All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S06E09.Anarchy.On.Irelands.Alcatraz.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
THE REMOTE PACIFIC SITE WHERE A
STRANGE COLLECTION OF STRUCTURES

CAUGHT AMERICAN FORCES
UNAWARE...

THE JAPANESE MILITARY FORTIFIED
EVERYTHING THEY COULD --

CAVE SYSTEMS, TUNNEL SYSTEMS,

SO THAT WHEN THE ALLIED FORCES
FINALLY LANDED,

THEY WOULD BE ENTERING
INTO A MEAT GRINDER.

Narrator:
...THE DERELICT IRISH PRISON

WHERE THE INMATES STRUGGLED
TO BREAK IN, AS WELL AS OUT...

A LOT OF VERY HIGH
RISK INMATES ARRIVE,

A LOT OF VERY HIGH
RISK INMATES ARRIVE,

AND THIS PLACE SIMPLY
ISN'T DESIGNED TO HOLD THEM.

A MASSIVE COMPLEX IN FRANCE
WITH AN EXPLOSIVE PAST.

NO ONE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED
FOR SURE.

EVERYTHING DISAPPEARED IN
ONE HUGE BANG.

WAS IT DELIBERATE?
WAS IT ACCIDENTAL?

WAS IT SABOTAGE?

Narrator:
...AND THE SPANISH GHOST TOWN
WHERE U.S. FREEDOM FIGHTERS

FOUGHT TO THE DEATH
FOR A BETTER WORLD.

FOUGHT TO THE DEATH
FOR A BETTER WORLD.

Wawro: WE SEE A LOT OF GRAFFITI,

WHICH ITSELF
HAS SOME REAL SIGNIFICANCE

IN SOLVING THIS MYSTERY.

Narrator: DECAYING RELICS,

RUINS OF LOST WORLDS,

FORGED THROUGH YEARS OF TOIL,

NOW HAUNTED BY THE PAST,

THEIR SECRETS WAITING
TO BE REVEALED.

*

*

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator:
IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC,
FOREBODING RUINS

SCATTERED ACROSS
THE JAPANESE ISLAND OF IE JIMA

MAKE FOR A CONFOUNDING SITE.

THIS ISLAND IS SO UNUSUAL
LOOKING,

IT'S ALMOST ENTIRELY FLAT,

BUT THEN YOU HAVE
THIS BULGING MOUNTAIN

STANDING RIGHT
IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

STANDING RIGHT
IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

LOOKING DOWN ON IT, IT LOOKS
ALMOST LIKE AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER.

Narrator: SOMEONE HAS BUILT
THREE RUNWAYS HERE.

Meigs:
YOU'LL SEE SOME OLD AIRFIELDS,
WITH WEEDS GROWING UP,

YOU KNOW, THROUGH CRACKS
IN THE PAVEMENT.

Narrator:
IT'S NOT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR

WHO WAS FLYING
IN OR OUT OF THIS PLACE.

THE MODERN-DAY TOWN
HIDES THE FIRST CLUE.

Mitchell:
THERE'S A BUILDING THAT LOOKS
COMPLETELY OUT OF PLACE

IN A 21st CENTURY CONTEXT.

IN A 21st CENTURY CONTEXT.

IT LOOKS BATTLE SCARRED,
IT'S GOT GAPING HOLES IN IT.

Narrator:
STRUCTURES HIDDEN BELOW GROUND
ARE NO LESS INTRIGUING.

AND IT HAS A LOT OF NATURALLY
OCCURRING CAVES,

SOME OF WHICH
COULD BE ENGINEERED

INTO EXCELLENT
DEFENSIVE POSITIONS.

THEY'RE PRETTY WELL SHELTERED.
FROM THE OUTSIDE,

YOU HAVE NO IDEA
OF WHAT A LARGE COMPLEX EXISTS

BEHIND THOSE ENTRANCES.

BEHIND THOSE ENTRANCES.

Narrator:
WHAT LINKS THE DISUSED RUNWAY
TO THE BLOWN OUT BUILDING

AND THE FORTIFIED CAVES
THAT LIE BELOW THIS PLACE?

*

A TORN OUT CONCRETE SHELL,

HIDING IN THE MODERN DAY TOWN
OF IE

IS THE ONLY BUILDING
ON THE ISLAND

THAT SURVIVED
THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

LOCAL GUIDE, TAMRE TAKAMICHI
KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT

THIS PLACE ONCE WAS.

Takamichi: [ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

Takamichi: [ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

Translator:
THIS BUILDING IS THE REMAINS
OF THE MUNICIPAL PAWN SHOP.

IT WAS BUILT BEFORE THE WAR
AND MADE OUT OF CONCRETE.

THE ONE OLD CONCRETE BUILDING
LEFT ON THIS ISLAND

FROM THE OLD DAYS
IS THE PAWN SHOP.

THE PAWN SHOP IS PRETTY MUCH
THE LOCAL BANK,

AND THAT MEANS THAT IT'S GOT
TO BE A STRONG, SAFE PLACE.

IT HAS BEEN TORN TO PIECES,

IT HAS BEEN TORN TO PIECES,

IT HAS CLEARLY BEEN IN A FIGHT.

Takamichi: [ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

Translator:
THE BIG HOLES ARE DAMAGE
FROM ARTILLERY.

AND THE SMALL ONES,
THESE ARE FROM RIFLE FIRE.

Narrator:
1,000 MILES FROM TOKYO,

IE JIMA IS PART
OF THE JAPANESE ARCHIPELAGO.

Wawro: SINCE WE'RE HERE IN
THE PACIFIC OCEAN,

A VERY CONTESTED SPACE
NEAR THE HOME ISLANDS OF JAPAN,

THIS PLACE OBVIOUSLY
HAD MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE.

THIS PLACE OBVIOUSLY
HAD MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE.

IE JIMA HAS GOT SOME NICE
LONG RUNWAYS

THAT GO STRAIGHT OUT
OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

THAT MEANS IT'S EASY
TO TAKE OFF,

IT'S EASY TO LAND,
IT'S A BIG SAFE AIRPORT.

Narrator:
DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR,

THESE OVERGROWN AIRFIELDS
WERE AMONG THE LARGEST IN ASIA.

THE JAPANESE HAD BUILT THEM

TO AID
THEIR EXPANSION IN THE PACIFIC.

TO AID
THEIR EXPANSION IN THE PACIFIC.

BUT BY 1944, THEY'D BEEN FORCED
TO CHANGE THEIR TACTICS.

Meigs: THE JAPANESE HAD LEARNED
THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE RESOURCES

TO STOP THE AMERICANS ANYMORE.

SO INSTEAD OF GOING OUT TO MEET
IN BATTLE OUT OVER THE OCEAN,

THEY DUG IN,
THEY WENT TO GROUND.

Narrator: MEANWHILE, FROM ACROSS
THE PACIFIC,

THE AMERICANS ENVIED
IE JIMA'S AIRFIELDS.

THE AIRSTRIP, WHICH IS STILL
CLEARLY NOW ABANDONED,

OVERGROWN WITH WEEDS.

BUT THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY
CRITICAL, KEY,

AND AN INTEGRAL PART
OF THEIR OWN NATIONAL DEFENSE.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE IE JIMA, THEN
YOU DON'T HAVE THAT CLEAR PATH

THAT TAKES YOU FROM
THE AMERICAN MAINLAND TO HAWAII

AND STEP BY STEP ACROSS
THE PACIFIC TO TAKE JAPAN.

Narrator:
IE JIMA IS THE IDEAL PLACE TO
LAND HEAVY MILITARY EQUIPMENT.

Narrator:
IE JIMA IS THE IDEAL PLACE TO
LAND HEAVY MILITARY EQUIPMENT.

THE ISLAND ITSELF HAS GOT SOME
NICE NEATLY SHELVING BEACHES

AROUND ITS PERIMETER.
-THEN, AROUND THE ISLAND,

YOU CAN SEE A WHOLE BUNCH
OF ENTRANCES TO LITTLE CAVES.

