- 2 days ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01A palatial ruin in Philadelphia, built from the riches of an industrial golden age.
00:07All the wealth in the world couldn't protect him from losing many of the people he loved.
00:13In France, a remote outpost that threatened the lives of millions.
00:20This is designed to be the hinge on which the fate of Europe turns.
00:30And in Poland, a power-hungry dictator caught in a twisted romance at a fairy-tale stronghold.
00:39At first, the relationship was shrouded in secrecy, but he was clearly happy with the bargain being struck.
00:46In southeast Pennsylvania stands the relic of an era when the titans of industry ruled America.
01:03In the countryside, just outside Philadelphia, you see this grand neoclassical building with tall columns and two enormous wings.
01:17It feels like you could be standing in a grand European palace.
01:23But this is in the USA, and we're pretty famous for not having a monarchy.
01:27We dealt with that in the 1700s.
01:29But if a royal didn't live here, who did?
01:31The man behind this ostentatious residence was the very epitome of the American dream.
01:40This was once the home of one of the wealthiest Americans of his day, a man whose life was blessed with riches.
01:47He was also a man driven by a burning desire to leave a lasting legacy.
01:53It is truly one of the greatest collections of art ever assembled in one location in probably global history.
02:01But all the money in the world could not save this family from tragedy.
02:05That tragedy would involve one of the greatest disasters in history, the Titanic.
02:16I first found this place when I was 11 years old, and it just all struck me.
02:21I'd never seen anything like it before.
02:23In 2023, Edward Tolme headed up the group that purchased this property,
02:30with the seemingly impossible task of restoring it to its former glory.
02:36We are now solely responsible for this building and its well-being.
02:41So there's a great sense of responsibility that comes with that as well.
02:45It was so reminiscent of the palaces of Europe, such as Versailles or Buckingham Palace.
02:50It's not something that you're used to seeing in the United States of America.
02:53The origins of this lavish residence began in a period of great prosperity, known as the Gilded Age.
03:02In the late 19th century, early 20th century, the American economy was just in overdrive.
03:09A few individuals made a fortune from the booming industries, such as steel, railways and shipping.
03:16People like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.
03:22These were men who'd started out from very humble backgrounds, even poor, and became these titans of industry.
03:31Philadelphia native Peter Widener was one of those men.
03:35He was born in 1834, the son of a German immigrant bricklayer, and began his career as a butcher.
03:42In the early days of the Civil War, he won a contract to supply mutton to the Union troops within a 10-mile radius of Philadelphia.
03:50And with that mutton contract, he earned $50,000, which is about $850,000 in today's money.
03:57He invested that windfall in up-and-coming industries.
04:00He was involved in U.S. steel, standard oil, American tobacco.
04:08Peter also invested heavily in the American public transit system.
04:12And amassed a fortune in the region of $35 million.
04:17Yet from early on, his personal life was marked by tragedy.
04:23He lost the eldest of his three children, Harry, to typhoid fever at the age of 15.
04:30The final blow was his wife passing in 1896 due to an unexpected heart attack.
04:35And at that point, his two sons, George and Joseph, were living out on their own and building their own houses.
04:43Widener's grief would drive the creation of his most important investment.
04:47He said to George and Joseph, I don't want to live alone for the rest of my life.
04:52If I build a house large enough that we can all coexist, and will you move in with me?
04:56And of course, they said yes.
04:59Peter's new family home took two years to build and cost around $300 million in today's money.
05:06By December 1899, Linwood Hall was complete.
05:11It was one of the largest homes in the country, and remains so today.
05:16There were 44 in-house staff, and there was about 160 on the estate as total.
05:21All the family portraits hung in here of Peter and his two sons.
05:25This leads right into the dining room, which is where the family would spend a lot of time every evening.
05:30They would sit around a giant table here in the middle with, you know,
05:33Peter and George and Joseph and the wives and all the children.
05:36Yet, Linwood Hall was always intended to be much more than just a family home.
05:46Widener had a particular affinity for European old master paintings,
05:50and he spared no expense in acquiring some of the most celebrated works of his time.
05:56This entire wall was covered with Romney, Hopner, Gainsborough, Reynolds.
06:01We had two El Grecos here on either side of the store.
06:04We had the largest private collection of Rembrandts anywhere in the world at the time,
06:09outside of Buckingham Palace.
06:10But Peter wasn't just motivated by personal pleasure.
06:14His humble start in life also played a role.
06:17He was very proud of that, and had a great appreciation for this art collection,
06:22and wanted to share it with everyone.
06:24And they opened up Linwood Hall as a kind of museum to the public
06:28for months every year for the grand price of five cents.
06:34His son Joseph later said,
06:36Art belongs to those who appreciate it.
06:39Others merely own it.
06:42Yet heartbreak continued to follow his every achievement.
06:46Peter Widener had been part of the creation of the very thing that would bring grief to his family once again.
