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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:00,667 --> 00:00:01,000 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 2 00:00:02,500 --> 00:00:05,667 Narrator: A PECULIAR MIX OF STRUCTURES LEFT DERELICT 3 00:00:05,733 --> 00:00:07,500 IN A PARISIAN PARK... 4 00:00:07,567 --> 00:00:09,767 Auerbach: THERE SEEMS TO BE NO RHYME OR REASON TO IT. 5 00:00:09,833 --> 00:00:12,333 IT'S ALL JUST SMASHED TOGETHER IN THE SAME SPOT, 6 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:15,133 AND THAT'S PART OF THE WONDER AND MYSTERY OF THIS PLACE. 7 00:00:16,967 --> 00:00:20,500 Narrator: ...A WATERY GRAVEYARD FORGOTTEN BY TIME, 8 00:00:20,567 --> 00:00:23,900 THE SILENT PROTECTOR OF AN ENGLISH VILLAGE... 9 00:00:23,967 --> 00:00:27,000 THIS ISN'T JUST ONE OLD ROWING BOAT TOSSED ASIDE. 10 00:00:27,067 --> 00:00:30,000 THESE THINGS DOMINATE THE LANDSCAPE. 11 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:30,767 THESE THINGS DOMINATE THE LANDSCAPE. 12 00:00:32,100 --> 00:00:33,900 Narrator: A NETWORK OF STRUCTURES 13 00:00:33,967 --> 00:00:37,833 FORGED THROUGH DECEPTION ON A GRAND SCALE... 14 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:40,100 Auerbach: AUDACIOUS DOESN'T COVER IT. 15 00:00:40,167 --> 00:00:43,367 YOU HAD A TEAM OF 1,000 OVERSEERS WATCHING, 16 00:00:43,433 --> 00:00:45,333 AND IF THEY WERE CAUGHT BREAKING THOSE RULES, 17 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,800 IT COULD HAVE STARTED ANOTHER WAR. 18 00:00:49,933 --> 00:00:52,433 Narrator: ...AND A SITE ON AMERICA'S EAST COAST 19 00:00:52,500 --> 00:00:55,133 HARBORING VAST SECRETS. 20 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,833 Bell: INSIDE, YOU'RE PRESENTED WITH THIS LARGE, CAVERNOUS VOID, 21 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:00,000 AND THEN, AS YOU VENTURE DEEPER, YOU SEE THESE RUSTING ELEMENTS 22 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,000 AND THEN, AS YOU VENTURE DEEPER, YOU SEE THESE RUSTING ELEMENTS 23 00:01:04,067 --> 00:01:07,433 THAT SUGGEST THAT SOMETHING HEFTY WAS BEING HOISTED 24 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:09,800 OR LIFTED UP AND DOWN HERE. 25 00:01:09,867 --> 00:01:18,100 * 26 00:01:18,167 --> 00:01:22,933 Narrator: DECAYING RELICS, RUINS OF LOST WORLDS 27 00:01:23,067 --> 00:01:29,200 FORGED THROUGH YEARS OF TOIL, NOW HAUNTED BY THE PAST, 28 00:01:29,267 --> 00:01:30,000 THEIR SECRETS WAITING TO BE REVEALED. 29 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,000 THEIR SECRETS WAITING TO BE REVEALED. 30 00:01:34,567 --> 00:01:37,500 -- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com 31 00:01:37,567 --> 00:01:40,833 CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS 32 00:01:40,900 --> 00:01:46,200 * 33 00:01:46,267 --> 00:01:51,600 * 34 00:01:51,667 --> 00:01:55,933 Narrator: PARIS, FRANCE -- THE CITY OF LIGHT. 35 00:01:57,467 --> 00:02:00,000 GAY PARIS -- IT'S A PROPER METROPOLIS, 36 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:00,700 GAY PARIS -- IT'S A PROPER METROPOLIS, 37 00:02:00,767 --> 00:02:01,000 A REAL MELTING POT FOR CULTURES AROUND THE WORLD. 38 00:02:04,567 --> 00:02:07,067 Mitchell: LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND BROTHERHOOD. 39 00:02:07,067 --> 00:02:10,933 IT'S REALLY A PARTICULAR VISION OF HUMAN DEMOCRACY, 40 00:02:11,067 --> 00:02:13,900 OF EQUALITY, THAT REALLY RESONATES IN FRANCE. 41 00:02:14,933 --> 00:02:17,133 Narrator: BUT ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY 42 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,500 ARE A SERIES OF CRUMBLING STRUCTURES 43 00:02:19,567 --> 00:02:23,067 THAT DON'T SEEM TO BELONG ANYMORE. 44 00:02:23,133 --> 00:02:25,067 Mitchell: YOU HAVE THIS PARK 45 00:02:25,133 --> 00:02:29,767 THAT COMBINES SOME FEATURES OF SEEMINGLY FAR-AWAY CULTURES. 46 00:02:31,833 --> 00:02:33,633 THERE ARE FACETS OF ARCHITECTURE 47 00:02:33,700 --> 00:02:35,533 THAT LOOK LIKE THEY'VE BEEN AIRLIFTED 48 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,200 FROM AROUND THE WORLD -- VIETNAM, TONGA, CHINA. 49 00:02:40,267 --> 00:02:43,800 THERE'S A BRIDGE THERE THAT LOOKS VAGUELY JAPANESE, 50 00:02:43,867 --> 00:02:46,067 APPROPRIATELY SURROUNDED BY BAMBOO. 51 00:02:48,367 --> 00:02:51,733 ALONE, EACH OF THESE THINGS ARE REALLY BEAUTIFUL, 52 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,933 BUT THEY'RE SMASHED TOGETHER RATHER CURIOUSLY. 53 00:02:55,067 --> 00:02:58,867 Narrator: THE ITEMS IN THIS COLLECTION ARE RELICS OF A PAST 54 00:02:58,933 --> 00:03:00,000 THAT PARISIANS WOULD RATHER FORGET. 55 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:01,000 THAT PARISIANS WOULD RATHER FORGET. 56 00:03:01,933 --> 00:03:06,800 AND AMONG THEM ALL IS A GARDEN WHICH HAS BEEN LEFT TO OVERGROW. 57 00:03:06,867 --> 00:03:09,533 YOU WONDER WHEN THEY'RE BROUGHT TOGETHER WHAT THEY MEAN, 58 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:11,067 WHAT THEY WERE USED FOR, 59 00:03:11,100 --> 00:03:13,467 AND WHY THEY WERE PLACED IN JUXTAPOSITION. 60 00:03:13,533 --> 00:03:16,067 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 61 00:03:16,133 --> 00:03:20,167 Narrator: THE STORY BEGINS AT THE DAWN OF THE 20th CENTURY 62 00:03:20,233 --> 00:03:23,100 WITH THE OPENING OF A GARDEN. 63 00:03:33,167 --> 00:03:37,767 CATHERINE HODEIR HAS STUDIED THE GARDEN'S DARK SECRETS. 64 00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:49,400 Auerbach: BUT THIS WASN'T JUST AN ORDINARY GREENHOUSE 65 00:03:49,467 --> 00:03:50,900 GROWING GARDEN TOMATOES. 66 00:03:50,967 --> 00:03:55,067 THIS WAS AN INSTITUTION OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY. 67 00:03:55,133 --> 00:03:57,267 AND WHERE ARE ALL THESE PLANTS COMING FROM? 68 00:03:57,333 --> 00:03:58,600 THE FRENCH COLONIES. 69 00:03:58,667 --> 00:04:00,000 Narrator: IN THE 19th CENTURY, FRANCE HAD AN EMPIRE 70 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:01,000 Narrator: IN THE 19th CENTURY, FRANCE HAD AN EMPIRE 71 00:04:02,333 --> 00:04:06,567 THAT STRETCHED ACROSS 8% OF THE WORLD'S SURFACE. 72 00:04:06,633 --> 00:04:09,700 Mitchell: ALONGSIDE ENGLAND AND GERMANY, 73 00:04:09,767 --> 00:04:15,067 FRANCE HAS COLONIES THAT REALLY ARE ALL OVER THE GLOBE. 74 00:04:15,133 --> 00:04:19,300 YOU HAVE FRENCH COLONIES IN THE CARIBBEAN, 75 00:04:19,367 --> 00:04:22,300 YOU HAVE A FRENCH COLONY IN SOUTH AMERICA, 76 00:04:22,367 --> 00:04:23,833 YOU HAVE THEM IN ASIA 77 00:04:23,900 --> 00:04:27,333 AND IN AFRICA -- NORTH AFRICA AND WEST AFRICA. 78 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:30,000 Narrator: THE 19th AND 20th CENTURIES 79 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:30,133 Narrator: THE 19th AND 20th CENTURIES 80 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:31,000 WERE A TIME OF RAPID DISCOVERY. 81 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:35,600 AND THE MAJOR GLOBAL POWERS COMPETED 82 00:04:35,667 --> 00:04:38,867 FOR SCIENTIFIC SUPERIORITY. 83 00:04:38,933 --> 00:04:40,700 Somara: HISTORY HAS THESE TIPPING POINTS 84 00:04:40,767 --> 00:04:42,433 WHERE A NEW DISCOVERY IS 85 00:04:42,500 --> 00:04:45,867 MADE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING. THINGS LIKE, WHEAT, 86 00:04:45,933 --> 00:04:47,700 POTATOES, AND COTTON. 87 00:04:47,767 --> 00:04:49,567 AND SO THE FRENCH WERE REALLY KEEN 88 00:04:49,633 --> 00:04:52,767 TO FIND SOMETHING THAT WOULD GIVE THEM AN EDGE. 89 00:04:54,067 --> 00:04:57,633 Auerbach: SO THE WORK THAT THESE FRENCH EXPERTS WERE DOING HERE 90 00:04:57,700 --> 00:04:59,600 HAS REAL POTENTIAL, 91 00:04:59,667 --> 00:05:00,000 AND ANY NEW COMMODITIES THAT THEY DISCOVER 92 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:01,000 AND ANY NEW COMMODITIES THAT THEY DISCOVER 93 00:05:01,533 --> 00:05:06,467 CAN THEN BE PROCESSED AND REDISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE EMPIRE. 94 00:05:06,533 --> 00:05:09,433 BUT ALL THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN THESE BUILDINGS. 95 00:05:09,500 --> 00:05:13,200 Narrator: FOR SEVEN YEARS, FRENCH BOTANISTS STUDIED 96 00:05:13,267 --> 00:05:15,667 THE SAMPLES GATHERED FROM THE COLONIES. 97 00:05:15,733 --> 00:05:19,567 BUT BY 1906, THE GARDEN WAS BROKE. 98 00:05:20,967 --> 00:05:22,967 THIS GARDEN NEEDED SOME CASH. 99 00:05:23,067 --> 00:05:26,533 THE ORDINARY FRENCH POPULATION JUST DIDN'T SEEM THAT INTERESTED 100 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:27,700 IN THE WORK THAT WAS BEING DONE HERE, 101 00:05:27,767 --> 00:05:29,700 EVEN THOUGH IT WAS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT WORK. 102 00:05:29,767 --> 00:05:30,000 THEY NEEDED TO GET THE FRENCH PEOPLE EXCITED 103 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:31,000 THEY NEEDED TO GET THE FRENCH PEOPLE EXCITED 104 00:05:33,067 --> 00:05:35,433 ABOUT THE COLONIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS AGAIN. 105 00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:37,933 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 106 00:05:38,067 --> 00:05:39,633 [ BIRDS CHIRPING ] 107 00:05:39,700 --> 00:05:41,467 Narrator: TO RAISE CAPITAL FOR THE GARDEN, 108 00:05:41,533 --> 00:05:45,067 THEY DECIDED TO STAGE A GRAND EXHIBITION, 109 00:05:45,067 --> 00:05:48,200 AND AT ITS CENTER WERE NEW BUILDINGS 110 00:05:48,267 --> 00:05:50,333 INSPIRED BY THE COLONIES. 111 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:54,133 Auerbach: IMAGINE A TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY DISNEYLAND. 112 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:56,633 SO YOU WERE GOING TO SEE "THE ORIENT" 113 00:05:56,700 --> 00:05:59,633 RIGHT NEXT TO "THE AFRICAN JUNGLE," 114 00:05:59,700 --> 00:06:00,000 AND IT WAS A HUGE HIT. 115 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:01,000 AND IT WAS A HUGE HIT. 116 00:06:01,833 --> 00:06:03,767 THOUSANDS OF VISITORS CAME. 117 00:06:03,833 --> 00:06:06,467 AND THEY EVEN GOT THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC 118 00:06:06,533 --> 00:06:08,767 TO COME AND CHECK IT OUT. 119 00:06:19,333 --> 00:06:20,933 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 120 00:06:21,067 --> 00:06:22,500 THE NOISE WOULD HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE, 121 00:06:22,567 --> 00:06:26,100 FROM MUSIC TO SQUAWKING ANIMALS AND THE HUBBUB OF PEOPLE. 