All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S07E10.Mystery.of.the.Alien.Base.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
A facility in rural england

Where information was on
A need-to-know basis.

Wawro: we've got a compound
Within the larger compound,

Strongly built,
To contain something

That was very valuable,
Volatile, dangerous.

Narrator:
An overgrown and confusing site
Found in the woods of arkansas.

Auerbach: there are fences
And cages everywhere.

Auerbach: there are fences
And cages everywhere.

Obviously, this place has been
Out of use for some time.

And that begs
The question,

Was whatever
Was being kept here released,

Or did it break out?

Narrator: and the town that
Fell victim to a catastrophe,

And then a cover up.

Nusbacher: this place
Was populated so briefly

That it doesn't even
Leave a trace.

It's so new that
It doesn't even appear on maps.

Narrator:
Decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets
Waiting to be revealed.

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In britain, on the edge
Of rendlesham forest,

Is a facility
That would be hard to miss.

Well, it looks like
The biggest runway

I've ever seen
In my life.

And it's set down
In this beautiful,

Bucolic english
Countryside.

Bell:
But this is no airport.

This looks more like
A military installation.

This looks more like
A military installation.

Narrator:
Rows of uniform bunkers
And hangars populate the site.

But among them
Are other structures

Whose purpose
Is obscured.

Wawro: it has a really
Otherworldly feel.

Looking at this building,

It's very advanced
"Jetsons," space age

In look and appearance.

There's this one hangar
With big doors at the front,

And this strange protrusion
At the back.

And this strange protrusion
At the back.

Narrator: and tucked away
On the edge of the site

Is a high-security area,

Designed to keep people out,
And to keep something in.

Bell: it has its own high
Fences, topped with barbed wire.

And most disturbing
Is the watchtower.

Something was kept
In here

That they didn't want people
To know about.

Narrator: 40 years ago,
On a winter's evening,

Something happened that made
This place hit the headlines.

In december 1980, people based
Here on this facility

Saw this strange light
In the sky.

A squad left the compound,

And followed the lights
Into rendlesham forest.

The reports say that
They followed the lights

Into a clearing,
And found, well, nothing --

Apart from the imprints
Of three evenly spaced circles

In the forest mud.

Narrator:
After the rendlesham incident,

This site came to
The public's attention.

This is bentwaters
Air force base,

Home to britain's raaf.

Wawro: the raaf --
The royal air force --

Is the oldest organized
Air force in the world.

Certainly,
The raaf was critical

In winning
The battle of britain.

Narrator: bentwaters was secured
With a 10-foot-high fence,

But in one corner, security
Was taken to the next level.

But in one corner, security
Was taken to the next level.

Graham gilbert
Has been given access.

Gilbert: this area here is
Called "The entrapment area."

Another sliding gate
Would close behind.

Security personnel from the
Building here would come out,

Check the security passes
Of the occupants.

Bell:
When a secure military base
Has an extra-high-security area,

Bell:
When a secure military base
Has an extra-high-security area,

You know they've got
Something big in there,

Something that goes well
Beyond the pay grade

Of your ordinary soldier.

Narrator:
The british armed forces
Are no stranger to covert ops,

But small details suggest
That someone else was in charge.

Bentwaters was under
The command

Of the united states
Air force.

Of the united states
Air force.

The u.S. Air force
Came to bentwaters in 1951,

And they fashioned this into
One of their biggest air bases

In the european space.

Gilbert: so sinister,
With the crows and the rooks.

And knowing what was stored
In these bunkers here

Is really sort of
Spine-chilling.

Bell:
Inside the compound is a row
Of short bunker-like buildings.

Bell:
Inside the compound is a row
Of short bunker-like buildings.

At one end of that corridor
Is a watchtower

Patrolled by
Armed soldiers.

And at the other end
Is a pillbox,

With holes
For more guns.

This is
A killing field,

Clearly,
Whatever went on in here

Was supposed to be
Hush hush.

*

*

This is one of the
Nuclear storage bunkers

In the weapons
Storage area.

And each bunker is covered
In a layer of thick earth

That would suppress any
Accidental explosion, as well.

Scott:
The united states air force
Came to bentwaters in a time

When tensions were rising
Between nato and soviet states

In eastern europe.

The mission was
To bring bentwaters

Up to new nato standards,

Up to new nato standards,

So the day that war
With russia came,

Bentwaters
Would be ready.

Narrator:
Officially, the united states
Neither confirms nor denies

That there were nuclear weapons
At bentwaters.