06:54In the early 1900s, he purchased a stake in the International Mercantile Marine Company.
07:02Peter's son, George, was also a shareholder,
07:05and he, his wife, Eleanor, and their 27-year-old son, Harry,
07:09arranged passage on the maiden voyage of the company's newest cruise ship.
07:13This kind of travel was a huge part of the lives of America's economic elite during this period
07:22that was supposed to be the most elegant way to cross the Atlantic.
07:28Eleanor, George, and Harry were already in Europe attending to business matters.
07:34This journey would bring them back to America.
07:36At 6.30 p.m. on April 10th, 1912,
07:42they set sail aboard the RMS Titanic.
07:46Little did they know, not all of them would make it home.
07:51The officers of the Titanic really did enforce this rule of women and children first.
07:57In Pennsylvania is the former home of wealthy industrialist Peter Widener.
08:08The self-made millionaire had it all.
08:11But on April 14th, 1912, his life changed dramatically
08:15when his family traveled back to America on board the Titanic.
08:20One of the things that's interesting to me is
08:22many people are aware that there was a lavish dinner party on Titanic.
08:26What's not known is the fact that the Wideners were the ones who threw that dinner party
08:31as a retirement present for Captain Edward J. Smith.
08:35After the dinner, I believe Eleanor retired to her room with her lady's maid
08:38and the gentleman, of course, went to the smoking room for cigars and brandies and such.
08:43At 11.40 p.m., disaster struck.
08:47Of course, everyone knows the story of the Titanic hitting the fateful iceberg
08:51and the roughly two-hour period when the ship was sinking.
08:58The vessel's officers enforced a strict women- and young-children-only rule
09:02in the limited number of lifeboats,
09:04while the adult men were left to fend for themselves.
09:08The Widener family had the experience that many families had
09:12of separating right there at the rail.
09:15It was a heartbreaking scene.
09:17George, you know, pulled his wife aside
09:20and he took off a gold and emerald ring and gave it to her.
09:23And he said, you know,
09:24don't forget about me,
09:25but I want you to do everything that we talked about doing.
09:30Eleanor and her lady's maid survived.
09:32George and his 27-year-old son, Harry,
09:35unfortunately all perished in the sinking.
09:36Eleanor and her maid made it home on April 19th.
09:42There they found Peter,
09:44distraught with the news of the deaths of his son and grandson.
09:49Peter Widener was never the same again.
09:52Overcome with grief, his health suffered dramatically.
09:56We've been told that Peter would come out to this balcony
10:00and stare at the driveway, which is to our left,
10:02just hoping one day that a car would show up
10:05with both George and Harry in it.
10:07Only three years after the disaster,
10:10Widener died at Linwood Hall.
10:12He was 80 years old.
10:15The incident had such an impact on him
10:17that his doctor even said that he died of a broken heart.
10:21After Peter's death,
10:23the property passed to his last remaining son, Joseph.
10:28Linwood Hall remained in his hands until he died in 1943.
10:33After Joseph's death,
10:34neither his children nor his extended family wished to take on
10:39the vast responsibility of taking care of the property.
10:43The Widener's fabulous art collection was donated to the National Gallery.
10:47Those grand rooms must have seemed very empty when all those paintings were gone.
10:52Today, Edward Tome and his colleagues at the Linwood Hall Preservation Foundation
11:03are working hard to keep Peter Widener's story alive
11:06and to realize his dream of making his home accessible to all.
11:12When you have a building of this significance,
11:15not just in its design, but its history,
11:17it is so important to share it with the community moving forward.
11:21The goal is to, again, open it to the public
11:23as a cultural center, art museum, and a recreational venue.
11:27In northern France is an ominous collection of buildings
11:36intended to decide the fate of Europe.
11:38It almost feels like an entire town is laid out next to the railway,
11:50but there are no houses or shops to speak of.
11:53So what is this place?
11:55This construction is low.
11:58It's close to the ground.
12:00Whoever built these buildings did not want them to be seen.
12:05The style of architecture tells us that this was not created
12:10for the sake of pleasure or comfort.
12:14When the world was plunged into the chaos of conflict,
12:17these structures were designed to oversee the glorious victory
12:21of a cruel regime.
12:24The blood of hundreds, if not thousands, of slave laborers
12:31is cast in this concrete.
12:33We can smell the evil of Nazi construction.
12:40Hitler had so much hubris that he believed that from here
12:45he would witness the downfall of Britain.
12:49Yet, in the dying days of the war,
12:52the men stationed here received chilling new instructions.
12:55An order comes off the teleprinter
12:59that could result in the deaths of thousands.
13:12I discovered the site in 2007,
13:15but it was forbidden because it was military land.
13:18Didier Ledet was one of the first to explore these bunkers
13:24when the Shroud of Secrecy was finally lifted.
13:26It took me several years of research
13:31to discover the real history of the site.
