- 3 hours ago
Abandoned Engineering - Season 15 Episode 6 -
Cold War Cover Up
Cold War Cover Up
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00In Michigan, a top-secret Air Force base embroiled in controversy.
00:05It's possible there was some form of cover-up.
00:08The official documentation does have some redacted sections.
00:13In Italy, an entrepreneur's dream shattered by links to organized crime.
00:19Was he guilty? Or was this just a huge miscarriage of justice?
00:24A Croatian compound drawn into a devastating conflict.
00:31A foreign force landed on these shores, but it was not an invasion force.
00:38It was a peacekeeping force.
00:43And a California transportation hub that inspired lasting change.
00:48Oakland has always had a secret sauce in people fighting for greater justice and a better way to live.
01:06In northern Michigan, on the edge of Lake Superior, remnants of a global conflict conceal a tale of intrigue.
01:14A dirt track leads to a clearing dotted with large, industrial-looking buildings.
01:25This is a site built for function, not beauty.
01:28On the edge of this place are what look like just normal suburban streets.
01:33There's a basketball court and a baseball field and what looks like the remains of a bowling alley.
01:39This has all the amenities of any small town, but why are they out here?
01:47There's only 2,000 permanent residents in this entire area.
01:50And so to have this little city just up here on the top of a mountain,
01:54popping out of nowhere, is just very unusual.
01:59But this was not a normal town.
02:01When constructed, this was a covert facility with one objective, to protect America.
02:09At the top of the hill, two large constructions stand out.
02:14This is a clue to the place's true function.
02:17The U.S. Air Force is using this technology to defend the country from what they thought was a real existential threat.
02:24Yet this site became infamous because of its connection to an alleged government cover-up
02:31that involved the disappearance of two American aviators.
02:36The jet and its occupants vanished, and the mystery has never been solved.
02:41So I first visited this site about 10 years ago with my cousin.
02:52And we made kind of the joke that everybody makes.
02:55If we ever had the opportunity to purchase this, then we had to try and purchase it.
03:00Come on, Raider.
03:01In 2021, Zachary Garner did buy this property.
03:06He's been working hard to uncover its secrets ever since.
03:09We wanted to save it, preserve the history, tell the story.
03:15This place and most of the others like it were always surrounded with an air of mystery
03:20because everything that happened up here was classified during the times when it was active.
03:26There was a good reason the site was clandestine.
03:30This place was built as a reaction to the rising threat of communist activity.
03:35On August 29, 1949, in the very early part of the Cold War,
03:41the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic bomb, codename Joe-1.
03:48Even more terrifying news was to follow.
03:51The Soviets also created long-range aircraft capable of delivering nuclear bombs to the United States.
03:57This new reality caught the United States off guard.
04:02They were unprepared and they were nervous.
04:06If America was to regain the upper hand,
04:09it needed a system that provided an early warning of any incoming attacks from the Soviet Union.
04:16The United States takes action by setting up radar stations all across the country.
04:21Calumet Air Force Station was part of this radar network.
04:25So they built a lot of these stations further north in the U.S. and Canada
04:32because they were specifically monitoring for bombers coming over the Arctic Circle from the Soviet Union.
04:37That was the quickest or shortest flight path from primarily to Soviet Air Force bases.
04:45Should a Soviet aircraft approach, Calumet would be able to detect it
04:49and help guide American fighters to intercept and destroy it.
04:53This station in particular was right in the flight path if they would have sent bombers
04:59to either Chicago or New York.
05:02By April of 1951, Calumet was fully operational.
05:08Less than two years later, it was called into action.
05:11On the evening of November 23rd, 1953, the radar operators here noticed a flight
05:18that was coming through Lake Superior that was not registered on any particular flight plan.
05:26If this was a Soviet bomber, they needed to act fast.
05:30The operators noted the coordinates and sent them to Kinross Air Force Base,
05:37located 190 miles southeast of Calumet.
05:42From there, an F-89 Scorpion jet was immediately scrambled to intercept.
05:47First Lieutenant Felix Moncler, an airman who'd clocked up 811 flying hours, took the pilot's seat.
05:57Behind him was the navigator, Second Lieutenant Robert Wilson.
06:03On that day, the weather was pretty typical for late November.
06:07It was cold, low visibility, cloudy, and of course dark.
06:11Operators at Calumet were tracking the object
06:14and then sending directions to navigator Robert Wilson.
06:18For the next 30 minutes, a high-speed game of cat and mouse
06:22played out in the skies above Lake Superior.
06:26Every time the radar would spin around,
06:29they would get an updated location on the bogey and tell them a new heading.
06:34But reports claimed that the unidentified object
06:37moved in strange ways that shouldn't have been possible.
06:42The blip was changing course, changing airspeed, changing altitude,
06:48and they just weren't sure what it was.
06:51At 6.52pm, the operators let the crew know
06:54that the object was at their 11 o'clock, 10 miles out.
07:00The two men would have by now had the unknown object in their sights.
