All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S08E01.The.Good.Bad.and.Abandoned.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

[Kasper Michaels]
Abandoned but not forgotten.

Neglected,
yet known the world over.

Sites made famous
by global icons.

[Sascha Auerbach]
It was here where

someone who truly
become known as
the greatest.

[Fran Scott] You'd never guess
who once lived here.

She's probably the most famous
woman in the world.

[Kasper] Where the repressed
took a stand for justice.

[Kasper] Where the repressed
took a stand for justice.

[Mitchell] It's not just
a place of infamy,

but a place of regeneration
and reconciliation.

[Kasper] And where
leaders inspired
generations to follow.

[Dr. Alicia Gutierrez-Romine]
When you know
who spoke here,

you feel a certain
weight of history.

[Kasper] Derelict shells
where legends were made

and tyrants were born.

This is a gold-plated room
built for a dictator.

He had thousands murdered
or otherwise disappeared.

He had thousands murdered
or otherwise disappeared.

[Kasper] Good or evil,

they've left
a lasting legacy.

These are the top ten
abandoned haunts

of heroes and villains.

[Kasper] Decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

[Kasper] Number ten
in the list of sites

to have hosted
a hero or villain

is in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo.

Here are the remains
of an outlandish legacy.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
At the entrance
of this complex is

this really peculiar
looking Chinese pagoda.

Whoever
originally created this

obviously did so
at great expense.

[Mitchell] There's also
a more stately building

and you wonder whether
it was commissioned and built

to house
very important visitors.

[Kasper] In the country's
nearby capitol,

a rundown stadium
could reveal more.

a rundown stadium
could reveal more.

[Auerbach] At this site,

in the heart of
tropical Africa,

one of the greatest sports
heroes of the 20th century

took center stage.

[Kasper] What worldwide
spectacle connects

the heroic
gladiators who fought here

to one of Africa's
most despotic leaders?

[Kasper] Kazuza Bin Kandolo

has worked here
since the 1970s.

has worked here
since the 1970s.

[speaking other language]

Now it's very dirty

because it's been abandoned.

When it was inhabited
it was clean.

Now, no one lives here.

That's why
it's covered in grass.

[Kasper] This grand edifice
was built by a man

who seized power in 1965,

just five years after
the Congo broke

from colonial rule.

His name was
Joseph Desire Mobutu.

His name was
Joseph Desire Mobutu.

[Jim Meigs] Coming out of
the chaos of

the post-colonial era

arose this new country
with a new name, Zaire,

and a new leader, Mobutu,

who at first seemed
like a very inspiring
man of the people.

[cheering]

[Kasper] Mobutu was
determined to bring

his newly-independent country
of Zaire to global attention.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
To his people, Mobutu was
a savior of sorts,

but it wouldn't be long

before their opinions of
him would change.

[Kasper] Mobutu was a man

who would stop at nothing
for power.

The first signs of
his increasing megalomania

are scattered
around this site.

[Meigs] He wanted
a conference center,

housing blocks,

foreign dignitaries were going
to come from all over.

He even had
a four lane highway

He even had
a four lane highway

built to it from the airport.

He was the father
of the nation.

So everything he did
was on a huge scale.

[Kasper]
This is Nacelle Palace,

Mobutu's presidential domain.

Covering almost 2,000 acres,

the compound is overlooked
by the magnificent pagoda,

allegedly paid for
by the Chinese.

[Mitchell] He has
a certain type of politics
and nonalignment

[Mitchell] He has
a certain type of politics
and nonalignment

where he really is
just looking to attract
resources to Zaire

and he's not really caring
where it's coming from.

[Kasper] Mobutu's said
about luring VIPs

from all over the world

with the luxuries on offer
at this bizarre retreat,

but he also fashioned himself
as a man of the people.

[Kazuza] During the Christmas
and New Year's festivities

[Kazuza] During the Christmas
and New Year's festivities

we all gathered here

and the president invited the
workers to celebrate together.

[Mitchell] What was meant
to be a show of power

and wealth and tremendous
natural resources and beauty

actually disguised things that
were far more terrifying.

[Kasper] Behind the scenes,

Mobutu was said to be
committing atrocities

such as rape and torture,

but he still wanted to attract
international attention.

[Kasper] And in 1974,

Mobutu found what he wanted
in an unexpected arena,

the world of
heavyweight boxing.

[Meigs] When it was
announced that

Muhammad Ali
and George Foreman
were gonna fight,

Mobutu stepped forward,

volunteering
the country of Zaire.

[Kasper] The people's
president stopped at nothing

to get what he wanted.

to get what he wanted.

[Auerbach] Despite the fact
that people throughout
Zaire were starving,

each of the fighters was going
to get paid $5,000,000.

Mobutu cared far more about

how Zaire was perceived
by the West

than he did about the
sufferings of his own people.

It's going to be a big, big,
big surprise, this fight.

A big surprise, big shock,

I'll be declared as
the greatest of all times.

Listen.

The name they came up with
for the fight was,

"The rumble in the jungle."

"The rumble in the jungle."

[Kasper] Mobutu ensured
his compound would be

fit for a king,

and he invited both
Ali and Foreman

to dine with him
in this palace.

[Kasper] The boxers lived
and trained in buildings

at the edge of the compound

where the press were invited
to watch them train.

The boxers were staying
over there,

on the other side of the hill.

Muhammad Ali
and George Foreman.

They lived up there.

[Auerbach] They worked hard
every day

to be ready for
this titanic contest.

[Kasper] The people of Zaire
adored Muhammad Ali

for his love of Africa.

[Ali] I fight in Africa
because I'm fighting
in my homeland.

America is not
my original homeland,

my original
homeland is Africa.

my original
homeland is Africa.

[Kasper] Back in the U. S.,

Ali had fallen from grace.

Many people had loved
Muhammad Ali

because of his skill
and the boxing ring

and his bravado.

[Auerbach] But he was also
villainized by some

for his outspoken ways,

for his resistance
to the Vietnam draft,

and for his association
with the Nation of Islam.

[Mitchell] This fight
is really important for Ali

[Mitchell] This fight
is really important for Ali

because it's a chance
for redemption,

quite literally.

[Kasper]
But at seven years younger,

George Foreman
was a formidable opponent

and favored to win.

[Kasper] Muhammad Ali
was having none of it.

[Ali] Only last week
I murdered a rock.

Injured a stone,
hospitalized a brick.

So mean
I make medicines sick.

-[man laughs]
-Bad, fast.

[Kasper] Then things
took a dramatic turn.

[Kasper] Then things
took a dramatic turn.

[Mitchell] During training,

George Foreman gets
a horrible cut above his eye.

A bout cannot happen
until that cut heals.

[Auerbach] Mabuto refused
to let Foreman leave
the country for treatment.

He was worried that once
he left, he'd never return.

[Kasper] The compound
was teeming

with the world's press,

and Mobutu ensured
he controlled what they saw.

And with the fight
fast approaching

his efforts extended
beyond its walls.

The contest would take place

in the capital's
largest stadium.

Mabuto was determined
to show his country

as a crime-free paradise.

He sent a gruesome warning
to its criminal population

to ensure
no foreigners were attacked

while the world's press
was watching.