13:34It was as if I had discovered treasure.
13:37But this was a treasure with a menacing origin.
13:46These structures date to a time in World War II
13:48when the Allied forces were being crushed
13:51by the Nazi war machine.
13:54By 1940, Germany had blitzed its way
13:57through Poland, Belgium, and into France.
14:01Hitler wanted to stay close to his troops
14:03on the front line to give orders.
14:07This site was supposed to be the platform
14:10by which Hitler would oversee Operation Sea Line,
14:14the conquest of Britain.
14:17In 1942, they set about constructing
14:20the largest Third Reich headquarters
14:23ever built during the war.
14:27The name of the complex catered
14:29to Hitler's vainglorious ego.
14:31He called his new base of operations
14:33Wolfschluchtzwei, a.k.a. Wolf's Lair II.
14:39Hitler attached considerable myth to his persona.
14:42One of those ideas was that he was a wolf,
14:46a wolf like the beasts who inhabited German mythology.
14:51From the beginning,
14:53its construction was stained in innocent blood.
14:56Over a period of 18 months,
15:0022,000 workers worked day and night
15:03to build these bunkers.
15:06We had prisoners of war,
15:08prisoners of common law,
15:10and forced laborers.
15:16By early 1944,
15:18Hitler's command center,
15:19designed to orchestrate the destruction of Britain,
15:22was complete.
15:23Up to 3,000 men were based here,
15:27although the Fuhrer himself
15:28had still never visited.
15:30But its role in Germany's war effort
15:33soon had to change.
15:36On June 6th,
15:37the largest amphibious invasion force ever assembled
15:40stormed the beaches of Normandy,
15:43just four hours away from this site.
15:46Hitler's troops were caught completely off guard.
15:49Hitler has got to act quickly
15:53to halt the invasion of France on the beach.
15:58But Hitler is indecisive.
16:04In France are the remains of a Nazi compound
16:08built to oversee the conquest of the United Kingdom.
16:11On June 6th, 1944,
16:15its function was forced to change.
16:20So when the Allies land on D-Day,
16:22Hitler is in bed.
16:25And nobody wants to be the one
16:28who wakes up the Fuhrer.
16:30By the time Hitler's senior officers
16:35actually do get him awake,
16:39the commanders find that
16:41Hitler doesn't know
16:44which way to send reinforcements.
16:49After the Allied invasion began,
16:52it took Hitler 11 days
16:53to decide to go from Germany
16:55to Wolfslaer II in France
16:57for the very first time.
17:00And that means
17:01that a bunker system
17:03that was built
17:04to prepare for
17:07the invasion of Britain
17:08needs to become
17:12a complex capable
17:14of commanding multiple army groups
17:17to defend
17:19Nazi-held France.
17:21On June 17th, 1944,
17:27Adolf Hitler summons
17:28the generals
17:29and field marshals
17:30Rommel and von Rundstedt
17:32to this bunker.
17:34The conference
17:36that's going to take place
17:37in this bunker
17:37is going to be
17:39very, very tense.
17:42Just as they were debating,
17:44the air raid warning
17:45sounded.
17:46Allied bombers
17:47were in the air
17:48and the whole party
17:49scrambled
17:50into the shelters
17:51deep in the hillsides
17:53where the meeting continued.
17:56At this point,
17:58Hitler demanded
17:58the V-1 rocket,
18:00built to pound London
18:01into submission,
18:02be used
18:03against the invading forces.
18:05He seemed to believe
18:07that this would act
18:07as some sort of
18:08sword of Damocles,
18:10striking down the enemy.
18:13The artillery general
18:14advised it was
18:15far too risky
18:16to send the V-1
18:17to the front lines.
18:18These things
18:20were entirely unpredictable
18:21and he worried
18:22that they would
18:23kill their own men
18:24if they fired them
18:25anywhere close
18:26to the invasion forces.
18:29The supposedly
18:30great Fuhrer
18:31was visibly shaken
18:32by the generals' reaction
18:34and dismissed
18:35their recommendations
18:36to retreat from Normandy
18:38and regroup.
18:40After only 12 hours
18:41at Wolf's Lair 2,
18:43he makes a feeble
18:44excuse to leave,
18:46while his generals
18:47returned to the front lines
18:49to try and hold back
18:50the Allied invasion.
18:52And Hitler
18:53appears not to be
18:56a man of great
18:57physical courage.
18:59Hitler's response
19:00is,
19:01I am in such danger
19:03here in France.
19:04I am going to get back
19:06to Germany.
19:07I'm going to command
19:08from someplace
19:09where I can feel safe.
19:11After Hitler
19:15returned to Germany,
19:16he never again
19:17stepped foot
19:18inside Wolf's Lair 2.
19:21On August 25, 1944,
19:24the Free French
19:25Allied Forces
19:26entered Paris
19:27and declared it liberated.