07:04At 6.55pm, the radar signature of the Scorpion jet
07:10converged with that of the unknown object,
07:13forming a single dot on the radar screen.
07:16They assumed that the fighter jet was flying in formation with the bogey
07:20and making contact with the pilot.
07:23Then the unthinkable happened.
07:26When radio operators tried to hail Moncler,
07:29they heard nothing back.
07:30Then the jet's transponder signal was lost
07:34and its radar signature disappeared from their screens.
07:38The staff at Calumet urgently tried to re-establish contact
07:42with the missing Scorpion jet, but to no avail.
07:46The Scorpion jet had vanished.
07:50According to the official reports from the Air Force,
07:53the dot of the aircraft that was still in the air
07:56continued on its original flight path flying east.
07:59In the following days, a number of aircraft joined the search
08:04from all over the country,
08:06but no trace of the plane or the two airmen was ever found.
08:11During this period, the American public
08:14had become increasingly fascinated by the phenomena of UFOs
08:18after a number of high-profile sightings across the country.
08:21The incident quickly became a source of various conspiracy theories.
08:27Many of the most extraordinary revolved around alien abduction.
08:31The conspiracy that has formed from the blips merged
08:35is that the UFO ate the aircraft or absorbed it,
08:41and that's why it was never seen or heard from again.
08:43The Air Force put forward a very different explanation.
08:49When they looked on the screen and saw those two blips merge,
08:52that simply meant that they were within half a mile of one another,
08:56not that they actually ran into each other.
08:58And while no conclusive evidence has ever been found
09:03to explain the aircraft's disappearance,
09:07the most plausible theory is some type of mechanical failure.
09:12The F-89 Scorpion had known issues
09:15just a year before all F-89s had been grounded
09:19to fix a wing problem.
09:20Yet the respected UFO researcher, Major Donald Kehoe,
09:27believed the government was trying to hide the truth.
09:30He claimed that Felix Moncler's wife
09:33was given two conflicting stories by the U.S. Air Force
09:36about how her husband died.
09:39At first, she was told that his jet had crashed into Lake Superior.
09:43Then she was told it had exploded in mid-air.
09:47Kehoe also suggested certain details
09:50were left out of the official record to cover it up.
09:53The official documentation does have some redacted sections
09:56that we've been unable to figure out what it says.
09:59But ultimately, the puzzle was never solved.
10:04My personal opinion is that the fighter jet
10:07got too close to the other aircraft during intercept,
10:11made some maneuver to avoid hitting it,
10:14and crashed into Lake Superior.
10:15But this all still leaves a crucial question unanswered,
10:21which is, what was that original radar signature
10:24that the Calumet station detected?
10:27A Canadian aircraft was flying a similar flight path
10:31that evening, but it reported no interceptions
10:34and not having seen the Scorpion jet.
10:38It remains a mysterious footnote to the Cold War,
10:40which claimed the lives of two American airmen.
10:50Calumet continued to operate in secrecy
10:53for the next 35 years,
10:55until the Soviet bloc collapsed
10:58and the threat of nuclear war subsided.
11:00In September 1988, the station was closed
11:05and the remaining personnel were transferred elsewhere.
11:08Zachary now has big plans
11:11to open Calumet to the public
11:13so its story can continue to be told.
11:17The entire top of the mountain here
11:18that we're standing on now
11:19will be turned into a museum
11:21dedicated to radar stations in the Cold War.
11:24We're doing as much of the work as we can ourselves.
11:26We're seeking help where we need it,
11:28but we expect this to be kind of a lifetime project
11:31and we're here for it.
11:32It's really exciting.
11:36In central Italy, 40 miles from Florence,
11:40is the site of a fallen stronghold
11:42besieged by personal tragedy.
11:48We are in the foothills of Tuscany,
11:52famous for its glorious countryside,
11:55incredible wines, and centuries-old towns.
11:58So it's no great surprise
12:00when you come across what appear to be
12:02ancient remains concealed in dense forest.
12:07The structure has thick stone walls,
12:10a crenellated tower, and a drawbridge,
12:13all the hallmarks of a medieval castle.
12:17But look closer
12:18and you start to see problems with that theory.
12:21All around are clues that suggest
12:26not everything is what it seems.
12:28Some of the features are more recent.
12:31Like there's a gazebo with a plastic canvas roof.
12:37Inside, it gets even stranger.
12:39There are bars, stages,
12:42and even the artwork appears as if made to look old.
12:45All sorts of people used to come here
12:49from all over Italy,
12:51VIPs, celebrities, politicians,
12:54and it was a great success.
12:57But the question is,
12:59who killed the party?
13:01This place would be engulfed by scandal.
13:04We're talking links to organized crime,
13:06a wrongful arrest,
13:07and lives torn apart.
13:15The last time I came here,
13:17it was about 10 years ago,
13:19and now the building,
13:21everything is completely covered
13:22with trees and plants.
13:25It looks so strange and even sad.
13:28For many years,
13:29I avoided to come back here
13:31because of the memories.