[Mitchell] He rounds up
a thousand criminals.

They're housed in,
in the bowels of the stadium.

And then randomly,

100 of them are selected
and executed randomly.

[Kasper] The boxers
and the press were unaware

of Mobutu's brutality

below the very stadium

where the fight
would soon take place.

[Meigs] On the night
of October 30, 1974

the two men met in the ring
at 4:30 a.m.

[Mitchell] Mobutu himself
didn't attend the fight

because he was afraid
that he might be assassinated
in public.

[Kasper] Ex-boxer
Kadima Ibraham was there.

Along with most of
the 60, 000 strong crowd

he was rooting for Ali.

[Kadima speaking
other language]

[Kadima speaking
other language]

People were shouting,

"Muhammad bomaye,
Muhammad bomaye,"

which means,
"Ali, go on, kill him"
in our language.

"Muhammad bomaye.

That was how the supporters
expressed their joy.

[Kasper] A global TV
audience of almost a billion

watched as the bell rang out

and the two massive men
collided.

[Kadima] So the fight started.

First round,

Muhammad Ali was just
covering himself with jabs,

tried to make Foreman fall
using hard sharp punches.

[Meigs] Ali called that
strategy "rope a dope".

He didn't look like
he was really fighting.

He was just allowing himself
to get pummeled.

[Kasper] For seven
punishing rounds,

Ali absorbed Foreman's
murderous barrages.

Ali absorbed Foreman's
murderous barrages.

So would the disgraced sports
icon be able

to redeem himself in Mobutu's
multi-million dollar bout?

[Kasper] In 1974
in the Congo,

the dictator Joseph Mobutu
watched from afar

as the sports legend
Muhammad Ali

battled in the fight
of his life.

Ali had been on the ropes
for most of the match

and looked set to lose.

But by round eight,
his opponent, George Foreman,

was tiring.

was tiring.

Ali seized his chance.

The moment came when
Muhammad Ali

decided to finish the fight

and he started to rain blows
on Foreman.

And then he threw the punch

that terminated the fight.

A hard right.

[Kadima] Foreman fell

and the fight was over.

and the fight was over.

[Kasper] Victory changed
everything for Muhammad Ali.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
After this fight,

Ali was seen as an
American champion.

He had been
despised and loathed

through much of the '60s.

But suddenly he was a victor
for the American people

and he was even invited
to the White House.

[Kasper] Back in the Congo
in 1997,

Mobutu was
finally overthrown

and his palace ransacked
in the ensuing unrest.

He fled the country, taking
millions of dollars with him.

[Kasper] Today,

the shattered presidential
domain and shabby stadium

are fitting monuments to
Joseph Mobutu's corrupt rule.

But these buildings will
always be associated

with Muhammad Ali's
sporting greatness.

This is a site that epitomizes
the contrast of history.

On one side,
you have a terrible villain,

a person guilty of
tremendous crimes,

and on the other side
you have a hero,

a man who stood up for
his principles and who fought,

one way or another,
every day of his life.

[Kasper] At number nine,

[Kasper] At number nine,

30 miles from London,

is a subterranean world
where pagan rituals,

dark arts,
and scandalous depravity

attracted a hero
known simply as

"The first American".

There's this incredible
Gothic entrance,

but you end up in these
sinister looking caves.

[Dominic] Dark chambers
with heavy metal gates,

almost like cells,
are hidden away.

It has this incredible history
of debauchery.

[Fran] There was one
very famous American

who was prepared to
travel a rather long way

to join the party.

[Kasper] What stories
make these caves infamous

and how would one
of America's founding fathers

become embroiled
in the controversy?

[Kasper] The origins of
these subterranean passages
date back to the mid-1700s.

[Kasper] The origins of
these subterranean passages
date back to the mid-1700s.

Jack Orr is
a historian at the site.

[Jack]
These caves go a quarter
of a mile underground

and it's completely
100 percent man made.

[Kasper] The underground
warren is known as
"The Hellfire Caves",

home to one of the most
secretive societies
in British history.

[Dominic] The Hellfire Club
was made up of

some of the most famous
and respected men of the age.

It was whispered
that men practiced
all manner of black magic

It was whispered
that men practiced
all manner of black magic

and satanic rites
in these caves.

[Fran] It wasn't just
dark satanic worship.

They also knew how to party.

[Dominic] Women were
brought in from London

to join the frolics
dressed as nuns

and comely local nymphs
were hired

and allegedly
laid out on altars

so men could lick
holy wine from their navels.

In the Hellfire Club's days,

there would have been
curtains across beds
inside this chamber.

there would have been
curtains across beds
inside this chamber.

If you look at the back wall,

we still have
the original tally marks

from where the men
were keeping score

when they took their
prostitutes inside here.

[Kasper] The exclusive club
attracted eminent men

from across the Atlantic.

[Fran] Benjamin Franklin,

one of the founding fathers
of the United States,

would frequently visit
the U. K., and when he did,

would frequently visit
the U. K., and when he did,

he would attend
these scandalous parties
deep underground.

Franklin loved the fun,

prankish nature of
the club that he found here.

He often wrote home
to his friends in Philadelphia
about the club.

[Kasper] Word of
the nefarious activities
of these powerful men

soon leaked out
into the wider world.

[Dominic] The public outrage
took its toll.

So in 1766,
the club was closed down.

So in 1766,
the club was closed down.

[Kasper] With all his talk
of virtue,

Franklin's association
with these caves
was hidden from view,

but the Hellfire Club
left an indelible mark.

[Jack] Because of the dark
debaucherous history
of the Hellfire Club,

they have left
this lingering legacy behind

and now we are meant
to be one of the most

haunted sites
in all of England.

[Kasper] At number eight,

on the Mediterranean
island of Malta,

the back streets
of the capital

hide a portal
to a majestic world.

[Dominic] The buildings here
all look pretty similar.

They're the same color
and they blend into each other

in these tightly
packed streets.

[Fran] But behind
that door is something

[Fran] But behind
that door is something

quite spectacular
and rather unexpected.

It's like a palace lost
in the streets of the city.

When you step inside,
you can see

this used to be
a beautiful home.

[Kasper] Further
investigation reveals

a hidden garden
out back.

[Polly] The gardens
are overgrown

and the pillars
are starting to crumble.

There's a balcony outside that
stretches out to open vistas.

There's a balcony outside that
stretches out to open vistas.

[Kasper] Who left behind
these traces of decadence?

[Fran] The way
this place looks now,

you'd never guess
who once lived here.

[Dominic] This was
once home to a powerful
and influential couple

who are famous
the world over.

[Kasper] The Villa
Guardamangia
was largely built in 1900.

[Kasper] The Villa
Guardamangia
was largely built in 1900.

Heritage experts
Kenneth Gambin

knows how grand
this dilapidated place was

during its heyday
in the mid-20th century.

[Kenneth speaking]

This was a place that
was designed for entertaining

and for status.

[Kasper] The strategic
location of Malta

is the first clue to
this building's importance.

[Polly] It's got a maritime
history that stretches back

thousands of years
that's full of dynamic change.

[Kenneth speaking]

[Polly] Malta was the premier
overseas naval base
for the British Empire.