19:29The next day,
19:31from the safety
19:32of his Berlin bunker,
19:34Hitler would send
19:35an alarming message
19:36to this base's
19:37communication center,
19:39calling for the bombardment
19:41of the French capital.
19:43Hitler gives
19:44a scorched earth order
19:46to destroy
19:48the entire city.
19:51The order was received
19:52by General Hans Speider,
19:54who just months earlier
19:56had been part
19:57of the failed plot
19:58to assassinate Hitler
20:00and take control
20:01of the armed forces.
20:04The residents of Paris
20:06were completely unaware
20:08there how close
20:09they came
20:09to complete
20:10annihilation.
20:13The general
20:14who receives
20:14the message,
20:15who reads it,
20:16understands that
20:17Hitler is crazy.
20:19It's useless
20:20to destroy Paris,
20:21who will have
20:21no military interest.
20:23So he tears up
20:24the message.
20:24He destroys
20:25the message.
20:28As the Allies
20:30advanced through France,
20:32the Germans
20:32fled Wolf's Lair 2.
20:34After their
20:36eventual surrender,
20:37the U.S. Army
20:38occupied this complex
20:40until 1946.
20:42It then served
20:44as a NATO base
20:45and school
20:46for French special forces
20:47until it was abandoned
20:49in 1993.
20:55After NATO left,
20:57the site became
20:58overgrown,
20:59and many of the stories
21:01of its history
21:02became forgotten.
21:04Since then,
21:06a local association
21:07has worked
21:08to maintain
21:09these buildings
21:09and plans are underway
21:11to convert it
21:12into a museum site.
21:15Last year,
21:16we had 2,700 visitors,
21:19and every year
21:20it increases.
21:21It goes up and up.
21:26On the small
21:28Italian island
21:29of Procida,
21:30off the coast
21:31of Naples,
21:32is an ominous structure
21:33that harbored
21:34aristocrats
21:35and villains.
21:39At the island's
21:40highest point,
21:41your eye
21:42is immediately
21:43drawn to this
21:44building that's
21:45commanding
21:46and daunting
21:47in equal measure.
21:49As you approach
21:50along the driveway,
21:51you are met
21:52by these two
21:53large wooden doors.
21:55But were they
21:56meant to keep
21:57people out
21:58or in?
22:01Beyond the gates
22:02is a large,
22:03open courtyard
22:04lined with stoneworks.
22:07It's a demonstration
22:08of lavish opulence.
22:11When you step inside,
22:13the mood
22:13drastically changes.
22:15You've got piles
22:17of shoes,
22:18rows of rusting beds,
22:20baskets of thread
22:21all over the place.
22:23Maybe it was a factory
22:24of some sort,
22:25but honestly,
22:26it's just creepy.
22:30Exploring deeper
22:31into the building's
22:32underbelly,
22:34you can see
22:35a place that is
22:36even more
22:37unsettling.
22:38That's when you see
22:40bars on the windows,
22:41and there's
22:42the real giveaway.
22:43Nobody came here
22:44by choice.
22:45What began
22:46as the stronghold
22:47of a really powerful
22:49dynasty
22:50slowly emerged
22:51into something
22:52much more sinister.
22:55This building
22:56used to be home
22:57to some of the
22:58most dangerous
22:59people in Italy.
23:06On the Italian
23:08island of Procida,
23:10an imposing ruin
23:11dominates its surroundings.
23:12My childhood
23:16was spent
23:17in the shadow
23:18of this building.
23:19It always fascinated
23:20me to imagine
23:21what was inside.
23:23In 2017,
23:25Luigi Permario
23:27got the chance
23:28to find out
23:29when he became
23:30a city councillor
23:31tasked with the
23:31regeneration
23:32of this foreboding
23:33site.
23:35What he discovered
23:36was a tale
23:37of intrigue
23:38and oppression
23:38that echoed
23:39the very history
23:40of Italy itself.
23:42It was a very
23:45important building
23:46but at the same time
23:48it was terrible
23:49for the island.
23:50The oldest part
23:52of this palatial ruin
23:53dates back
23:54to the 16th century
23:55when Italy
23:57wasn't the unified
23:58country we know
23:59and recognize today.
24:02The region
24:03was under control
24:04of the Spanish
24:05Aragonese dynasty
24:06who ruled over
24:08the kingdom of Naples.
24:11Procida was
24:11entrusted to the
24:13de Avalos family
24:14who were an
24:16influential clan
24:17of Spanish dukes
24:19who controlled
24:20a powerful
24:21mercenary army.
24:23In 1563,
24:26a prominent member
24:27of the family,
24:28Cardinal Inico
24:29Davalos de Aragonha,
24:31decided to make
24:32Protida his home.
24:35He called his new
24:36island fortress
24:37the Palazzo
24:39Davalos.
24:40For the next century,
24:41the Diabalos family
24:42ruled over Prashida
24:44but their reign
24:44was dramatically
24:45cut short
24:46in the 1700s.