13:34When Daisy Vanelli was young,
13:37this enchanted setting
13:38was her family's business,
13:40and it played a very important role
13:42in her life.
13:44I remember my childhood here
13:47with my sister and my brothers.
13:50When we were younger,
13:52it was like our playground.
13:54The construction was inspired
13:55by my father's passion for castles.
14:00Like many good stories,
14:02this one begins with an ambitious vision
14:05to build something magical.
14:07And the person behind everything we see here,
14:10a man named Walter Vanelli.
14:14So Walter is a local entrepreneur.
14:18And back in the 80s,
14:20he had this idea
14:22that he wanted to create
14:23a beautiful hotel in the mountains.
14:27But then my father came up
14:29with the idea of opening a nightclub.
14:31He discussed this idea
14:33with my two brothers
14:34who were in their 20s at that time
14:37and who enthusiastically opted
14:39for the nightclub idea.
14:43One reason might have been
14:45because part of their job
14:46was to party at Italy's top clubs
14:48for inspiration.
14:50It wasn't long before
14:52the wacky concept
14:54that we see today emerged.
14:56Walter funded the project
14:59using his own money,
15:00that of investors
15:02and by borrowing
15:03around £500,000 from the bank.
15:07In 1987, construction began.
15:11But bringing his dream to life
15:13proved to be a difficult task.
15:15Walter changed his mind constantly
15:18about what it should look like.
15:21One day, he'd ask the builders
15:23to build something.
15:25Then the next day,
15:26knock it down,
15:27start over again from scratch.
15:30Honestly, we all thought
15:32we'd never get the club finished.
15:35But finally, we did it.
15:40In the end,
15:41the club had three dance floors,
15:43two restaurants, four bars.
15:46It took six years
15:48and cost around $5 million.
15:51The Vanellis called
15:53their labor of love
15:54the Excalibur.
15:56On the 23rd of December 1993,
16:00it opened for business.
16:02And on that night,
16:04there were 3,000 people.
16:07Up there was the DJ booth.
16:09I remember flag bearers,
16:12fire eaters,
16:13fireworks,
16:15yes,
16:15champagne,
16:16a lot of drinking,
16:18a lot of dancing,
16:19a lot of fun.
16:20Everything that made it
16:22a night to remember.
16:25As the months passed,
16:27the club's reputation
16:28continued to grow.
16:30There were politicians,
16:32celebrities,
16:33soccer players,
16:34and even royalty
16:36in the form of
16:37Princess Stephanie of Monaco,
16:38the rebellious youngest daughter
16:40of Grace Kelly.
16:42During the week,
16:43you'd have lectures,
16:45fashion shows,
16:45and concerts,
16:47and then four nights a week,
16:48you could come
16:49and dance the night away.
16:51Everything was looking
16:52really good.
16:53We were making good money,
16:55and everything
16:56was just perfect.
16:58What could possibly go wrong?
17:00The answer
17:01was everything.
17:02In July 1996,
17:08around 5 a.m.,
17:09a police helicopter
17:10swooped in
17:11and landed
17:12next to the club.
17:15Armed officers
17:16streamed out
17:17and raided the house
17:18that Walter was living in.
17:21He was handcuffed,
17:24hooded,
17:24and taken to
17:26a high-security prison.
17:27Walter had no idea
17:31why he'd been arrested.
17:34But it turns out
17:35he was being accused
17:37of being a key player
17:38in the Brenta Mafia.
17:41The Brenta Mafia
17:43was a ruthless organization
17:45founded by career criminal
17:47Felicia Maniero.
17:49His illicit empire
17:52made millions
17:53from, you know,
17:54drug trafficking,
17:56extortion,
17:57money laundering.
18:00But in 1994,
18:02his criminal dealings
18:03caught up with him
18:04after a crackdown
18:05on Mafia gangs.
18:07He was arrested
18:08and became an informant
18:10to save his own skin.
18:13He gave up
18:14over 400 mob bosses,
18:17corrupt judges,
18:19corrupt policemen,
18:20and he named
18:21Walter
18:22as part of the operation.
18:24Walter had met Maniero
18:2920 years earlier,
18:31but this was long
18:32before the Mafia boss
18:33had founded
18:34his criminal enterprise.
18:36Since then,
18:37they'd had no further dealings,
18:39and Walter was given
18:40no explanation
18:41about why
18:42he'd been implicated.
18:45Prosecutors insisted
18:46he be kept in isolation
18:47and refused to tell him
18:49when a trial date
18:50would be set.
18:52Walter chose
18:54to take matters
18:54into his own hands.
18:58He remained in prison
19:00without being interrogated.
19:03My father had to go
19:04on a hunger strike
19:06because they gave him
19:07no possibility
19:08to tell his side
19:10of the story,
19:11and so he had to do that
19:14in order to be heard.
19:15Only then
19:18did the authorities
19:19start to listen.
19:21After this,
19:22the anti-Mafia prosecutor,
19:25Dr. Fogliadelli,
19:26conducted more investigations
19:27and interviewed people
19:29from the Mafia clan.