It was from here that
they had a point of entry

to the Middle East,
to India, and beyond.

[Kasper] It had long been
the headquarters

of the British Navy's
Mediterranean fleet.

of the British Navy's
Mediterranean fleet.

And by the Second World War,

Malta had become an important
base for the allied powers.

[Dominic] Submarines
were launched from here.

Aircraft, ships.

This was the Allies' key base

in the middle of
an Axis controlled sea.

[Kasper] The importance
of the island

didn't stop
at the end of the war.

That naval foothold
remained key.

[Kasper] And it's
the British naval base

that brought
the Villa Guardamangia's

world famous resident
to the island's shores.

[Polly] The Royal Naval Base
drew none other

than the newly wedded
royal couple themselves,

Elizabeth and Philip.

[Kasper] But how long could
the future queen of England

enjoy this peace

with tragedy and
the call of duty looming

over the horizon?

over the horizon?

[Kasper] In the late 1940s,

a tucked away villa
on the island of Malta

was preparing to host

one of the most famous
icons on Earth,

the future queen of England,

along with her new husband
Prince Philip.

[TV Narrator] The royal
highness has been staying

with Vice Admiral
Lord Mountbatten

and Lady Mountbatten
at their residence,

and Lady Mountbatten
at their residence,

the Villa Guardamangia,
and most attractive it looked.

[Kasper] When they arrived
here in 1949,

little did
the royal couple know

that duty would soon
call Princess Elizabeth

back to serve her country.

But for the time being,

this clandestine place

allowed them to step out of
the media spotlight.

[Polly] Monarchy
in the 20th century

was becoming more public.

The extremities of war
drew the royal family out

The extremities of war
drew the royal family out

so that they were in touch
with the ordinary people

like never before.

[Dominic] Elizabeth and Philip
married just after the war

in 1947,

when the country
was still a wreck.

[Dominic] People
wanted a lift.

[Polly] Young Elizabeth
was warmhearted,

she was hardworking,

understated,
extremely dignified.

Philip was personable,
relatable, handsome,

had a great sense of humor,
and he made her happy.

The couple
had been bombarded

by press photographers

throughout
their recent honeymoon

and were determined
that this trip abroad

would be different.

[Kasper]
The villa Guardamangia

suited their desire

to step away
from the spotlight.

The rooms of this
ramshackle ruin

The rooms of this
ramshackle ruin

were unlike those of
the grand palaces back home.

The most striking feature
of this site is the walkway.

It's not safe anymore.

[Dominic] But you can
imagine back in the time

how you would have walked
out of the first floor onto it

and just been greeted
by this extraordinary view.

and just been greeted
by this extraordinary view.

[Kasper] The great
and the good

passed through this place.

[Dominic] It's where
they threw private parties.

And you can just imagine
how liberating

this must have been
for Elizabeth.

She'd grown up in the formal,
protocol heavy,

She'd grown up in the formal,
protocol heavy,

stultifying atmosphere
of the British royal palaces.

And now she was free,
free to have her own home,

throw her own parties,
have her own life.

[Fran] It was a sad turn
of events

that brought it
all to a swift end.

In September 1951,

King George had surgery
at Buckingham Palace

to remove his left lung.

[Dominic] Someone
had to take on the role

[Dominic] Someone
had to take on the role

that he could
no longer fulfill.

So Elizabeth increasingly
assumed royal duties

and that meant that there was
no more time for her in Malta.

[Kasper]
Queen Elizabeth has been
in the public eye ever since,

steering her nation
over its choppy course.

Following her father's death,

Elizabeth's
coronation in 1953

was the first to be broadcast
live around the world.

[Fran] Queen Elizabeth
has basically broken

[Fran] Queen Elizabeth
has basically broken

every record there is.

She's the longest lived

and longest reigning
British monarch.

Plus, she's probably the most
famous woman in the world.

[Kasper] Malta achieved
independence in 1964.

In the years following

the villa Guardamangia
was left to rot

under the ownership of
a reclusive old lady

who couldn't afford
to maintain it.

[Kasper]
Queen Elizabeth has been

back to the island
a number of times,

but in her later visits

it's alleged that the owner

denied her access
to this hideaway villa.

[Kasper] This abandoned home
is the only place

outside of the UK

that a British monarch
has resided,

so since the government of
Malta took ownership in 2019,

it's been keen to preserve it.

it's been keen to preserve it.

[Kenneth speaking]

[Kasper] Still to come,

a compound where both
triumph and adversity reigned.

And an abandoned
auditorium in California

where the words of
heroes once rang out.

[Kasper] Coming up in
the list of deserted sites

with traces of heroes
and villains,

a revolutionary
industrial complex

that fell victim
to a dictator.

And a jumble of ruins that
paint a terrifying picture.

[Kasper] Number seven
sits on the outskirts

of the Cuban capital
of Havana.

Here,

the shattered dreams
of two freedom fighters

lie in ruins.

These buildings
are so fantastical.

There's hardly a right angle
in the entire place.

[Kasper] Few clues as to
the site's original purpose

appear to have survived
the ravages of time.

So what happened to crush
this romantic vision?

So what happened to crush
this romantic vision?

These swirling structures
were born

out of political upheaval.

[James] In the 1950s,

Cuba had been
under the dictatorship

of Fulgencio Batista.

It was an incredibly
corrupt country.

And a small group
of revolutionaries

started a war
against the government.

started a war
against the government.

[Kasper] Led by Fidel Castro

and his loyal lieutenant,
Che Guevara.

Their victory
may have divided opinion,

but it broke the stranglehold

of Batista's
corrupt government,

and gave them
control of places

like Havana's
elite golf club.

[Sascha] They hatch
a very ambitious plan

to change this golf course

into something
else entirely.

[Kasper] The result was
Cuba's National School of Art.

[Kasper] The result was
Cuba's National School of Art.

Built in the 1960s,

this series of
ambitious structures

was designed to nurture
excellence in ballet,

modern dance, visual arts,
music, and drama.

[Kasper] Local
Jose Villa Soberon

came to this otherworldly
place to study sculpture.

[Jose speaking Spanish]

[Jose] I started studying
when I was 16.

[Jose] I started studying
when I was 16.

To a boy
who wanted to study art

it was like discovering
a brand new world.

[Kasper]
But the idealistic campus,

its vaulted structures

reflecting the optimism
of the time,

soon began to look outdated.

[Kasper] Soviet influence
in Cuba was growing
and a storm brewing.

It culminated
in the Cuban missile crisis,

a nuclear standoff between
the Soviet Union and the USA.

a nuclear standoff between
the Soviet Union and the USA.

[Sascha] After the Cuban
missile crisis,

the country was forced
to start prioritizing defense

over other considerations.

And suddenly
this grand project
faced a cash flow problem.

[Kasper] Construction
was soon stopped

and the school closed down
before it was completed.

[Kasper] Today,

the school is experiencing
a renaissance

as international architects
once again

celebrate its unique
and optimistic design.

celebrate its unique
and optimistic design.

[Kasper] In Johannesburg,
South Africa,

an eerie sight once caged
a world changing hero.