Narrator:
THESE COASTAL CAVES LIE BELOW
THE FLAT STONE PLATEAU

THAT COVERS THIS PLACE,

PUNCTUATED ONLY ONCE,
BY MOUNT GUSUKU,

THE SPECTACULAR PEAK
AT ITS HEART.

THE SPECTACULAR PEAK
AT ITS HEART.

Nusbacher:
THE ISLAND ITSELF IS PRETTY
NATURAL AS A DEFENSIVE POSITION

BECAUSE THE PINNACLE
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ISLAND

ENABLE AN ALL-AROUND DEFENSE.

Narrator:
ON HOME TURF, THE JAPANESE KNEW

JUST HOW TO DEFEND
THIS PECULIAR PLACE.

WHAT THE JAPANESE WANTED TO DO,
IDEALLY,

WHAT THE JAPANESE WANTED TO DO,
IDEALLY,

WAS TO MAKE IT DIFFICULT
FOR THE AMERICANS TO LAND

BY USING ARTILLERY
AND DEFEND THE ISLAND IN DEPTH

USING INFANTRY WHO WERE
COMPARATIVELY POORLY PREPARED.

Narrator: THE JAPANESE SMASH
THE AIRFIELDS,

BUILT PILLBOX POSITIONS,
AND LAID MINES.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY MADE
FULL USE OF MOUNT GUSUKU.

BELOW GROUND,
THIS LIMESTONE PEAK

BELOW GROUND,
THIS LIMESTONE PEAK

IS RIDDLED WITH TUNNELS
AND CAVES,

WHICH THE JAPANESE PLAN TO USE
TO MOVE AROUND UNDETECTED.

THEY SECURED THE TUNNEL
ENTRANCES,

BUILT MACHINE GUN POSITIONS,
AND FORTIFIED CAVES,

SOME, THREE STORIES HIGH,
WITH LOOKOUTS ACROSS THE ISLAND.

Meigs: THEY FORTIFIED EVERYTHING
THEY COULD,

FROM CAVE SYSTEMS,
TUNNEL SYSTEMS,

SO THAT WHEN THE ALLIED FORCES
FINALLY LANDED,

THEY WOULD BE ENTERING
INTO A MEAT GRINDER.

THEY WOULD BE ENTERING
INTO A MEAT GRINDER.

Narrator:
IE JIMA'S CIVILIAN POPULATION
TOOK REFUGE IN THE CAVES

AROUND THE COAST.

LOCAL RESIDENTS,

LIKE TAMRE TAKAMICHI
STILL REVERE THIS PLACE.

Takamichi: [ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

Translator:
IT'S A SACRED PLACE ON IE JIMA
AND DURING THE WAR,

MANY PEOPLE SOUGHT REFUGE HERE.

THIS PLACE RECEIVED MANY MORTAR
SHELL ATTACKS FROM THE SEA,

SO PEOPLE CAME HERE
BECAUSE IT WAS SAFE.

SO PEOPLE CAME HERE
BECAUSE IT WAS SAFE.

*

Narrator:
WITH NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING
ON UNDERGROUND,

WHEN THE AMERICAN FORCES
FINALLY ARRIVED,

THEY WEREN'T PREPARED
FOR AN UNSEEN AND DEADLY FOE.

*

Narrator:
IN 1944, THE PACIFIC ISLAND
OF IE JIMA

WAS A FLASH POINT OF CONFLICT,

AS THE JAPANESE
AND THE AMERICANS

GEARED UP FOR A FACE OFF
ACROSS THE PACIFIC.

APRIL 16, 1945,
THE U.S. ARMY INVADES IE JIMA.

THE AMERICANS HAD SPENT
THE WHOLE SECOND WORLD WAR

THE AMERICANS HAD SPENT
THE WHOLE SECOND WORLD WAR

LEARNING HOW TO CONDUCT
AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS.

Narrator: BUT THE THOUSANDS
OF JAPANESE SOLDIERS

INSTALLED IN MOUNT GUSUKU
COULD SEE THEIR EVERY MOVE.

THE AMERICANS ADVANCE
TO THE TOWN OF IE

WAS UNDER CONSTANT AMBUSH.

AND THEY COULDN'T TELL CIVILIANS
AND JAPANESE SOLDIERS APART.

Takamichi: [ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

Translator:
DURING THE BATTLE FOR IE JIMA,
CIVILIANS ALSO TOOK UP ARMS.

Translator:
DURING THE BATTLE FOR IE JIMA,
CIVILIANS ALSO TOOK UP ARMS.

SOME CIVILIANS WERE TOLD
BY THE JAPANESE ARMY

TO FIGHT WITH GUNS,
BUT THEY MAINLY USED GRENADES.

Narrator:
SLOW PROGRESS AND THE UNEXPECTED
LOSS OF HUNDREDS OF MEN

MEANT THE AMERICANS HAD TO TAKE
THE HIGH GROUND OF MOUNT GUSUKU,

WHICH LAY BEYOND THE TOWN OF IE.

THE GRUELING CONFLICT
WAS WITNESSED

BY THE FAMOUS US WAR REPORTER,
ERNIE PYLE.

BY THE FAMOUS US WAR REPORTER,
ERNIE PYLE.

ERNIE PYLE WAS AN AMERICAN
NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST,

WHO WAS BELOVED FOR HIS DEVOTION
TO THE TROOPS,

WHAT HE CALLED
THE DOGFACE GI'S.

THE REGULAR GUYS WHO DID
THE BRUNT OF THE FIGHTING

AND THE DYING IN THE WAR.

HE WAS THEIR VOICE.

HE WAS THEIR CHAMPION.

HE WAS ONE OF
THESE WAR CORRESPONDENTS

WITH A HUMAN TOUCH.
HE REALLY KNEW THE G.I.s.

HE KNEW THE MARINES.

HE BECAME VERY CLOSE TO THEM.

HE BECAME VERY CLOSE TO THEM.

HE KNEW THEIR SLANG.

HE INTEGRATED INTO ALL
HIS PIECES.

HE SHARED THE DANGERS OF
THE FRONT WITH THEM.

PYLE WAS TRAVELING WITH
THE TROOPS NEAR

THE TOWN OF E WHEN
THEY CAME UNDER FIRE.

A SNIPER HIT HIM IN THE HEAD

PYLE WAS KILLED INSTANTLY.

TRUE TO HIS NATURE,
HE WAS PRESSING RIGHT UP CLOSE

TO BE NEAR THE ACTION
WHEN HE WAS KILLED ON IE JIMA.

Narrator: WITH PYLE GONE,

THE AMERICANS WERE DETERMINED
TO GET THE JOB DONE.

BEYOND PYLE'S MEMORIAL,

THERE'S ONE OTHER REMNANT OF THE
BITTER BATTLE THAT PLAYED OUT --

THE SHELL OF
THE CONCRETE PAWN SHOP.

Mitchell: THIS BUILDING DID NOT
NECESSARILY SERVE

ANY STRATEGIC PURPOSE
FOR THE UNITED STATES,

BUT IT WAS CAUGHT
IN THE CROSSFIRE.

THEY PULVERIZED THIS PAWN SHOP

ON THE WAY TO PULVERIZING
THE JAPANESE HEADQUARTERS.

Narrator:
THE AMERICANS EVENTUALLY TOOK
MOUNT GUSUKU,

Narrator:
THE AMERICANS EVENTUALLY TOOK
MOUNT GUSUKU,

BUT TRACES STILL LIE
BELOW THIS PLACE

THAT SUGGEST
FOR THE PEOPLE OF IE,

THE FULL HORROR OF THE WAR
WAS NOT YET OVER.

Meigs: THE JAPANESE MILITARY
CONVINCED THE POPULATION

THAT THE AMERICAN FORCES
WOULD BE LIKE WILD ANIMALS,

AND NO ONE WOULD SURVIVE
THEIR ONSLAUGHT.

ON IE ISLAND, THEY ACTUALLY
ISSUED PEOPLE HAND GRENADES.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS, THEY WERE
TO KILL THEMSELVES,

RATHER THAN SUFFER
THE DISGRACE OF SURRENDER.

RATHER THAN SUFFER
THE DISGRACE OF SURRENDER.

Narrator:
IN IE JIMA'S COASTAL CAVES,

HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS
TOOK THEIR OWN LIVES.