24:48Following the death
24:49of childless
24:50Spanish monarch
24:51Charles II,
24:53this region
24:53was caught up
24:54in a European
24:55conflict of secession.
24:57The Spanish
24:57House of Bourbon
24:58emerged victorious.
24:59By 1736,
25:02the future
25:03Bourbon king
25:04Charles III
25:04had conquered
25:06Naples and Sicily.
25:08He kicked out
25:09the Davalos family
25:11and took the
25:12Palazzo over
25:13for himself
25:14to have a
25:15grand hunting lodge.
25:17For the people
25:18living under
25:19Bourbon rule,
25:20life couldn't have
25:20been more different.
25:22These people
25:23were often
25:24under the oppressive
25:26thumb of their
25:27feudal lords.
25:29Discontent ran deep
25:31and it was only
25:32a matter of time
25:33before that
25:33exploded into violence.
25:37In the wake
25:38of the French Revolution,
25:40rebellion swept
25:41through Europe
25:41and the ruling
25:42Bourbons faced
25:43a series of uprisings.
25:46In order to
25:47maintain rule,
25:48the Palazzo Davalos
25:50entered a dark
25:51new era.
25:53By 1831,
25:55this once regal
25:57residents
25:57had been converted
25:59to a prison
26:00to house
26:01political enemies
26:02of the state.
26:05Many tales
26:06depict this prison
26:07complex
26:07as one of the
26:08cruelest in history.
26:11The conditions
26:13inside were
26:14horrific
26:14and the
26:16prisoners
26:17often faced
26:18beatings,
26:19starvation
26:20and torture.
26:22For many,
26:23it seemed
26:24their only option
26:25for survival
26:26was to escape.
26:28But they were wrong.
26:30In 1848,
26:31around 140 prisoners
26:33arrived on Prasida
26:34from Sicily.
26:35Reports suggest
26:36that they tried
26:37to break out,
26:38but they were trapped
26:38by the guards
26:39and then ruthlessly
26:40massacred.
26:44132 inmates
26:45were gunned down
26:46in the citadel
26:47of Terra Morata
26:48which surrounds
26:49the prison complex.
26:52The event
26:53sent shockwaves
26:54through Europe.
26:55It's actually said
26:56to be one of the
26:57reasons that Gladstone,
26:58who was the British
26:59Prime Minister
27:00at the time,
27:01broke off diplomatic
27:03relations with
27:04the Bourbon monarchy.
27:05Instead,
27:08he chose to back
27:09the Italian
27:09rabble-rouser
27:10Giuseppe Garibaldi,
27:11the heroic
27:12revolutionary
27:12that overthrew
27:13the Bourbons
27:14in the 1860s
27:15and was finally
27:16able to unify
27:17the country.
27:18While the birth
27:19of modern Italy
27:20had arrived,
27:21the Palazzo d'Avalos
27:23remained a place
27:24of incarceration
27:25for the next century.
27:29And soon,
27:31the prison
27:31needed to expand
27:32to meet
27:33the growing demand
27:34of a particular
27:35breed of criminal.
27:37In the 1970s,
27:39the prison
27:40started to be overrun
27:41with Italian mafioso.
27:43We're talking
27:44mob bosses,
27:45hitmen,
27:46henchmen,
27:47the whole range.
27:50Giacomo Rattaggio
27:52started working here
27:53in 1963
27:54as the prison's
27:55only doctor.
27:57Over the next
27:5825 years,
27:59he got to know
28:00some of the prison's
28:01most dangerous convicts.
28:03I would establish
28:06this empathy,
28:07rapport with the inmates,
28:09meaning they would
28:10never say no to me.
28:16The secret
28:17is to acquire
28:18the mindset
28:18and the needs
28:20of an inmate.
28:20In 1982,
28:27this included
28:28Naples'
28:28public enemy
28:29number one,
28:31Camorra Mafia boss
28:32Luigi,
28:33the King
28:34Giuliano.
28:35Luigi headed up
28:36the powerful
28:37Giuliano clan,
28:38which had a reputation
28:39for being one of
28:40Naples' most
28:41bloodthirsty
28:42criminal families.
28:43At the time
28:45he was arrested,
28:47Giuliano was
28:47in the midst
28:48of a brutal war
28:49with a rival
28:50Camorra gang
28:51led by
28:51Raphael
28:52the Professor
28:53Coutolo.
28:55Coutolo himself
28:56was already
28:57behind bars,
28:58running his
28:59empire entirely
29:00from the notorious
29:01Poggioreale prison
29:03in Naples.
29:05Luigi begged
29:06to be sent
29:07to Poggioreale prison.
29:08He knew
29:09that if he was
29:11sent to
29:12Poggioreale prison
29:13where Coutolo's
29:15men were locked
29:16up,
29:17he would face
29:18death.