[Sascha] If these high,
thick walls could talk,

they would talk of injustice.

they would talk of injustice.

[Kasper]
Three sinister compounds

make up the site,

each with its own
distinct character.

[Polly] It's bleak
and threatening,

and designed
to be soul destroying.

This is an imposing edifice,

a visible symbol
of oppression.

There are watchtowers,
there's heavy barbed wire,

There are watchtowers,
there's heavy barbed wire,

and there's bolted doors.

[Kasper] But those
once trapped here

went on to symbolize freedom.

[Michele] It's not just
a place of infamy,

but a place of regeneration
and reconciliation.

[Kasper] So what happened
at this ominous site,

and how did it take
one man from villain

to the world's
most revered hero?

[Kasper] This complex
of notorious prisons

is Constitution Hill.

Sibongile Mkhabela
was once incarcerated here.

It's very difficult today
to tell you

what would happen
in these courtyards.

And the cruelty.

Because I think
to a large extend,

Because I think
to a large extend,

the brain kind
of shuts it off

for otherwise
you wouldn't survive.

[Kasper] This site was
designed to enforce a system

of racial segregation.

[Sibongile] It's strange that
as I come back now,

I still feel the anger,
the unfairness.

This is a place where so many
women were held here.

They would become criminals,

surely because
they were the wrong color

surely because
they were the wrong color

and they were criminalized
for who they are.

It must have been over
60, 70 women,

all on top of each other
in one small place

that was not even
properly ventilated.

I could hear their noise.
I could hear their pain.

I could feel them.

[Kasper] The first prison
was built here in 1893.

But Sibongile and
many of her fellow inmates

But Sibongile and
many of her fellow inmates

were victims of racist laws
brought in many years later.

It was known as apartheid.

[Alicia] It defined a system
of segregation

in this country that
extended itself to education,

and hospitals,
and even beaches.

[Michele] The system of
apartheid that was created

was thorough,
it was total, it was complete.

It was absolutely complete.

[Sascha]
The black South African

woke up to find himself

a stranger
in the land of his birth.

[Alicia] And so we're going
to see a massive influx

of these people
in these prisons.

[Kasper] Today,
Dawn Robertson runs

this 100 acre site,

which the apartheid system
turned into a place

of terror and humiliation.

So this prison complex

So this prison complex

is really a microcosm
of South Africa

in terms of our history.

[Kasper] The prisons
at this site were segregated

along apartheid lines.

The buildings of the old fort
held white male prisoners.

Prison number four,
black men.

While women, segregated
inside the building,

were held in the specially
built women's block.

were held in the specially
built women's block.

[Sascha] These walls
might be a symbol

of segregation
and oppression,

but one of those
contained within them

would rise to become
a global symbol

of racial justice
and freedom.

[Kasper] So how did
this one time prisoner,

Nelson Mandela,

come to be a heroic icon
of forgiveness and hope?

[Kasper] In the mid
20th century,

Constitution Hill
in Johannesburg

filled those subjugated
by apartheid with dread.

The infamous
South African police

trawled the city's
impoverished townships,

hunting down those breaking
the country's racist laws.

[Dawn] The people
from the townships

would have driven
through this tunnel,

this door
would have been opened up,

and they would have been
brought into this space.

They wouldn't know
where they were.

It was in absolute
pitch blackness.

And the only light
they would actually see

would be the lights that came
out of these little turrets.

And on the other side
of these turrets

would be wardens with guns.

[Kasper] Ahead lay
an uncertain fate.

[Kasper] Ahead lay
an uncertain fate.

[Dawn] So now we are
in number four prison,

which is probably
the most notorious prison

in South Africa.

[Dawn] This is
the black male prison.

[Kasper] In the 1960s,
with apartheid
going full throttle,

this place was packed.

[Alicia] Number four
was designed to hold

997 prisoners,

when it held over
two thousand.

And so you can get a sense
of how overcrowded it was.

[Kasper] Conditions at
number four were appalling,

but the most brutal
punishments

were carried out
in the prison's hospital.

The law stated that
you could not lash anybody

without the district
Sergeant being present,

and the district Sergeant
would have had
his officers up here.

So the lashing room
was up here.

[Dawn] It was
this place where, you know,

you would be lashed
and tortured.

This is a space that is cruel,
it's terrifying,

This is a space that is cruel,
it's terrifying,

and it's traumatizing.

[Kasper] Many were flung
in prison number four

for contravening
an apartheid policy called

"The Pass Laws".

The pass laws severely limited
the movement of

black South Africans.

This was a legacy
of the slavery period.

[Sascha] Anyone caught
without their pass book

could be
immediately imprisoned.

could be
immediately imprisoned.

[Kasper] By far, the most
famous was Nelson Mandela,

whose protests led to
the accusation of treason.

Nelson Mandela
is a key activist.

He becomes very
prominent in the 1940s.

[Alicia] He advocated
peaceful resistance

against the National
Party's racist laws.

[Kasper] Mandela's position
of non-violence shifted

following the barbarous
Sharpeville massacre.

following the barbarous
Sharpeville massacre.

[Michele] On March 21, 1960,

in front of the Sharpeville
police station,

you had around 7,000
black South Africans

who were meeting
and amassing.

[Sascha] Police
forces responded

to a demonstration
with a hail of
sub machine gun fire.

You can just see dozens
of bodies on the ground.

And these people were shot in
the back as they were running.

They were fleeing, and these
were peaceful protesters.

They were fleeing, and these
were peaceful protesters.

[Polly] In response to this,

Mandela publicly
burned his pass.

Thousands followed,
marching to police stations,

burning their passes.

[Kasper] 1962.

Nelson Mandela is arrested

and brought through
the forbidding gates

of Constitution Hill.

Mandela was not taken down
to the number four prison

where other black male
prisoners were held.

where other black male
prisoners were held.

He was rather held
up here in The Old Fort,

which is
a white male prison.

[Michele] They didn't want him
to serve as

a model or an inspiration
to other prisoners.

So this is the courtyard
of Mandela's cell

where he was held.

On the right here
is an old hospital ward.

And this was the place
where Mandela was held.

He talks
about the fact that

the guard actually
gave him a hospital bed.

[Kasper] In 1964,

[Kasper] In 1964,

Mandela was sentenced
to life in prison.

He would not see
freedom again for 26 years.

[cheering and applauding]

[Kasper] He was released
in 1990,

by which time South Africa
was a very different place.

And four years later,
Mandela was elected president

in the country's first
multiracial election.

[Dawn] Mandela
is the father of our nation.

The fact that
he was incarcerated here

is significant.

Not many people realize that,
you know,

this was a very, very
significant space for him.

[Kasper] While President,

Mandela oversaw
plans to turn this site,

once known for
its notorious injustices,

into the new constitutional
court of South Africa.

[Dawn]
It symbolized everything

that we'd been
through as a nation.

Because that's the place
of the worst indignity

that this country
has suffered.

But it's going to be
the place of hope.

[Kasper] Coming up,

abandoned sites hold hints

of a brutal dictator
installed by President Nixon,

and an activist who tackled
police brutality head on.

[Kasper] Among
the top ten sites

were the malevolent roamed
or the valiant triumphed,

a collection of
curious structures

provides the backdrop to evil.