THOSE IN THE NYATIYA CAVE
DIDN'T BELIEVE THE PROPAGANDA

AND CHOSE NOT TO.

Takamichi: [ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

Translator:
MANY DIED INSIDE THESE CAVES.

HOWEVER,
AT THIS PARTICULAR CAVE,

THAT TRAGEDY DIDN'T HAPPEN.

Narrator:
AFTER A GRUELING SIX-DAY BATTLE,
THE AMERICANS TOOK IE JIMA.

IN TOTAL, ALMOST 5,000 JAPANESE

AND MORE THAN A 1,000
AMERICAN SOLDIERS

LOST THEIR LIVES
IN THE FIGHT FOR IE JIMA.

SOME CLAIM THAT JAPAN'S RESOLUTE
DEFENSE OF THIS TINY ISLAND

LED THE U.S.
TO DROP THE ATOMIC BOMBS

THAT ENDED THE WAR
IN THIS REGION.

IE JIMA STILL HAD ONE
MORE ROLE TO PLAY.

IE JIMA STILL HAD ONE
MORE ROLE TO PLAY.

[ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

Translator:
AT THE END OF THE WAR,

THE JAPANESE WENT
TO THE PHILIPPINES VIA HERE.

Narrator:
AFTER TAKING OFF FROM IE JIMA,

THE DELEGATION AGREED
PEACE TERMS IN MANILA,

BEFORE SUBMITTING
TO A PUBLIC DISPLAY.

Meigs: WE'VE ALL HEARD ABOUT
THE JAPANESE

SURRENDERING
TO GENERAL MacARTHUR

ON THE U.S.S. MISSOURI
IN TOKYO BAY.

GENERAL MACARTHUR, WHO LOVED
HIS MILITARY POMP

GENERAL MACARTHUR, WHO LOVED
HIS MILITARY POMP

AND CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD NEVER
HAVE SETTLED

FOR NOT BEING THE CENTER
OF ATTENTION IN THE PROCESS,

OPTED FOR A MUCH MORE PUBLIC

AND CEREMONIAL PROCESS

THAT WAS DOCUMENTED
FOR HISTORY

ON THE DECK
OF THE USS MISSOURI.

BUT IN FACT, THE INITIAL
SURRENDER HAPPENED HERE

AT ONE OF THESE AIR STRIPS.

THIS IS AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN PART
OF THE HISTORY OF THE WAR.

THIS IS AN ALMOST FORGOTTEN PART
OF THE HISTORY OF THE WAR.

Narrator:
TODAY, LITTLE REMAINS OF
THE BLOODY BATTLE FOR IE JIMA.

BUT THE MEMORY OF
THE THOUSANDS

OF JAPANESE SOLDIERS
AND CIVILIANS

WHO DIED HERE LIVES ON.

[ SPEAKING JAPANESE ]

THIS PLACE IS ONE OF THE FEW
PLACES LEFT FROM THE WAR.

NOT ONLY FOR IE JIMA,
BUT ALSO FOR OKINAWA,

SO WE'RE PRESERVING
IT CAREFULLY.

AND FROM THOSE WHO CAME
TO FAITHFULLY REPORT

AND FROM THOSE WHO CAME
TO FAITHFULLY REPORT

ON THE WAR
TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC,

PYLE'S DEATH IS ONE OF
THOSE IRONIES

THAT HAPPENS IN WAR.

THE WAR WAS ALMOST OVER.

THIS WAS REALLY A MOPPING UP
OPERATION AT THIS POINT.

TO THE U. S. TROOPS WHO FOUGHT
AND DIED HERE.

THE AMERICAN CITIZEN SOLDIER
WENT TO THESE PLACES

THEY'D NEVER HEARD OF BEFORE,

AND THEY FOUGHT AND THEY BLED
AND THEY DIED

TO RAISE UP A FLAG ON
THESE ISLANDS.

TO RAISE UP A FLAG ON
THESE ISLANDS.

WHICH SIGNALED THE PROGRESS
OF FREEDOM

AGAINST THE AXIS POWERS
WHO WERE

SET TO THROW DARKNESS OVER
THE WORLD.

THEIR BRAVERY AND SACRIFICE
SHALL BE REMEMBERED.

*

Narrator:
MAROONED IN THE CHILLY WATERS
OF THE CELTIC SEA,

A CLUSTER OF STRUCTURES GUARDS
IRELAND'S BIGGEST HARBOR.

A CLUSTER OF STRUCTURES GUARDS
IRELAND'S BIGGEST HARBOR.

THIS ISLAND UNAMBIGUOUSLY
HAS PRIDE OF PLACE.

QUITE DRAMATICALLY,

IT'S RIGHT IN LINE WITH
THE MAIN

OPENING OF THE HARBOR INTO
THE SEA.

IT'S EXPOSED. IT'S WINDY,
IT'S ISOLATED.

THERE ARE DITCHES,
FENCES AND WALLS.

THIS SAYS
"SECURITY AND STRENGTH."

IT'S REALLY QUITE CLEAR THAT
THIS PLACE WAS A FORT,

IT'S REALLY QUITE CLEAR THAT
THIS PLACE WAS A FORT,

BUT IT'S ALSO A SENSE THAT
THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE

HAPPENING HERE.

THERE'S A WHOLE ABANDONED
VILLAGE ON ONE SIDE

OF THE ISLAND,

RIGHT DOWN BY THE WATER

ALL BOARDED UP
AND FENCED OFF.

Narrator:
THE STRANGE COMBINATION
OF BUILDINGS THAT CLUTTER

THIS SITE PAINT
A CONFUSING PICTURE.

THIS PART IS DARK, IT'S QUIET,
THERE ARE BARS ON THE WINDOWS,

THIS PART IS DARK, IT'S QUIET,
THERE ARE BARS ON THE WINDOWS,

THERE'S A SORT OF OPPRESSIVE
FEELING.

AND THE DARKNESS JUST SWALLOWS
YOU UP

THE FURTHER YOU GO INSIDE.

Selwood: IT FEELS LIKE SOMETHING
OF A TIME MACHINE.

THERE ARE PARTS THAT ARE QUITE
OBVIOUSLY SEVERAL CENTURIES OLD

AND OTHER BITS THAT ONLY
SEEM LIKE 20 YEARS OLD.

Narrator:
AT THE HEART OF THE COMPLEX
IS A LONG BUILDING

THAT APPEARS TO OFFER
UP SOME CLUES.

THERE'S CLEARLY EVIDENCE OF FIRE

HAVING SWEPT THROUGH THIS PLACE
AT SOME POINT.

HAVING SWEPT THROUGH THIS PLACE
AT SOME POINT.

IT FEELS LIKE SOMETHING ACTUALLY
QUITE VIOLENT HAPPENED HERE.

Bell: IT'S THOSE BURNT OUT RUINS
THAT REALLY DRAW YOU IN

AND MAKE YOU WONDER,
"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?"

*

Narrator:
THIS IS SPIKE ISLAND.

TODAY, IT SITS IN IRISH WATERS,
YET THESE DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES

WERE BUILT BY THE BRITISH
MORE THAN 200 YEARS AGO.

LOCAL HISTORIAN,
TOM O'NEILL ONCE WORKED HERE.

LOCAL HISTORIAN,
TOM O'NEILL ONCE WORKED HERE.

O'NEILL: THE FORT HERE WAS BUILT
BY THE BRITISH

BECAUSE THEY WERE ALWAYS AFRAID
THAT AN ENEMY OF THEIRS

WOULD INVADE IRELAND
AND USE IRELAND

THEN AS THE BASE THROUGH WHICH
TO ATTACK THE MAINLAND U.K.

Narrator:
BUILDING THIS STRATEGICALLY
VITAL FORT

COST ALMOST $100 MILLION
IN TODAY'S MONEY.

Selwood:
THIS WAS A REALLY SIGNIFICANT
PROJECT.

THEY STARTED IN 1806, AND IT
TOOK 60 YEARS TO BUILD,

THEY STARTED IN 1806, AND IT
TOOK 60 YEARS TO BUILD,

ACROSS A 24-ACRE SITE.