But weapons
Of mass destruction

Weren't the only secret
Kept on this site.

On the eastern edge is a hangar
With a protrusion out the back.

On the eastern edge is a hangar
With a protrusion out the back.

It's a long metal tube
That must be, like --

I don't know --
10 feet high.

Wawro:
Funny-looking building

Clearly centered
Around this court

For the expelling os something,
Or allowing something in.

Narrator: this building
Was called "The hush house."

It was integral to bentwaters'
Covert operations.

*

Narrator: in southern england is
A former world war 11 air base

Which became a key component in
America's nuclear war strategy.

To help bring bentwaters
Up to code,

They built new infrastructure,
Like the building

With the strange, slanted walls
That still stands today.

There's nothing like it
Anywhere else on the base.

There's nothing like it
Anywhere else on the base.

Gilbert:
This building was used by one
Of the maintenance squadrons,

And also the crews
Could enjoy a cup of coffee

Or something to eat in here,
As well, in comfort.

Narrator:
The crews at bentwaters

Had to be in a constant state
Of readiness

For a very
Dangerous mission.

Wawro: in the event
Of world war iii,

There is supposed to
Get in their jets,

Fly their missions
Into europe,

Fly their missions
Into europe,

Hit the soviet targets
With nuclear weapons.

Pilots were supposed to eject
Near the coast,

Either on the european side
Or the british side,

Come down, land, bury themselves
Under soil for three days

To protect themselves
From nuclear fallout.

Bell: the plan was that
A friendly submarine

Would then
Pick them up.

But the soldiers knew that,
Once the bombs started dropping,

The chances were very slim that
There'd be anybody left at all.

The chances were very slim that
There'd be anybody left at all.

They knew it was
A one-way trip.

Narrator:
In its operational history,

Bentwaters housed
11 american squadrons.

And at the eastern end,

Certain goings-on
Were kept under wraps.

One thing that
The u.S. Air force

May not have considered
When they came to rural england

Was that there were limits on
How much noise they could make,

Was that there were limits on
How much noise they could make,

And when.

A law prevented
The air force

Testing their engines at night
Or on sundays.

The hush house was designed
To let them test in secret.

Wawro: so, they'd bring him
Into the hush house,

They'd work on the engines,
They'd test him here,

And there would be no sound
To disturb the sleep

Of the surrounding
Civilians.

Inside here, when an engine
Was running full throttle,

Would be unbearable.

Would be unbearable.

There's a special
Control room

Where the operators
Sat behind thickened glass,

To protect them
From the sound and the heat.

Narrator: today, the secrets
Of the hush house are known,

But rumors persist that some
Information is still classified.

Graham gilbert
Was living in the area

Graham gilbert
Was living in the area

When something happened
That would go down in history

As britain's roswell.

I was 18 at the time.

Gilbert: I first heard about
This incident

When it was in
The local newspaper.

Security forces
Went out to investigate,

And they reported
Seeing strange lights

And things zooming about
In the sky.

Bell: for 40 years,
Some of those soldiers

Have been unable to explain
What happened.

Have been unable to explain
What happened.

And they're convinced that
They had a close encounter.

However, there is another theory
That's still out of this world.

It's just not
Extra-terrestrial.

Wawro: nasa's apollo program
In the '60's and '70's,

They typically landed
The splashdown

In the caribbean
Or in the pacific ocean.

But there were
Contingencies that,

If they splashed down
In the north sea

If they splashed down
In the north sea

Or the mediterranean,
They had to have facilities

To recover the astronaut
In that case.

So, right up until 1975,

They kept a prop capsule
On standby in great britain,

So crews in britain could train
In recovering a capsule.

Bell: now, one theory is that
They used a helicopter

To fly the capsule
Over bentwaters,

But they lost
Control of it,

And had to ditch it
In the forest,

Which might explain
Those strange circular

Which might explain
Those strange circular

Imprints in the ground.

Narrator: a dummy apollo capsule
Might fit the evidence,

But there are still
Many questions

About the rendlesham incident
Which have gone unanswered.

The american air force
Was stationed

At bentwaters
For 42 years.

In 1993, the air base
Was decommissioned.

In 1993, the air base
Was decommissioned.

The cold war was over.

Wawro: much of the air power
That we were going to deploy

In a third world war
Against the soviet union

Was based at bentwaters.

This was the world we lived in
For so long.

May we never live
In this world again.

*

Narrator: in northern arkansas
Is a wholly unusual scene

Lost in the depths
Of the countryside.