And the Amazonian rain forest

grows over
a heroic attempt to tame it.

[Kasper] First,
at number five,

[Kasper] First,
at number five,

a conflicted American hero

leaves traces in
the San Francisco Bay Area,

where a forgotten gem
hides in plain sight.

[Alicia] In the midst
of Oakland's urban sprawl

is this massive
white building.

[Jim] It's this huge,

hulking structure
almost like

a giant concrete
aircraft hangar.

[Alicia] At first you might
mistake it for a warehouse,

but it's too ornate for that.

but it's too ornate for that.

[Kasper] Nicias and statues
are now surrounded

by fencing, graffiti,
and boarded up entrances.

As ornate as the outside is,

the inside is
in total disrepair.

It looks like it's been
abandoned for years,

possibly even decades.

[Michele] You can see
seats that are still intact,

but you can see also
trash in other places.

You can see signs
of a very recent fire,

that it's been vandalized
and broken into.

that it's been vandalized
and broken into.

[Sascha] And,
given the scale of this place,

you have to think
that there were

some pretty iconic figures

who must have spoken
to an audience this large.

[Billy] The atmosphere
in the whole arena

was like that all the time.

It was like
electricity here.

[Kasper] Heroes to some,
villains to others,

which revolutionaries
took center stage here

and shook
American society to its core

and shook
American society to its core

in a fight that
started as a stand

against police brutality?

[Kasper] Historian
Billy Jennings

has been given access
to this complex

that he first visited
in the 1960s

to see
The Godfather of Soul.

[Billy] Nobody had a ticket,

and so we decided we were
going to jump the turnstile,

we would dodge security,
and we found empty seats.

[Kasper] Billy would return
to this arena many times,

but he was no longer
dodging security.

He was the security

for an organization that
would take Oakland by storm.

[Kasper] And its roots
were sowed here in this arena.

It opened in 1915
as the Oakland Auditorium,

but it wasn't long before
this gathering place

brought the city's racial
divisions into sharp focus.

brought the city's racial
divisions into sharp focus.

[Michele] In the 1920s
it actually hosted

a massive Ku Klux Klan rally.

[Alicia] At this rally,
Klans members came together

for a ceremonial
cross burning.

[Kasper] During
the Second World War,

Oakland's burgeoning
shipyards drew an influx

of African-Americans
from the South.

Into the racially
charged years of the 1960s,

tensions between Oakland's
predominantly
white police force

tensions between Oakland's
predominantly
white police force

and its black population
were sky high.

[Kasper] So when one of
America's greatest orators

took to this stage,

his words fell
on fertile ground.

[Michele] In late 1962,

Martin Luther King gave
a speech there commemorating

the one hundredth anniversary

of the Emancipation
Proclamation.

Part of his speech
was addressing the need

to boycott local companies
that refused

to hire people of color.

[Kasper] King's focus that day
was Wonder Bread,

one of America's
most famous food brands.

King was an incredible
public speaker,

he really knew how
to engage his audience.

But he also knew
how to turn a phrase,

and he had
a good sense of humor.

And what he said was,

"We're going to
make Wonder Bread

wonder where the money went."

[Kasper] The speech
had a dramatic impact

on one young man sitting
in the audience that day.

on one young man sitting
in the audience that day.

His name was Bobby Seale.

But Seale would take a less
mainstream view than King,

and he used this stage

to deliver
a revolutionary message.

[Kasper] And this
passionate firebrand

would soon earn the unwelcome
attention of the FBI.

[Kasper] In the 1960s,

sitting in the stalls of
this neglected stadium,

the civil rights activist,
Bobby Seale,

was prompted
to change the world

when he witnessed
Martin Luther King speaking.

[Jim] Seale was very moved
by King's words,

but he took that message
in a different direction.

And a few years later,
he would found

And a few years later,
he would found

the revolutionary group,
The Black Panthers,

which was headquartered
in Oakland.

[Michele] That moment,
that speech, that space,

he himself,

Seale himself,
acknowledged,

was absolutely
foundational and instrumental

in his own emergence
as an activist.

[Kasper] Bobby Seale
founded the Black Panthers

with college buddy,
Huey Newton, in 1966

to tackle the issue
of police brutality.

Following the killing of
an unarmed young black man

Following the killing of
an unarmed young black man

in the Bay Area,

they decided to take matters
into their own hands.

[Alicia] At its core,

The Black Panther
Party advocated

freedom by
any means necessary.

[Michele] So they're carrying
guns in public.

They're wearing leather,
they're wearing berets,

they're wearing black.

They're wearing
military boots.

[Sascha] Was their vision
radical? Absolutely.

Were The Black Panther Party
members rightly accused

of violent crimes?

of violent crimes?

Yes, they were.

But, and we have to
remember that this is a time

when beatings
and extrajudicial murder

of black people in America
were an everyday experience.

[Kasper] The auditorium
and this area of Oakland

would become the focal point
for a new black power movement

with the Panthers
at its heart.

But soon,

Huey Newton was arrested
for the shooting
of a police officer,

an allegation that would be
overturned two years later.

an allegation that would be
overturned two years later.

[Kasper] In the meantime,
in 1968,

Bobby Seale and The Panthers
descended on the auditorium

to campaign for his release.

This room was more or less
a dressing room,

a green room
for Bobby being back here

in preparation of his speech.

[Kasper] Seale took
the opportunity to take

to the now dilapidated stage

and reiterate
The Black Panthers manifesto.

and reiterate
The Black Panthers manifesto.

[host] Bobby Seale.
Bring him on.

[Bobby] Brothers and sisters,
I want to tonight

have the chance
to tell you in large mass

something about the organizing
of a black people's party

that dealt with
black people's problems.

We want an immediate
end to police brutality

and murder of black people.

[applauding and cheering]

[applauding and cheering]

That alignment on that stage
right there

kind of put this Oakland
auditorium on the map.

That brought together
an alignment
of black leaders that

America had
never seen before.

After that conference

and during his trial,

The Black Panther Party
enjoyed a tremendous growth,

like we went
from one to two officers

to 40 officers
throughout America.

[Kasper] But that brought
with it unwanted attention.

[Kasper] But that brought
with it unwanted attention.

[Billy] We had to beware
of provocateurs.

We had to beware of people
that are in trouble,

and we had to beware
of undercover police

coming in to start trouble,
you know.

So you hand to be on our toes
when we were down here.

[Kasper] J. Edgar Hoover,
head of the FBI,

wasted no time
making The Panthers

public enemy number one.

They really went after
The Panthers with a vengeance.

[Kasper] Seale was soon
in court himself

[Kasper] Seale was soon
in court himself

for the famous trial
of the Chicago Seven

on trumped up charges
of inciting riot.

[Kasper] And while in court,

two fellow Panthers
were assassinated

by Hoover's henchmen.

After Seale was released
from the trial,

the FBI had him charged
with murder and again,

the charges were dropped.

And Billy remembers
Seale's triumphant return

to this stage in 1971.

[Billy] He came back
to Oakland as a hero,

[Billy] He came back
to Oakland as a hero,

and when he announced

that he was going to run
for mayor of Oakland

and took off his hat
and threw it into the arena

as a symbol of
"I'm entering this race".