AND IT'S CUTTING EDGE MILITARY
TECHNOLOGY.

FROM HERE, WE CAN ACTUALLY GET
A PERFECT IDEA

OF HOW CLEVER THE DESIGN WAS,

TO MAKE THIS FORT
AS STRONG AS POSSIBLE.

Narrator:
DEEP TRENCHES SURROUND THE FORT,

WHICH IS BUILT IN
A DISTINCTIVE STAR SHAPE

TO PROTECT IT
FROM EVERY DIRECTION.

THE DESIGN WORKED.

NO ENEMY EVER ATTACKED THE FORT.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S GOING
TO ESCAPE VIOLENCE ALTOGETHER.

MUCH LATER IN ITS LIFE,

IT'S GOING TO BE
ATTACKED FROM WITHIN.

Narrator:
SO, WHO MANAGED TO PENETRATE

SPIKE ISLAND'S
MIGHTY STAR SHAPED FORT?

*

Narrator:
IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY,

THE BRITISH BEGAN BUILDING
A COMMANDING FORT

IN THE SOUTHWEST OF IRELAND.

IT HAD BEEN DESIGNED TO DEFEND
AGAINST THE FRENCH.

BUT WITH NAPOLEON
DEFEATED IN 1815,

THE UNFINISHED FORT
WAS NO LONGER NEEDED.

Bell: THE DEFENSIVE ROLE

WASN'T THE ONLY THING
THIS PLACE WAS USED FOR.

THERE'S MORE THAN ONE STORY
TO TELL ABOUT THIS PLACE.

THERE'S MORE THAN ONE STORY
TO TELL ABOUT THIS PLACE.

Narrator:
BARS ON WINDOWS,
SECURITY SPIKES,

AND REINFORCED GATES SHOW

HOW THE BRITISH RETOOLED
THEIR PRIZED BASTION

TO CONTROL THE IRISH INSTEAD.

Selwood: BEING ON AN ISLAND
WITH FORTIFIED HIGH WALLS

AND EXCELLENT OBSERVATION
AND LOOKOUT POSITIONS,

THAT ALSO MADE THIS SITE IDEAL
TO BE A PRISON.

IN 1845 THE GREAT FAMINE
HIT IRELAND,

IN 1845 THE GREAT FAMINE
HIT IRELAND,

AND THIS IMPERIOUS,
STAR-SHAPED FORT BECAME

A PAUPERS PRISON.

PEOPLE BECAME
MORE DESPERATE,

AND SOME WERE EVEN WILLING TO
BE ARRESTED AND IMPRISONED

JUST TO GET SOME FOOD.

THE SITUATION WAS SO DIRE
THAT THESE

FORTIFIED WALLS SOON HELD
THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS.

ADDITIONALLY, WITH THE BRITISH
GOVERNMENT USING SPIKE ISLAND

AS A STOPOVER FOR CONVICTS ON
ROUTE TO CRIMINAL COLONIES,

THE POPULATION SWELLED
EVEN FURTHER.

AND THE NUMBERS KEPT ON RAISING
BECAUSE OF THE NUMBERS

BEING ARRESTED AND IN PRISON
UNTIL EVENTUALLY

WE HAD TWO AND A HALF
THOUSAND HERE.

AND THAT TWO AND A HALF THOUSAND
MADE IT ONE OF

THE LARGEST PRISONS IN
THE WORLD AT THE TIME.

Narrator:
BUT SOME SENT HERE WERE GUILTY
OF MORE SERIOUS CRIMES.

SOON AN INFAMOUS
PUNISHMENT BLOCK

WAS CONSTRUCTED FOR THE ISLAND'S
MOST DANGEROUS PRISONERS.

YOU WERE SHACKLED BY YOURSELF,

AND YOU EVEN HAD A HOOD PULLED
OVER YOUR FACE

AND YOU EVEN HAD A HOOD PULLED
OVER YOUR FACE

WITH ONLY YOUR EYES TO SEE OUT,

AND THESE CONDITIONS WERE
DESCRIBED AS HELL ON EARTH.

EVENTUALLY THE FAMINE PASSED
AND THE PRISON CLOSED IN 1883.

BUT THIS WOULD NOT LAST
FOR LONG.

IN 1916,
WHEN THE IRISH REPUBLICANS

REBELLED AGAINST BRITAIN'S
OPPRESSIVE MILITARY RULE,

THE FORT AGAIN
PROVED INVALUABLE.

DURING THE IRISH WAR
OF INDEPENDENCE,

DURING THE IRISH WAR
OF INDEPENDENCE,

THIS SITE WAS BROUGHT BACK
INTO USE AGAIN AS A PRISON.

AND SOME OF THE ROOMS HAVE
CHANGED VERY LITTLE SINCE THEN.

THIS WAS WHERE THE CONVICTED
REPUBLICANS WERE HELD.

THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN
THEIR LIVING QUARTERS,

THEIR SLEEPING QUARTERS,
THEIR DINING QUARTERS,

THEIR RECREATION QUARTERS.

WITH BRITISH SOLDIERS
KNOWN AS CROWN FORCES

GUARDING
REPUBLICAN INTERNEES.

HOSTILITY BETWEEN THEM
WAS INEVITABLE.

Auerbach: AND THERE WAS SOME
PRETTY SERIOUS TENSION

Auerbach: AND THERE WAS SOME
PRETTY SERIOUS TENSION

BETWEEN THESE PRISONERS
WHO HAD FOUGHT ON ONE SIDE

AND THE GUARDS
WHO WERE THEIR ENEMIES.

OBVIOUSLY, THERE WAS FRICTION,
THESE WERE THE INDIVIDUALS

THAT HAD BEEN ATTEMPTING
TO KILL CROWN FORCES ANYWAY.

ALTHOUGH THIS WAS A HARSH
PLACE TO SERVE TIME,

THE PRISONERS HAD SOME
ADVANTAGES OVER THE GUARDS.

PRISONERS WERE ALLOWED
THE RECEIVE FOOD PASSES

FROM HOME,

WHICH IN THE END THEN MEANT
THEY WERE PROBABLY

EATING BETTER THAN

EATING BETTER THAN

THE BRITISH SOLDIERS
THAT WERE GUARDING THEM.

Narrator:
THE FAMOUS REVOLUTIONARIES WHO
CAME THROUGH THIS PLACE

RAN RINGS AROUND THE BRITISH.

THERE WAS ONE PARTICULARLY
IMPORTANT INDIVIDUAL HERE

WITH THE PRISONERS AND
HIS REAL NAME WAS TOM MALONE,

HE MADE A NAME
FOR HIMSELF ATTACKING

AND DESTROYING R.I.C. BARRACKS.

HE WAS FAIRLY NEAR THE TOP OF
THE CROWN FORCE'S

MOST WANTED LIST,
AND HE WAS ARRESTED AND CAUGHT

SAFELY ON
CHRISTMAS MORNING, 1920.

SAFELY ON
CHRISTMAS MORNING, 1920.

Narrator:
MALONE WAS A COMMANDER
IN THE REPUBLICAN ARMY.

HE WAS ONCE DESCRIBED
AS IRELAND'S HOUDINI

WHEN HE ESCAPED
THIS FORTRESS JAIL,

HELPED BY THE PRISON'S
CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN.

HIS COMRADES HAD
TO REMAIN INSIDE

UNTIL IRISH INDEPENDENCE
IN 1921.

BUT MODERN CELL DOORS,
LOCKS, AND PARTITIONS

SUGGEST SPIKE ISLAND'S ROLE
AS A PRISON WASN'T YET OVER.

SUGGEST SPIKE ISLAND'S ROLE
AS A PRISON WASN'T YET OVER.

IN 1985, THE FORT WAS AGAIN
USED AS A PRISON,

BUT A CIVILIAN PRISON THIS TIME.

THERE HAD BEEN A SPATE OF
INCREASED CRIME

AND SO SPIKE ISLAND
WAS OPENED AGAIN

TO ABSORB
SOME OF THESE EXTRA INMATES.

Narrator: THIS TIME, IT WAS
THE IRISH THEMSELVES

WHO PUT THE PRISON FORT TO USE.