122 00:06:26,167 --> 00:06:29,133 AND THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A COCKTAIL OF RICH ODORS, 123 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:30,000 FROM SPICES TO CAMEL EXCREMENT. 124 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,000 FROM SPICES TO CAMEL EXCREMENT. 125 00:06:32,567 --> 00:06:34,300 Mitchell: THEY BROUGHT IN TEN ELEPHANTS, EVEN, 126 00:06:34,367 --> 00:06:37,500 THAT ENDED UP ESCAPING AND GOING ON A RAMPAGE. 127 00:06:37,567 --> 00:06:39,200 THAT MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE THE SCENE. 128 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:42,367 Auerbach: THIS WAS QUITE AN EXHIBITION. 129 00:06:42,433 --> 00:06:47,433 THE RAREST TREASURES FROM THE COLONIES WERE ON DISPLAY. 130 00:06:47,500 --> 00:06:50,433 THERE WAS NOTHING YOU COULDN'T SEE HERE, 131 00:06:50,500 --> 00:06:53,233 INCLUDING HUMAN BEINGS. 132 00:06:53,300 --> 00:06:55,700 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 133 00:06:58,467 --> 00:07:00,000 MONGOLIANS, CHINESE, AFRICANS -- THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED 134 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,000 MONGOLIANS, CHINESE, AFRICANS -- THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED 135 00:07:02,667 --> 00:07:05,067 IN WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED 136 00:07:05,133 --> 00:07:07,067 REPRESENTATIVE INDIGENOUS WEAR, 137 00:07:07,067 --> 00:07:10,400 CLOTHING THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAD CEREMONIAL PURPOSES. 138 00:07:10,467 --> 00:07:15,067 BUT THEY WOULD BE PRESENTED SORT OF AS EXOTICS IN DRESS 139 00:07:15,133 --> 00:07:18,067 AND IN SPEECH AND IN BEHAVIOR. 140 00:07:18,067 --> 00:07:20,433 IT WAS MEANT TO BE A CULTURAL EXCHANGE, 141 00:07:20,500 --> 00:07:22,700 BUT THE EXCHANGE WAS IN ONE DIRECTION, 142 00:07:22,767 --> 00:07:25,833 WITH PEOPLE WHO WERE ON DISPLAY BEING GAWKED AT 143 00:07:25,900 --> 00:07:27,667 ALMOST LIKE BEING IN THE ZOO. 144 00:07:27,733 --> 00:07:29,933 Narrator: THE OWNERS OF THE GARDEN 145 00:07:30,067 --> 00:07:31,000 HOPED TO MAKE BIG MONEY FROM THEIR EXHIBITS. 146 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:37,067 HISTORY HAD TAUGHT THEM THAT THE HUMAN ZOO COULD DRAW A CROWD. 147 00:07:37,067 --> 00:07:40,167 THESE TYPE OF COLONIAL EXHIBITIONS, 148 00:07:40,233 --> 00:07:45,733 OR HUMAN ZOOS, IF YOU WILL, WERE NOT LIMITED TO FRANCE. 149 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,267 YOU HAD SIMILAR EXAMPLES IN TERMS OF ENGLAND, 150 00:07:50,333 --> 00:07:52,067 IN TERMS OF THE UNITED STATES. 151 00:07:52,133 --> 00:07:55,633 Auerbach: LONDON, BERLIN, EVEN NEW YORK 152 00:07:55,700 --> 00:07:59,067 PUT HUMAN BEINGS ON DISPLAY. 153 00:07:59,100 --> 00:08:00,000 HIGH-MINDED SCIENTISTS WOULD COME AND PERFORM 154 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:01,000 HIGH-MINDED SCIENTISTS WOULD COME AND PERFORM 155 00:08:02,667 --> 00:08:05,900 A SYSTEMATIC "STUDY" OF NON-CAUCASIAN PEOPLE 156 00:08:05,967 --> 00:08:08,900 TO TRY TO CLASSIFY THE DIFFERENCES. 157 00:08:08,967 --> 00:08:11,433 BUT THE CONCLUSIONS THEY CAME TO -- 158 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:15,500 TODAY THEY WOULD BE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY RACIST. 159 00:08:15,567 --> 00:08:17,667 Narrator: TO RAISE ENOUGH CAPITAL FOR THE GARDEN, 160 00:08:17,733 --> 00:08:20,767 THEY NEEDED THE MOST EYE-CATCHING DISPLAYS 161 00:08:20,833 --> 00:08:23,867 FROM FRANCE'S FURTHEST COLONIES. 162 00:08:23,933 --> 00:08:25,867 Auerbach: THERE WERE ADVENTURERS 163 00:08:25,933 --> 00:08:29,467 WHO HAD TRAVELED TO THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE FRENCH EMPIRE, 164 00:08:29,533 --> 00:08:30,000 AND THEY WOULD OFFER TO PAY THESE PEOPLE HANDSOMELY 165 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:31,000 AND THEY WOULD OFFER TO PAY THESE PEOPLE HANDSOMELY 166 00:08:33,633 --> 00:08:36,067 IF THEY WOULD COME TO FRANCE 167 00:08:36,067 --> 00:08:39,900 AND TALK TO FRENCH PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR CULTURE. 168 00:08:39,967 --> 00:08:40,900 Somara: THE RECRUITERS OFFERED THINGS 169 00:08:40,967 --> 00:08:43,433 LIKE A PERCENTAGE OF TICKET SALES, 170 00:08:43,500 --> 00:08:45,700 BUT THAT OFTEN NEVER MATERIALIZED. 171 00:08:45,767 --> 00:08:46,867 Auerbach: AND A VAST MAJORITY OF THESE PEOPLE 172 00:08:46,933 --> 00:08:49,133 DIDN'T SPEAK ANY FRENCH, 173 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,767 SO THEY WERE COMPLETELY AT THE WHIM 174 00:08:51,833 --> 00:08:55,800 OF THE ADVENTURERS THAT HAD BROUGHT THEM THERE. 175 00:08:55,867 --> 00:08:59,200 Narrator: THE COLONIAL EXHIBITION OF 1907 176 00:08:59,267 --> 00:09:00,000 RAISED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR THE GARDEN, 177 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:01,000 RAISED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR THE GARDEN, 178 00:09:02,300 --> 00:09:04,433 ENSURING ITS FUTURE. 179 00:09:04,500 --> 00:09:07,800 BUT A GLOBAL CRISIS LESS THAN 10 YEARS LATER 180 00:09:07,867 --> 00:09:11,767 WOULD SEE THE GARDEN PUT TO A DIFFERENT PURPOSE. 181 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,133 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 182 00:09:21,433 --> 00:09:23,433 Narrator: IN PARIS, FRANCE, 183 00:09:23,500 --> 00:09:27,467 A SET OF BUILDINGS WHERE HUMAN BEINGS WERE PUT ON DISPLAY 184 00:09:27,533 --> 00:09:29,733 WERE ABOUT TO BE PUT TO A DIFFERENT USE 185 00:09:29,733 --> 00:09:32,200 UPON THE OUTBREAK OF WAR. 186 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:49,067 Auerbach: FRANCE'S COLONIAL SUBJECTS 187 00:09:49,100 --> 00:09:51,567 WERE RECRUITED BY THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS 188 00:09:51,633 --> 00:09:56,600 TO FIGHT ON THE SIDE OF THEIR OWN COLONIZERS. 189 00:09:56,667 --> 00:10:00,500 Somara: BUILDINGS THAT USED TO BE EXHIBITION SPACES 190 00:10:00,567 --> 00:10:03,467 OR TICKET HALLS WERE NOW THINGS LIKE SURGERIES 191 00:10:03,533 --> 00:10:06,600 FOR FRANCE'S FOREIGN AND NATIVE SOLDIERS. 192 00:10:06,667 --> 00:10:09,400 THEY EVEN BUILT PARIS' FIRST MOSQUE 193 00:10:09,467 --> 00:10:11,600 FOR MUSLIM COLONIAL TROOPS. 194 00:10:12,833 --> 00:10:13,719 Auerbach: AND YOU'D THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE 195 00:10:13,719 --> 00:10:14,000 Auerbach: AND YOU'D THINK THAT THIS WOULD BE 196 00:10:15,233 --> 00:10:17,167 SOME TYPE OF WATERSHED MOMENT -- 197 00:10:17,233 --> 00:10:20,267 NOW THAT THESE PEOPLE HAD FOUGHT FOR FRANCE, 198 00:10:20,333 --> 00:10:23,267 THAT THEY'D GET RECOGNITION, IF NOT AS EQUALS 199 00:10:23,333 --> 00:10:26,200 THEN AT LEAST MORE RESPECT THAN BEING PUT ON DISPLAY. 200 00:10:26,267 --> 00:10:27,533 BUT YOU'D BE WRONG. 201 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:29,767 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 202 00:10:29,833 --> 00:10:31,567 Narrator: OVER A DECADE AFTER FRENCH 203 00:10:31,633 --> 00:10:35,033 AND COLONIAL SOLDIERS FOUGHT AS BROTHERS-IN-ARMS, 204 00:10:35,100 --> 00:10:39,733 FRANCE THREW THEIR BIGGEST COLONIAL EXHIBITION EVER. 205 00:10:39,733 --> 00:10:42,600 FOR THIS 1931 EXHIBITION, THERE ARE SOME 206 00:10:42,667 --> 00:10:43,719 32 MILLION TICKETS SOLD OVER SIX MONTHS. 207 00:10:43,719 --> 00:10:44,000 32 MILLION TICKETS SOLD OVER SIX MONTHS. 208 00:10:45,933 --> 00:10:48,733 THERE WAS EVEN AN ENTIRE NOMADIC TRIBE OF PEOPLE 209 00:10:48,733 --> 00:10:49,767 FROM SENEGAL, 210 00:10:49,767 --> 00:10:51,467 AND THAT'S REALLY QUITE REMARKABLE 211 00:10:51,533 --> 00:10:54,133 WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT AS BEING AS LATE AS 1931. 212 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:55,933 YOU HAVE TO WONDER HOW THEY WERE CONVINCED 213 00:10:56,033 --> 00:10:57,000 TO PARTICIPATE. 214 00:11:00,767 --> 00:11:02,367 Narrator: THIS WOULD BE THE LAST TIME 215 00:11:02,433 --> 00:11:05,167 THIS KIND OF DISPLAY WAS SEEN IN FRANCE. 216 00:11:05,233 --> 00:11:08,500 THE COLONIAL EXHIBITIONS SOON WENT OUT OF FASHION. 217 00:11:08,567 --> 00:11:11,100 THE PARK WAS AGAIN CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC 218 00:11:11,167 --> 00:11:13,719 AND THE BUILDINGS LEFT TO ROT IN THIS QUIET CORNER OF PARIS. 219 00:11:13,719 --> 00:11:14,000 AND THE BUILDINGS LEFT TO ROT IN THIS QUIET CORNER OF PARIS. 220 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,300 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 221 00:11:19,367 --> 00:11:23,367 TODAY, HISTORIANS LIKE CATHERINE DEDICATE THEIR WORK 222 00:11:23,433 --> 00:11:26,533 TO RECORDING THE HISTORY OF THE COLONIAL ERA. 223 00:11:41,067 --> 00:11:42,833 Auerbach: ALTHOUGH THESE EXHIBITIONS 224 00:11:42,900 --> 00:11:43,719 AND THE LEGACIES OF COLONIALISM HAS A VERY, VERY LONG AFTERLIFE, 225 00:11:43,719 --> 00:11:44,000 AND THE LEGACIES OF COLONIALISM HAS A VERY, VERY LONG AFTERLIFE, 226 00:11:48,900 --> 00:11:54,333 BUT THAT IDEA SOMEHOW, THAT ALLURE, THAT EXOTICISM, 227 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,200 STILL PERSISTS. 228 00:11:56,267 --> 00:11:58,333 AND WE SHOULD BLAME AT LEAST PART OF THAT 229 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:03,700 ON THE HISTORY OF PUTTING PEOPLE ON DISPLAY. 230 00:12:06,167 --> 00:12:08,067 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 231 00:12:08,067 --> 00:12:11,600 Narrator: STANDING IN THE WATERS OFF THE NEW JERSEY COASTLINE 232 00:12:11,667 --> 00:12:13,600 IS SANDY HOOK, 233 00:12:13,667 --> 00:12:13,719 A SAND BAR LITTERED WITH THE REMNANTS OF WAR. 234 00:12:13,719 --> 00:12:14,000 A SAND BAR LITTERED WITH THE REMNANTS OF WAR. 235 00:12:17,933 --> 00:12:22,433 * 236 00:12:22,500 --> 00:12:25,200 Wawro: LOOKING AROUND SANDY HOOK TODAY, 237 00:12:25,267 --> 00:12:29,933 IT'S LIKE A KIND OF A YARD SALE OF MILITARY TECHNOLOGY. 238 00:12:30,067 --> 00:12:32,433 Bell: SOME LOOK LIKE VERY TYPICAL 239 00:12:32,500 --> 00:12:34,433 COLD WAR-ERA INSTALLATIONS. 240 00:12:34,500 --> 00:12:39,500 OTHERS LOOK AS THOUGH THEY DATE BACK AS FAR AS THE CIVIL WAR. 241 00:12:39,567 --> 00:12:41,600 THE ASSORTMENT OF STRUCTURES 242 00:12:41,667 --> 00:12:43,719 AND WEAPONS ON SHOW HERE MAKES YOU WONDER -- 243 00:12:43,719 --> 00:12:44,000 AND WEAPONS ON SHOW HERE MAKES YOU WONDER -- 244 00:12:45,133 --> 00:12:47,633 IS THIS YOUR TYPICAL MILITARY BASE 245 00:12:47,700 --> 00:12:50,500 OR SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT? 246 00:12:51,467 --> 00:12:52,567 Narrator: THE SITE'S POSITION 247 00:12:52,633 --> 00:12:57,367 SEEMS TO OFFER THE FIRST CLUE AS TO ITS PURPOSE. 