19:32His findings
19:33eventually found
19:34that Walter
19:34had no Mafia involvement,
19:37and he was cleared
19:38of all charges completely.
19:41In June 1997,
19:43after almost a year
19:45in prison,
19:46Walter was finally released.
19:48The reason Maniero
19:49originally named him
19:51remained a mystery.
19:52But he always kept
19:55his dignity,
19:56and he always maintained
19:58a positive attitude,
20:00really.
20:01He's an incredible person
20:02for this.
20:04It was a terrible
20:06miscarriage of justice,
20:07but there was
20:08even worse news to come.
20:11Following Walter's arrest,
20:13local newspapers
20:14and TV stations
20:16had relentlessly
20:16covered the story.
20:19They linked
20:19his suspected mob connections
20:21to the Excalibur.
20:24Which inevitably led
20:26to a significant drop
20:27in attendances.
20:29This, coupled
20:31with a landslide
20:32that blocked
20:33the main road
20:33leading to the club,
20:35signaled its demise.
20:35demise.
20:36And so,
20:38from the 2,500 people
20:41crowding the nights,
20:43the attendance dropped
20:45to only a few hundreds.
20:48In July 1996,
20:50while Walter was still
20:52locked up,
20:53the Excalibur
20:53was forced to close.
20:55The closure
20:56was a huge shock.
20:59Excalibur
21:00was completely
21:02created,
21:03built,
21:03and managed
21:04by our family.
21:10Today,
21:11the future
21:12of the Excalibur
21:13is uncertain.
21:15It's up for sale.
21:17So,
21:17perhaps one day,
21:19the hills
21:19surrounding
21:20this medieval
21:21discotheque
21:22will once again
21:23be alive
21:24with the sound
21:24of music.
21:26I'd love
21:27to see it
21:29getting back
21:30to his
21:31original glory.
21:32It would be
21:33so nice
21:34to see it
21:34full of people
21:35having fun
21:36and dancing.
21:43In Oakland,
21:44California,
21:45is a faded relic
21:47that fostered
21:48a movement
21:48whose impact
21:49is still felt
21:50to this day.
21:55This area
21:56has an industrial
21:57feel to it.
21:58There are freeways,
22:00rail lines,
22:00and an active port.
22:03Then,
22:03on the edge
22:03of a pretty
22:04residential neighborhood,
22:05you see this building
22:06unlike the rest.
22:08It's majestic
22:09and imposing
22:09with these three
22:10huge arch windows.
22:11Once you get inside,
22:15you've got light
22:15flooding in,
22:17illuminating the marble
22:18floors,
22:19you've got ornate
22:19plaster work.
22:21And then,
22:21in other parts
22:22of the structure,
22:23there's a more
22:23utilitarian space.
22:25Yet,
22:26the interior
22:27reveals little
22:28about this building's
22:29original purpose.
22:31The big giveaway
22:32is Outback.
22:34You see this set
22:36of railroad tracks
22:37heading out
22:38of the structure,
22:39so clearly
22:40it's a railroad station.
22:42This grand site
22:44was built
22:44at a time
22:45when Oakland
22:46was a city
22:47on the rise.
22:49The people
22:50that worked here
22:50were viewed
22:51as very important
22:52people in the community.
22:54That's because
22:55they did so much more
22:57than just keep
22:58the wheels turning.
23:00Their actions
23:01helped bring
23:01real change
23:02to America.
23:04This place
23:05is related
23:05to the civil rights
23:06struggle,
23:07particularly
23:07on the west coast.
23:08because so much
23:10of the organizing
23:10happened here.
23:12Their battle
23:13would inspire
23:13leaders for
23:14generations to come.
23:22I am a third
23:23generation
23:24West Oakland resident.
23:26So I've got
23:27deep, deep roots
23:28in this community
23:29and I'm incredibly
23:30proud of it.
23:32David Peters
23:33is the founder
23:34of the Black
23:35Liberation
23:35Walking Tour.
23:36This long
23:38forgotten station
23:39is an important
23:40stop on his route.
23:42What a sense
23:43of awe
23:44and wonder
23:44I'm feeling
23:45right now
23:46to be able
23:46to be in this
23:47place that has
23:48so much history.
23:50You know,
23:50many people
23:51think that
23:52the resistance
23:53movement in Oakland
23:54started with the
23:54Black Panthers
23:55and there's a reason
23:56for that,
23:56but they didn't just
23:57spring out of nowhere
23:58and this place
23:59is integral
24:00to that.
24:01I can feel
24:02goosebumps
24:02on my arms
24:03right now
24:04as I talk
24:04about it.
24:06The story
24:07of struggle
24:08that unfolded
24:09within these walls
24:10all began
24:11with a marvel
24:12of American
24:13engineering.
24:15Originally,
24:16Oakland was just
24:17a small town
24:17at the edge
24:18of the bay,
24:18but its fortunes
24:19massively changed
24:21with the arrival
24:21of the Transcontinental
24:22Railroad
24:23in 1869.