THIS AREA WAS CONVERTED
INTO MODERN CELLS IN 1985.

THIS AREA WAS CONVERTED
INTO MODERN CELLS IN 1985.

THERE WERE 25 FOUR-MAN CELLS
IN TOTAL

AND BACK THEN, GAVE THE CIVIL
PRISON A CAPACITY OF 102.

Narrator: OTHER BLOCKS WERE
LESS WELL SECURED.

THE PLAN WAS TO SEND FAIRLY LOW
RISK INMATES TO SPIKE ISLAND,

AND IF THAT HAD BEEN
FOLLOWED THROUGH,

THERE WOULDN'T HAVE
BEEN A PROBLEM.

O'Neill:
BUT WHEN PRISON GOVERNORS
GOT THE OPPORTUNITY

TO GET RID OF SOME PRISONERS,
WELL, NATURALLY ENOUGH,

THEY GOT RID
OF THEIR TROUBLEMAKERS

IF THEY POSSIBLY COULD.

IF THEY POSSIBLY COULD.

A LOT OF VERY HIGH RISK INMATES
ARRIVE,

AND THIS PLACE SIMPLY
ISN'T DESIGNED TO HOLD THEM.

Narrator:
DAMAGE FOUND AT ONE PART OF
THE MAKESHIFT JAIL

POINTS TO THE CONSEQUENCES.

Auerbach:
AS YOU LOOK CLOSER AND YOU SEE
THE DAMAGE,

YOU SEE THE FIRE DAMAGE,
THE CHARRED WINDOWS,

YOU REALIZE THAT THERE WAS
SOME FINAL DRAMATIC EVENT

THAT WAS THE LAST CHAPTER
OF THIS SITE.

THIS WAS ONE OF THE DORMITORIES
WHERE PRISONERS

WERE HELD IN 1985.

WERE HELD IN 1985.

ON THE NIGHT OF
THE 31st OF AUGUST,

JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT,
THE RIOT STARTED,

THE PRISONERS SIMPLY
BROKE UP THE WOODEN FLOOR

AND SET FIRE TO IT.

AND WHEN THE FIRE WAS ON,

THEY SIMPLY KICKED DOWN
THE WOODEN DOORS AND ESCAPED.

Selwood: THEY EVEN MANAGED TO
GET AS FAR AS THE PIER,

BUT THEY COULDN'T GET
ANY FURTHER,

AND THAT'S WHY YOU BUILD
A PRISON ON AN ISLAND.

Auerbach:
THEY CAN'T GET OFF,

SO THEY DECIDE
TO DO THE NEXT BEST THING,

SO THEY DECIDE
TO DO THE NEXT BEST THING,

THEY DECIDE TO BREAK THAT
INTO THE PRISON

AND DESTROY
ALL THE RECORDS THERE.

Narrator:
BUT THE FULLY BASTIONED
BRITISH-BUILT FORT

ISN'T THAT EASY TO BREAK INTO.

THE PRISONERS HAD TO USE
AN EXCAVATOR

TO BREAK DOWN THE DOORS.

TOM O'NEILL WAS A GUARD HERE
AT THE TIME.

HE WITNESSED THE CHAOS
THAT ENSUED.

O'NEILL: THE RIOT WAS JUST A
SIMPLE WANTON DESTRUCTION.

O'NEILL: THE RIOT WAS JUST A
SIMPLE WANTON DESTRUCTION.

PHOTOCOPIERS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
AND SMACKED OFF THE GROUND.

TINS OF PAINT OPENED
AND SCATTERED ALL OVER,

IT WAS JUST THE WANTON
DESTRUCTION OF IT REALLY.

Narrator:
THE RIOT WAS EVENTUALLY
CONTAINED.

SPIKE ISLAND WAS USED AS
A PRISON FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS.

THE PRISON WAS REMODELED
AND MADE MUCH MORE SECURE.

THEY'D LEARNED THEIR LESSON.

O'NEILL: EVENTUALLY IT CLOSED
FULLY IN 2004,

PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE COST
OF KEEPING PRISONERS HERE.

PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF THE COST
OF KEEPING PRISONERS HERE.

*

HAVING SPENT NEARLY 200 YEARS
OFF LIMITS TO CIVILIANS,

SPIKE ISLAND IS NOW OPEN TO
THE PUBLIC.

THIS YEAR, NOW WE'LL BE
TOUCHING ON 80,000 VISITORS.

IT IS NOW A HERITAGE SITE.

THE ISLAND IS ALSO
A NATIONAL MONUMENT.

IT'S COLORFUL HISTORY PRESERVED
FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

IN MORE RECENT TIMES,

PEOPLE HAVE REFERRED TO THIS
SITE AS IRELAND'S ALCATRAZ,

PEOPLE HAVE REFERRED TO THIS
SITE AS IRELAND'S ALCATRAZ,

BUT ACTUALLY THERE'S CLEARLY
A LOT MORE TO THIS PLACE THAN

JUST A PRISON.

*

BUT WHAT WE REALLY HAVE HERE

IS A PLACE THAT PROVIDES
SNAPSHOTS OF IRELAND'S HISTORY

AT CRUCIAL MOMENTS

AND THE CONFLICT THAT COULD
CHARACTERIZE THAT HISTORY

AND THE VIOLENCE
THAT WAS THERE AS WELL.

Narrator: IN SPAIN, THE REMAINS
OF A HILLTOP GHOST TOWN

Narrator: IN SPAIN, THE REMAINS
OF A HILLTOP GHOST TOWN

REVEAL THAT THIS SITE
IS STEEPED IN RELIGION.

*

Wawro:
THIS PLACE HAS BEEN INHABITED
FOR CENTURIES,

AT LEAST SINCE THE KNIGHTS
TEMPLAR IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

Nusbacher:
THESE LITTLE TOWNS IN THE
SPANISH HILLS

WERE ALWAYS ON THE VERY EDGE
OF SURVIVAL.

Narrator:
THE MOST PROMINENT BUILDING
IS THE CHURCH.

IT WAS CLEARLY THE CENTER
OF THIS COMMUNITY.

IT WAS CLEARLY THE CENTER
OF THIS COMMUNITY.

BUT AS YOU GET A LITTLE CLOSER,
YOU CAN SEE IT'S IN RUINS.

Nusbacher:
THIS IS A PLACE THAT HAS BEEN
TORN TO PIECES AND HERE,

WE'VE GOT BUILDINGS THAT
LOOK LIKE THEY'VE BEEN

SCORCHED AND CRUMBLED.

A LOT OF THESE STRUCTURES
HAVE BEEN LEVELED BY ARTILLERY.

WE SEE THE STONEWORK POCKMARKED
WITH SHELL FRAGMENTS,

BULLET HOLES,
THAT SORT OF THING.

Narrator:
SOME TRACES HINT AT WHO WAS
AT WAR IN THIS PLACE.

Narrator:
SOME TRACES HINT AT WHO WAS
AT WAR IN THIS PLACE.

Wawro: WE SEE A LOT OF GRAFFITI,

WHICH ITSELF
HAS SOME REAL SIGNIFICANCE

IN SOLVING THIS MYSTERY.

THEN IF WE POKE AROUND
A LITTLE MORE,

WE COME ACROSS THIS PLAQUE
TO ROBERT HALE MERRIMAN.

Nusbacher:
THAT DOES NOT SOUND SPANISH,
AND WHEN I READ FURTHER

AND I SEE THE NAME,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

I KNOW THAT AMERICANS HAVE
DONE SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT HERE.

I KNOW THAT AMERICANS HAVE
DONE SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT HERE.

Narrator:
A BAND OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS
ONCE CAME TO THIS DESOLATE SITE

AND LEFT THEIR IDEALISM
SMASHED IN THESE RUINS.

*

Narrator:
THIS TOWN IS CORBERA D'EBRE.

TODAY, THERE'S LITTLE LEFT
OF THE THRIVING COMMUNITY

WHERE JOAN MONTAñA'S FATHER
WAS BORN IN THE 1920s.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Translator:
WE ARE IN ONE OF THE MAIN
STREETS OF THE OLD TOWN.