That was chilling.

-[finger snapping]
-People was electrified,

you know,
because one of them theirs,

somebody they knew,

was going to change the city,
the whole arena went crazy.

[Michele] The party
was trying to turn towards

an embrace
of electoral politics

an embrace
of electoral politics

and doing
voter registration drives.

[Kasper] Seale
used the auditorium

to focus on his work
for the community.

On this stage, Bobby Seale,
he asked everybody

to get in the single-file line

and we had Panthers lined up,

maybe about 10 Panthers

handing out
bags of groceries to people.

But at the same time,

back here, in this area,

we had tables set up
to register people to vote.

we had tables set up
to register people to vote.

[Sascha] They tested
for sickle cell anemia.

They held workshops
for young people known as

Panther Cubs.

They even gave away
free groceries.

[Kasper] Seale narrowly
lost his mayoral campaign,

but his efforts
brought about lasting change.

Next election
you had Asians running,

you had
Mexican-Americans running,

and you had women running.
Bobby opened the door.

A young girl who worked out of
my office during the campaign,

A young girl who worked out of
my office during the campaign,

she's a House of
Representatives right now.

[Kasper] However,

splits in the party
fostered by the FBI

soon followed,

and public support
gradually waned.

Just over a decade later,
the party dissolved.

The Oakland Auditorium,

later renamed "The Kaiser
Convention Center",

experienced a similar decline.

[Kasper] Today,

the future of the Oakland
Auditorium may be uncertain,

but The Black Panthers'
message

has never been more relevant.

[Billy] The difference between
the Black Panther Party

and Black Lives Matter
is that we had a program.

We're not just focused
on the police department,

we was dealing with hunger,
health care, education.

But we commend people
in the Black Lives Matter

for standing up
and doing the right thing.

All about the people.

[Kasper] At number four,
a bizarre complex

hidden in a neighborhood
of North Philadelphia

once housed
America's Most Wanted.

Surrounded by
high stone walls,

this foreboding place
is undoubtedly a prison.

From the air,
its design looks innovative,

From the air,
its design looks innovative,

but the interior
is anything but.

[Andrew] You could
smell the paint
peeling off the walls

and the damp concrete.

It's really, really eerie.

[Kasper] Yet the cell
of one disreputable inmate
is almost luxurious.

[Sarah] At least one of
the cells we know of

was in a place called
Park Avenue.

So that gives you
the idea that he had

more of
a celebrity treatment here.

[Kasper] So which
infamous villain

[Kasper] So which
infamous villain

nicknamed "Scarface"
ended up here?

Sarah Jane Elk is president

of this
once imposing building.

Eastern State Penitentiary
opened in 1829,

and it was an experiment
in reform.

[Kasper] At the time,

Eastern State Penitentiary
was the most famous

and expensive prison
in the world.

Hundreds of jails copied
its innovative design.

Hundreds of jails copied
its innovative design.

[Andrew] The design
is effectively a wagon wheel,

a central hub,

where the guards can look out
in every direction

and see the cells
going off in the distance.

[Jim] It meant that
a small group of guards

could keep an eye
on the whole prison

from that one location.

Each inmate
has their own cell.

[Kasper] But cells
designed for one

soon housed two or three.

soon housed two or three.

So by the end
of the century,

the notion of reflective
solitary confinement

was replaced
with overcrowding,

and harsh,
unsanitary conditions.

Although in 1929,

an exception was made
for one of the most

notorious villains
of all time.

[Sarah] When Al Capone
came here

he was already
a famous man.

He was brought here
from the county prison
for his protection.

He was brought here
from the county prison
for his protection.

[Andrew] He described
his time there as easy.

Well, it would be easy
when you have your own sofa,

your own bookcase,
and your own record player
that you play waltzes on.

[Kasper] Capone's arrest
came at a time

of escalating mob violence,

and he was often accused
of intentionally
hiding in prison.

An allegation
he always denied.

Wherever the truth lies,
Capone was not for reforming.

In March 1930,

In March 1930,

he walked out of
the penitentiary's gates
as a free man,

only to be jailed again
a year later.

And this
once revolutionary prison

closed due to overcrowding
in 1971.

Today, the Eastern
State Penitentiary

is a national historic
landmark and museum,

which includes a tour
of Al Capone's cell.

[Kasper] Still to come,

[Kasper] Still to come,

a heroic endeavor
in the Brazilian rain forest

leaves behind a curiously
out of place sight.

And a nefarious quest
for world domination

results in a macabre
set of ruins.

[Kasper] Some sites
touched by history's villains

lie far away
and long forgotten.

At number three,
on the outskirts of Santiago,

capital of Chile,

epic warehouse
style structures

dominate
the San Bernardo suburb.

[Jim] The centerpiece
of this neighborhood,

what you can't miss,
is this huge concrete building

what you can't miss,
is this huge concrete building

about 500 feet long.

[Rob] If you think that's big,
it used to be a lot bigger.

This site was once so large

that the original entrance
was a thousand feet away.

Way on the other
side of the neighborhood.

[Kasper] An inscription
above these main gates

gives some indication of
this site's original function.

Over the entrance carved
the words "Maestranza".

Over the entrance carved
the words "Maestranza".

Which in Latin America
usually means

"machine shop"
or "repair shop".

[Jim] If this was
a machine shop,

it was designed to handle
something enormous.

[Kasper] Dappled light
illuminates design features

within the central structure.

[Jim] Along the floor
are these gigantic pits

big enough
for a man to stand up in.

[Kasper] Once impressively
engineered,

the site appears to have
long been stripped bare

and the life squeezed
out of this neighborhood.

The fate of this compound
is intimately connected

to the ambitious
U.S. backed dictator,

General Pinochet,
and his chilling legacy,

the ongoing mystery of Chile's
so-called "disappeared".

[Kasper] Derek Hyland is
passionate about the machines

[Kasper] Derek Hyland is
passionate about the machines

that once rolled
through this site.

And the first clear indication
of what they were

is provided by the remains
of a circular structure
outside the main shed.

[Derek] A turntable
is like a bridge

which is pivoted
at its center.

It would allow
an engine to come in

and be turned
in any direction.

In this case,
it would be turned

so it can be placed
into the main workshop.

[Kasper] The design
of this complex

revolved around one thing,

trains.

[Derek] This place
in particular

is the neck of the railways
for this country.

And this transformed
the life of this town.

This is basically,
was the heart of this town.

[Kasper] This is
Maestranza de San Bernardo,

once the second largest train
workshop in South America.

once the second largest train
workshop in South America.

[Derek] This is
the Roundhouse.

It has 11 stalls where
the stone locomotives
once were repaired,

the engine
would come in here.

We'd have little steps before,

so you could actually
get under the engine,

basically very similar to
an inspection pit for a car.

[Kasper] The need
for a facility of this kind

came from the rapid
development

of the country's
rail network
in the late 19th century.

of the country's
rail network
in the late 19th century.

[Geoff] Chile
is a long, narrow,
thinly populated country.

So harnessing railroads
was key

to connecting
its far flung regions.