24:25One thing a lot
24:25of people don't realize
24:26is that it didn't
24:28go all the way
24:28to San Francisco.
24:29It actually ended
24:30here in Oakland.
24:32Passengers would
24:33get off the trains
24:34and go to a nearby
24:35ferry terminal
24:36to take a ferry
24:37across the bay
24:38to the city
24:39of San Francisco.
24:41By the early 1900s,
24:43the existing
24:44wooden railway station
24:45couldn't support
24:46the increasing
24:47number of travelers
24:48or their baggage.
24:51In 1912,
24:53the Southern Pacific
24:54Railroad unveiled
24:55a grand new
24:56terminus.
24:58This is Oakland's
24:5916th Street Station.
25:02Driven by the
25:03railroad industry,
25:04Oakland's economy
25:05was booming
25:05and its population
25:07was skyrocketing.
25:09Many of those
25:09migrating to the city
25:10were African-Americans
25:11looking for a new life
25:13away from the racism
25:14and segregation
25:15of the Jim Crow South.
25:18But finding work
25:20was no easy task.
25:22One area that did
25:23become a good opportunity
25:24for black workers
25:25was in serving
25:27the clientele
25:29that rode these
25:30railroads
25:31on long-distance trips.
25:34The Transcontinental
25:35Railroads here
25:36had ultra-luxury
25:38sleeper cars
25:38called Pullman cars.
25:40These cars
25:41were an important part
25:42of the history here.
25:44It took an army
25:45of employees
25:46to deliver the indulgence
25:47that the company's
25:48founder, George Pullman,
25:49wanted to achieve.
25:51They were employed
25:53almost entirely
25:53from the African-American
25:54community.
25:55They were called
25:56the Pullman Porters
25:58and they carried out
25:59their duties
26:00with pride.
26:01Because of its vital
26:02position at one end
26:03of the Transcontinental Railroad,
26:05Oakland and this station
26:06became a very important hub
26:08for the Pullman Porters.
26:11We're in the historic
26:12baggage wing.
26:13This is the place
26:14where the Pullman Porters
26:17would have handled
26:17the servicing
26:18thousands of passengers
26:20on the trains
26:21that came through
26:22this station,
26:23dozens of trains
26:24on a daily basis.
26:26But it was difficult work
26:28and not as well paid
26:30as comparable
26:30white workers would be.
26:32The porters were expected
26:34to show up for work
26:34long before the trains
26:36departed
26:37to help passengers
26:38with their bags
26:38and to get the cars ready
26:40and that work
26:41wasn't compensated.
26:43They often worked
26:44as many as 400 hours a month
26:46with little time off
26:48and no overtime.
26:51In 1923,
26:53a man named C.L. Dellums
26:55moved from Texas
26:56to Oakland.
26:58His arrival
26:58heralded a brighter future
27:00for the Pullman Porters.
27:02When Dellums came
27:04to Oakland,
27:05he hoped to enroll
27:06in law school.
27:07To make money,
27:08he took a job
27:09as a Pullman porter.
27:11But he quickly realized
27:13that between the long hours
27:14and the low wage,
27:15he couldn't actually
27:16afford school.
27:18So, unfortunately for him
27:19and his law school dreams,
27:21but so fortunately for us,
27:22he continued to work
27:23as a porter.
27:25And C.L. Dellums
27:26immediately distinguished himself
27:27by demanding better conditions
27:30for the black workers.
27:32But the Pullman Company
27:34was resistant to change.
27:37Fortunately,
27:38Dellums wasn't on his own.
27:40In 1925,
27:43the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
27:45and Maids
27:46was founded in New York City.
27:48This was a group
27:50that wanted to unionize
27:51the porters,
27:53give them some negotiating power
27:55to demand better pay
27:57and better conditions.
27:59They clearly knew
28:01that it was going
28:01to be a struggle.
28:02The union's motto
28:03was fight or be slaves.
28:06When Dellums learned
28:08about the founding
28:09of the Brotherhood Union,
28:11he knew that this was something
28:12that he really wanted
28:13to embrace.
28:14And he helped organize
28:16the Oakland porters
28:17and maids
28:18to join the organization.
28:20Certainly here
28:21in this baggage room
28:22would have been a place
28:23where the porters
28:24were organizing
28:25and talking about
28:26their frustrations.
28:27As they sweated,
28:28carrying these bags
28:29under the pressure
28:30of time
28:31and the demand,
28:32great demands
28:33for them to hustle
28:34and move faster,
28:35that they certainly
28:36would have been
28:36very dissatisfied
28:37in this space
28:38and talking about
28:39the need for better conditions.
28:41The Pullman Company
28:43was strongly opposed
28:44to the fledgling union
28:45and refused
28:46to recognize it.
28:48It did everything
28:49in its power
28:50to stop Dellums
28:51in his tracks.
28:54Dellums himself
28:55got fired in 1927.
