To the core.

The atrocity shook australia
To the core.

Within four months,

The government had enacted
Major gun reform.

Automatic and semi-automatic
Weapons were banned.

Gun laws were imposed,
And over a million weapons

Were handed in to the australian
Government and destroyed.

Narrator:
The massacre at port arthur
Had changed australia forever.

Today, it's one of australia's
Most important historic sites.

Today, it's one of australia's
Most important historic sites.

But the memories
Of the suffering

That took place here remain.

In the steep hills
Of southern germany,

Outside the bavarian city
Of nuremberg,

Lies the overgrown remains of a
Monumental construction project.

Nusbacher:
If you're going through
An ancient, scared forest,

The last thing you expect
Is for the woods to end

The last thing you expect
Is for the woods to end

Where someone
Has scrapped away the forest

And left
Almost no trees behind.

Narrator: the forest is littered
With solid lumps of stone.

If I saw this in a town,
I'd think I was looking at

The ruins of a building
That had been demolished.

What you're seeing makes you
Think of ruins of ancient roman

Or greek cities that you might
Find in asia minor,

What was once the
Agora acropolis of a city.

What was once the
Agora acropolis of a city.

Narrator:
But this site has a dark past

Linked to an evil regime's
Epic plans.

The layout of these blocks
Suggests that this was part

Of something
That could be much larger.

Narrator: does the unique
Placing of these structures

Hint at why they were built?

They're dispersed over
An almost vertical slope.

They're dispersed over
An almost vertical slope.

When you stumble across them,
You kind of wonder

What the purpose of this stepped
Formation up a hill was for.

Nusbacher:
It's strange. It's weird.

Why would somebody put this
Much cement

In the middle of the woods.

Narrator:
The story begins 20 miles west

Of these neglected ruins
In nuremberg,

A city that was central
To the vision of adolf hitler.

When the nazis start to have
Their great big,

When the nazis start to have
Their great big,

Political pep rallies,
They have them in nuremberg.

The nazi party developed
The idea of nuremberg

As almost the capital
Of the aryan race.

Corum: hitler loved
His german history.

He was a german nationalist.

By making nuremberg the center
For the nazi party

Rallies and days,
He is hearkening back very,

Rallies and days,
He is hearkening back very,

Very directly
To the first reich,

Which lasted 1,000 years,
Which created the german nation.

Narrator: to show the world
That the third reich intended

On dominating europe forever,

Hitler commissioned new
Imperial buildings in nuremberg.

But what role did these concrete
Ruins in the forest

Have in this plan
For nazi world domination?

*

Narrator: deep in the
Countryside of southern germany

Lie the ruins of a colossal
Nazi engineering project.

But its origins are in a city
20 miles away.

In 1930s nuremberg,
Hitler ordered the construction

Of a complex of grand edifices
To glorify the nazi regime.

The final building was to be
A national stadium

The final building was to be
A national stadium

On a truly epic scale.

Somara:
The ambition for this project

Was to create a massive
Auditorium space

That could house
405,000 people.

This was gonna be
A stadium as big

As the four largest stadiums
In the united states today.

No stadium in the world
Has ever been as big as

No stadium in the world
Has ever been as big as

This new german stadium
Was going to be.

Narrator: but first,
It had to be built.

The vast scale of the
deutsches stadion, or
"German stadium"

Would be a challenge
For nazi architect

And close friend of hitler,
Albert speer.

Somara: to be able to create
A structure like this

Was a real statement of power
And dominance and authority.

Narrator:
But what does this have to do

Narrator:
But what does this have to do

With the concrete ruins
On the hill

In the woods 20 miles
From nuremberg?

Speer realized that to build
The stadium

He would first need
A prototype.

Historian dr. Alexander schmidt
Has investigated the site.

*

In 1937, work began
On a life-size model,

And this was test site.

Nusbacher: what the germans did
Was they found a hill

That was just the right angle
To simulate the angle

That they wanted the stadium
To be at when they finished it.

Somara:
Building a scale model allows
You to improve the design.

But building on an actual
Test site

Allows you to really experience
What it would be like.

Narrator: for 18 months,
Hundreds of workers labored

Narrator: for 18 months,
Hundreds of workers labored

To construct
This extravagant prototype.

The end result was five levels
Of bleachers

That could hold
Thousands of people.

But only one person could
Sign off on the final design.

Schmidt: albert speer
Comes with hitler,

And he needs his permission
To go on,

And hitler was only here one day

On this --
21 march of 1938.

Hitler said, "Okay, we do it."

Hitler said, "Okay, we do it."

Narrator:
The sinister reason behind
Hitler's determination

To construct such a vast stadium
Lies in his plans

For world domination.

If it was completed, the german
Stadium in nuremberg

Would provide the perfect
Location to demonstrate

The nazi nation's
Unparalleled strength.

Nazi ideology requires
Eternal war.

The aryan race has got to keep
On fighting

The aryan race has got to keep
On fighting

In order to perfect itself.

Schmidt: this is the concept
From the beginning.

If you wanted a war
Against the whole world,

Then you have to have soldiers.

Once they conquered
All of the surrounding nations,

Once they killed all of the jews
And gypsies and russians

And everybody, what would
They do to continue to fight?

They would hold
Life-and-death war games

Where they came together
In this massive stadium

Where they came together
In this massive stadium

For the pleasure
Of the german people

And the continued improvement
Of the aryan race.

Narrator: but these ruins
Are all that remain

Of the nazi's terrifying vision
Of aryan dominance.

Of the nazi's terrifying vision
Of aryan dominance.

When war broke out, the building
Of the stadium in nuremberg

Was put on hold
And then eventually abandoned.

Today, the concrete foundations
Are being reclaimed by nature.

But the wooden bleachers
That once stood here have

Since helped repair the damage
Caused by the nazi regime.

*