Lost in the depths
Of the countryside.

Bell: this place is way out
In the woods.

It's overgrown.

There are vines creeping
All over the place,

Swallowing it up.

Auerbach: as you travel further
Into the trees,

You see the beginning
Of the track,

And you start to get maybe
Some clue

Of what was
Going on here.

Meigs: at one point,
It goes up pretty high --

Meigs: at one point,
It goes up pretty high --

About 30 feet
Off the ground.

So, somebody put a lot
Of engineering ambition

Into this project.

Narrator:
Strewn all around are the last
Twisted remains of the site.

And together,
They paint a strange picture.

Bell: there are lots of metal
Grills, bars, fences, and cages.

It's like a prison
Lost in the jungle.

Auerbach: you're out
In the woods.

You're miles from
The nearest town.

You're miles from
The nearest town.

No one's gonna
Hear you scream out here.

Narrator: so, who or what was
Being locked up in the cages?

And what catastrophe would cause
This site's downfall?

It all looks
A little ramshackle,

So it makes you think,
Whatever was in these cages,

Did they stay
In the cages?

What if they got out?

*

Narrator:
In the rural surroundings
Of northern arkansas

Is a collection of metal cages
And enclosures.

But far from being hidden away,
The entrance to the site

Was actually designed
To catch the eye of passersby.

Auerbach: so, if you were just
Driving past,

You see what looks like
A rest stop.

But this was a rest stop
Like no other in the world.

But this was a rest stop
Like no other in the world.

Narrator: rick montgomery
Grew up not too far from here,

And can imagine
Just how strange a sight

This must have been
For unsuspecting travelers.

Montgomery: well, when you
Would arrive here,

And come around
That corner,

Almost a 90 degree curve,

The first thing you'd see
Are these cages.

And in this cage, here,
I'm told, was a lion.

That would get
Your attention.

You'd begin to look in here.
And here is a huge black bear.

You'd begin to look in here.
And here is a huge black bear.

Everybody's now wondering,
"What is this place?"

Narrator: for those who let
Their curiosity

Get the better of them,
A ride upon a miniature railway

Took them through a dark tunnel
Before all was revealed.

Montgomery:
We'd come out of the tunnel,
And we hit this track.

And as you make the curve,
You look to your left,

And there's giraffes.

And their heads
Are looking you in the face,

Because giraffes
Are so tall,

So they're almost level
With you.

So they're almost level
With you.

Narrator: this strange
Roadside wonderland,

Once filled with life,

Was hallie's rest stop
And zoo.

When it opened,
This place was a huge hit.

Auerbach: people came in droves.
They loved it.

People would specifically travel
Just to this site

From hundreds
Of miles away.

But what I like to imagine
Is the incredible surprise

Of people
Who didn't know about this.

They'd just pull over the car,
Expecting a normal rest stop.

They'd just pull over the car,
Expecting a normal rest stop.

And ta-da, you've got
Hallie's zoo, as well.

What an experience.

Narrator:
Opened in the early '70's,
And named after its owner,

Hallie orman,

Visitors would come face to face
With an exciting mix of animals,

Some more exotic
Than others.

There was every kind of animal
Local to the area --

Foxes, wolves, deer.

Just every kind of animal
That you can think of.

That's local to arkansas
Was here in the zoo,

That's local to arkansas
Was here in the zoo,

Plus elephants, giraffes,

Of course the orangutan,
Bear, lion.

Narrator: but today, rusted,
Broken, and weathered,

This site appears outdated
In more ways than one.

You know, a really
State-of-the-art zoo

Needs a full-time
Veterinary staff.

It needs people really trained
To take care of these animals.

And you see, in modern zoos,
They at least make an attempt

To create habitats
That are more like the habitats

To create habitats
That are more like the habitats

These animals live in
In the wild,

Instead of just confining them
To tiny cages

Where they go wild
With boredom.

This was one of a number
Of small zoos

That dotted the country
At the time.

And regulation of them
Was relatively light,

So there was a little bit
Of a wild west feel to it.

Narrator: regardless of
The approach taken, however,

Safety was always
A priority.

Safety was always
A priority.

Wild animals are exactly that --
They are wild.

And whenever you take them
On even a single one,

Let alone the numbers
Required in a zoo,

You're taking on
A huge responsibility.

Narrator: this was something
The management was reminded of

When one resident decided
They'd had enough

Of sitting alone
In their cage.

Montgomery: this cage
Is super interesting.