Translator:
WE ARE IN ONE OF THE MAIN
STREETS OF THE OLD TOWN.

YOU HAVE TO IMAGINE,
IT WAS ALL HOUSES HERE.

YOU CAN EVEN SEE THE REMAINS
OF THE ORIGINAL COBBLED STREET.

AND THESE ARE THE FOUNDATIONS
OF THE HOUSE

WHERE MY FATHER WAS BORN.

Narrator:
BACK THEN, THE RESIDENTS
OF CORBERA

LIVED AS THEY HAD DONE
FOR CENTURIES --

THE CHURCH AND THE LANDOWNERS
HELD ALL THE POWER.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Translator:
THE MAIN CHURCH WAS BUILT HERE
BACK IN THE 13th CENTURY.

Translator:
THE MAIN CHURCH WAS BUILT HERE
BACK IN THE 13th CENTURY.

AND THE NERVE CENTER OF THIS
RURAL COMMUNITY

WAS THE CHURCH SQUARE.

ONCE UPON A TIME, THIS LITTLE
SPANISH VILLAGE MIGHT HAVE BEEN

FILLED WITH POOR PEOPLE,
BUT THEY WERE POOR PEOPLE

WHO WERE STRONG
IN THEIR CHRISTIAN FAITH

AND THEY UNDERSTOOD THEMSELVES
AS SUBJECTS

OF A CATHOLIC MONARCHY.

Narrator: YET, THE DAMAGED ROT
ON THIS CHURCH

Narrator: YET, THE DAMAGED ROT
ON THIS CHURCH

SUGGESTS SOMETHING CHANGED.

IN 1931,

A NEW LEFT WING GOVERNMENT
SOUGHT TO WREST CONTROL

FROM THE CATHOLIC LANDOWNERS
WHO RULED SPAIN,

BUT IT FACED STRONG OPPOSITION.

THERE WAS AN EXTREME RIGHT WING
MILITARY CLIQUE,

WHO FELT THAT THEY HAD A CHANCE
TO SAVE SPAIN.

YOU HAVE SENIOR ARMY OFFICERS,

YOU HAVE SENIOR ARMY OFFICERS,

YOU'VE GOT SOME
VERY WEALTHY PEOPLE,

AND YOU'VE GOT
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

AND THAT IS
THE NATIONALIST PARTY.

Narrator:
IN 1936, LED BY THE FASCIST
GENERAL FRANCISCO FRANCO,

THE NATIONALISTS STAGED A COUP
AND A BITTER

CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT.

THE RUBBLE OF CORBERA REVEALS

THE RUBBLE OF CORBERA REVEALS

HOW THE CONFLICT
SOON REACHED THE TOWN.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Translator:
HERE WE CAN MAKE OUT THE TRACES
OF A SERIES OF HISTORICAL MARKS.

THIS GRAFFITI FROM THE TIME
READS, "SEIZED C.N.T."

THE C.N.T., IT'S
THE SPANISH ACRONYM

FOR THE NATIONAL LABOR
CONFEDERATION.

WHAT THAT MEANT IN THAT PLACE
IN THAT TIME

WHAT THAT MEANT IN THAT PLACE
IN THAT TIME

WAS THAT THESE GUYS
WERE ANARCHISTS.

Narrator:
THE ANARCHISTS HAD TAKEN
ADVANTAGE OF THE CONFLICT.

ONE ARMED FACTION
SWEPT INTO CORBERA.

Nusbacher:
WHEN THE C.N.T. ANARCHISTS
OCCUPIED THIS VILLAGE,

THEY SAW THE VILLAGE PRIEST
AS PART OF THE NATIONALISTS,

THE FASCISTS, THE ENEMY.

AND SO, THEY DID THEM IN.

Narrator:
THE ANARCHISTS KILLED CORBERA'S
PRIEST AND HIS ASSISTANTS.

BUT WHEN THEY LEFT, THE TOWN
ITSELF WAS STILL STANDING.

MEANWHILE, THE REST OF SPAIN
WAS SWEPT UP IN THE UNEVEN FIGHT

BETWEEN THE FASCIST NATIONALISTS
AND THE LEFT WING REPUBLICANS.

Wawro:
THE REPUBLICANS, THE GOVERNMENT
SIDE OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR,

HAVE TO FIGHT THROUGHOUT WITH
ONE HAND TIED BEHIND THEIR BACK.

THEY HAVE NO AMERICAN AID,
NO BRITISH AID,

AGAINST THIS BIG
ORGANIZED NATIONALIST ARMY,

AGAINST THIS BIG
ORGANIZED NATIONALIST ARMY,

COMPLETELY FUNDED AND SUPPLIED
BY FASCIST ITALY

AND NAZI GERMANY.

Narrator:
IN THE 1930s, THERE WERE PLENTY
OF YOUNG IDEALISTS

WHO WERE WILLING
TO FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY.

2,800 AMERICANS VOLUNTEERED

TO FIGHT ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE
IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR,

AND THEY CAME TO BE KNOWN
AS THE LINCOLN BRIGADE.

Meigs: SOME OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT WRITERS

AND THINKERS OF THE DAY
WANTED TO GO SIGN UP TO FIGHT.

AND THINKERS OF THE DAY
WANTED TO GO SIGN UP TO FIGHT.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY COVERED THE WAR
AS A NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENT

AND GEORGE ORWELL SPENT TIME
FIGHTING WITH THE REPUBLICANS.

Narrator:
THE CAUSE ATTRACTED LESSER
KNOWN FREEDOM FIGHTERS, TOO.

Wawro: ROBERT HALE MERRIMAN,

THE COMMANDER
OF THE LINCOLN BRIGADE,

HE GIVES UP HIS STUDIES
TO GO OVER

AND LEAD THIS BRIGADE
IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR.

Narrator: SO, WHAT HAPPENED ON
THE ANCIENT STREETS OF CORBERA

Narrator: SO, WHAT HAPPENED ON
THE ANCIENT STREETS OF CORBERA

TO STOP THESE YOUNG IDEALISTS
IN THEIR TRACKS?

*

Narrator:
BY THE START OF 1938,

THE HILLTOP TOWN OF CORBERA
HAD SO FAR ESCAPED

THE CARNAGE OF SPAIN'S
VISCOUS CIVIL WAR.

BUT POCKMARKED HOUSES AND
SWATHES OF DERELICT GROUND

SUGGEST THAT WOULD SOON CHANGE.

CORBERA'S PROXIMITY
TO THE EBRO RIVER

MEANT THE CONFLICT
WAS FAST APPROACHING.

MEANT THE CONFLICT
WAS FAST APPROACHING.

Wawro:
IF THE NATIONALISTS CAN TAKE THE
EBRO RIVER AND PUSH TO THE SEA,

THEY'RE THEN GOING
TO DRIVE A WEDGE

BETWEEN
THE REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD,

SO IT'S VITAL FOR
THE NATIONALISTS TO WIN THERE,

AND IT'S VITAL FOR
THE REPUBLICANS TO HOLD THERE.

Narrator:
ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF CORBERA,
U.S. FREEDOM FIGHTER,

ROBERT MERRIMAN AND
THE EXHAUSTED LINCOLN BRIGADE

DUG IN WITH THE REPUBLICANS.

Montaña: [ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Translator:
BY MARCH, 1938, WE KNOW SOLDIERS
WERE CAMPED HERE

Translator:
BY MARCH, 1938, WE KNOW SOLDIERS
WERE CAMPED HERE

VERY CLOSE TO CORBERA.

THESE SOLDIERS WERE MEMBERS
OF THE INTERNATIONAL BRIGADE,

AND THEY WERE SUFFERING A LOT.

THEY WERE BEING DEFEATED,

AND THEY'D COME TO THE VICINITY
OF CORBERA TO REGROUP.

Narrator:
MERRIMAN BELIEVED IF HE COULD
JUST REACH

THE REPUBLICAN HELD TOWN,
HE AND HIS MEN WOULD BE SAFE.

THE REPUBLICAN HELD TOWN,
HE AND HIS MEN WOULD BE SAFE.

BUT UNBEKNOWN TO HIM,

THE FASCIST NATIONALISTS
HAD SEIZED CORBERA.