29:20Luigi Giuliano
29:22was the boss,
29:23but just like
29:24every Camorra boss,
29:26he was a very
29:26likable person,
29:28a handsome fellow
29:28with sky-blue eyes.
29:33He would send me
29:34coffee every evening
29:35in my office.
29:36He liked
29:37to be a decent
29:38person,
29:39but he still
29:40was who he was.
29:44But Giuliano
29:45was wrong
29:46to think
29:46he'd be safe
29:47on Porcida.
29:50Prison
29:51is a sewer.
29:54You need
29:54to walk
29:55in the sewer
29:56without getting
29:56your shoes
29:57dirty,
29:58unfortunately.
29:59It's not easy.
30:05In 1982,
30:07Italy's Porcida prison
30:09welcomed its most
30:10notorious inmate,
30:12the Camorra
30:12mafia king,
30:13Luigi Giuliano.
30:16Luigi had pleaded
30:17to be sent here
30:18to avoid his bitter
30:19rival,
30:20Rafael Coutolo,
30:21who was locked up
30:22in a neighboring
30:22prison.
30:24But among the inmates
30:25at Porcida
30:26was one of Coutolo's
30:27former henchmen,
30:29and he had it in
30:30for Luigi.
30:30In November,
30:33he was stabbed
30:34by another inmate
30:35and left for dead.
30:38I was at home
30:39and I got an emergency
30:40call.
30:44And this guy
30:45who was imprisoned
30:45here with Giuliano
30:46to win his old boss's
30:48favor back
30:49had stabbed
30:50Giuliano
30:50in the liver
30:51twice.
30:53He was about
30:53to die.
30:57There was nothing
30:58I could do
30:59other than
30:59stop the bleeding
31:00as much as I could
31:01and prescribe
31:02emergency hospitalization.
31:06Luckily for him,
31:08he survived.
31:09Not so lucky
31:10for Naples.
31:11After he was
31:12acquitted
31:12of all charges,
31:13he continued
31:14his reign of terror
31:15for the next
31:1620 years.
31:17Giuliano
31:20was eventually
31:21arrested in 2000
31:22and turned
31:23into a government
31:24witness
31:25to avoid jail time.
31:27But during
31:28that period,
31:29the aging prison
31:30here had already
31:31been forced
31:32to shut its doors
31:33for good.
31:36In July 88,
31:38they closed it
31:38because the number
31:39of inmates
31:40kept decreasing
31:41until there were
31:42only 100.
31:47it was because
31:47of a certain
31:48campaign from
31:49Procida
31:50where they blamed
31:51the prison
31:51for its failing
31:52tourism.
32:04For 30 years,
32:06Palazzo di Avalos
32:07sat completely
32:08abandoned
32:09until the government
32:10took it over
32:11and made it
32:12a place
32:12that tourists
32:13could visit.
32:17It's now
32:17become a place
32:18of culture,
32:19a place
32:20that truly
32:20everyone embraces
32:21and an asset
32:23for the island
32:23which had been
32:24forgotten.
32:32In the northern
32:33Polish town
32:34of Cominiets
32:35is the ruin
32:37of a site
32:38where romance
32:39and patriotism
32:40painfully collided.
32:41There's little
32:47houses
32:47and shops
32:48and a church
32:49that seems
32:50like a place
32:51where things
32:51move slowly.
32:52But at one
32:53end of town
32:54is something
32:55quite unexpected.
32:58Set back
32:58from the street
32:59is a towering
33:00stone structure
33:01ravaged by
33:02the passage
33:03of time.
33:06It's got
33:07this big facade,
33:08two wings
33:09spreading out
33:09on either side.
33:10it seems like
33:11somewhere really
33:12important.
33:13Central Europe
33:14is dotted
33:14with palaces
33:15such as this
33:16but this one
33:17is remarkable
33:18because of
33:19who ended
33:19up here
33:20and with whom.
33:23One of the
33:23world's greatest
33:24generals
33:25was caught
33:26in a love affair.
33:27For him
33:28it was passion.
33:29For her
33:30it was duty
33:31to her country.
33:33She carried
33:34the very existence
33:35of Poland
33:35on her shoulders
33:36but the question
33:37was would it
33:38pay off?
33:40first came
33:46maybe 20 years
33:47ago.
33:48There's something
33:49magical about
33:50this ruin.
33:51This was called
33:52Versailles of the
33:53North.
33:54Tomasz Dabrowski
33:55is part of a group
33:57dedicated to
33:57honoring the role
33:58this building
33:59played in his
34:00nation's struggle
34:01for independence.
34:03When I thought
34:04about history
34:05this place
34:05I realized
34:06that the history
34:07is so strictly
34:08connected
34:09with history
34:09of Poland.
34:11Its epic
34:12story began
34:13in the early
34:1418th century
34:15when this region
34:16was a battlefield
34:17fought over
34:18by neighboring
34:19states.
