All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S05E05.Journey.to.Outcast.Island.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

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 --
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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.