It's big metal because,
Originally,

There was a bear in here.

Then, they put in here
An orangutan.

Then, they put in here
An orangutan.

He was real smart.

He knew how to undo his cage,
So that he could get out.

And he would
Get out of his cage,

And go walking around,
Go walking across the street.

That's where
The manager was.

And he knew him.

Narrator: luckily, no harm
Was done by the orangutan

Masterminding
His own escape.

But what if it had been
A more dangerous animal?

With this kind of business, if
An accident does occur on site,

With this kind of business, if
An accident does occur on site,

The likelihood is
It's going to be serious.

Narrator:
As time would tell,

The orangutan wasn't to be
The only escapee from hallie's.

And next time,
It would be a predator

That would have the locals
Running scared.

But perhaps this place should
Never have been opened at all.

Now, there are plenty of laws
And regulations

Regarding exotic animals
In the u.S.

Regarding exotic animals
In the u.S.

But -- and this is true of a lot
Of activities in the states --

There's a huge amount
Of variation,

And the laws vary
State by state,

And in some cases,
County by county.

What's surprising is that,
Where this zoo was located,

It was actually illegal
To own exotic animals.

Narrator: whether that law
Was known at the time or not,

Things would soon
Be brought to a head.

Things would soon
Be brought to a head.

In the late '70's,

Hallie sold the zoo
To a new owner.

And in 1979,

The zoo made the headlines
For all the wrong reasons.

Montgomery:
Well, this is the cage that got
The biggest story to tell.

This was the cage
Where the lion was kept.

The lion was sheltering in a zoo
All of his life.

It was -- never been out
In the wild.

But one day,
Somebody accidentally

Left the cage door open,
And the lion escaped.

Left the cage door open,
And the lion escaped.

Narrator:
With a lion on the loose,
The locals were up in arms.

But the story would have
A surprising ending.

*

Narrator: buried in the woods
Of arkansas are the busted cages

Of an old roadside zoo.

In 1979,
The site got more attention

Than it had
Bargained for.

A lion had escaped,
And was on the prowl.

Bell: there are farms all around
This place, with livestock,

And now, you've got a predator
Out there on the loose.

And now, you've got a predator
Out there on the loose.

Meigs: it was spotted
A number of times.

The people in the area
Were pretty freaked out

That there was a wild african
Lion roaming their backyards.

Narrator:
But luckily, in the end,

It turned out
They needn't have worried.

There is a kind of comic end
To all of this,

Because after two weeks
Of wandering the countryside,

The lion just wandered
Back into the zoo,

Apparently because
He was hungry.

Apparently because
He was hungry.

I guess that lion was
A little more accustomed

To being fed than having to
Chase down its own food.

Montgomery:
The lion came back,

And went back into his cage,
Here.

And they locked him up,
And fed him.

But that was the beginning
Of the end for hallie's zoo.

Narrator:
No livestock were attacked,
No one was injured,

But suddenly,
A new level of scrutiny

Was focused
Upon the zoo.

I don't believe that anybody
Ever knew that it was illegal

I don't believe that anybody
Ever knew that it was illegal

To have exotic animals
In van buren county.

It's just that,
Once the lion incident happened,

That was an excuse
To get rid of the exotic animals

In van buren county.

The law was already there,

Just no one had ever
Really enforced it.

No one had ever
Talked about it.

Narrator: after a decade
Pulling in excited tourists

And weary travelers,
In 1979,

Hallie's rest stop and zoo
Was shut down.

Hallie's rest stop and zoo
Was shut down.

Montgomery:
When the zoo closed, the animals
Were given to the memphis zoo,

The san diego zoo,
The little rock zoo.

And then, the animals
That were germane to here

Were just released
Into the wild.

For anyone who drove past
This place after that,

All they'd see was that cage
On the side of the road.

Narrator:
While the animals are long gone,

There was still another twist
In the tale of this place,

There was still another twist
In the tale of this place,

When rick stumbled upon
The boarded-up site in 2011.

Well, we were rounding
The curve,

And I felt like I heard god say,
"Look to your left."

And all we could see
Was the corner of the building.

We pulled over, and my wife
Thought that we were having

Some kind of car trouble.

And I said, "No. I think this is
The place we're supposed to be."

Narrator:
With that chance encounter,
The wheels were set in motion

For the site's
Next chapter.

For the site's
Next chapter.

Bell: it's always nice
To see old places

Get turned into
Something new,

But the best times are when
They're something so surprising,

Like this.

They turned a zoo
Into a church.