34:21We're in what
34:22one historian
34:22famously called
34:23God's playground.
34:24Poland
34:25which was at
34:25the intersection
34:26of all the
34:27great powers
34:28of Europe.
34:29This land
34:30was under
34:30the control
34:30of Prussia
34:31a kingdom
34:32comprised of
34:33northern Germany
34:34and much
34:35of modern
34:35day Poland.
34:37Its king
34:38Friedrich Wilhelm
34:39I bestowed
34:40palaces and
34:41estates upon
34:42the noble
34:43families.
34:44This one
34:45was called
34:45Finkenstein
34:46Palace and it
34:48was named
34:48after the ruling
34:49family that
34:50constructed it
34:50in 1716.
34:53It would be
34:54the von
34:54Finkenstein's
34:55home but
34:56also a place
34:57for the king
34:58to stay
34:58when he
34:59traveled from
34:59Berlin.
35:00At the turn
35:01of the century
35:02though it
35:02would host
35:03a very
35:03different set
35:04of guests.
35:06In the late
35:071700s,
35:0850 years
35:09after Finkenstein
35:10Palace was
35:11built,
35:12Poland was
35:13plunged into
35:14chaos.
35:15European borders
35:16were rapidly
35:16shifting and
35:18this region
35:18was caught
35:19in the
35:19crossfire.
35:22The great
35:23powers of
35:24Prussia,
35:25Russia and
35:25the Habsburg
35:26Empire
35:26set about
35:27on a
35:28devastating
35:29series of
35:30partitions
35:30that really
35:31completely
35:32reduces the
35:33Polish state
35:33to nothing.
35:35The result
35:36of this
35:36was that
35:37Poland was
35:38all but
35:38wiped off
35:39the map
35:40and if
35:40they had
35:41any chance
35:42of restoring
35:43their statehood
35:44they'd need
35:45help from
35:45abroad.
35:48The Polish
35:49prince
35:49Josef
35:50Poniatowski
35:51in cahoots
35:52with his
35:52noblemen
35:53devised a
35:54strategy to
35:55save the
35:55nation from
35:56obscurity.
35:57The
35:58plan they
35:59came up
35:59with?
36:00Well,
36:00it's been
36:01used over
36:02and over
36:02again
36:02throughout
36:03history.
36:04A honey
36:04trap.
36:06The
36:06prince and
36:06his
36:06officials
36:07identify the
36:08perfect
36:09person and
36:09she's a
36:10countess
36:10named
36:11Marie
36:11Waleska.
36:12Even
36:12though she
36:13was already
36:13married and
36:14had a
36:14child she
36:15was known
36:15throughout
36:16Poland for
36:16her great
36:17beauty.
36:17the
36:20scheming
36:21nobles
36:21then set
36:22their
36:23sights on
36:23an
36:23ambitious
36:24neighbouring
36:25ruler who
36:26could champion
36:26their cause
36:27for independence.
36:29And at that
36:31time there was
36:31only one real
36:32candidate,
36:33Napoleon Bonaparte.
36:35They realised
36:37that Napoleon
36:38has a natural
36:39interest in
36:40fostering Polish
36:41nationalism as a
36:42way of weakening
36:43Russia, Austria
36:44and Prussia.
36:46Napoleon met
36:48Maria
36:48Waleska first
36:49time in
36:50Royal Palace in
36:51Warsaw in
36:52January 1807.
36:54This meeting
36:55was not
36:55coincidental of
36:57course because
36:58Maria Waleska
36:58impressed
36:59Napoleon so
37:00mad he
37:01wanted to
37:03know her
37:04better.
37:08The
37:09Polish plan
37:10appeared to
37:11be working.
37:12When Napoleon
37:12returned to his
37:13European campaign,
37:14he didn't
37:15forget his
37:16newfound
37:16mistress.
37:18In 1807,
37:20Napoleon invites
37:21Maria Waleska
37:21to the
37:22countryside where
37:23he is resting
37:24after another
37:25important battle.
37:27As she
37:28arrived, she
37:29was greeted by
37:30the magnificent
37:31facade of
37:32Finkenstein
37:33Palace.
37:34Maria understood
37:35the role she
37:36had been chosen
37:37to play, but
37:38she was also
37:39conflicted.
37:40She would
37:41have to choose
37:41between her
37:42family and
37:43her country.
37:44In 1807,
37:51Napoleon was
37:52at Finkenstein
37:53Palace preparing
37:54for his next
37:55battle.
37:56His mistress,
37:57Maria Waleska,
37:58arrived on a
37:59secret mission to
38:00help her country
38:01achieve independence,
38:02but it was one
38:04that caused her
38:05great distress.
38:06She's very concerned
38:08about her reputation
38:09because she's
38:10married, she has
38:11a child, she's
38:12of noble birth.
38:14Napoleon was
38:15all too aware of
38:16Maria's personal
38:17situation and
38:19continued the
38:19affair regardless.