248 00:12:57,433 --> 00:13:01,067 THIS LONG, NARROW PENINSULA POINTS LIKE A DAGGER 249 00:13:01,067 --> 00:13:02,533 RIGHT AT NEW YORK HARBOR, 250 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:05,667 AND THIS HINTS AT ITS STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE, 251 00:13:05,733 --> 00:13:09,600 BECAUSE ANY DEEP-DRAFT VESSEL APPROACHING NEW YORK HARBOR 252 00:13:09,667 --> 00:13:12,567 IS GONNA HAVE TO SWING RIGHT BY THIS PENINSULA. 253 00:13:13,567 --> 00:13:13,719 Narrator: YET THIS WASN'T A PLACE WITH JUST ONE ROLE TO PLAY 254 00:13:13,719 --> 00:13:14,000 Narrator: YET THIS WASN'T A PLACE WITH JUST ONE ROLE TO PLAY 255 00:13:18,467 --> 00:13:22,200 OR ONE STORY TO TELL. 256 00:13:22,267 --> 00:13:25,100 Nusbacher: I SEE CONSTRUCTION FROM TIMES 257 00:13:25,167 --> 00:13:29,500 WHEN AMERICA WAS JUST ANOTHER COLONY, 258 00:13:29,567 --> 00:13:35,933 PARTS THAT SHOW AMERICA'S RISE TO MILITARY SUPERIORITY. 259 00:13:36,067 --> 00:13:38,867 I SEE EVIDENCE OF THE MOMENT 260 00:13:38,933 --> 00:13:43,719 WHEN THE UNITED STATES STOPPED BEING JUST ANOTHER COUNTRY 261 00:13:43,719 --> 00:13:44,000 WHEN THE UNITED STATES STOPPED BEING JUST ANOTHER COUNTRY 262 00:13:45,100 --> 00:13:49,633 AND BECAME THE MILITARY COLOSSUS IT IS. 263 00:13:49,700 --> 00:13:53,767 HERE IT IS, ON THIS LITTLE SANDY BIT OF GROUND. 264 00:13:53,767 --> 00:13:57,167 [ BIRDS CHIRPING ] 265 00:13:57,233 --> 00:14:00,333 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 266 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,600 Narrator: TOWARDS THE END OF THE PENINSULA, 267 00:14:03,667 --> 00:14:06,633 AN OLD LIGHTHOUSE PROVIDES A COMMANDING VIEW 268 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:12,067 ACROSS THIS BAFFLING COMPLEX AND HINTS AT ITS BEGINNINGS. 269 00:14:12,100 --> 00:14:13,719 Wawro: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS LIGHTHOUSE 270 00:14:13,719 --> 00:14:14,000 Wawro: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS LIGHTHOUSE 271 00:14:14,533 --> 00:14:16,433 POINTS TO SANDY HOOK'S SIGNIFICANCE 272 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:17,800 IN AMERICAN HISTORY, 273 00:14:17,867 --> 00:14:20,900 DATING ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE MID-1700s. 274 00:14:21,067 --> 00:14:26,400 Narrator: ITS NEED WAS DRIVEN BY NEW YORK'S MERCHANT TRAFFIC. 275 00:14:26,467 --> 00:14:30,267 THIS IS A HARBOR THAT HAS BEEN STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT 276 00:14:30,333 --> 00:14:33,133 TO ANYONE TRYING TO HOLD THE NORTH ATLANTIC. 277 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:38,233 IT WAS AN IMPORTANT DUTCH, ENGLISH, AND AMERICAN HARBOR. 278 00:14:38,300 --> 00:14:40,733 AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT LIGHTHOUSE, 279 00:14:40,733 --> 00:14:43,719 IT SHOWS HOW LONG PEOPLE HAVE NEEDED TO NAVIGATE SAFELY 280 00:14:43,719 --> 00:14:44,000 IT SHOWS HOW LONG PEOPLE HAVE NEEDED TO NAVIGATE SAFELY 281 00:14:45,767 --> 00:14:48,533 IN AND OUT OF NEW YORK. 282 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,333 Narrator: PARK RANGER TOM HOFFMAN 283 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,267 KNOWS THE DANGER OF THESE SHORES BETTER THAN MOST. 284 00:14:56,333 --> 00:14:59,600 Hoffman: EVEN ON A CLEAR DAY, SANDY HOOK IS SO LOW AND FLAT, 285 00:14:59,667 --> 00:15:01,833 IT BLENDS IN WITH THE OCEAN WATER. 286 00:15:01,900 --> 00:15:03,900 AND IMAGINE -- THAT'S THE DAYTIME. 287 00:15:04,067 --> 00:15:06,467 AND AT NIGHTTIME, YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING. 288 00:15:06,533 --> 00:15:08,733 THE NIGHT THEY LIGHTED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME 289 00:15:08,733 --> 00:15:11,367 WAS JUNE 11, 1764, 290 00:15:11,433 --> 00:15:13,719 AND IT'S BEEN STANDING HERE ON THIS LOCATION EVER SINCE. 291 00:15:13,719 --> 00:15:14,000 AND IT'S BEEN STANDING HERE ON THIS LOCATION EVER SINCE. 292 00:15:15,533 --> 00:15:16,933 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 293 00:15:17,067 --> 00:15:20,333 Narrator: BUT THESE RUINS SHOW THE TREACHEROUS COASTLINE 294 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:22,800 WASN'T THE ONLY DANGER HERE. 295 00:15:22,867 --> 00:15:25,833 THE STORY OF WAR WRITTEN ACROSS THIS PLACE 296 00:15:25,900 --> 00:15:28,367 ACTUALLY BEGAN AT THE LIGHTHOUSE, 297 00:15:28,433 --> 00:15:32,567 WHEN THE BRITISH HOPED TO DEFEND THIS VITAL NAVIGATIONAL AID 298 00:15:32,633 --> 00:15:34,867 DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 299 00:15:34,933 --> 00:15:37,633 Hoffman: THE BRITISH DISPATCHED TWO FRIGATES 300 00:15:37,700 --> 00:15:40,433 AND ANCHORED THEM RIGHT OUT HERE AND HAD AN ARMED GUARD HERE. 301 00:15:40,500 --> 00:15:42,100 AND SURE ENOUGH, WHO SHOWS UP 302 00:15:42,167 --> 00:15:43,719 BUT 200 AMERICAN SOLDIERS WITH TWO CANNON. 303 00:15:43,719 --> 00:15:44,000 BUT 200 AMERICAN SOLDIERS WITH TWO CANNON. 304 00:15:46,933 --> 00:15:50,900 IN 1776, THEY'RE SNEAKING UP THE HOOK. 305 00:15:51,067 --> 00:15:53,467 THE COMMANDING OFFICER ORDERED THE CANNONS 306 00:15:53,533 --> 00:15:55,133 TO FIRE AT THE LIGHTHOUSE. 307 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,467 BUT AS HE PUT IT IN A REPORT, 308 00:15:57,533 --> 00:15:59,767 "WE BOMBARDED THE TOWER FOR OVER AN HOUR 309 00:15:59,833 --> 00:16:02,467 BUT COULD MAKE NO IMPRESSION." 310 00:16:02,533 --> 00:16:06,167 Narrator: CONTINUING TO SHINE FOR CENTURIES TO COME, 311 00:16:06,233 --> 00:16:09,533 THE LIGHTHOUSE WOULD OVERSEE A DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION 312 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:11,167 OF THIS LAND. 313 00:16:11,233 --> 00:16:13,719 WAR WOULD RETURN TO THESE SHORES, 314 00:16:13,719 --> 00:16:14,000 WAR WOULD RETURN TO THESE SHORES, 315 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,800 BUT THIS TIME, AMERICANS WOULD BE THE DEFENDERS, 316 00:16:17,867 --> 00:16:20,567 NOT THE ATTACKERS. 317 00:16:23,233 --> 00:16:25,733 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 318 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,500 Narrator: IN 1874, 319 00:16:32,567 --> 00:16:35,833 NEARLY A DECADE AFTER THE CIVIL WAR ENDED, 320 00:16:35,900 --> 00:16:40,067 THUNDEROUS SHOTS RANG OUT OVER SANDY HOOK, NEW JERSEY, 321 00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:43,600 FIRED FROM THIS NOW-SILENT PLATFORM. 322 00:16:43,667 --> 00:16:47,367 WITH THE COUNTRY UNITED AND WARY OF EXTERNAL THREATS, 323 00:16:47,433 --> 00:16:49,800 THIS EMPTY LANDSCAPE HAD BECOME 324 00:16:49,867 --> 00:16:51,981 THE U.S. ARMY'S FIRST PROVING GROUND. 325 00:16:51,981 --> 00:16:52,000 THE U.S. ARMY'S FIRST PROVING GROUND. 326 00:16:52,467 --> 00:16:56,733 A PROVING GROUND IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A NEW DESIGN 327 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:58,700 AND WHERE YOU CAN TAKE SAMPLES 328 00:16:58,767 --> 00:17:01,367 OF ALL OF YOUR MILITARY PRODUCTION 329 00:17:01,433 --> 00:17:02,833 AND YOU CAN PROVE THEM. 330 00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:05,167 Wawro: THEY WOULD CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ROUNDS WORKED, 331 00:17:05,233 --> 00:17:07,133 THAT THE FUSES WORKED, 332 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,433 THE RANGE ACCURACY, THE DETONATION, THE EXPLOSION. 333 00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:13,633 THEY WOULD TEST EVERY ASPECT OF THE PROJECTILE 334 00:17:13,700 --> 00:17:15,067 AND THE GUN FIRING IT. 335 00:17:15,067 --> 00:17:17,667 AND SO YOU NEEDED A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD FIRE FREELY 336 00:17:17,733 --> 00:17:21,600 WITHOUT RISK TO, YOU KNOW, CIVILIAN LIFE. 337 00:17:22,567 --> 00:17:24,600 Narrator: OVER THE COMING HALF-CENTURY, 338 00:17:24,667 --> 00:17:27,633 HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ROUNDS WOULD BE FIRED 339 00:17:27,700 --> 00:17:29,633 FROM THE SANDY HOOK PROVING GROUND, 340 00:17:29,700 --> 00:17:34,367 AND SOME OF THE LARGEST, MOST AMBITIOUS WEAPONS EVER CREATED 341 00:17:34,433 --> 00:17:35,567 WERE TESTED HERE. 342 00:17:35,633 --> 00:17:39,433 YET, AS SOME OF THE STRUCTURES HERE TESTIFY, 343 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:43,067 THIS SITE WAS ABOUT MORE THAN SIMPLY TESTING WEAPONS 344 00:17:43,133 --> 00:17:45,967 OR HELPING SHIPS NAVIGATE THESE WATERS. 345 00:17:46,067 --> 00:17:51,333 WHAT IF THE FIGHT CAME TO SANDY HOOK AND AMERICA'S OWN SHORES? 346 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:51,981 WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TWO BIG STORIES OF SANDY HOOK, 347 00:17:51,981 --> 00:17:52,000 WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TWO BIG STORIES OF SANDY HOOK, 348 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:56,367 ONE'S THE LIGHTHOUSE, 349 00:17:56,433 --> 00:18:00,300 AND THAT WILL GUIDE ANY SHIP FROM AROUND THE WORLD 350 00:18:00,367 --> 00:18:02,133 INTO NEW YORK HARBOR. 351 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:06,233 BUT IN TIMES OF WAR, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF DEFENSE 352 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:10,533 TO STOP ENEMY WARSHIPS FROM COMING IN. 353 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,667 Narrator: IN THE MID-1890s, 354 00:18:12,733 --> 00:18:15,800 WAR WITH SPAIN APPEARED INEVITABLE. 355 00:18:15,867 --> 00:18:20,433 SO MORE EMPHASIS WAS PUT ON NEARBY DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES, 356 00:18:20,500 --> 00:18:21,981 LIKE FORT HANCOCK. 357 00:18:21,981 --> 00:18:22,000 LIKE FORT HANCOCK. 358 00:18:23,367 --> 00:18:26,800 THE U.S. DID NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY 359 00:18:26,867 --> 00:18:31,400 AT THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY TO BUILD A BIG ENOUGH NAVY. 360 00:18:31,467 --> 00:18:35,067 SO INSTEAD OF BUILDING A LOT OF SHIPS, 361 00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:38,733 THE UNITED STATES BUILDS A LOT OF BATTERIES OF GUNS 362 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,733 TO DEFEND ALL OF ITS MAJOR HARBORS. 363 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:47,900 WHAT YOU HAD HERE WERE FOUR 12-INCH-CALIBER MORTARS. 