Narrator: the old restaurant
And gift shop has been restored,

And become
The church itself,

While the zoo
Has also been pulled

Into the action
Once again.

Montgomery:
We utilize the zoo.

This place has helped our church
To reach out to the community.

This place has helped our church
To reach out to the community.

We have "Biblical who's who"
At the zoo.

And we actually have people
Playing biblical characters

In the old cages.

And then, for christmas,
We decorate the zoo.

We light up
The train track.

It's just a good way
To minister to the community.

Narrator:
In rick's eyes, as minister,

They couldn't have wished for
A better spot to build a church.

Montgomery: my wife and I
Love the place.

As a matter of fact,
If things go as we plan,

We will be
Entombed here.

We will be
Entombed here.

We plan on
Staying here.

The zoo is us.

*

Narrator: in belarus, 7 miles
From the border with ukraine,

Is a derelict land
That was once a paradise.

Scott: what's most intriguing
About this place is,

It doesn't appear
On any maps.

It doesn't appear
On any maps.

So, even if you wanted to,
You couldn't find it.

Meigs:
Your first impression, here,

Is that you're
In the middle of nowhere.

You don't see anyone.

Even looking down from the sky,
You can't see any people.

Narrator: the inhabitants
Are long gone,

But left behind are the
Forgotten pieces of a past life.

Scott: murals on the walls
Have been painted for children.

It suggests that whoever
Lived here did so happily.

It suggests that whoever
Lived here did so happily.

Meigs: you can see
Abandoned houses.

You can see
Some personal possessions

Scattered about
On the ground.

It appears that, when people
Did leave this place,

They left in a hurry.

Narrator: the evidence suggests
Something happened here

Which turned a neighborhood
Into a wasteland,

But the truth may be bigger
Than just one neighborhood.

Nusbacher:
Belarus and ukraine

Nusbacher:
Belarus and ukraine

Were just two provinces
Of the soviet empire.

It used to be that soviet power
Spanned this border.

But now, something far darker
Spans this border.

Narrator: the town's existence
Was cut so short

That it was never added
To local maps.

So, what catastrophic event
Curtailed its life,

And what invisible danger
Was left behind?

And what invisible danger
Was left behind?

It's the 1970s,
The height of the cold war,

The capitalist west versus
The communist soviet union.

But behind the scenes
In the east,

The union
Was in turmoil.

The soviet system
Was going to pieces.

The soviet system
Of agriculture,

In particular, could not feed
The soviet population.

In particular, could not feed
The soviet population.

Ordinary fruit and vegetables
Were hard to come by.

People used to line up
Outside the baker,

Not knowing whether the baker
Was gonna be able

To sell them bread

When they got to
The front of the line.

Meigs: there was a great irony
That the soviets

Had a world-class military,

And they were spending billions
On nuclear weapons,

But they couldn't even feed
Their own people.

But they couldn't even feed
Their own people.

Narrator: piotr romaniuk grew up
In belarus during this time,

When the country
Was under soviet rule.

[ speaks native language ]

Translater: we're standing in
What used to be a shop.

Those are the remains
Of refrigerators.

This shop supplied
The whole town with groceries

And other necessities.

Narrator: but this shop
Was different to many others

Across the soviet union.

Across the soviet union.

There were no
Bare shelves.

For, here,
Everyone had plenty of food.

Meigs:
In this part of belarus,

The soviets set up
Kind of a model community

To raise cattle for food.

And they built the housing,
Supermarkets, schools,

Everything they needed to house
The workers and their families.

Narrator: the approach worked
So well, in fact,

That the people gave this town
An unofficial name --

"Sunny."

"Sunny."

Translator: why sunny?

Because they planned a heyday
For the region, something new,

That the new town would be
Bright, joyful, sunny.

They wanted this
To be a model town,

And so it could be used
As an example elsewhere

In the soviet union,

And show that collective
Work and community

Could be a big success
For the future.

Meigs: it looks like it was
A lovely place to live

Meigs: it looks like it was
A lovely place to live

At a time when so many people
In soviet union

Lived in really
Substandard housing.

They must have been
Quite envious of these people.

Translator:
It was a place full of life.

A place for work
And for leisure.

Behind us is what used to be
A house of culture,

Which was supposed to
Have opened in 1986,

But it never happened.

Narrator: that year,
Something went wrong.

Narrator: that year,
Something went wrong.

An event occurred that would
Destroy this neighborhood,

And send a shockwave
Around the world.