And you've got the Atacama
Desert in the far north

and you've got
Patagonia in the far south,

Santiago right in the middle.

And so the rails
are a perfect way

to connect up
this big landmass.

[Kasper] Construction
began in 1916.

Eight pavilions
sprawled across 111 acres

with additional buildings
and maneuvering yards.

The country's
industrialization

went hand in hand
with its railway development

and the Maestranza would
become its beating heart.

[Dominic] You can't
overstate the importance
of the Maestranza

to the town of San Bernardo.

Without the Maestranza there
would be no San Bernardo.

The town was built around it

The town was built around it

and almost every household

had at least one person
working in the Maestranza.

The scale
was extraordinary.

The locomotives
would come in by rail,

they would be lifted up

by vast cranes
fixed to the ceiling

and then put down into the
relevant area of the workshop

where they could be
investigated,

dismantled, repaired,

and then sent out
again on the rails.

[Jim] The shop
was set up initially

for repairing trains,

but over time they began

but over time they began

to design and build
their own steam locomotives.

[Derek] Maestranza
was designed to service

approximately
500 engines a year.

That's nearly
10 engines a week.

[Jim] And it was skilled work.
You needed a workforce

that really knew how
to handle this machinery.

[Geoff] These were not
only blue-collar workers,

but these were local heroes.

These were men
who were earning good wages,

These were men
who were earning good wages,

learning skilled positions,

expanding the Chilean economy.

This was really a kind of

engine of Chilean growth
at the time.

[Kasper] The Maestranza
workers were proud

to form a union,

but later in the century,
that would be their undoing.

Seismic change
was coming to Chile

and the Maestranza would
find itself in the firing line

of the dictator,
General Pinochet.

[Kasper] A train repair shop

on the outskirts
of Santiago, Chile,

was once
the pride of a nation.

But in the early 1970s,

the workers at this facility
were about to pay the price

for standing up
for their rights.

[Geoff] In 1973,
the Chilean people elect

Salvador Allende, a socialist,
to be president of Chile.

Salvador Allende, a socialist,
to be president of Chile.

And there's great resistance

inside the highly conservative
Chilean armed forces

commanded by
General Augusto Pinochet.

[Kasper] General Pinochet
instigates a violent coup

against Allende.

Despite planning to overthrow

a democratically
elected government,

Pinochet had outside help
from the U. S. government.

[Geoff]
The Nixon administration

[Geoff]
The Nixon administration

and national security adviser,
Henry Kissinger,

look at the rise of Allende

as, as dangerous
as the rise of Castro in Cuba.

And, so, they give
the green light to Pinochet

to move against Allende.

And they oust Allende.

[Kasper] Pinochet attacked
the presidential palace

and Salvador Allende
killed himself
to escape capture.

[Dominic] Coming
from the political right,

Pinochet was
ideologically opposed

to socialism
and its ideas of large
state run enterprises.

to socialism
and its ideas of large
state run enterprises.

[Rob] And you couldn't get
a government run scheme

much bigger
or more expensive

than the national
rail network.

[Dominic] In the days
after the coup,

there was
confusion and fear.

Nobody really knew
what to expect
of this new dictatorship.

[Kasper] Thousands of people,
and especially union members,

were accused
of communist leanings

and began disappearing
from workplaces
up and down the country.

and began disappearing
from workplaces
up and down the country.

Pinochet soon turned his
attention on the Maestranza.

You had all of these
skilled workers,

all of them unionized,

all of them left
leaning in their politics.

So he sees
the Maestranza

in the city that's grown up
around it,

the company town,
as being a hotbed of communist

and socialist activity.

[Kasper] September 28, 1973,
Pinochet's men arrive.

12 members
of the Maestranza

were taken away
by the military and shot.

were taken away
by the military and shot.

The community
was in shock

when they heard
about these news.

[Kasper] Across Chile,

more than a thousand others
were disappeared

during Pinochet's reign
of terror.

[Kasper] The Maestranza
itself continued to operate,

but it finally closed in 1984.

[Dominic] When Pinochet
was able to point to the fact

that it was making a loss,

that was enough for him
to pull all of the funding.

And that sparked the beginning
of the end for the Maestranza.

And that sparked the beginning
of the end for the Maestranza.

[Kasper] The dictator's reign
of terror lasted until 1990,

but he never faced retribution
for human rights violations

against more
than 30,000 people.

Thanks to enthusiasts
like Derek,

this complex survives
as a lasting memorial

to Chile's
once booming rail industry

to Chile's
once booming rail industry

and those who lost their lives
at the hands of Pinochet.

[Derek] On the 6th of October
every year,

the Railways Workers Day
is commemorated

in remembrance
of these 12 workers
that were killed here.

I feel deeply
motivated and proud

of what we achieved.

[Kasper] At number two,

in the Amazon rain forest down
the Tapajos River in Brazil,

is a Utopian dream
frozen in time.

An American-style water tower
dominates the landscape.

Further exploration uncovers
replicas of a Midwestern town.

Who undertook
this epic endeavor?

Who undertook
this epic endeavor?

[Kasper] The roots of
this town can be traced back

to the technological
revolution

at the dawn
of the 20th century

and a giant
of American industry,

Henry Ford.

[Andrew] Henry Ford is
the consummate businessman.

He's producing cars.

Cars require tires
and rubber's expensive.

[Kasper] Ford's expansion
of the motor industry

was hampered
by a global monopoly

on the rubber
he needed for his tires.

on the rubber
he needed for his tires.

[Andrew]
So he has this idea.

I'm going to cut out
the middleman

and create
my own rubber factory

in the Brazilian rain forest.
[chuckling]

[Kasper] This is
Henry Ford's American Dream,

Fordlandia.

[Kasper] In 1928,

Ford began his ambitious plan

to create the largest rubber
plantation in the world.

[Raimundo speaking
in Portuguese]

This was a factory warehouse,
a sawmill, a workshop.

They also generated
electricity here for the town.

It was the center
of the whole thing.

[Kasper] The facilities of
Fordlandia were unprecedented.

But Henry Ford's insistence

on a puritanical
Midwestern lifestyle

didn't go down well.

The discipline
was military style.

Everything was very strict,
very disciplined.

[Kasper] Ford's dream
quickly became

a repressive nightmare
for the town's residents.

And it reached
boiling point in 1930.

[Andrew] There is mutiny.

They had simply had enough.

The Brazilian army
has to come in
and sort things out.

The Brazilian army
has to come in
and sort things out.

[Kasper] The rubber plantation
fared little better.

Ford's bid to industrialize
the biological world
ended in catastrophe.

[Andrew] They planted
the trees side by side.

That's not how you do it.

They're prone to disease
and there's a domino effect.

When they're too
close together they all die.

The whole thing just
wasn't very well thought out.

[Kasper] Ford's high hopes
for Fordlandia

fizzled out with the rise
of synthetic rubber

fizzled out with the rise
of synthetic rubber

and more efficient
production elsewhere.

[Kasper] In 1945,

Fordlandia was sold back
to the Brazilian government

and left abandoned.

For all of Henry Ford's
$20 million investment,

virtually no rubber
was produced.