364 00:18:47,967 --> 00:18:51,333 AND YOU CAN SEE THEIR BASES HAD BEEN CIRCULAR. 365 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:51,981 THAT'S BECAUSE A MORTAR FIRES PROJECTILES HIGH UP 366 00:18:51,981 --> 00:18:52,000 THAT'S BECAUSE A MORTAR FIRES PROJECTILES HIGH UP 367 00:18:55,067 --> 00:18:57,333 TO COME BACK DOWN ON YOUR ENEMY'S SHIPS. 368 00:18:59,233 --> 00:19:00,900 Narrator: AS A PROVING GROUND FOR THE MILITARY 369 00:19:00,967 --> 00:19:03,300 AND WITH ACCESS TO THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY, 370 00:19:03,367 --> 00:19:06,833 SANDY HOOK WAS SET AS AN EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW. 371 00:19:06,900 --> 00:19:09,933 Wawro: THE DECISION IS TAKEN IN THE UNITED STATES TO PROTECT 372 00:19:10,067 --> 00:19:11,733 EVERY VALUABLE HARBOR 373 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:15,400 WITH THESE SHORE BATTERIES AND SO BREECH LOADING 8-, 10-, 374 00:19:15,467 --> 00:19:20,200 AND 12-INCH NAVAL GUNS ARE DELIVERED TO FORTS LIKE HANCOCK 375 00:19:20,267 --> 00:19:21,981 STARTING IN 1895 TO DEFEND AMERICA'S HARBORS. 376 00:19:21,981 --> 00:19:22,000 STARTING IN 1895 TO DEFEND AMERICA'S HARBORS. 377 00:19:25,733 --> 00:19:28,800 Narrator: WHILE THE SPANISH NEVER CAME WITHIN RANGE, 378 00:19:28,867 --> 00:19:31,967 OTHER ENEMIES WOULD SOON THREATEN THESE SHORES. 379 00:19:32,067 --> 00:19:35,133 AND WHILE THE U.S. HAD ALWAYS TRAILED THE EUROPEAN POWERS 380 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:36,667 IN MILITARY MIGHT, 381 00:19:36,733 --> 00:19:40,067 HERE AT FORT HANCOCK, THAT OLD DYNAMIC WAS SHIFTING. 382 00:19:40,100 --> 00:19:45,533 EUROPEAN GUNMAKERS ARE DEVELOPING ARTILLERY PIECES 383 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:50,067 THAT CAN SHOOT SMOKELESS POWDER, FIRE QUICKLY, DISAPPEAR. 384 00:19:50,133 --> 00:19:51,981 AND SANDY HOOK IS WHERE THE AMERICAN VERSIONS OF THESE GUNS 385 00:19:51,981 --> 00:19:52,000 AND SANDY HOOK IS WHERE THE AMERICAN VERSIONS OF THESE GUNS 386 00:19:55,967 --> 00:19:57,233 ARE BEING DEVELOPED. 387 00:19:57,300 --> 00:20:02,067 HERE IS WHERE AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY IS KEEPING UP 388 00:20:02,133 --> 00:20:05,000 THANKS TO U.S. GOVERNMENT RESEARCH. 389 00:20:05,067 --> 00:20:08,167 THIS IS THE VERY FIRST 390 00:20:08,233 --> 00:20:12,833 AND ONLY STEAM-POWERED DISAPPEARING GUN BATTERY. 391 00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:15,467 SO, YOU LOAD THE GUNS WHILE INSIDE, 392 00:20:15,533 --> 00:20:18,500 THEN IT LIFTED UP THROUGH OPENINGS IN THE ROOF 393 00:20:18,567 --> 00:20:20,767 TO FIRE AT ENEMY SHIPS OUT IN THE OCEAN. 394 00:20:20,833 --> 00:20:21,981 AND, OF COURSE, ONCE YOU FIRE, NOW YOU GOT TO RELOAD. 395 00:20:21,981 --> 00:20:22,000 AND, OF COURSE, ONCE YOU FIRE, NOW YOU GOT TO RELOAD. 396 00:20:24,733 --> 00:20:28,200 SO THE GUN COMES BACK DOWN ON THE ELEVATOR, 397 00:20:28,267 --> 00:20:30,833 AND IT'S A DISAPPEARING GUN. 398 00:20:31,933 --> 00:20:34,633 Narrator: WITHIN A FEW YEARS OF BEING COMPLETED, HOWEVER, 399 00:20:34,700 --> 00:20:38,100 THIS BATTERY WAS ALREADY OUTDATED. 400 00:20:38,167 --> 00:20:41,167 THE RACE TO KEEP AHEAD, THOUGH, WAS STILL ON. 401 00:20:41,233 --> 00:20:48,200 IN 1918, A U-BOAT REPORTEDLY FIRED 16 SHOTS AT FORT HANCOCK, 402 00:20:48,267 --> 00:20:51,300 AND THE GUNS THAT STOOD HERE RESPONDED IN KIND. 403 00:20:51,367 --> 00:20:51,981 THE GERMAN SUBMARINES WERE A SIGN 404 00:20:51,981 --> 00:20:52,000 THE GERMAN SUBMARINES WERE A SIGN 405 00:20:53,733 --> 00:20:56,467 THAT THE TIMES WERE A-CHANGIN'. 406 00:20:56,533 --> 00:21:01,733 THE TWO BIG THREATS TO AMERICAN PORTS IN WORLD WAR II 407 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,433 WERE ENEMY BOMBERS AND ENEMY SUBMARINES. 408 00:21:05,500 --> 00:21:08,967 AND THOSE BIG COASTAL GUN EMPLACEMENTS 409 00:21:09,067 --> 00:21:12,600 DESIGNED TO DEFEND AMERICAN PORT FACILITIES 410 00:21:12,667 --> 00:21:15,333 WERE NO LONGER AS IMPORTANT. 411 00:21:17,367 --> 00:21:19,633 Narrator: WHAT REMAINS IS A LEGACY 412 00:21:19,700 --> 00:21:21,981 OF BOTH THE HISTORY OF THIS SITE 413 00:21:21,981 --> 00:21:22,000 OF BOTH THE HISTORY OF THIS SITE 414 00:21:22,367 --> 00:21:25,700 AND THE ROUTE AMERICA TOOK ON ITS JOURNEY TO THE MODERN ERA. 415 00:21:27,167 --> 00:21:29,500 Wawro: SO WALKING AROUND SANDY HOOK TODAY, 416 00:21:29,567 --> 00:21:32,800 YOU'RE BASICALLY WALKING THROUGH THE HISTORY OF 417 00:21:32,867 --> 00:21:34,233 AMERICAN WARFARE. 418 00:21:34,300 --> 00:21:36,067 EVERYTHING IS ON DISPLAY HERE, 419 00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:40,200 FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR PERIOD TO THE COLD WAR. 420 00:21:40,267 --> 00:21:42,800 Narrator: STANDING APART FROM THE OLD CONCRETE BUNKERS 421 00:21:42,867 --> 00:21:44,133 OF YESTERYEAR 422 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,433 ARE REMNANTS OF THE FINAL CHAPTER OF THIS SITE'S 423 00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:48,700 LIFE IN SERVICE. 424 00:21:50,067 --> 00:21:51,981 Hoffman: WE'RE WALKING IN THE LAST DEFENSE SYSTEM 425 00:21:51,981 --> 00:21:52,000 Hoffman: WE'RE WALKING IN THE LAST DEFENSE SYSTEM 426 00:21:52,467 --> 00:21:55,633 USED BY THE U.S. ARMY HERE AT FORT HANCOCK, 427 00:21:55,700 --> 00:21:59,067 THE NIKE AIR DEFENSE RADAR SITE, 428 00:21:59,067 --> 00:22:02,067 DESIGNED TO SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN BOMBERS 429 00:22:02,067 --> 00:22:05,067 IF THE COLD WAR WENT HOT. 430 00:22:05,067 --> 00:22:09,067 Nusbacher: ONCE RUSSIANS HAVE ATOMIC WEAPONS, 431 00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:13,433 THEN EVERYONE IN AMERICA INSTANTLY UNDERSTANDS 432 00:22:13,500 --> 00:22:18,100 THAT AMERICAN CITIES ARE IMMENSELY VULNERABLE 433 00:22:18,167 --> 00:22:21,267 TO RUSSIAN ATTACK. 434 00:22:21,333 --> 00:22:21,981 Narrator: AFTER MORE THEN A CENTURY 435 00:22:21,981 --> 00:22:22,000 Narrator: AFTER MORE THEN A CENTURY 436 00:22:24,100 --> 00:22:26,367 DEFENDING NEW YORK FROM THE SEA, 437 00:22:26,433 --> 00:22:28,967 ATTENTION NOW SHIFTED TO THE SKIES 438 00:22:29,067 --> 00:22:33,100 AND THE GRAVEST THREAT THE U.S. EVER FACED. 439 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:39,867 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 440 00:22:42,133 --> 00:22:42,967 Narrator: FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, 441 00:22:43,067 --> 00:22:45,467 SANDY HOOK'S MILITARY INSTALLATIONS 442 00:22:45,533 --> 00:22:48,633 HAD HELPED PROTECT THE WATERS AROUND NEW YORK. 443 00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:54,967 BY THE 1950s, IT WAS ALSO DEFENDING THE CITY FROM THE AIR. 444 00:22:55,067 --> 00:22:56,467 Bell: NIKE BATTERIES WERE PART 445 00:22:56,533 --> 00:22:59,833 OF THE U.S. ARMY AIR DEFENSE COMMAND. 446 00:22:59,900 --> 00:23:03,952 THESE WERE PLACED STRATEGICALLY NEAR CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY 447 00:23:03,952 --> 00:23:04,000 THESE WERE PLACED STRATEGICALLY NEAR CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY 448 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,800 TO PREVENT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CENTERS 449 00:23:06,867 --> 00:23:11,767 OF AMERICA'S GREAT RETALIATORY AND PRODUCTIVE MIGHT. 450 00:23:11,833 --> 00:23:15,267 Nusbacher: THE NIKE POSITIONS AROUND NEW YORK CITY 451 00:23:15,333 --> 00:23:20,467 ARE DESIGNED TO STOP ANOTHER PEARL HARBOR-STYLE SNEAK ATTACK. 452 00:23:20,533 --> 00:23:25,367 Hoffman: SO, WE JUST WENT UNDER ONE OF THE PLATFORMS 453 00:23:25,433 --> 00:23:28,233 THAT HELD THE MISSILE-TRACKING RADAR. 454 00:23:28,300 --> 00:23:31,133 BECAUSE THE MISSILES WERE A MILE SOUTH OF US, 455 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,333 AND ONCE YOU LAUNCHED THE MISSILE, 456 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:33,952 THE RADAR HERE GUIDED THE MISSILE UP TO THE TARGET. 457 00:23:33,952 --> 00:23:34,000 THE RADAR HERE GUIDED THE MISSILE UP TO THE TARGET. 458 00:23:36,867 --> 00:23:40,133 AND THEN ANOTHER RADAR, THE TARGET-TRACKING RADAR, 459 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,200 WAS TRACKING THE TARGET AND THROUGH A COMPUTER SYSTEM 460 00:23:43,267 --> 00:23:46,067 BROUGHT THE TWO TOGETHER AND GUARANTEED A HIT. 461 00:23:46,100 --> 00:23:48,100 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 462 00:23:48,167 --> 00:23:50,167 Narrator: YET, LIKE ALL THE WEAPONS 463 00:23:50,233 --> 00:23:52,500 AND DEFENSE SYSTEMS ON SHOW HERE, 464 00:23:52,567 --> 00:23:54,933 ITS LIFE-SPAN WAS SHORT. 465 00:23:55,067 --> 00:23:59,067 IN 1974, WITH THE NIKE MISSILE PROGRAM OUTDATED, 466 00:23:59,067 --> 00:24:02,233 THE LAST OF THE EQUIPMENT AND MILITARY PERSONNEL 467 00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:03,952 LEFT THE PENINSULA. 468 00:24:03,952 --> 00:24:04,000 LEFT THE PENINSULA. 469 00:24:07,733 --> 00:24:10,933 LEFT TO THE ELEMENTS ON THIS WINDSWEPT COASTLINE, 470 00:24:11,067 --> 00:24:13,067 WHAT REMAINS HERE PAINTS A PICTURE 471 00:24:13,133 --> 00:24:15,633 NOT JUST OF THE STORY OF THIS SITE 472 00:24:15,700 --> 00:24:19,833 BUT OF THE BIRTH AND HISTORY OF A NATION. 473 00:24:19,900 --> 00:24:22,400 Wawro: ALL OF THESE ARTIFACTS TAKEN TOGETHER 474 00:24:22,467 --> 00:24:25,500 REFLECT AMERICA'S RISE TO WORLD POWER, 475 00:24:25,567 --> 00:24:28,867 FROM THIS VULNERABLE COLONY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 476 00:24:28,933 --> 00:24:32,467 TO A NATION THAT THEN PROJECTS POWER 477 00:24:32,533 --> 00:24:33,952 AND THEN HAS THE LATEST CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY 478 00:24:33,952 --> 00:24:34,000 AND THEN HAS THE LATEST CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY 479 00:24:35,133 --> 00:24:38,200 TO DEFEND THE FREE WORLD AGAINST A COMMUNIST THREAT. 480 00:24:38,267 --> 00:24:40,333 IT'S ALL RIGHT HERE ON SANDY HOOK. 481 00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:45,833 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 482 00:24:45,900 --> 00:24:50,067 Narrator: SOUTHERN ENGLAND, IN A VILLAGE CALLED PURTON -- 483 00:24:50,133 --> 00:24:55,133 HERE LIES A MIGHTY RIVER AND BESIDE IT A FLEET OF THE DEAD. 484 00:25:00,233 --> 00:25:01,567 Somara: THEY CERTAINLY LOOK LIKE BOATS, 485 00:25:01,633 --> 00:25:03,952 BUT THEY APPEAR TO BE MADE OF STONE. 486 00:25:03,952 --> 00:25:04,000 BUT THEY APPEAR TO BE MADE OF STONE. 