28:59The company claimed
29:00that he'd been found
29:00sleeping on the job,
29:02but in fact,
29:03this was a common tactic
29:04they used
29:05to get rid of people
29:07that they saw
29:07as troublemakers.
29:09So the Pullman Car Company,
29:12they used every dirty tactic,
29:14every dirty trick
29:15in the book
29:15to be able to squash
29:16this union.
29:18The company encouraged
29:20African-American staff
29:21to tell on their fellow workers
29:23and sacked employees
29:25if they joined the union.
29:27The company also transferred
29:29work away from Oakland
29:31so they could make do
29:32with fewer porters
29:33at that station.
29:35Dellums wasn't deterred
29:36and he continued
29:37and he continued the fight.
29:38In 1929,
29:39he became vice president
29:41of the entire labor union.
29:44They knew it was going
29:45to be an uphill battle
29:46and they didn't win initially,
29:48but they kept at it.
29:51It seemed that
29:51the more pressure,
29:53the more oppression,
29:54the more dirty tricks
29:55that were put on them
29:56by the rail company,
29:58the more determined
29:59they were to make
29:59this union be born.
30:00It would take
30:03one of the worst
30:04economic disasters
30:05in American history
30:06to transform
30:07the union's fortunes.
30:10In 1929,
30:12the Wall Street stock market
30:13crashed,
30:15ushering in the start
30:16of the Great Depression.
30:18The American economy
30:19hit rock bottom
30:20and something had to be done
30:21to help ordinary workers.
30:25During the New Deal
30:26under Roosevelt,
30:27laws were passed
30:28that made it easier
30:29for workers to unionize
30:31and required companies
30:33to give workers
30:34the right to bargain collectively.
30:37In 1935,
30:40the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
30:42began negotiations
30:44with the Pullman Company,
30:46demanding union recognition
30:47and a fairer contract.
30:49The Depression
30:50had hit the company
30:51profits hard
30:53and it stood vehemently opposed.
30:56But in 1937,
30:57the Porters finally won.
31:01The contract improved wages
31:02and limited hours
31:04to a maximum
31:04of 240 hours a month,
31:07which is still a lot.
31:10This was the first time
31:11in U.S. history
31:12that a black union
31:13reached a bargaining agreement
31:15with a major American company.
31:19This is a huge,
31:20huge win for the Porters.
31:22But this is not only
31:23important for the Porters,
31:24this is important for America.
31:26This is particularly important
31:27for black America
31:28and so many workers
31:29who had their aspirations
31:31for better lives
31:33tied up in this fight.
31:35You know, this freedom,
31:35this ability
31:36for this first black union
31:38to stand up
31:38to such a powerful corporation
31:41to be recognized
31:42is amazing.
31:43After the Brotherhood's monumental victory,
31:47the 16th Street Station
31:48continued to provide jobs
31:50for Porters, maids,
31:51and other staff.
31:52But the winds of change
31:53were blowing.
31:55In the 1950s and 60s,
31:56with the rise of the automobile
31:58and airplane,
31:59fewer people relied
32:00on passenger trains
32:01for long-distance travel.
32:03And the number of Porters
32:04steadily declined.
32:06Yet the impact
32:08of the men and women
32:09who worked
32:09at the 16th Street Station
32:11would never be forgotten.
32:13The legacy
32:14of the Porters
32:15is impossible
32:17to overestimate.
32:19The fight
32:19for civil rights
32:20in C.L. Dellums
32:21went so far
32:22just beyond
32:23the organizing
32:23of the union.
32:24Oakland is known
32:25to many
32:26as birthplace
32:27to movements
32:27like the Black Panther Party
32:29and as a center
32:30of grassroots activism
32:31and Black nationalism
32:32to this very day.
32:33But those movements
32:34are part of a much
32:36longer tradition
32:37that stretches back
32:38to the incredible work
32:39of C.L. Dellums
32:40and the Pullman Porters.
32:47C.L. Dellums
32:48continued to live
32:50in West Oakland
32:50until his death
32:51in 1989.
32:54But that same year,
32:56a natural disaster
32:57struck
32:57that meant
32:58the 16th Street Station
33:00had reached
33:01the end of the line.
33:03The 1989
33:04Loma Prieta earthquake
33:05was the final blow
33:06and in fact
33:07it sustained
33:08significant damage
33:09and had to be closed.
33:10Currently,
33:11greatly concerned
33:12about the future
33:13of this station.
33:14It's essential
33:14that this space
33:15be preserved.
33:16It's so important
33:17to Oakland
33:18and so important
33:18to the Bay Area.
33:20It's critical
33:21to understand
33:22our past
33:23to know
33:23where we're going
33:24in the future.
33:29In southern
33:30Croatia
33:31is an overgrown compound
33:33that became embroiled
33:35in the fate
33:35of a nation.
33:40At the tip
33:41of this peninsula
33:42is a really dramatic
33:43sight,
33:44this great stone building.
33:46It looks like
33:46it's been standing watch
33:48for hundreds of years.