MERRIMAN WAS NOW TRAPPED
BEHIND ENEMY LINES.

AND IN APRIL, 1938,
JUST OUTSIDE CORBERA,

HE UNWITTINGLY WALKED
INTO A NATIONALIST CAMP.

Nusbacher:
AND MERRIMAN AND HIS SECOND
IN COMMAND

ARE CAPTURED BY THEIR ENEMIES,
AND SO FAR AS WE CAN TELL,

THEY WERE PROBABLY PUT UP
AGAINST A WALL AND SHOT

RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT.

RIGHT THERE ON THE SPOT.

Narrator:
THE REPUBLICANS FOUGHT ON,

EVENTUALLY
THEY RECAPTURED CORBERA,

BUT THIS BARE HILL
ONCE COVERED IN HOUSES,

TOOK THE BRUNT
OF THE FASCIST REVENGE.

Montaña: [ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Translator:
THE VERY DAY THE REPUBLICANS
RECONQUERED CORBERA,

THE BOMBING STARTED
AND CONTINUED ALMOST DAILY.

MUSSOLINI SENDS TROOPS
TO AID THE NATIONALISTS

LED BY GENERAL FRANCO.

THE GERMANS SEND
THE CONDOR LEGION,

THIS ADVANCED AIR FORCE.

THIS ADVANCED AIR FORCE.

FRANCO SAYS, "I'M GOING TO
DESTROY THE REPUBLICANS

IN A BATTLE OF ATTRITION,
AND THAT BATTLE IS FOCUSED

ON THIS VILLAGE
OF CORBERA."

Montaña: [ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Translator:
THIS PLACE WAS PROTECTED
FROM ARTILLERY FIRE,

SO SOME SOLDIERS MADE
MAKESHIFT SHELTERS HERE.

THEY DUG IN AND TOOK ADVANTAGE
OF THE HOUSE WALL.

AND AFTER THE BOMBING STOPPED,
THE STRAFING STARTED.

WE CAN STILL SEE THE IMPACT
ON THIS WALL.

WE CAN STILL SEE THE IMPACT
ON THIS WALL.

Narrator:
WHEN THE BATTLE OF THE RIVER
EBRO FINALLY ENDED,

MOST OF CORBERA
HAD BEEN DESTROYED.

Montaña: [ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Translator: THEY CALL CORBERA
THE ETERNAL FLAME.

NAILS AND OTHER METALLIC THINGS
ARE MELTED AND FOSSILIZED HERE.

WE CAN EVEN SEE THE KEY

THAT WAS USED TO OPEN
A TIN OF SARDINES.

Wawro:
JUST A GLANCE AT THE VILLAGE
OF CORBERA

Wawro:
JUST A GLANCE AT THE VILLAGE
OF CORBERA

AND THE DESTRUCTION THERE,

IT POINTS AGAIN TO THE SAVAGERY
OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR.

Narrator: GENERAL FRANCO'S
NATIONALIST PARTY

TOOK CONTROL OF SPAIN IN 1939,

AND RAN IT AS A DICTATORSHIP
FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS.

WHEN SPAIN WAS AGAIN PEACEFUL
BUT A DICTATORSHIP,

VILLAGERS CAME BACK

AND THE PLACE HAD BEEN POUNDED
TO SMITHEREENS.

THEY REBUILT THEIR VILLAGE
DOWN BY THE ROAD.

TODAY, CORBERA REMEMBERS

THOSE WHO FOUGHT TO THE DEATH
FOR A BETTER WORLD.

Nusbacher:
THEY CAME TO STOP THE KIND
OF FASCISM

THAT WAS GOING TO BE THE RUIN
OF EUROPE IN THE YEARS TO COME.

THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO WERE
KILLING NAZIS

AT A TIME WHEN GOVERNMENTS
WEREN'T READY FOR THAT YET.

AT A TIME WHEN GOVERNMENTS
WEREN'T READY FOR THAT YET.

THE FIRST PEOPLE TO DO THAT

ARE THESE IDEALISTIC
VOLUNTEERS IN SPAIN.

MANY HISTORIANS HAVE ARGUED
THAT HAD THE WESTERN

DEMOCRACIES INTERVENED MORE

FORCEFULLY ON THE SIDE OF
THE REPUBLIC,

FRANCO WOULD HAVE
BEEN DEFEATED.

SPAIN WOULD HAVE REMAINED
A REPUBLIC,

WOULD HAVE REMAINED PART OF
THE WESTERN DEMOCRACIES.

INSTEAD, THEY FALL INTO THIS
NATIONALIST FASCIST

REGIME OF FRANCO UNTIL THE
19 SEVENTIES,

Narrator:
NEAR THE BORDER BETWEEN
GERMANY AND FRANCE

IN THE LONG DISPUTED
REGION OF ALSACE

LIES A MYSTERIOUS COMPLEX,
WITH AN EXPLOSIVE PAST.

*

Wawro:
THERE'S A BIG CENTRAL BUILDING

WHERE ALL THE GLASS
HAS BEEN SHATTERED,

BLOWN OUT.
SOMETHING VIOLENT HAPPENED HERE.

BLOWN OUT.
SOMETHING VIOLENT HAPPENED HERE.

Barratt:
WHEN YOU LOOK UP, YOU'VE GOT
THESE CRAZY STRUCTURES

JUST PERCHED HIGH UP
THERE ABOVE,

LOOKING DOWN ON EVERYTHING.

Narrator:
WHATEVER'S BEING MADE HERE,

SOMEONE WENT TO GREAT EFFORTS
TO MOVE IT OUT OF THIS PLACE.

Bell: IT HAS A TRAIN LINE
RUNNING THROUGH

THAT'S COMPLETELY OVERGROWN.

IT'S CLEARLY NOT BEEN USED
IN DECADES.

AND THERE ON THE TRACKS IS
A TRAIN THAT'S JUST BEEN LEFT.

Narrator:
THIS INCONGRUOUS COLLECTION
OF DERELICT BUILDINGS

Narrator:
THIS INCONGRUOUS COLLECTION
OF DERELICT BUILDINGS

SEEMS TO MAKE LITTLE SENSE.

Barratt:
THERE'S SOMETHING HERE THAT
PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO KILL OVER.

IT'S THAT PRECIOUS AND THAT
ESSENTIAL.

Narrator:
IT'S A MIS-SHAPEN FACTORY

BUILT TO PRODUCE
SOMETHING IMPORTANT, BUT WHAT?

*

Narrator:
AN INDUSTRIAL SITE IN FRANCE
IS A PERPLEXING VISION --

A WAREHOUSE WITHOUT WALLS,
A SHED TEETERING ON STILTS,

AND A TRAIN TRACK GOING NOWHERE.

THE FIRST CLUE TO
WHAT'S GOING ON HERE

LIES HALF A MILE UNDERGROUND.

THEY WERE DIGGING FOR SOME
VALUABLE COMMODITY HERE,

THEY WERE DIGGING FOR SOME
VALUABLE COMMODITY HERE,

BUT IT WASN'T GOLD, IT WASN'T
DIAMONDS, IT WASN'T SILVER.

Narrator: THIS SPRAWLING PLANT
IS CARREAU RODOLPHE.

IT WAS BUILT TO EXTRACT
A PRECIOUS MINERAL

FROM DEEP UNDERGROUND.

JEAN MISIANO ONCE WORKED HERE.

Misiano: [ SPEAKING FRENCH ]

Translator: I SPENT 30 YEARS
WORKING FOR THIS ENTERPRISE

WHILE WORKING CONDITIONS
WERE INCREDIBLY TOUGH.

THIS IS THE ELEVATOR
THAT CARRIED

THE MINERS BOTH UP AND DOWN.

WE WERE AT THE TOP
OF THE RODOLPHE 1 SHAFT,

WHICH WENT DOWN 750 METERS.

Bell: IT WAS NASTY WORK DOWN
IN THE MINES.

IT WAS HOT AND CRAMPED,
AND IF YOU HIT A POCKET OF GAS,

IT COULD TRIGGER
A DEADLY EXPLOSION.