487 00:25:05,067 --> 00:25:08,333 CAN YOU MAKE BOATS OF STONE? ARE THEY STATUES? 488 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:12,267 Narrator: THESE MARINE MONOLITHS STAND HALF SUBMERGED 489 00:25:12,333 --> 00:25:15,533 IN BRITAIN'S LONGEST RIVER, THE RIVER SEVERN. 490 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:18,833 SOME OF THESE BOATS, YOU CAN ONLY SEE THE VERY TIP 491 00:25:18,900 --> 00:25:23,133 OF THEIR ROTTING BOW JUST POKING OUT FROM THE GROUND. 492 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,267 Narrator: THESE ROTTING REMAINS DRAW A LINE 493 00:25:26,333 --> 00:25:28,800 ONE AND A HALF MILES ALONG THE SHORELINE. 494 00:25:28,867 --> 00:25:30,267 THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM, 495 00:25:30,333 --> 00:25:33,952 BUT THEY DEFINITELY ALL SEEM TO HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A WHILE. 496 00:25:33,952 --> 00:25:34,000 BUT THEY DEFINITELY ALL SEEM TO HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A WHILE. 497 00:25:35,067 --> 00:25:37,533 IT'S ALMOST AS IF THEY'VE BEEN PUT HERE FOR A PURPOSE, 498 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,067 AS IF IT'S BEEN DESIGNED. 499 00:25:39,100 --> 00:25:43,067 BUT YET THEY'RE COMPLETELY ENVELOPED BY THE LAND. 500 00:25:43,133 --> 00:25:45,067 Narrator: BESIDE THE MIGHTY RIVER 501 00:25:45,133 --> 00:25:47,733 IS A MUCH CALMER BODY OF WATER. 502 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,300 BOTH CONNECT THE SMALL VILLAGE OF PURTON 503 00:25:50,367 --> 00:25:52,667 TO THE REST OF ENGLAND. 504 00:25:52,733 --> 00:25:55,767 Somara: YOU HAVE A MAJOR RIVER RIGHT NEXT TO THE CANAL. 505 00:25:55,833 --> 00:25:57,333 I MEAN, TALK ABOUT BELT AND BRACES. 506 00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,600 WHY WOULD YOU NEED BOTH? 507 00:26:00,933 --> 00:26:03,067 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 508 00:26:03,100 --> 00:26:03,952 Narrator: NEARLY 50 YEARS AGO, A YOUNG BOY AND HIS FAMILY 509 00:26:03,952 --> 00:26:04,000 Narrator: NEARLY 50 YEARS AGO, A YOUNG BOY AND HIS FAMILY 510 00:26:07,067 --> 00:26:09,733 CAME TO A RIVERBANK IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND. 511 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,067 WHEN I CAME HERE AS A CHILD, THIS WAS A GREAT PLACE TO PLAY. 512 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,067 Narrator: PAUL BARNETT AND HIS FATHER 513 00:26:16,100 --> 00:26:19,700 FOUND STRANGE SHAPES STICKING OUT OF THE MUD. 514 00:26:19,767 --> 00:26:23,067 BUT THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE. 515 00:26:23,133 --> 00:26:24,900 Barnett: MY FATHER BEING AN EX-SAILOR, 516 00:26:24,967 --> 00:26:27,367 HE HAD HIS OWN CURIOUS SORT OF OBSERVATIONS 517 00:26:27,433 --> 00:26:30,067 AS TO WHAT THIS MAY BE, AND HE JUST NATURALLY ASSUMED 518 00:26:30,100 --> 00:26:32,500 IT WAS JUST A GREAT AND EASY PLACE TO GET RID OF VESSELS. 519 00:26:32,567 --> 00:26:33,952 WE DIDN'T KNOW. WE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW. 520 00:26:33,952 --> 00:26:34,000 WE DIDN'T KNOW. WE REALLY DIDN'T KNOW. 521 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,767 Narrator: THE SECRETS OF THE SITE AND ITS BOATS MADE OF STONE 522 00:26:39,833 --> 00:26:41,800 WOULD REMAIN BURIED 523 00:26:41,867 --> 00:26:46,633 UNTIL PAUL RETURNED TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY 20 YEARS LATER. 524 00:26:46,700 --> 00:26:48,433 WELL, THE FIRST THING THAT I CHOSE TO DO 525 00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:52,200 WAS TO CARRY OUT A RESEARCH PROJECT AT THE LOCAL ARCHIVE. 526 00:26:52,267 --> 00:26:54,500 THE INFORMATION HELD THEREIN WAS VERY SPARSE. 527 00:26:54,567 --> 00:26:57,767 I WAS ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDED BY THE LACK OF INFORMATION. 528 00:26:57,833 --> 00:27:01,100 Selwood: THESE THINGS DOMINATE THE LANDSCAPE. 529 00:27:01,167 --> 00:27:02,400 YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT 530 00:27:02,467 --> 00:27:03,952 THAT IF THEY HAD BEEN PUT HERE FOR A REASON 531 00:27:03,952 --> 00:27:04,000 THAT IF THEY HAD BEEN PUT HERE FOR A REASON 532 00:27:05,067 --> 00:27:08,167 THAT THERE WOULD BE AN OFFICIAL RECORD. 533 00:27:08,233 --> 00:27:11,067 Narrator: YET THE ARCHIVES WERE EMPTY. 534 00:27:11,100 --> 00:27:15,233 PAUL'S INVESTIGATION HAD HIT A WALL. 535 00:27:15,300 --> 00:27:19,733 BUT A CLUE WOULD BE FOUND IN THE RIVER SEVERN'S STORIED PAST. 536 00:27:20,933 --> 00:27:22,800 ALTHOUGH IT MAY NOT LOOK IT, 537 00:27:22,867 --> 00:27:25,067 THIS IS AN IMMENSELY DANGEROUS AREA. 538 00:27:25,100 --> 00:27:27,567 Barnett: NOBODY WOULD VENTURE OUT INTO THE RIVER SEVERN. 539 00:27:27,633 --> 00:27:29,200 IT'S INCREDIBLY TREACHEROUS. 540 00:27:29,267 --> 00:27:32,833 THE TIDE ITSELF ACTUALLY RUNS IN AT ABOUT 13 KNOTS. 541 00:27:34,100 --> 00:27:36,567 Narrator: THE RIVER SEVERN IS DEADLY. 542 00:27:36,633 --> 00:27:40,667 BUT NEXT DOOR IS A MORE PLACID BODY OF WATER. 543 00:27:40,733 --> 00:27:44,433 Selwood: DIRECTLY NEXT DOOR TO THIS POWERFUL RIVER IS A CANAL. 544 00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:47,600 TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO, CANALS LIKE THESE 545 00:27:47,667 --> 00:27:50,800 WERE THE MAIN WAYS OF MOVING FREIGHT AROUND BRITAIN. 546 00:27:50,867 --> 00:27:53,333 AND PEOPLE CAME TO RELY ON THESE. 547 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,067 THESE CANALS WERE THE ARTERIES FOR MOVING GOODS AROUND BRITAIN, 548 00:27:57,067 --> 00:27:58,967 INCLUDING HERE AT PURTON. 549 00:28:00,100 --> 00:28:03,952 Narrator: THE SHARPNESS CANAL OPENED IN 1827. 550 00:28:03,952 --> 00:28:04,000 Narrator: THE SHARPNESS CANAL OPENED IN 1827. 551 00:28:04,300 --> 00:28:06,367 THE PEOPLE OF PURTON WERE NOW CONNECTED 552 00:28:06,433 --> 00:28:08,933 TO THE REST OF ENGLAND. 553 00:28:09,867 --> 00:28:11,800 BUT LESS THAN 100 YEARS LATER, 554 00:28:11,867 --> 00:28:14,767 THE CANAL'S EXISTENCE WAS UNDER THREAT. 555 00:28:15,933 --> 00:28:20,133 THE CANAL, A MAJOR PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TRADE, 556 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,533 IS PROTECTED FROM THIS VERY DANGEROUS RIVER 557 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:26,633 BY A VERY NARROW MOUND OF DIRT. 558 00:28:26,700 --> 00:28:30,800 Narrator: THAT MOUND, IN SOME PLACES JUST 20 FEET THICK, 559 00:28:30,867 --> 00:28:33,952 IS ALL THAT KEEPS THESE TWO BODIES OF WATER SEPARATE. 560 00:28:33,952 --> 00:28:34,000 IS ALL THAT KEEPS THESE TWO BODIES OF WATER SEPARATE. 561 00:28:35,333 --> 00:28:37,500 Barnett: WITH THE FULL FORCE OF THE RIVER COMING IN, 562 00:28:37,567 --> 00:28:38,833 IT WAS HITTING THE BANK. 563 00:28:38,900 --> 00:28:41,300 AND AS A RESULT OF WHICH IT WAS NOW PRONE TO EROSION, 564 00:28:41,367 --> 00:28:43,967 WHICH WAS HAPPENING ALMOST ON A DAILY BASIS. 565 00:28:44,067 --> 00:28:48,300 Selwood: THE RIVERBANK LITERALLY HOLDS BACK THE TIDE. 566 00:28:48,367 --> 00:28:51,233 WITHOUT IT, THE RIVER WOULD CONSUME THE CANAL. 567 00:28:52,467 --> 00:28:55,833 Narrator: FOR NEARLY A CENTURY, THE CANAL AND THE RIVERBANK 568 00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:57,767 COEXISTED IN HARMONY. 569 00:28:57,833 --> 00:29:02,067 BUT IN 1909, THAT HARMONY WAS SHATTERED. 570 00:29:02,067 --> 00:29:03,700 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 571 00:29:03,767 --> 00:29:03,952 Somara: A MASSIVE STORM HIT THE SOUTHWEST OF ENGLAND. 572 00:29:03,952 --> 00:29:04,000 Somara: A MASSIVE STORM HIT THE SOUTHWEST OF ENGLAND. 573 00:29:07,500 --> 00:29:09,967 AND THE RIVER SEVERN BEGAN TO OVERFLOW 574 00:29:10,067 --> 00:29:12,500 AND SPILL OVER INTO THE CANAL. 575 00:29:12,567 --> 00:29:14,833 Barnett: THE FULL FORCE OF THAT STORM CAME INTO THE BANK. 576 00:29:14,900 --> 00:29:17,433 APPROXIMATELY 60 METERS OF IT WAS REMOVED. 577 00:29:17,500 --> 00:29:20,667 ONE HIT, AND IT WAS SWEPT AWAY BY THE RIVER SEVERN 578 00:29:20,733 --> 00:29:22,700 AND ITS FAST-FLOWING WATERS. 579 00:29:22,767 --> 00:29:24,900 Selwood: TONS AND TONS OF DIRT AND SILT 580 00:29:24,967 --> 00:29:27,933 WERE CARRIED AWAY DOWNSTREAM. 581 00:29:28,067 --> 00:29:32,067 Narrator: NEARLY 200 FEET OF THE BANK WAS ERODED AWAY. 582 00:29:32,067 --> 00:29:33,952 THE CANAL WAS NOW IN REAL DANGER OF BREACHING. 583 00:29:33,952 --> 00:29:34,000 THE CANAL WAS NOW IN REAL DANGER OF BREACHING. 584 00:29:35,167 --> 00:29:37,567 SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE. 585 00:29:39,500 --> 00:29:43,067 Narrator: THE STORM ALMOST OBLITERATED THE RIVERBANK, 586 00:29:43,067 --> 00:29:47,800 BUT A FLEET MADE OF STONE WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE IT FOREVER. 587 00:29:50,300 --> 00:29:53,233 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 588 00:29:57,367 --> 00:30:00,533 Narrator: IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND, THE VILLAGE OF PURTON 589 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,833 WAS UNDER THREAT FROM A FAILING RIVERBANK. 590 00:30:03,900 --> 00:30:07,500 THEY HAD NO MONEY FOR BIG RESTORATION PROJECTS. 591 00:30:07,567 --> 00:30:09,500 THIS WAS A VERY SMALL PART OF BRITAIN 592 00:30:09,567 --> 00:30:12,633 THAT HAD VERY LIMITED MEANS AND VERY LITTLE TIME. 593 00:30:13,700 --> 00:30:18,000 BUT THE CHIEF ENGINEER FOR THE CANAL HAD A RADICAL PLAN. 594 00:30:18,067 --> 00:30:19,187 THE ENGINEER FOR THE DOCK COMPANY MADE A REQUEST -- 595 00:30:19,187 --> 00:30:20,000 THE ENGINEER FOR THE DOCK COMPANY MADE A REQUEST -- 596 00:30:20,300 --> 00:30:23,667 ARE THERE ANY BARGES THAT COULD BE BROUGHT TO THIS POINT, 597 00:30:23,733 --> 00:30:25,967 RUN OUT TO THE FORESHORE, AND ADD THEIR STRENGTH 598 00:30:26,033 --> 00:30:27,700 IN ORDER TO PROTECT THAT WATERWAY? 599 00:30:27,767 --> 00:30:32,767 Bell: FOR THE PLAN TO WORK, THEY NEEDED A WHOLE FLEET OF BOATS. 600 00:30:32,833 --> 00:30:36,267 SO THEY ASKED THE LOCALS TO VOLUNTEER THEIR OLD TUGS, 601 00:30:36,333 --> 00:30:38,467 AND THEY RALLIED TO THE CAUSE. 602 00:30:39,933 --> 00:30:46,233 Narrator: IN TOTAL, 15 WOODEN VESSELS WERE BROUGHT TO PURTON. 