*

Narrator:
In former soviet belarus

Is a place that was built
To spread happiness.

But one sunday morning in 1986,
Paradise was lost.

[ romaniuk speaks
Native language ]

Translator:
It was the first time
Since the second world war

That the alarm had sounded.

It was horrifying.

And people couldn't grasp
What was happening.

Narrator:
On may 3rd, an order was made.

The residents of sunny
Were to evacuate

Over the coming days.

Few understood why.

Translator:
It was horrible.

People were saying "Goodbye"
To each other forever.

They weren't sure they'd ever
See each other again,

Because they'd never experienced
Anything like this before.

Because they'd never experienced
Anything like this before.

Narrator: a panic
Had gripped the authorities.

Something so disastrous
Had happened

That the state
Tried to keep it secret.

Nusbacher: in the soviet union,
News was tightly controlled.

Bad news
Was a state secret.

And there was no news of the
Nuclear disaster at chernobyl.

Narrator: a week earlier,
A large explosion at the site

Narrator: a week earlier,
A large explosion at the site

Had exposed
A nuclear reactor core.

Meigs: two of the reactors
At the chernobyl nuclear plant

Went into meltdown.

They started spewing
Radioactive smoke into the air.

Firefighters came in
To try to put out the blaze,

But, of course,

They were subjected
To even more intense radiation.

Translator:
Yes, we knew of the accident.

But nobody recognized
Its scale.

But nobody recognized
Its scale.

We thought it would all
Be over soon.

They'd put the fire out,
And we would resume living

As if nothing
Had happened.

When the word "Radiation"
Was said for the first time,

The older locals
Couldn't even repeat it.

They kept saying "Radio,"

And didn't understand
Why they were being forced

To move out of this
Beautiful place of our country

Because of something
That nobody could see.

The town of sunny
Sits near the border

Between what is now
Belarus and ukraine.

Between what is now
Belarus and ukraine.

Chernobyl lies just 20 miles
To the south.

Airborne radiation was emitted
From the fire at the power plant

For 10 straight days.

It spread across europe.

But around 70% of it
Is estimated to have settled

On the ground in belarus.

It must have
Been terrifying.

They'd been living in the
Fallout zone for almost a week,

They'd been living in the
Fallout zone for almost a week,

But no one really knew
How bad the fallout was,

And no one really trusted
The government

To tell them
The truth.

At the time,
Piotr was working as a teacher,

And was assigned
To help with the evacuation.

[ speaks native language ]

Translator: we were summoned
To the district committee,

So that they could
Assign party members

To be in charge of resettlement
Of different organizations.

I was sent to coliban village,
Where my main duty

Was to ensure the resettlement
Of the school.

Was to ensure the resettlement
Of the school.

Narrator:
Within 24 hours, the town
Of sunny had been abandoned.

But the residents
Of this former paradise

Would face
One final injustice.

Years later, when scientists
Went back to study the soil,

And to study the people,

And look for the effects
Of the radiation,

They found that the radiation
Levels were far lower

Than they had suspected
At first.

Than they had suspected
At first.

And in fact,
The residents of this area

Probably didn't need
To be evacuated.

Translator:
Maybe some measures were
Unnecessary in areas like ours,

Because we didn't have
Any nuclear facilities,

Or anything like that.

Some mistakes were made
When it came to measuring

The different levels
Of radiation,

But it was due to
A lack of experts.

Narrator: as the town sat empty
From 1986 onwards,

Few outsiders heard the stories
Of places such as this.

Meigs:
What happened in belarus

Is a really overlooked story
Of chernobyl.

Everybody talks about the
Immediate area around the plant,

About pryp'yat'.

A lot of people
Don't realize

That much of the dislocation
Happened in belarus, next door.

Huge areas evacuated,
Lives uprooted,

Huge areas evacuated,
Lives uprooted,

Disrupted forever.

Narrator: life, however,
Has returned to sunny.

Today, it's classed
As a nature reserve,

And has been reclaimed
By wild elk and wolves.

And piotr now looks
For the positives

In what lies ahead
For this region.

[ romaniuk speaks
Native language ]

Translator: I suppose I've made
My peace with it.

The reserve employs
Many of our people.

The reserve employs
Many of our people.

It provides workspaces.

So, we treat it
Like a facility.

You know,
It's our facility.

Narrator:
Over 30 years after residents
Were forced from their homes,

Sunny remains
A restricted area.

But change
May lie ahead.

[ speaks native language ]

Translator:
Today, we are rebuilding it,
And everything is growing.