38:20palace.
38:22So they end up
38:23holding up in a
38:24bedroom of the
38:24north wing of the
38:25palace.
38:26Here, there
38:27were the room
38:28occupied by
38:29Maria Waleska, so
38:30there was a bed,
38:32spent time.
38:34Mostly was
38:34close because he
38:36was supposed only
38:36to meet with
38:37emperor.
38:39Maria told one
38:40different that she
38:41really felt like
38:42she was married to
38:43Napoleon at the
38:44time, but of
38:45course she knew
38:46she was actually
38:47in service of a
38:48much greater
38:49cause.
38:51That cause
38:52received a boost
38:53in April 1807
38:54when Napoleon
38:55made a deal
38:56with the Shah of
38:57Persia at
38:57Finkenstein Palace.
38:59Napoleon's plan
39:00is to basically
39:01create this
39:02continental system,
39:03to close off
39:04all of Europe,
39:05including the
39:06Russian Empire,
39:06to British trade.
39:09Persian envoy
39:09came here
39:10the 26th
39:12April of
39:131807.
39:15It was most
39:16important
39:17political event
39:19here because
39:20the treaty
39:21between France
39:22and Persia
39:23was really
39:23important for
39:25Napoleon.
39:28After the
39:29treaty had been
39:29signed, Napoleon
39:30continued his
39:31war with Russia.
39:33At the Battle
39:34of Friedland in
39:35June, his army
39:36emerged victorious,
39:38which forced the
39:39Russians to make
39:40a settlement.
39:41This was the
39:42moment that
39:42Marie was waiting
39:43for.
39:43The French are
39:44negotiating with
39:45the Russians,
39:46and the fate of
39:47Poland is on the
39:48table.
39:50Marie had left
39:50behind her husband
39:51and child to
39:53spend two months
39:54with Napoleon in
39:55the hope his
39:56favor would sway
39:57his decisions.
39:58But in the end,
40:00it would all be
40:00for nothing.
40:02Under the terms
40:03of the deal,
40:04Russia kept
40:05most of the
40:05Polish territory
40:06they previously
40:07held.
40:09Napoleon merely
40:10elected to form
40:11a small Polish
40:12state called
40:13the Grand Duchy
40:14of Warsaw.
40:15Poland's dream
40:16of true
40:16independence was
40:18over.
40:20Marie's mission
40:21had failed,
40:22and it was
40:22absolutely clear
40:23that Napoleon
40:24would always put
40:25his beloved
40:26France first
40:27over any
40:28romantic involvement.
40:29Napoleon made
40:31sure Marie
40:31was taken care
40:32of for the
40:33rest of her
40:33life, but the
40:34affair was all
40:35but over, and
40:36the hopes of the
40:37Polish people
40:38died with it.
40:41As the years
40:42passed, Winkenstein
40:44Palace continued
40:45to be a home
40:46for wealthy
40:46nobility, but
40:48during World War
40:49II, it was
40:50looted by the
40:51Soviet Red Army
40:52as they advanced
40:53through Poland,
40:54and in 1945,
40:56it was completely
40:57destroyed by a
40:58fire.
40:59Today, the
41:07site is privately
41:08owned by a
41:09member of the
41:10Polish Napoleon
41:11Foundation, and
41:12it became a
41:13shrine to a
41:14pivotal moment
41:14in Polish history
41:15that unfolded
41:17within the walls
41:18of this great
41:18palace.
41:20The romance
41:21was even
41:21immortalized in a
41:22film starring
41:23Charles Boyer
41:24and Greta Garbo,
41:25and the film
41:26was called
41:26The Conquest.
41:27The Conquest.
41:27The Conquest.
41:28The Conquest.
41:28The Conquest.
41:29The Conquest.
41:29The Conquest.
41:30The Conquest.
41:30The Conquest.
41:30The Conquest.
41:30The Conquest.
41:30The Conquest.
41:31The Conquest.
41:31The Conquest.
41:31The Conquest.
41:31The Conquest.
41:31The Conquest.
41:31The Conquest.
41:32The Conquest.
41:32The Conquest.
41:32The Conquest.
41:32The Conquest.
41:32The Conquest.
41:33The Conquest.
41:33The Conquest.
41:33The Conquest.
41:33The Conquest.
41:34The Conquest.
41:34The Conquest.
41:34The Conquest.
41:34The Conquest.
41:34The Conquest.
41:35The Conquest.
41:35The Conquest.
41:35The Conquest.
41:36The Conquest.
41:36The Conquest.
41:36The Conquest.
Recommended
41:31
|
Up next
41:31
41:31
41:31
41:31
42:01
41:31
41:31
1:23:32
43:01
1:23:32
42:30
43:01
1:00:23
1:00:53
46:59
28:47
42:31
1:23:32
1:25:33
1:26:31
1:23:31
1:23:31
Be the first to comment