603 00:30:46,300 --> 00:30:47,800 THIS WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE FIRST VESSELS -- 604 00:30:47,867 --> 00:30:49,187 IN ACTUAL FACT, THE FIRST VESSEL TO BE BEACHED HERE. 605 00:30:49,187 --> 00:30:50,000 IN ACTUAL FACT, THE FIRST VESSEL TO BE BEACHED HERE. 606 00:30:51,067 --> 00:30:53,233 TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE HIGH TIDE, THE VESSEL, 607 00:30:53,300 --> 00:30:56,733 WITH A FULL HEAD OF STEAM, WOULD COME THUNDERING INTO THE BANK. 608 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,200 Selwood: THE PLAN WAS TO THEN DRILL HOLES IN THEM 609 00:30:59,267 --> 00:31:00,700 TO LET WATER IN. 610 00:31:00,767 --> 00:31:05,267 THIS WOULD ALLOW SILT AND MUD FROM UPSTREAM TO COME DOWN, 611 00:31:05,333 --> 00:31:08,633 THEN FILL INTO THE BOATS AND AROUND THE BOATS 612 00:31:08,700 --> 00:31:11,900 AND EFFECTIVELY REBUILD THE RIVERBANK. 613 00:31:11,967 --> 00:31:14,567 Narrator: THE BARGES WERE BEACHED ONTO THE RIVERBANK, 614 00:31:14,633 --> 00:31:17,500 PROTECTING THE CANAL FROM THE SEVERN. 615 00:31:17,567 --> 00:31:19,187 THEY BECAME KNOWN AS THE PURTON HULKS. 616 00:31:19,187 --> 00:31:20,000 THEY BECAME KNOWN AS THE PURTON HULKS. 617 00:31:22,467 --> 00:31:25,400 IT APPEARED THE CANAL HAD BEEN SAVED. 618 00:31:25,467 --> 00:31:29,567 BUT THE CELEBRATIONS WERE SHORT-LIVED. 619 00:31:29,633 --> 00:31:34,067 THE ONE THING ABOUT WOOD IS THAT IT ROTS. 620 00:31:34,133 --> 00:31:37,200 Barnett: WHAT WAS HAPPENING WAS THE TIMBER LOADERS WERE ROTTING. 621 00:31:37,267 --> 00:31:39,767 AND AS A RESULT, ONCE AGAIN THE CANAL WAS IN DANGER. 622 00:31:39,833 --> 00:31:45,667 Bell: SO WOODEN BOATS ROT AND METAL BOATS RUST. 623 00:31:45,733 --> 00:31:49,187 FORTUNATELY, HISTORY PROVIDED THE ANSWER. 624 00:31:49,187 --> 00:31:49,200 FORTUNATELY, HISTORY PROVIDED THE ANSWER. 625 00:31:49,267 --> 00:31:50,000 Narrator: IN THE YEARS AFTER WORLD WAR I, 626 00:31:51,667 --> 00:31:54,900 THE PRICE OF TIMBER AND IRON ROSE SHARPLY. 627 00:31:54,967 --> 00:31:58,633 IT BECAME TOO EXPENSIVE TO MAKE RIVERBOATS. 628 00:31:58,700 --> 00:32:01,800 SO BOATMAKERS TURNED TO AN UNLIKELY MATERIAL. 629 00:32:01,867 --> 00:32:06,367 THE CONCRETE BOATS COULD BE MADE REALLY FAST AND REALLY CHEAP, 630 00:32:06,433 --> 00:32:09,700 BUT APPARENTLY THEY WERE A NIGHTMARE TO DRIVE. 631 00:32:11,067 --> 00:32:13,300 Narrator: OLD CONCRETE BARGES WERE THE SOLUTION 632 00:32:13,367 --> 00:32:16,067 TO PROTECTING THE RIVERBANK PERMANENTLY. 633 00:32:16,133 --> 00:32:19,187 IN THE 1960s, EIGHT WERE BROUGHT TO PURTON, 634 00:32:19,187 --> 00:32:19,433 IN THE 1960s, EIGHT WERE BROUGHT TO PURTON, 635 00:32:19,500 --> 00:32:20,000 THE FINAL PURTON HULKS. 636 00:32:22,067 --> 00:32:25,600 SIXTY YEARS LATER, THE BANK'S THICKNESS HAS DOUBLED. 637 00:32:25,667 --> 00:32:28,733 THE CANAL WAS SAVED. 638 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:31,233 Barnett: KNOWING HOW YOU CAN WORK WITH THE SEA, 639 00:32:31,300 --> 00:32:33,367 YOU CAN'T WORK AGAINST HER, 640 00:32:33,433 --> 00:32:36,800 ABSOLUTELY ASTOUNDED BY THE REAL SEAMANSHIP 641 00:32:36,867 --> 00:32:38,767 THAT WOULD HAVE TAKEN TO GET THESE VESSELS IN HERE. 642 00:32:38,833 --> 00:32:42,833 AND YET THEY CONTINUE TO DO THE JOB THAT THEY WERE PUT HERE 643 00:32:42,900 --> 00:32:44,933 TO DO, TO PROTECT THE BANK, 644 00:32:45,067 --> 00:32:47,067 TO PROTECT CANAL, AND TO ALLOW 645 00:32:47,100 --> 00:32:49,187 THE RIVER SEVERN TO CONTINUE FLOWING GENTLY BY. 646 00:32:49,187 --> 00:32:50,000 THE RIVER SEVERN TO CONTINUE FLOWING GENTLY BY. 647 00:32:55,467 --> 00:32:56,967 Narrator: THE PURTON HULKS, 648 00:32:57,067 --> 00:33:00,733 SILENT GUARDIANS OF WOOD AND STONE. 649 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,067 Bell: FOR THE LAST 60 YEARS, THEY'VE BEEN THERE, 650 00:33:04,100 --> 00:33:07,467 PROTECTING THE CANAL FROM THE POWERFUL RIVER SEVERN, 651 00:33:07,533 --> 00:33:11,167 A TESTAMENT TO ENGINEERING BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS. 652 00:33:15,333 --> 00:33:16,367 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 653 00:33:21,167 --> 00:33:23,467 Narrator: IN A REMOTE REGION OF WESTERN POLAND 654 00:33:23,533 --> 00:33:27,600 IS AN ENGINEERING GIANT HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT. 655 00:33:27,667 --> 00:33:31,067 [ MUSIC CONTINUES ] 656 00:33:31,133 --> 00:33:33,067 Auerbach: WHEN YOU APPROACH THIS SITE, 657 00:33:33,133 --> 00:33:35,133 IT REALLY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MUCH. 658 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:36,967 AND THEN, AS YOU GET CLOSER, 659 00:33:37,067 --> 00:33:42,067 YOU SEE THAT THERE ARE PILLBOXES DOTTED AROUND THE LANDSCAPE. 660 00:33:42,067 --> 00:33:45,300 Selwood: ONCE YOU'VE SPOTTED ONE, YOU THEN SEE ANOTHER. 661 00:33:45,367 --> 00:33:46,900 AND AS YOUR EYE CARRIES ON, 662 00:33:46,967 --> 00:33:49,187 YOU REALIZE THIS LINE GOES ON ALMOST FOREVER. 663 00:33:49,187 --> 00:33:49,567 YOU REALIZE THIS LINE GOES ON ALMOST FOREVER. 664 00:33:49,633 --> 00:33:50,000 THIS IS A REALLY MAJOR PIECE OF ENGINEERING. 665 00:33:54,667 --> 00:33:57,267 Wawro: IT REMINDS ME OF THE MAGINOT LINE IN FRANCE. 666 00:33:57,333 --> 00:34:00,633 BUT WE'RE NOT IN FRANCE, SO IT COULDN'T BE THAT. 667 00:34:00,700 --> 00:34:02,767 Narrator: THESE PILLBOXES DRAW AN OUTLINE 668 00:34:02,833 --> 00:34:06,800 OF A FORTRESS BURIED UNDERGROUND. 669 00:34:06,867 --> 00:34:08,733 THERE IS AN IMMENSE NETWORK OF TUNNELS 670 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,400 THAT SEEMS TO GO ON JUST FOREVER. 671 00:34:11,467 --> 00:34:14,233 AND IN ONE OF THEM, THERE'S A RAILWAY LINE. 672 00:34:14,300 --> 00:34:18,300 Auerbach: PEOPLE WORKED HERE, AND THEN THEY LEFT. 673 00:34:18,367 --> 00:34:19,187 BUT THEY LEFT SOME CLUES AS TO WHAT THEY WERE DOING DOWN THERE. 674 00:34:19,187 --> 00:34:20,000 BUT THEY LEFT SOME CLUES AS TO WHAT THEY WERE DOING DOWN THERE. 675 00:34:22,100 --> 00:34:25,133 A ROOM WITH A SIGN ABOVE IT THAT SAYS "MASCHINENRAUM" -- 676 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:27,700 "MACHINE ROOM." 677 00:34:27,767 --> 00:34:30,067 Selwood: THIS IS A PLACE WHERE CLEARLY 678 00:34:30,100 --> 00:34:32,767 AN IMMENSE ENGINEERING EFFORT WENT IN 679 00:34:32,833 --> 00:34:35,233 BUT ULTIMATELY IT CAME TO NAUGHT. 680 00:34:36,900 --> 00:34:38,967 Narrator: ALMOST 22 MILES OF TUNNELS 681 00:34:39,067 --> 00:34:41,567 ARE BURIED IN THE POLISH COUNTRYSIDE. 682 00:34:41,633 --> 00:34:46,200 BUT A CLUE ON THE SURFACE WILL UNLOCK THE MYSTERY OF THE SITE 683 00:34:46,267 --> 00:34:48,800 AND UNRAVEL A TISSUE OF LIES. 684 00:34:48,867 --> 00:34:49,187 Auerbach: THERE'S THIS ONE ABOVEGROUND FEATURE -- 685 00:34:49,187 --> 00:34:50,000 Auerbach: THERE'S THIS ONE ABOVEGROUND FEATURE -- 686 00:34:51,467 --> 00:34:53,933 THIS ODD BRIDGE. 687 00:34:54,067 --> 00:34:56,067 THAT'S THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURE. 688 00:34:56,133 --> 00:34:58,767 Narrator: A MAMMOTH ENGINEERING PROJECT 689 00:34:58,833 --> 00:35:00,433 SPANNING NEARLY 40 MILES. 690 00:35:00,500 --> 00:35:01,700 WHY WAS IT PUT HERE? 691 00:35:01,767 --> 00:35:07,200 AND WHAT SECRETS ARE BURIED BENEATH THE SURFACE? 692 00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:13,833 BURIED IN THE POLISH COUNTRYSIDE IS A WARTIME SECRET. 693 00:35:13,900 --> 00:35:15,567 Auerbach: MOST OF THIS SITE IS UNDERGROUND -- 694 00:35:15,633 --> 00:35:18,567 THESE MILES AND MILES OF TUNNEL, THE TRAIN TRACKS. 695 00:35:18,633 --> 00:35:19,187 BUT THE CLUE TO WHAT THE SITE IS ABOUT 696 00:35:19,187 --> 00:35:20,000 BUT THE CLUE TO WHAT THE SITE IS ABOUT 697 00:35:22,100 --> 00:35:25,633 IS RIGHT HERE IN THIS ONE ABOVEGROUND PART OF IT -- 698 00:35:25,700 --> 00:35:29,433 THE BRIDGE, A BRIDGE WITH AN ODD HINGE ON IT. 699 00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:31,433 [ DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 700 00:35:31,500 --> 00:35:34,267 Narrator: HISTORIAN AND ARCHITECT ROBERT JURGA 701 00:35:34,333 --> 00:35:35,700 HAS SPENT HIS CAREER 702 00:35:35,767 --> 00:35:40,300 EXPLORING ONE OF POLAND'S MOST OVERLOOKED HISTORICAL SITES. 703 00:35:40,367 --> 00:35:41,633 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 704 00:35:41,700 --> 00:35:43,667 Interpreter: THE PLAN OF THIS BRIDGE 705 00:35:43,733 --> 00:35:46,433 IS STILL PROTECTED BY THE PATENT THAT'S KEPT IN BERLIN. 706 00:35:46,500 --> 00:35:49,187 THE LEVEL OF SECURITY WAS SO HIGH 707 00:35:49,187 --> 00:35:49,533 THE LEVEL OF SECURITY WAS SO HIGH 708 00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:50,000 THAT THE OPERATORS CONSISTED 709 00:35:51,467 --> 00:35:54,100 OF A SPECIALLY TRAINED GROUP OF SOLDIERS. 710 00:35:54,167 --> 00:35:57,200 Narrator: SWING BRIDGES ARE COMMON ON MAJOR RIVERS 711 00:35:57,267 --> 00:35:59,867 TO LET LARGE SHIPS PASS THROUGH. 712 00:36:00,067 --> 00:36:03,600 BUT THE WATER HERE IS PRACTICALLY A TRICKLE. 713 00:36:03,667 --> 00:36:05,400 Auerbach: THE SWING BRIDGE IS HERE 714 00:36:05,467 --> 00:36:08,733 BECAUSE THIS ENTIRE SET OF FORTIFICATIONS 715 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:10,833 IS ACTUALLY ILLEGAL. 716 00:36:10,900 --> 00:36:12,333 [ MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 717 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:16,300 Narrator: THE STORY BEGINS AFTER THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, 718 00:36:16,367 --> 00:36:19,187 WHEN THIS PART OF POLAND BELONGED TO GERMANY. 719 00:36:19,187 --> 00:36:19,400 WHEN THIS PART OF POLAND BELONGED TO GERMANY. 720 00:36:19,467 --> 00:36:20,000 THINK BACK TO WHAT HAPPENED TO GERMANY 721 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:23,200 AT THE END OF WORLD WAR I. 722 00:36:23,267 --> 00:36:26,600 THEY WERE DEFEATED BY A BIG ALLIED COALITION. 723 00:36:26,667 --> 00:36:29,233 THEY WERE DISARMED. THEY LOST TERRITORY. 724 00:36:29,300 --> 00:36:33,700 THEY LOST CITIZENS TO THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES. 725 00:36:33,767 --> 00:36:36,500 Auerbach: THE TREATY WAS PUNISHING TO GERMANY. 726 00:36:36,567 --> 00:36:39,567 THEY HAD TO GIVE UP THEIR ENTIRE EMPIRE, 727 00:36:39,633 --> 00:36:41,567 THEY HAD TO ALLOW THE ALLIES 728 00:36:41,633 --> 00:36:44,967 TO OCCUPY PART OF THEIR INDUSTRIAL HEARTLAND, 729 00:36:45,067 --> 00:36:48,533 AND THEY ALSO HAD TO LIMIT THEIR ARMY TO 100,000 MEN. 730 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:49,187 Narrator: GERMANY WAS ALSO FORBIDDEN 731 00:36:49,187 --> 00:36:50,000 Narrator: GERMANY WAS ALSO FORBIDDEN 732 00:36:50,433 --> 00:36:53,900 FROM BUILDING ANY NEW FORTIFICATIONS ALONG ITS BORDER, 733 00:36:53,967 --> 00:36:58,167 LEAVING THE COUNTRY VIRTUALLY DEFENSELESS. 