[Kasper] From sports legends
to global icons,

freedom fighters
to civil rights activists,

freedom fighters
to civil rights activists,

many abandoned places
still have traces

of those who've changed
the world for the better.

But coming up
at number one on the list

is a set of crumbling ruins

created by the most notorious
villain in history.

[Kasper] In the countdown
of abandoned haunts

of heroes and villains,

the final destination
is in Germany.

In the city of Nuremberg

is a vast, overgrown site that
appears to have been built

by different empires.

[Dominic]
There's this enormous

[Dominic]
There's this enormous

white marble structure

that when you look at it,

has the lines
and proportions of an altar
from ancient Greece.

[Kasper] Another
seemingly ancient relic
is even more confounding.

[Geoff] It looks like
a great amphitheater,

almost like
the Roman Colosseum.

[Dominic] These relics
all seem to come

from very different eras.

So it's really not clear

what links them
all together.

what links them
all together.

[Kasper] Elsewhere
around the town,

scattered ruins start to paint
an ominous picture.

A single stone block beside
an extensive man-made lake,

a subterranean room
with a gold covered ceiling,

and a monumental road,
carving a line
between them all.

The extent of this complex

hints at a monstrous
abuse of power.

hints at a monstrous
abuse of power.

[Lynette]
The man who built this

did not think of
himself as a villain.

He thought of himself
as the builder

of a mighty empire.

This is power madness

expressed in stone.

[Kasper] These are the remains
of the crazed vision

of a villain dubbed
"the most evil man
in history".

of a villain dubbed
"the most evil man
in history".

But to do all this,

he needed the help
of a willing

and ruthlessly
ambitious collaborator.

Local expert
Alexander Schmidt,

studies the history
of this macabre site.

[Alexander speaking]

[Dominic] This enormous
amphitheater

was designed to look

like something straight out
of the Roman Empire.

[Kasper] But this is not
the only epic sized
structure here.

Covering an area bigger
than 12 soccer fields,

this eerie, overgrown space is
known as the Zeppelin Field.

[Geoff] In 1909,

the German Graf Zeppelin
who invented

these big dirigible airships

actually landed
a Zeppelin here,

which gives you
a sense of just how big

the field had to be.

[Alexander speaking]

[Kasper] So what
were these tribunes

or grandstands built for?

Nuremberg itself is
the first clue to figuring out

what this strange collection
of ruins is all about.

Nuremberg was one
of the great imperial cities

and it was the center of
an ancient Germanic empire.

[Kasper] In the medieval era,

this early Germanic empire
was a political powerhouse

this early Germanic empire
was a political powerhouse

which dominated Europe
for centuries

until its decline in the early
eighteen hundreds.

[Kasper] By the 1930s,

its greatness
was a distant memory,

but a new ambitious
political movement

sought to resurrect its power

in the form of
Hitler's Nazi party.

Bavaria, where Nuremberg is,
was the most

nazified place in Germany.

nazified place in Germany.

[Lynette] Hitler seeks
to build his ritual center

here in Nuremberg.

And all of these structures
are designed

for thousands
of people to listen

to one man speaking.

[Kasper] It was the work
of Hitler's accomplice,

the ambitious Nazi architect,
Albert Speer.

[Geoff] Albert Speer
sniffed out early on

Hitler's narcissism
and megalomania,

Hitler's narcissism
and megalomania,

and he kind of tailored
his architecture

to suit
Hitler's grandiose taste.

[Lynette] He's going
to create a Nazi architecture

that subordinates
the will of the individual

to the collective will
of the German race

expressed through
their Fuhrer Adolf Hitler.

[Kasper] Together,

they mapped out this
sinister series of structures

known collectively as
the Nazi Party rally grounds

known collectively as
the Nazi Party rally grounds

and the Zeppelin Field
lay at its heart.

[Alexander speaking]

[Dominic] The rally grounds
were designed
to house

some of the most
chilling demonstrations
of power in history.

[Kasper] The grotesque
and crowning glory

of the Zeppelin field
is the altar-like tribute.

[Kasper] Beneath
the grandstand,

Albert Speer designed
an extraordinary golden room

which allowed Hitler
to indulge

his sinister delusions.

his sinister delusions.

It's a hole over 20 feet high

with the most spectacular
golden designs on the ceiling.

And the idea was
for Hitler to rise up

onto his rostrum
as if out of thin air.

[Kasper] But Albert Speer
had only just started.

He wanted to build a structure

that would dwarf
its equivalent
in the modern world.

But it would come at
a horrifying human cost.

[Kasper] By the 1930s,

the so-called
architect of evil,

Albert Speer,
had become a key player
in Hitler's regime.

He wanted his designs
to provide a chilling setting

for Nazi propaganda films,

and he would stop at nothing
to get it built.

Albert Speer as an architect,

Albert Speer as an architect,

is a man with no professional
integrity whatsoever.

Albert Speer knows
what Hitler wants

and he's going to deliver it
in every respect.

Albert Speer uses
concentration camp inmates.

He works them to death.

[Kasper] But regardless
of the terrible toll,

Hitler and Speer
will not be stopped.

At the perimeter
of the rally grounds

is a foundation stone
sitting on the edge

is a foundation stone
sitting on the edge

of a mysterious man-made lake.

The only trace of
what was going to be

the site's jewel in the crown.

[Alexander speaking]

[Dominic] Speer's design was
going to hold 400, 000 people.

[Dominic] Speer's design was
going to hold 400, 000 people.

It was going to be built
with red and pink granite,

and over 400 feet high.

Had it been finished, it would
have been the capstone

to the Nuremberg
rally grounds.

[Kasper] The Nuremberg
rally grounds

would have radiated out

from Speer's
monstrous stadium.

Covering four square miles,

it included
the vast Zeppelin Field,

its menacing grandstand,

all linked together
by the great road

all linked together
by the great road

which lead
to the Colosseum-style
congress hall.

[Kasper] But while
the architecture here
was monumental,

the materials used to build it
were anything but.

Behind the solid stone facades
was just brick and concrete.

[Dominic] The
original construction

[Dominic] The
original construction

was quick and shoddy.

It was little more
than a stage set

but designed to have
the most dramatic effects.

[Kasper] Between
1933 and 1938,

Hitler's supporters
flocked to this site

for a series of mass
Nazi party rallies.

But with the outbreak
of the second World War

construction ceased,

and Speer's chilling
facade crumbled.

[Lynette] Hitler's empire
was supposed to last

a thousand years

but the hasty methods used
to create the illusion

of mighty stadiums
and gigantic pillars,

they were an illusion
just like Hitler's Reich.

[Kasper] At the Nuremberg
war crimes trials

that followed the war,

Hitler's sidekick,
Albert Speer,

Hitler's sidekick,
Albert Speer,

presented himself
as a good Nazi.

[Alexander speaking]

[Geoff] Speer gets
off pretty lightly,

he only gets 20 years in jail

because of this image,
or reputation he had

as the good Nazi who,

sort of reluctantly
fell in with Hitler.

[Kasper] Today, the ruins
of Albert Speer's ambition

litter Nuremberg.

[Lynette] This is not
a monument

to Hitler's greatness
or Nazi greatness.

Because when you look at this
you can see

what a pile of rubbish
Nazi Germany really was.