33:49But as we move
33:50along the coastline,
33:52we can see
33:53much more
33:54modern structures.
33:55So obviously,
33:57this has been
33:58an important place
33:59for a long time.
34:00But why?
34:02This is a tiny
34:03point of land,
34:05but it's a point
34:06of power.
34:07It controls
34:08access
34:09to the Bay Beyond.
34:12In the 1990s,
34:14that access
34:14was violently fought over
34:16and this cliffside
34:18citadel
34:18played a vital role
34:20in the chaos
34:20that followed.
34:23This was a time
34:24when neighbors,
34:26literal neighbors,
34:28became sworn enemies.
34:31A foreign force
34:32was sent
34:32to keep
34:33the entire region
34:34from going up
34:34in flames.
34:36They came
34:37to be peacekeepers,
34:40but there was
34:41no peace
34:42to keep.
34:43Croatia
34:50used to be
34:52part
34:53of the
34:54Austro-Hungarian
34:55Empire
34:56and Croatia
34:57was where
34:59the
35:00Austro-Hungarian
35:01Empire
35:02based
35:04its
35:04Mediterranean
35:06fleet.
35:07The Austrians
35:09built a series
35:09of fortifications
35:10along the
35:11Bay of Couture,
35:12including
35:13this grand stone
35:14fortress
35:14at the tip
35:15of Treblaka.
35:17For almost
35:18100 years,
35:19this fort
35:20stood guard
35:21over the mouth
35:22of the Bay.
35:23But when
35:24the Austro-Hungarian
35:25Empire collapsed
35:26after the First
35:27World War,
35:28a new country
35:29called Yugoslavia
35:30was formed
35:31in the region.
35:32It was comprised
35:34of six republics,
35:35including
35:36Croatia,
35:37Slovenia,
35:39Montenegro
35:40and Serbia.
35:42Yugoslavia
35:43was created
35:44on the theory
35:45that all
35:47of the Slavic
35:48states
35:49in the Balkans
35:50were all
35:52brethren.
35:53But it was a
35:54diverse and tenuous
35:55coalition.
35:57For years,
35:58Yugoslavia
35:59was held together
36:00by the
36:02dictator
36:03of Yugoslavia,
36:05Josip Broj,
36:07Tito.
36:08Tito
36:09was sufficiently
36:10powerful
36:11to keep it
36:12all together.
36:14By the 1950s,
36:16the old
36:17fortress
36:17at Prevlaka
36:18had become
36:19obsolete
36:19and Tito
36:21decided
36:21he needed
36:22to modernize
36:23and expand
36:24the stronghold.
36:26Yugoslavia's
36:27geographical position
36:28made it
36:29a potential
36:29target
36:30for Cold War
36:31rivals
36:31on both
36:32sides
36:32of the globe.
36:33Tito
36:34was always
36:36concerned
36:37that
36:38either
36:39the West
36:40or
36:41the Soviet
36:42Union
36:42would try
36:43to attack
36:45Yugoslavia
36:46to control
36:47Yugoslavia.
36:50And
36:50Tito
36:51had to
36:52prepare
36:53to defend
36:54his Adriatic
36:55coast
36:56against
36:57all
36:58comers.
37:00The Tito
37:01regime
37:02then fits
37:03these fortifications
37:04out with
37:04a helipad,
37:06new bunkers
37:06and new
37:07radar stations
37:09to detect
37:09incoming threats.
37:12It was called
37:13the Prevlaka
37:14military base.
37:16As it turned
37:17out,
37:18the enemy
37:18that threatened
37:19Yugoslavia's borders
37:21didn't come
37:22from east
37:22or west.
37:24The threat
37:26instead came
37:26from within
37:27and it would
37:28send shockwaves
37:29across this
37:30entire region.
37:32Tito died
37:33in 1980.
37:35At that point,
37:37there was
37:37nothing holding
37:39Yugoslavia
37:41together anymore.
37:43Slovenia,
37:44Croatia,
37:45they secede.
37:49Yugoslavia
37:49starts to
37:50disintegrate.
37:51But the powerful
37:53Serbian
37:54President Slobodan
37:55Milosevic
37:56still controlled
37:57the Yugoslav
37:58people's army
37:59and retained
38:00the support
38:01of Montenegro.
38:03Together,
38:04they were not
38:04going to let
38:05Croatia leave
38:06the Union
38:06without a fight.
38:09And so
38:10instead of
38:11a peaceful
38:13departure,
38:15there was
38:15going to be
38:16a war.
38:16And of
38:18course,
38:19the Serbs
38:19and the Croats
38:20and the
38:20Montenegrins
38:21battle over
38:22these forts
38:22at the southern
38:23tip of
38:23Croatia.
38:25If Croatia
38:26controls
38:28Pravlakha,
38:30then Croatia
38:31is going
38:32to control
38:33the biggest
38:34natural
38:35harbor
38:36in the
38:37former
38:37Yugoslavia.