734 00:36:58,233 --> 00:37:01,067 Selwood: THE GERMANS FELT A GREAT SENSE OF VULNERABILITY 735 00:37:01,133 --> 00:37:03,467 ABOUT THEIR BORDER BECAUSE AFTER WORLD WAR I, 736 00:37:03,533 --> 00:37:06,200 THEY WERE A UNIVERSALLY LOATHED NATION. 737 00:37:06,267 --> 00:37:08,967 BUT THEY HAD ENEMIES ON THEIR RIGHT. 738 00:37:09,067 --> 00:37:10,333 THERE WAS POLAND, 739 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,833 AND BEHIND POLAND, OF COURSE, THE SOVIET UNION. 740 00:37:15,067 --> 00:37:17,767 Narrator: WITH LIMITED DEFENSES, THE GERMAN CAPITAL 741 00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:19,187 WAS VULNERABLE TO INVASION FROM THE EAST. 742 00:37:19,187 --> 00:37:20,000 WAS VULNERABLE TO INVASION FROM THE EAST. 743 00:37:20,733 --> 00:37:23,067 ITS BIGGEST WEAKNESS WAS A STRETCH OF LAND 744 00:37:23,133 --> 00:37:25,367 SANDWICHED BETWEEN TWO RIVERS. 745 00:37:25,433 --> 00:37:29,400 THIS REGION WAS FLAT AND HAD NO NATURAL BARRIERS. 746 00:37:29,467 --> 00:37:32,933 IT WAS A HIGHWAY THAT LED STRAIGHT TO BERLIN. 747 00:37:33,067 --> 00:37:36,767 IF THE POLES OR THE SOVIETS WANTED TO INVADE GERMANY, 748 00:37:36,833 --> 00:37:38,600 THAT WAS A PERFECT ROUTE 'CAUSE IT GAVE THEM 749 00:37:38,667 --> 00:37:41,567 A DIRECT PATH TO BERLIN, THE CAPITAL. 750 00:37:41,633 --> 00:37:44,467 THIS WAS A HUGE HOLE IN GERMANY'S DEFENSES, 751 00:37:44,533 --> 00:37:46,433 AND THEY WANTED TO PLUG IT. 752 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:49,187 Narrator: BUT WITH THE TREATY MAKING NEW DEFENSES ILLEGAL, 753 00:37:49,187 --> 00:37:50,000 Narrator: BUT WITH THE TREATY MAKING NEW DEFENSES ILLEGAL, 754 00:37:51,733 --> 00:37:55,733 THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT CONCOCTED A RUSE. 755 00:37:57,333 --> 00:37:58,000 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 756 00:38:04,733 --> 00:38:07,067 Narrator: IN A FORMER GERMAN TERRITORY 757 00:38:07,067 --> 00:38:10,433 IS A BORDER WALL THAT BEGAN WITH A DEVIOUS PLOY. 758 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:14,767 Auerbach: THE RULES OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES 759 00:38:14,833 --> 00:38:17,900 LIMITED GERMANY'S SPENDING ON THE MILITARY 760 00:38:17,967 --> 00:38:19,567 AND ON FORTIFICATIONS. 761 00:38:19,633 --> 00:38:23,067 BUT IT DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT WATER MANAGEMENT. 762 00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:24,933 SO THEY BROUGHT IN ENGINEERS 763 00:38:25,067 --> 00:38:27,208 AND DUG UP HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF TONS OF EARTH, 764 00:38:27,208 --> 00:38:28,000 AND DUG UP HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF TONS OF EARTH, 765 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:30,467 REDIRECTED RIVERS, 766 00:38:30,533 --> 00:38:33,400 AND ESSENTIALLY CREATED A NEW NATURAL BARRIER. 767 00:38:33,467 --> 00:38:36,067 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 768 00:38:36,067 --> 00:38:39,567 Interpreter: THE MAIN TOOL AGAINST THE TANKS WAS WATER. 769 00:38:39,633 --> 00:38:41,633 MANY TACTICAL CANALS WERE BUILT, 770 00:38:41,700 --> 00:38:44,767 AND THEY BECAME THE MAIN BARRIER AGAINST THE ENEMY'S TANKS. 771 00:38:44,833 --> 00:38:49,067 ON THOSE CHANNELS, THEY BUILT A LINE OF TACTICAL BRIDGES. 772 00:38:49,067 --> 00:38:51,567 [ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS ] 773 00:38:51,633 --> 00:38:54,867 Narrator: A SERIES OF BRIDGES ACROSS AN ARTIFICIAL WATERWAY, 774 00:38:54,933 --> 00:38:57,208 EACH WITH A MECHANISM TO STOP AN ENEMY ADVANCE. 775 00:38:57,208 --> 00:38:58,000 EACH WITH A MECHANISM TO STOP AN ENEMY ADVANCE. 776 00:39:00,533 --> 00:39:02,933 Interpreter: THOSE BRIDGES WERE CLOSED 777 00:39:03,067 --> 00:39:05,267 IN CASE OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE ENEMY 778 00:39:05,333 --> 00:39:08,400 AND IN NORMAL TIMES WERE USED BY THE CIVILIANS. 779 00:39:10,233 --> 00:39:12,967 Narrator: OVER FIVE YEARS, A LINE IS DRAWN 780 00:39:13,067 --> 00:39:16,867 BETWEEN THE WARTA AND ODER RIVERS. 781 00:39:16,933 --> 00:39:21,400 THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE OSTWALL. 782 00:39:21,467 --> 00:39:23,900 "AUDACIOUS" DOESN'T COVER IT. 783 00:39:23,967 --> 00:39:26,733 YOU HAD A TEAM OF 1,000 OVERSEERS 784 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:27,208 WATCHING TO MAKE SURE GERMANY ADHERED TO THE RULES. 785 00:39:27,208 --> 00:39:28,000 WATCHING TO MAKE SURE GERMANY ADHERED TO THE RULES. 786 00:39:29,767 --> 00:39:31,867 AND IF THEY WERE CAUGHT BREAKING THOSE RULES, 787 00:39:31,933 --> 00:39:34,533 IT COULD HAVE STARTED ANOTHER WAR. 788 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,300 Narrator: AN EMBOLDENED GERMAN GOVERNMENT 789 00:39:38,367 --> 00:39:41,600 ADDS TUNNELS AND BUNKERS, MAKING THE OSTWALL 790 00:39:41,667 --> 00:39:44,667 A STATE-OF-THE-ART BATTLE FORTRESS. 791 00:39:44,733 --> 00:39:49,433 DESCENDING BENEATH THE SURFACE, WE FIND MILE UPON 792 00:39:49,500 --> 00:39:51,800 MILE OF CONCRETE TUNNELS, 793 00:39:51,867 --> 00:39:54,700 LINKING TOGETHER THESE FORTS THAT ARE -- YOU COULD 794 00:39:54,767 --> 00:39:56,267 BARELY GLIMPSE ABOVE GROUND. 795 00:39:56,333 --> 00:39:57,208 THERE'S EVEN A SMALL LIGHT RAILWAY 796 00:39:57,208 --> 00:39:58,000 THERE'S EVEN A SMALL LIGHT RAILWAY 797 00:39:59,067 --> 00:40:00,700 INSTALLED IN SOME OF THESE TUNNELS. 798 00:40:02,733 --> 00:40:04,567 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 799 00:40:04,633 --> 00:40:06,800 Interpreter: THE MAIN ROAD IS 12 KILOMETERS LONG, 800 00:40:06,867 --> 00:40:09,367 AND THE WHOLE SYSTEM, WITH CORRIDORS LEADING TO 801 00:40:09,433 --> 00:40:12,033 THE BUNKERS IS MORE THAN 32 KILOMETERS LONG. 802 00:40:14,967 --> 00:40:17,867 IT WAS TOO BIG A DISTANCE FOR THE SOLDIERS TO MARCH. 803 00:40:17,933 --> 00:40:19,933 THAT'S WHY THEY USED TRAIN TRACKS LIKE THIS 804 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:21,233 FOR TRANSPORTATION. 805 00:40:24,133 --> 00:40:26,733 Narrator: THE ABILITY TO MOVE ALMOST 20 MILES 806 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:27,208 UNSEEN BY THE ENEMY 807 00:40:27,208 --> 00:40:28,000 UNSEEN BY THE ENEMY 808 00:40:28,267 --> 00:40:29,267 WOULD GIVE THE GERMANS 809 00:40:29,333 --> 00:40:31,433 A HUGE TACTICAL ADVANTAGE. 810 00:40:31,500 --> 00:40:33,133 SO THE MEN CAN RACE BETWEEN 811 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,800 THE VARIOUS POSITIONS TO MEET VARIOUS DIFFERENT THREATS. 812 00:40:36,867 --> 00:40:39,200 Narrator: THE OSTWALL WAS DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE 813 00:40:39,267 --> 00:40:40,967 THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS. 814 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:43,500 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 815 00:40:43,567 --> 00:40:45,200 Interpreter: WE ARE CURRENTLY 16 METERS BELOW 816 00:40:45,267 --> 00:40:48,100 THE SURFACE IN THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM. 817 00:40:48,167 --> 00:40:49,467 THIS IS THE DORMITORY. 818 00:40:49,533 --> 00:40:52,033 THEY ATTACHED BUNKS TO THESE BRACKETS HERE. 819 00:40:52,100 --> 00:40:54,300 THREE SOLDIERS WOULD SLEEP ON ONE SIDE 820 00:40:54,367 --> 00:40:56,000 AND TWO ON THE OTHER SIDE. 821 00:40:56,067 --> 00:40:57,208 THEY DIDN'T SHARE BUNKS. 822 00:40:57,208 --> 00:40:57,867 THEY DIDN'T SHARE BUNKS. 823 00:40:57,933 --> 00:40:58,000 WHEN THEY WERE DOWN HERE, 824 00:40:59,367 --> 00:41:01,967 THEY PROBABLY LISTENED TO THE RADIO, PLAYED CARDS, 825 00:41:02,067 --> 00:41:04,500 DRANK WINE, AND READ THE NEWSPAPERS. 826 00:41:04,567 --> 00:41:07,300 THERE WERE PROPAGANDA BANNERS HANGING ON THE WALLS THERE. 827 00:41:09,333 --> 00:41:10,333 Narrator: TO BEGIN WITH, 828 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:12,400 THEY LIVED IN RELATIVE COMFORT. 829 00:41:12,467 --> 00:41:14,067 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 830 00:41:14,100 --> 00:41:15,867 Interpreter: UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, 831 00:41:15,933 --> 00:41:17,867 WHEN THE BUNKER WAS WORKING PROPERLY, 832 00:41:17,933 --> 00:41:20,267 ELECTRIC HEATING WAS SUPPLIED FROM THE MACHINE ROOM. 833 00:41:22,967 --> 00:41:25,167 THIS WASHROOM WAS FOR ALL THE SOLDIERS FROM 834 00:41:25,233 --> 00:41:27,208 THE TWO BUNKERS IN THIS PART OF THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM. 835 00:41:27,208 --> 00:41:27,767 THE TWO BUNKERS IN THIS PART OF THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM. 836 00:41:29,900 --> 00:41:32,933 BOTH THOSE FIGHTING AND THE SPARE UNITS USED 837 00:41:33,067 --> 00:41:34,333 THIS WASHROOM. 838 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,467 IN TOTAL, ABOUT 60 TO 70 PEOPLE HAD TO USE 839 00:41:37,533 --> 00:41:38,633 THIS SMALL WASHROOM. 840 00:41:42,367 --> 00:41:46,067 Narrator: IN 1938, GERMANY'S FUHRER CAME TO INSPECT, 841 00:41:46,133 --> 00:41:48,200 AND HE WAS NOT HAPPY. 842 00:41:48,267 --> 00:41:51,600 WHEN HITLER VISITS THE OSTWALL IN 1938, 843 00:41:51,667 --> 00:41:54,667 HE IS DEFINITELY UNDERWHELMED. 844 00:41:54,733 --> 00:41:57,100 HITLER IS SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO SEE, YOU KNOW, 845 00:41:57,167 --> 00:41:57,208 PARADES OF PANZERS IN THE STREET, 846 00:41:57,208 --> 00:41:58,000 PARADES OF PANZERS IN THE STREET, 847 00:41:59,333 --> 00:42:02,133 FLYOVERS BY LUFTWAFFE BOMBERS, DIVE BOMBERS, 848 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,067 AND FIGHTER PLANES, GOOSESTEPPING INFANTRY. 849 00:42:05,100 --> 00:42:08,367 HE DOES NOT WANT TO SEE THESE SUBTERRANEAN FORTRESSES 850 00:42:08,433 --> 00:42:10,067 WITH JUST A LITTLE MACHINE-GUN TURRET 851 00:42:10,133 --> 00:42:12,067 POKING OUT OF THE PINE TREES. 852 00:42:13,767 --> 00:42:17,267 HE CALLS IT A WORTHLESS SET OF MOUSETRAPS, 853 00:42:17,333 --> 00:42:19,367 AND HE'S ALSO VERY UPSET THAT MOST 854 00:42:19,433 --> 00:42:22,433 OF THE SOLDIERS ARE GOING TO BE UNDERGROUND. 855 00:42:22,500 --> 00:42:25,867 Narrator: THE OSTWALL FAILED ITS INSPECTION, 856 00:42:25,933 --> 00:42:27,208 AND ITS CONSTRUCTION IS PUT ON HOLD. 857 00:42:27,208 --> 00:42:28,000 AND ITS CONSTRUCTION IS PUT ON HOLD. 858 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:31,533 THE FOLLOWING YEAR, 859 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:35,533 HITLER MARCHED THE TROOPS PAST THE WALL AND INTO POLAND. 