Translator:
Today, we are rebuilding it,
And everything is growing.

We are developing
Very quickly.

It makes me happy
As a citizen of this area,

And as someone
Who is responsible

For socioeconomic growth
Of this area.

It's great.

*

*

Narrator: in the waters
Off the coast of taiwan

Lies a small
Volcanic island.

Selwood: much of the island
Is covered in a thick carpet

Of emerald green grass --
Hence its name, "Green island."

Auerbach: it's a place
Of towering rocks.

It's surrounded
By coral reefs.

It's not easy to get to.

It's not easy to get to.

Narrator: fading clues
Suggest this island

Was more than just
A tropical paradise.

Something that really
Strikes you is,

You see all these propaganda
Slogans and messages daubed,

Painted, scrawled,
Engraved.

So, clearly, the island was
Of some political importance,

But to whom,
And why?

Narrator:
Further in, a series of
Brutalist concrete structures,

Narrator:
Further in, a series of
Brutalist concrete structures,

Hint at the location's
True nature.

As we look more closely,
We see a walled off facility

That really stands out
From the rest of the landscape.

Selwood:
For almost half a century,

This collection of buildings
Struck fear

Into the hearts and minds
Of every taiwanese person.

Auerbach: green island
Is forever tied

To one of taiwan's
And humanity's darkest chapters.

To one of taiwan's
And humanity's darkest chapters.

Narrator:
During the second world war,
Taiwan and its islands

Were ruled over by japan.

After the fallen
Empire's surrender,

Control was taken back,
By china.

For the taiwanese people,

A new age of terror
Was about to unfold.

Chiang kai-shek became
The leader of china in 1928.

Chiang kai-shek became
The leader of china in 1928.

But in 1949, following
The chinese civil war,

He and his
Nationalist party

Were defeated
By the communist forces

Under the leadership
Of mao zedong.

And chiang kai-shek
Takes his government,

Which used to govern
All of china,

Across to the island
Of taiwan,

80 miles from
The chinese mainland.

Narrator:
Forced into exile, the deposed
Leader plotted to reclaim china

From the newly installed
Communist government.

From the newly installed
Communist government.

And green island

Would come to play a key role
In chiang kai-shek's plans.

As you look around, you see
All these propaganda messages,

One of which reads,

"Be firm against communism,
And ready to win."

All this propaganda,
And the barrack-like buildings,

Make you think it's some kind
Of military training facility.

Narrator: however, this was not
A place to house his army.

Narrator: however, this was not
A place to house his army.

It was designed
To destroy his rivals.

Chiang kai-shek
Is beleaguered

By political enemies
Inside taiwan,

The old locals
Who resent the intrusion

Of these mainlanders
Onto their island,

But also lots of chinese spies
Inside the nationalist movement.

Narrator: in a desperate attempt
To cling to power,

He rounds up those believed
To be a threat.

Lin xiu wei
Lives on green island,

And grew up hearing the
Terrible stories from this time.

And grew up hearing the
Terrible stories from this time.

Translator: the people's right
To freedom of speech

And freedom to gather together
Was stripped away.

For example,
If three people got together,

They would be accused of joining
A trade union organization.

This period
Of brutal martial law

Became known as
"The white terror."

Wawro: chiang kai-shek creates
This green island as a place

Where he can send people
For interrogation and detention

Where he can send people
For interrogation and detention

As he launches this
So-called "White terror."

Narrator: this was the new life
Correction center.

Locked inside, however,

Was not the typical
Cast of criminals.

Here, the ones being persecuted
Were those with the power

To influence others,

Not through violence,
But through reason.

The treatment
Of the inmates here was brutal,

To say the least.

And for one individual,
Their story of survival

And for one individual,
Their story of survival

Would help alter the course
Of taiwan forever.

*

Narrator:
In the early 1950s,

The first prison
On green island was opened.

It was a place
Where enemies of the state

Were sent for incarceration,
Interrogation, and torture.

But those confined here were not
The usual breed of criminal.

This wasn't
A normal prison,

Full of hardened
And violent criminals.

Instead, you had scholars
And writers, poets and artists.

Instead, you had scholars
And writers, poets and artists.

Auerbach: as we know, nothing
Is more dangerous than an idea.

Those deemed to be
The most dangerous,

With the most dangerous ideas,
They were sent to green island,

Isolated from the rest
Of the population,

Where even the power
Of their poetry,

The power of their art,
Couldn't reach anyone.

Narrator: in time, some of these
Prisoners would transform taiwan

Into the country
It is today.