Misiano: [SPEAKING FRENCH ]

Translator:
IT'S VERY DANGEROUS HERE

AND EXPENSIVE TRYING
TO GET THIS MINERAL OUT.

Narrator:
MORE THAN 600 PEOPLE LOST
THEIR LIVES AT THIS SITE

DURING A CENTURY OF OPERATION.

DURING A CENTURY OF OPERATION.

WHAT PRECIOUS MINERAL
WAS WORTH THIS LEVEL OF RISK?

Misiano: [ SPEAKING FRENCH ]

Translator:
CARREAU RODOLPHE AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY

WAS A STRATEGIC PLACE
FOR THE PRODUCTION

OF A MINERAL CALLED POTASH.

POTASH IS ONE OF THE BEST
FERTILIZERS GOING,

AND CARREAU RODOLPHE WAS SITTING
ON TOP OF THE MOTHER LOAD.

Narrator: THE FIRST MINE OPENED
HERE IN 1913,

Narrator: THE FIRST MINE OPENED
HERE IN 1913,

TO EXTRACT THE MINERAL
THE WHOLE WORLD WANTED.

AT THE BEGINNING OF
THE 20th CENTURY,

YOU HAVE A BIG EXPLOSION
IN POPULATION.

WE NEED TO VERY QUICKLY GROW
MORE CROPS AND BETTER CROPS,

AND FOR THAT YOU NEED
FERTILIZER.

AND A MAJOR PART OF FERTILIZER
IS POTASSIUM.

AND HERE, THE POTASH
BURIED UNDERGROUND

CONTAINS THAT MAGIC INGREDIENT.

Narrator:
THIS SITE LIES IN ALSACE,

A REGION THAT FRANCE AND GERMANY
HAD LONG FOUGHT OVER.

A REGION THAT FRANCE AND GERMANY
HAD LONG FOUGHT OVER.

THE OPENING OF THIS PLACE
MADE IT EVEN MORE DESIRABLE.

CARREAU RODOLPHE WAS ONE OF
THE ONLY POTASH MINES

IN THE WORLD
OUTSIDE OF GERMANY,

BUT THAT PUT A HUGE TARGET
ON ITS BACK.

WHEN WORLD WAR I BREAKS OUT
IN AUGUST 1914,

IN THAT INITIAL GERMAN
RUSH INTO FRANCE,

THEY OVERRUN
THE CARREAU RODOLPHE,

AND THEY TAKE THIS
MOTHER LOAD OF POTASH.

AND THEY TAKE THIS
MOTHER LOAD OF POTASH.

EVEN MORE WORRYING IS
THAT POTASH IS A KEY INGREDIENT

IN GUNPOWDER.

Narrator:
THIS OVERGROWN RAILROAD

ONCE HEADED TOWARD THE BATTLE
TRENCHES OF WORLD WAR I,

AND IT WASN'T ONLY CARRYING
THE INGREDIENTS FOR GUNPOWDER.

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS SUGGESTED
THAT AMMUNITION WAS SEEN

LEAVING THIS
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.

Misiano: [SPEAKING FRENCH ]

Translator: FROM 1914 TO 1915,

THE GERMANS INSTALLED
A NARROW GAUGE RAILWAY

STARTING HERE
AT CARREAU RODOLPHE.

STARTING HERE
AT CARREAU RODOLPHE.

THE MUNITIONS WERE TRANSPORTED
TO THE FRONT BY TRAIN.

Narrator: NOW THAT IT WAS KEY
TO THE GERMAN WAR EFFORT,

BOTH THE BRITISH
AND MANY FRENCH LOCALS

WANTED TO DESTROY THIS PLACE.

SO WHO GOT HERE FIRST?

Wawro: NEW YEAR'S EVE,
THE LAST DAY OF 1915,

THIS WHOLE POTASH FACILITY
IS JUST RIPPED APART

BY A TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION.

Narrator: THE ENTIRE COMPLEX
WAS REDUCED TO RUBBLE.

THE MUNITIONS SECRETLY STORED
AT THE FACTORY

ONLY ADDED TO THE BLAST.

IT SHOOK HOUSES
AND RATTLED WINDOWS

20 MILES AWAY FROM THE SITE.

BUT THE MYSTERY PERSISTS,
WHO DID IT?

Bell:
IT WOULD MAKE SENSE IF IT WAS

AN ALLIED AERIAL BOMBING
ATTACK ON THE MINE,

BUT IF YOU ASK THE LOCALS,
THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

BUT IF YOU ASK THE LOCALS,
THEY DIDN'T BELIEVE IT.

Misiano: [ SPEAKING FRENCH ]

Translator:
ATTACKING ON THE 31st OF
DECEMBER IS SYMBOLIC,

SINCE IT'S NEW YEAR'S EVE
AND EVERYBODY CELEBRATES THEN.

SO THEY MIGHT HAVE CELEBRATED
THIS VICTORY, TOO.

Barratt:
IT'S AN INTERESTING DATE
TO HAVE AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT.

YOU'D NORMALLY EXPECT THAT
TO HAPPEN

WHEN EVERYTHING
WAS IN FULL FLOW.

WE'LL NEVER KNOW.

Narrator:
WHATEVER CAUSED IT, THE BLAST
MEANT THE MINE WAS OUT OF ACTION

UNTIL LONG AFTER
THE FIRST WORLD WAR ENDED.

UNTIL LONG AFTER
THE FIRST WORLD WAR ENDED.

BY WHICH TIME, CARREAU RODOLPHE
WAS BACK UNDER FRENCH CONTROL.

Barratt:
IT DIDN'T ACTUALLY OPEN AGAIN
UNTIL 1929.

BUT THEN, IT WAS INTO FULL FLOW

BECAUSE THE WORLD
STILL NEEDED POTASH.

Narrator:
THE CRAZED COLLECTION
OF STRUCTURES

THAT LITTER THIS PLACE

WERE ALL BUILT TO SUPPLY
THIS PRESSING NEED.

Barratt:
THE THING THAT FASCINATES ME
MOST ABOUT THIS SITE,

IS OF COURSE, THE HEADSTOCKS,

THESE HUGE SHEDS
THAT YOU SEE UP IN THE SKY.

THESE HUGE SHEDS
THAT YOU SEE UP IN THE SKY.

THE MINE RELIED ON LIFTING
HUNDREDS OF TONS OF RUBBLE

OUT OF THE GROUND.

IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE SURFACE
ON A CABLE SYSTEM,

WHICH RAN THROUGH
ENORMOUS PULLEY WHEELS

ATTACHED TO THE STRUCTURES.

POT ASH HERE IS LOCATED BETWEEN
500 AND 2,000 METERS DEEP,

SO YOU NEED TO DIG DEEP
VERTICAL SHAFTS TO GO DOWN

AND EXTRACT THE ORE.

Narrator:
OVER THE COMING DECADES,

500 MILLION TONS OF POTASH
WERE MINED HERE.

500 MILLION TONS OF POTASH
WERE MINED HERE.

BUT AS THEY DUG DEEPER,
THE COST OF EXTRACTION GREW.

EVENTUALLY, IN 2003,
THE LAST MINESHAFT HERE CLOSED.

*

TODAY, THE DORMANT MINE
STANDS EMPTY.

IT MAY HAVE SEEN OUT
TWO WORLD WARS,

BUT THE HULK OF THE MACHINERY
AND WHAT'S LEFT BEHIND

BUT THE HULK OF THE MACHINERY
AND WHAT'S LEFT BEHIND

TELLS THE STORY OF THE ACTUAL
PEOPLE THAT WORKED HERE.

*

Misiano: [ SPEAKING FRENCH ]

Translator: ME, I'VE
LIVED HERE FOR 30 YEARS,

AN EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE.

AND THIS STORY,
THIS MINING ADVENTURE,

WHICH IS NOT ONLY
A TECHNICAL,

INDUSTRIAL, AND ECONOMICAL ONE,

BUT ALSO A HUMAN
AND CULTURAL ADVENTURE.

I'M ONLY AN ACTOR, A GUARDIAN
PASSING BY WHO WANTS TO PASS

THIS HERITAGE ONTO THE
NEXT GENERATION.