860 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:36,667 [ GUNFIRE ] 861 00:42:36,733 --> 00:42:39,133 ONCE GERMANY HAD CONQUERED POLAND, 862 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:41,133 THIS FORTIFICATION LAY IN THE MIDDLE 863 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:44,367 OF GERMAN-CONTROLLED TERRITORY, SO IT WAS MILITARILY USELESS. 864 00:42:44,433 --> 00:42:47,933 AFTER A DECADE OF POURING SO MUCH EFFORT AND MONEY 865 00:42:48,067 --> 00:42:51,567 INTO THIS LINE, IT WAS LEFT AS A LAME DUCK. 866 00:42:52,733 --> 00:42:54,900 Wawro: THIS SPEAKS TO HITLER'S CONCEPTION OF WARFARE. 867 00:42:54,967 --> 00:42:56,600 THE GERMAN ARMY HAD TO BE ON THE MOVE. 868 00:42:56,667 --> 00:42:57,208 IT HAD TO BE ATTACKING, AND THAT 869 00:42:57,208 --> 00:42:58,000 IT HAD TO BE ATTACKING, AND THAT 870 00:42:58,233 --> 00:43:03,067 IT WAS NOT GOING TO SIT PASSIVELY BEHIND FORTIFICATIONS. 871 00:43:03,067 --> 00:43:04,600 Narrator: WITH THE OSTWALL CANCELED, 872 00:43:04,667 --> 00:43:08,933 THE TUNNELS WERE LEFT EMPTY UNTIL THE FUHRER FOUND A NEW USE 873 00:43:09,067 --> 00:43:12,067 FOR HIS EMPTY UNDERGROUND BUNKER. 874 00:43:12,067 --> 00:43:15,733 AFTER HITLER STOPPED CONSTRUCTION ON THE OSTWALL, 875 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:17,467 IT WAS LARGELY UNUSED. 876 00:43:17,533 --> 00:43:21,600 BUT WHEN THE ALLIES BEGIN THEIR STRATEGIC BOMBING OF GERMANY, 877 00:43:21,667 --> 00:43:23,733 IT FINDS A NEW PURPOSE. 878 00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:27,208 THEY MOVE MACHINERY DOWN HERE TO BUILD AIRCRAFT ENGINES. 879 00:43:27,208 --> 00:43:28,000 THEY MOVE MACHINERY DOWN HERE TO BUILD AIRCRAFT ENGINES. 880 00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:29,333 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 881 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:30,600 Interpreter: WHEN THE FACTORIES WERE UP AND RUNNING, 882 00:43:30,667 --> 00:43:32,733 THE TRAIN TRACK WAS CONSTANTLY USED, 883 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:34,400 BUT NOT TO TRANSPORT AMMUNITION 884 00:43:34,467 --> 00:43:37,133 OR SOLDIERS -- IT ONLY TRANSPORTED PARTS OF 885 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:38,200 AIRCRAFT ENGINES. 886 00:43:41,833 --> 00:43:43,767 Narrator: WITH MOST ABLE-BODIED SOLDIERS 887 00:43:43,833 --> 00:43:46,533 FIGHTING ON THE FRONTLINES, 888 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:50,767 ONLY A SMALL REGIMENT WAS LEFT TO DEFEND THE WALL. 889 00:43:50,833 --> 00:43:52,667 Auerbach: REGULAR TROOPS WEREN'T STATIONED THERE. 890 00:43:52,733 --> 00:43:53,867 YOU JUST HAD MILITIA, 891 00:43:53,933 --> 00:43:56,633 WHICH WERE MOSTLY POORLY TRAINED HITLER YOUTH 892 00:43:56,700 --> 00:43:57,208 AND MEN TOO OLD TO BE SENT TO THE FRONTLINES. 893 00:43:57,208 --> 00:43:58,000 AND MEN TOO OLD TO BE SENT TO THE FRONTLINES. 894 00:43:59,300 --> 00:44:01,067 Selwood: CONDITIONS WERE DREADFUL. 895 00:44:01,067 --> 00:44:03,067 IT WAS DANK. IT WAS DARK. 896 00:44:03,133 --> 00:44:06,067 IT WAS UNDERFUNDED. THERE WERE NO RESOURCES. 897 00:44:06,100 --> 00:44:10,067 THE PEOPLE WHO WERE HERE REALLY HAD BEEN FORGOTTEN ABOUT. 898 00:44:10,100 --> 00:44:13,233 REMEMBER THE FRONTLINE WAS HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY -- 899 00:44:13,300 --> 00:44:14,767 UNTIL EVERYTHING CHANGED. 900 00:44:14,833 --> 00:44:15,833 [ MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] 901 00:44:15,900 --> 00:44:18,767 Narrator: BY THE END OF 1944, 902 00:44:18,833 --> 00:44:21,133 THE GERMANS WERE BEING PUSHED BACK, 903 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:24,067 AND THE SOVIETS WERE CREEPING CLOSER TO BERLIN. 904 00:44:24,067 --> 00:44:27,208 THE FORGOTTEN OSTWALL WAS ABOUT TO JOIN THE WAR. 905 00:44:27,208 --> 00:44:28,000 THE FORGOTTEN OSTWALL WAS ABOUT TO JOIN THE WAR. 906 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:31,800 Auerbach: SO HITLER WAS NOT, BY ANY 907 00:44:31,867 --> 00:44:33,900 STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION, A MILITARY GENIUS, 908 00:44:33,967 --> 00:44:38,267 AND HE INSISTED ON THIS TACTIC OF NO RETREAT. 909 00:44:38,333 --> 00:44:41,767 AND WHAT HAPPENS IS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GERMAN TROOPS 910 00:44:41,833 --> 00:44:46,600 ARE SURROUNDED AND CAPTURED BY THE RED ARMY UNTIL 911 00:44:46,667 --> 00:44:50,200 ONE OF THE LAST THINGS IN BETWEEN THE SOVIET WAR MACHINE 912 00:44:50,267 --> 00:44:53,833 AND BERLIN IS THIS ONE BIT OF FORTIFICATION. 913 00:44:54,933 --> 00:44:57,208 Narrator: REINFORCEMENTS WERE RUSHED IN TO DEFEND THE WALL, 914 00:44:57,208 --> 00:44:57,900 Narrator: REINFORCEMENTS WERE RUSHED IN TO DEFEND THE WALL, 915 00:44:57,967 --> 00:44:58,000 BUT THEY WERE POORLY TRAINED AND ILL-EQUIPPED. 916 00:45:02,067 --> 00:45:03,067 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 917 00:45:03,067 --> 00:45:04,933 Interpreter: THE VOLKSSTURM SOLDIERS WHO WERE 918 00:45:05,067 --> 00:45:07,233 SENT HERE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH WEAPONS. 919 00:45:07,300 --> 00:45:09,067 WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE TRAIN STATION, 920 00:45:09,100 --> 00:45:12,067 THEY WERE GIVEN TWO OR THREE GUNS FOR THE ENTIRE GROUP. 921 00:45:13,233 --> 00:45:15,067 WHEN THEY ASKED WHERE THE WEAPONS WERE, 922 00:45:15,100 --> 00:45:17,800 THEY WERE TOLD THAT THEY WOULD FIND THEM INSIDE THE BUNKERS, 923 00:45:17,867 --> 00:45:18,767 BUT THERE WERE NONE. 924 00:45:20,767 --> 00:45:24,067 THE OSTWALL WAS SERIOUSLY UNDER SUPPLIED, 925 00:45:24,067 --> 00:45:26,133 AND ONE GENERAL, KUCHLER, 926 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:27,208 EVEN REFUSED TO CALL IT THE EAST WALL, BECAUSE HE DIDN'T 927 00:45:27,208 --> 00:45:28,000 EVEN REFUSED TO CALL IT THE EAST WALL, BECAUSE HE DIDN'T 928 00:45:29,733 --> 00:45:31,433 THINK IT HAD ANY REAL STRATEGIC VALUE. 929 00:45:32,700 --> 00:45:35,267 Narrator: AND YET THE OSTWALL AND THOSE DEFENDING IT 930 00:45:35,333 --> 00:45:36,900 IT WERE ABOUT TO BE PUT TO THE TEST. 931 00:45:36,967 --> 00:45:39,067 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 932 00:45:39,067 --> 00:45:40,733 Interpreter: ENEMY WAS APPROACHING FROM THAT SIDE -- 933 00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:42,400 APPROACHING SLOWLY. 934 00:45:42,467 --> 00:45:46,867 FIRSTLY, HE HAD TO OVERPASS THE ANTITANK BARRIER ON THE ROAD. 935 00:45:46,933 --> 00:45:50,833 SO THESE HITLER YOUTH AND THESE OLD GUYS IN THE MILITIA, 936 00:45:50,900 --> 00:45:52,967 THEY STAND NO CHANCE AGAINST THE SOVIET ARMY. 937 00:45:53,067 --> 00:45:54,333 BUT THAT DOESN'T STOP 'EM. 938 00:45:54,400 --> 00:45:56,567 THEY PUT UP RESISTANCE, AND THEY WERE DETERMINED 939 00:45:56,633 --> 00:45:57,208 TO DEFEND THE BORDER AND DEFEND THIS FORTIFICATION. 940 00:45:57,208 --> 00:45:58,000 TO DEFEND THE BORDER AND DEFEND THIS FORTIFICATION. 941 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:04,300 Selwood: THE SOVIET ATTACK HERE WAS RELENTLESS. 942 00:46:04,367 --> 00:46:06,133 YOU CAN STILL SEE THE HUNDREDS OF 943 00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:08,400 BULLET HOLES AND IMPACT MARKS FROM ARTILLERY. 944 00:46:08,467 --> 00:46:10,433 FOR THOSE INSIDE MANNING THE LINE, 945 00:46:10,500 --> 00:46:12,067 IT WOULD HAVE BEEN UTTERLY TERRIFYING. 946 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,067 Narrator: IN JUST DAYS, THE WALL WAS BREACHED 947 00:46:16,100 --> 00:46:19,333 AND THE RED ARMY ROLLED TOWARDS BERLIN. 948 00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:22,233 THE OSTWALL HAD FAILED. 949 00:46:23,167 --> 00:46:26,067 THE SLIGHTLY PATHETIC THING ABOUT THE LINE, REALLY, 950 00:46:26,067 --> 00:46:27,208 IS THAT AFTER SO MUCH DEVIOUSNESS, SO MUCH PLANNING, 951 00:46:27,208 --> 00:46:28,000 IS THAT AFTER SO MUCH DEVIOUSNESS, SO MUCH PLANNING, 952 00:46:29,367 --> 00:46:33,067 SO MUCH HOPES FOR IT, WHEN THE TIME ACTUALLY CAME, 953 00:46:33,100 --> 00:46:35,233 THEY WEREN'T PREPARED TO PUT THE MANPOWER 954 00:46:35,300 --> 00:46:36,800 OR THE RESOURCES INTO USING IT, 955 00:46:36,867 --> 00:46:39,533 AND THE LAME DUCK BECAME A DAMP SQUIB. 956 00:46:41,333 --> 00:46:42,433 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 957 00:46:42,500 --> 00:46:44,667 Interpreter: HAD THIS FORTIFICATION BEEN COMPLETED 958 00:46:44,733 --> 00:46:47,700 THE WAY IT WAS DESIGNED, MOST LIKELY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN 959 00:46:47,767 --> 00:46:50,067 VERY PRECIOUS TO THE GERMAN ARMY. 960 00:46:50,133 --> 00:46:55,467 UNFORTUNATELY FOR THEM, THEY COMPLETED IT ONLY TO 30%. 961 00:46:55,533 --> 00:46:57,208 AND WITHOUT ANTITANK WEAPONRY, 962 00:46:57,208 --> 00:46:57,467 AND WITHOUT ANTITANK WEAPONRY, 963 00:46:57,533 --> 00:46:58,000 THE SOLDIERS DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE 964 00:46:59,467 --> 00:47:01,667 AGAINST THE POWER OF THE SOVIET ARMY. 965 00:47:01,733 --> 00:47:04,300 WHEN THE WAR ENDED AND THE TREATIES ARE SIGNED, 966 00:47:04,367 --> 00:47:06,300 THE BORDERS ARE REDRAWN. 967 00:47:06,367 --> 00:47:10,100 AND THIS AREA ENDS UP INSIDE POLAND, 968 00:47:10,167 --> 00:47:14,067 THE VERY NATION IT WAS BUILT TO KEEP OUT. 969 00:47:19,633 --> 00:47:22,500 NOW THE CAVERNOUS OSTWALL LIES EMPTY, 970 00:47:22,567 --> 00:47:26,133 AND ANYTHING VALUABLE THAT REMAINED INSIDE HAS LONG SINCE 971 00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:27,167 BEEN STRIPPED AWAY. 972 00:47:28,867 --> 00:47:30,133 Jurga: [ SPEAKING POLISH ] 973 00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:33,200 Interpreter: THE RUSSIAN ARMY SENT SPECIAL TROPHY BATTALIONS 974 00:47:33,267 --> 00:47:35,067 WHO WERE NOT ONLY INTERESTED IN GOLD, 975 00:47:35,133 --> 00:47:38,700 SILVER, OR MUSEUM ARTIFACTS BUT ALSO IN MACHINERY, 976 00:47:38,767 --> 00:47:40,167 AND TOOLS. 977 00:47:40,233 --> 00:47:42,267 ALL OF IT WAS TAKEN OUTSIDE, 978 00:47:42,333 --> 00:47:45,900 PACKED INSIDE THE WAGONS, AND SENT TO THE EAST. 979 00:47:48,567 --> 00:47:50,600 Narrator: RUMORS SPEAK OF NAZI TREASURES 980 00:47:50,667 --> 00:47:52,467 STILL HIDDEN IN THE WALLS, 981 00:47:52,533 --> 00:47:56,733 BUT ALL THAT FILLS THE DARK CORRIDORS TODAY ARE SOME 982 00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:57,208 35,000 PROTECTED BATS. 983 00:47:57,208 --> 00:47:58,000 35,000 PROTECTED BATS. 80222

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