But while caged, they endured
Unimaginable hardship.

But while caged, they endured
Unimaginable hardship.

The main building is a strange
Hexagonal structure,

With four lines of prison cells
Extending out from the core.

Hard labor and torture
Were daily occurrences, too.

For a start, each prisoner had a
Sleeping space only 2 foot wide.

This wasn't just a prison.

Auerbach:
It was a re-education center,

Really an ideological
Brainwashing center, as well.

Really an ideological
Brainwashing center, as well.

And the methods used were
Very extreme, to the point

At which some prisoners
Were tattooed

With propaganda slogans
Like "Oppose communism,"

"Resist the russians."

Narrator:
While those locked inside
Would have dreamt of escape,

The site's position meant
This was nigh on impossible.

[ speaks native language ]

Translator: there were reports
Of political prisoners

Who attempted to escape,
But they all failed.

Why? Because green island
Is surrounded by the sea.

Why? Because green island
Is surrounded by the sea.

Known as
"The black currant,"

The powerful waters
That encircle the island

To pull flotsam
Back to the shore.

It's rumored one desperate
Prisoner swam all night

Towards the mainland,

Only to find himself
Back where he started

As the sun rose.

Translator: some prisoners
Crafted little wooden rafts

In an effort to escape.

However, they were just rolled
Back to the shores by the waves.

However, they were just rolled
Back to the shores by the waves.

They were then beaten up
By the guards in the bunker.

It's estimated that,
Over five decades,

The regime arrested up to
150,000 political opponents,

With many of them
Ending up here.

Around 20,000 were executed
Without proper trial,

Most for the crime

Of criticizing
A corrupt government.

So, chiang kai-shek's terror
Really decimated

So, chiang kai-shek's terror
Really decimated

An entire generation
Of chinese intellectuals.

And it would take taiwanese
Society a long time to recover.

Narrator: but for the people
Held against their will,

Their dreams of freedom
And liberty didn't die.

The suffering only fueled
Desire for change.

The seeds of democratic taiwan
Were also sown

By this persecution.

One prisoner was kept here
For so long,

One prisoner was kept here
For so long,

And resisted so valiantly,

And his struggle
Had such a profound effect

On the course
Of taiwanese politics

That he became known
As taiwan's mandela.

In total, shih ming-teh
Spent 25 years locked away.

Much of it was here,
In solitary confinement,

And several years of that
Was on hunger strike.

It's said that he was force-fed
Over 3,000 times.

It's said that he was force-fed
Over 3,000 times.

It's an incredibly
Invasive process

That involves shoving a tube
Up your nose,

And down your esophagus,

And then pouring in some food
From a funnel on top.

So, this guy
Endured all of these things,

Asked for no mercy,
Put up with it all,

And really became
The conscience of taiwan.

The rule of martial law
Was eventually lifted in 1987.

The rule of martial law
Was eventually lifted in 1987.

For the first time
In a century,

Opposition political parties
Were allowed to form.

With that,
Many of the prisoners

Still being held
Were soon released.

And once released,
They formed this party.

They insist on democracy,
Human rights.

They win elections.

And shih ming-teh
Is one of the guys

Who founds the democratic
Progressive party,

The party that now
Governs taiwan.

Narrator:
This site continued to operate

As a prison,
But this time,

As a prison,
But this time,

Criminals more deserving of
Captivity occupied its cells.

Selwood: its prisoners were now
The gangsters and mobsters

Who had helped
The old regime

Round up
The innocent intellectuals.

In the final years
Of the 20th century,

The prison closed its doors
For good.

But the trauma experienced here
Still lives long

In the memory
Of the island's residents.

Translator: we must remember
That taiwan once experienced

Translator: we must remember
That taiwan once experienced

Strict political rule.

We must learn from
The lessons of the past.

History might be repeated.

If we don't learn,
The tragedy might happen again.

Narrator: in 2002,
The taiwanese government

Opened the doors of the prison
Once again,

Though it now welcomes a very
Different kind of visitor.

Wawro:
Green island today is a tourist
Destination with beaches,

Wawro:
Green island today is a tourist
Destination with beaches,

Hotels, snorkeling.

But it's really a reminder
Of taiwan's very complex past.

Auerbach: taiwan's frosty
Relationship with china

Continues to this very day.

On the one hand,
You have taiwan,

A flourishing
Free market democracy.

On the other hand,
You have china,

One party communist
Dictatorship

That has never recognized
The independence of taiwan.