38:39On the
38:3923rd of
38:40September
38:411991,
38:42the Yugoslav
38:43people's army
38:44advanced into
38:45southern
38:45Croatia.
38:47Their aim
38:48was to crush
38:49the Croatian
38:50drive for
38:50independence
38:51and to
38:52seize control
38:53of strategically
38:54important sites
38:55like the
38:56Pravlakha
38:57military base.
39:00Historian
39:00Ivan Vidjan
39:01is an expert
39:02on this
39:03facility.
39:05So this
39:06area saw
39:06a lot of
39:07military action
39:08in autumn
39:081991 because
39:09Serbian
39:10and Montenegrin
39:11forces invaded
39:12south of
39:13Croatia.
39:13unfortunately
39:15a lot of
39:16heavy bombing
39:16and a lot
39:17of atrocities
39:18have been
39:19done in
39:20this area.
39:22European
39:22countries
39:23quickly realized
39:24that if they
39:25did not
39:26stop the
39:27conflict
39:28in the
39:28former
39:28Yugoslavia
39:29in its
39:30tracks,
39:31there would
39:31be massive
39:32refugee flows
39:33out of
39:35Yugoslavia
39:36and the
39:37Yugoslav states
39:38into the rest
39:39of Europe
39:39they had
39:41to stop
39:42the war.
39:43An intervention
39:44was needed
39:45and it would
39:45take place
39:46here on
39:47the peninsula
39:47of Pravlakha.
39:50Montenegro
39:50and Serbia
39:52say that they
39:53should control
39:54Pravlakha
39:55peninsula.
39:56The Croats
39:56say no,
39:57it's part of
39:58Croatia.
39:58And the
39:59answer was
40:00demilitarize
40:02the Pravlakha
40:03peninsula.
40:04On the
40:0620th of
40:07October
40:071992,
40:09United
40:09Nations
40:10peacekeepers
40:11descended
40:11on Pravlakha
40:12in an
40:13attempt
40:14to restore
40:15order.
40:18The main
40:19reason for
40:20sending this
40:20mission here
40:21was to
40:22at first
40:23ease the
40:24conflict
40:24and then
40:25to
40:26transform
40:26a military
40:27question
40:28into a
40:28diplomatic
40:29one.
40:29At that
40:30moment,
40:30the UN
40:31military
40:32mission
40:32was a
40:32success
40:33because
40:33the
40:34Yugoslav
40:34army
40:35evacuated
40:35the
40:36peninsula
40:36and then
40:37the
40:38international
40:38political
40:39community
40:40recognized
40:41this part
40:41of
40:42Croatian
40:42territory
40:43as
40:44undisputably
40:45Croatian.
40:46In
40:47theory,
40:48Pravlakha
40:49is
40:49Croatian
40:50territory,
40:52but
40:52there are
40:53no
40:53Croatian
40:54soldiers
40:55in the
40:56garrison.
40:59Demilitarizing
41:00the Pravlakha
41:01peninsula
41:01doesn't make
41:02anybody
41:02happy.
41:04but
41:04it
41:05keeps
41:06the
41:06peninsula
41:07peaceful.
41:09The
41:10Croatian
41:11war of
41:11independence
41:12raged on
41:13until
41:13November
41:141995.
41:16Tens
41:17of
41:17thousands
41:17lost
41:18their
41:18lives.
41:20The
41:21Pravlakha
41:21peninsula
41:22remained a
41:23source of
41:23dispute
41:24throughout
41:24the
41:24conflict
41:25and
41:25beyond.
41:27In
41:282002,
41:29Croatia and
41:29Montenegro
41:30finally agreed
41:31on a temporary
41:31solution.
41:32It stipulated
41:33that Croatia
41:34received control
41:35of the entire
41:36peninsula as
41:37well as some
41:37of the waters
41:38around it.
41:39Following the
41:40settlement,
41:41the United
41:41Nations
41:42peacekeepers
41:43were finally
41:43able to
41:44leave.
41:46Pravlakha
41:46has been
41:47abandoned
41:47ever since.
41:48today,
41:54the Pravlakha
41:55peninsula
41:56still belongs
41:57to Croatia,
41:58but debate
41:59continues to
42:00rage over
42:01its right
42:01to control
42:02the area.
42:05It's
42:06still
42:06grit in
42:08the gears
42:08between
42:09Croatia,
42:11Serbia,
42:12and
42:12Montenegro,
42:13but because
42:14it's still
42:15demilitarized,
42:17Pravlakha
42:18is no
42:19longer
42:20a potential
42:21battlefield.
42:47The
42:51other
42:53time
42:53is
42:55the
42:55part
42:56in
42:56the
42:57world
42:57and
42:57the
42:57world
42:58has been
42:58in
42:58the
42:58world
42:59has been
43:00to try to
43:00get a
43:01better.
43:01The
43:01world
43:02will be
43:02the
43:03world
43:03will be
43:04the
43:05world
43:05ever
43:05and
43:06the
43:06world
43:07will be
43:07the
43:08world
43:09will be
43:10to try to
Be the first to comment