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00:00Perched atop Europe's towering hills, along the banks of its grand rivers, and within the beating heart of its most lucrative trade centers, stand the bastions of its past.
00:13The majestic castles of former kingdoms.
00:16For centuries, these structures have stood as silent sentinels of history, weathering wars and enduring the elements even as progress engulfed the world around them.
00:26But when the ominous shadow of the Third Reich falls across the continent, these once mighty fortresses are transformed into symbols of a new and foreboding era.
00:37As the Nazis unleash their brutal conquest of Europe, these structures, left behind by regimes of the past, take on a new significance.
00:45They're seized and repurposed to serve the dark ambitions of the Reich.
00:50The Nazis' relentless advance leaves no stone unturned.
00:54One by one, the castles of Central Europe succumb to the regime's iron grip, each restored to a twisted version of their former glory.
01:03This brash conquest of architecture brings Hitler closer to his vision of dominance, a Nazi Reich built on the foundations of Europe's storied past.
01:13The Nazis are going to claim and repurpose these castles for a variety of reasons.
01:19These castles could be used as military bases, as military headquarters, for smaller operations, smaller regional operations.
01:27These once majestic structures have slowly transformed into the underbelly of the Nazi war machine.
01:34Yet beyond the stagnant moats and the tall fortress walls, the activities that transpire within remain shrouded in secrecy, largely hidden from the world until the collapse of the regime.
01:46Why were these castles specifically picked by the Reich? What dark dealings were concealed behind the walls?
01:53Caracterized by their formidable walls, rugged stonework and imposing silhouettes, castles are the architectural marvels that once even bare contained in the walls!
02:12Characterized by their formidable walls, rugged stonework, and imposing silhouettes,
02:20castles are the architectural marvels that once shaped the landscape of medieval Europe.
02:26Often equipped with defensive towers, moats, and a labyrinth of chambers,
02:30these structures are built to keep enemies out, and the secrets of their dynasties within.
02:36Far more than defensive strongholds, here stand the political headquarters
02:41where the fate of a kingdom is decided by both pen and sword, the epicenter of near-absolute power.
02:48These structures have been around for a long, long time,
02:51and as different cultures, different people influence these structures, they change, they morph.
02:57You can sort of see the postmark of a particular influence.
03:01In the 20th century, despite their prominent place in the European landscape,
03:07many of these castles were no longer used as centers of power.
03:11Some castles were still the center of power for rulers, others were occupied by noble families,
03:16but many more had become tourist attractions or had been converted into hospitals,
03:20and some had even been abandoned and fallen into disrepair.
03:23Yet, for some, the dwindling significance of Europe's prestigious properties make them all the more alluring,
03:31and soon many would be consolidated under the control of Europe's most evil regime.
03:37Germany, 1933.
03:39As Hitler's political ambitions take hold, so too does his vision for reshaping the architectural landscape of Europe.
03:48Foreseeing an empire of unprecedented might, he enlists the aid of Albert Speer,
03:53one of the nation's finest architects.
03:55Albert Speer is a committed Nazi.
03:58He is very loyal to Hitler, and Hitler really sees in him kind of this,
04:03the visionary who will be able to create a new German Reich.
04:09And together, they begin drafting the blueprint for what will become infamously known as the Thousand-Year Reich.
04:16The Thousand-Year Reich was Hitler's attempt to try and rebuild a modern Roman empire,
04:22but in his own twisted racial vision.
04:24And so this was an empire that was going to be inhabited by racially pure Aryans.
04:29He uses these structures as political tools, capable of instilling fear and awe to crowds.
04:38Architecture is really important in this pursuit to establish a Thousand-Year Reich.
04:44In his role as dictator, Hitler uses architecture as an instrument of power.
04:50In the lands beneath the German flag, however, preservation is paramount.
04:54In addition to erecting new architectural showpieces, Hitler claims thousands of existing structures
05:01as rebranded monuments of the SS, the most impressive of which are the age-old palaces of Central Europe.
05:09As Nazi influence spreads across Germany and beyond,
05:13the region's most magnificent castles are folded into the arms of the Reich.
05:18But what use could Hitler make of these centuries-old buildings,
05:22some of which had been long vacant and now stood dilapidated?
05:30Though no longer serving the need of a kingdom,
05:33the grandeur of some palaces has been meticulously maintained since their inception in the Middle Ages.
05:38One such structure is the 9th century Prague Castle that looms over the capital of modern-day Czech Republic.
05:45This castle has essentially been built up to be a city within a city.
05:50It encompasses everything, from palaces to offices to churches and even gardens.
05:56It's been the seat of power for rulers, kings and presidents for over a thousand years.
06:01For centuries, Prague Castle stands as an emblem of bohemian pride and sovereignty.
06:08From this historic seat of power, the region's most influential rulers have governed.
06:12And in 1939, one man is intent on claiming it for himself.
06:18As the Nazi party gains control of Germany, Hitler is all consumed by a lust for power.
06:24He soon sets his eyes on the military and economic resources of the neighboring Czechoslovakia.
06:29In March 1939, when Hitler presents his ultimatum to Czech president Emil Hatcher,
06:37Hatcher finds himself in a horrific situation.
06:40He's being told by Hitler,
06:41If you don't surrender your country to me, I will unleash fire and fury and destroy it with my army.
06:47Ultimately, he decides to spare the many lives that would certainly be lost in battle and surrenders his nation to Hitler.
06:54Some sources say this was such a tense decision that Hatcher suffers a heart attack as a result.
07:00Hitler's forced invasion of Czechoslovakia is the first step in his planned occupation of Europe.
07:05At the break of dawn, Nazi troops flood the border, their Führer close behind.
07:11And as they push into the Czechoslovakian capital, Hitler brashly seizes the seat of authority,
07:17the presidential office and dwelling of Prague Castle.
07:21It's a conscious, symbolic move by Hitler to arrive in Prague Castle and have himself photographed there in 1939.
07:28And this picture served great propaganda purposes.
07:30They even used it on a postage stamp.
07:32Why?
07:32It's showing Hitler as the latest ruler in this long line of Bohemian rulers.
07:37With Hitler's arrival, Czechoslovakia is no more.
07:41In its place rises the protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, now a mere extension of Nazi Germany.
07:48Hitler's cruel conquest of Europe has begun.
07:53On the Führer's first night enclosed in the ancient castle walls,
07:56Hitler is said to proudly survey his new possession.
08:00One that harbors the finest treasure in all the land.
08:04Locked away in the castle, St. Vita's Cathedral, lies a chamber of glittering gold.
08:09In the sacred chapel corner, behind a door guarded by the spirits of saints interred on this site,
08:14is an impenetrable iron vault.
08:16Here, secured by seven individual locks, rests the Bohemian Crown Jewels,
08:22priceless ornaments donned in royal coronations since the 14th century.
08:26The Bohemian Crown Jewels represent Czech peoplehood and sovereignty,
08:32and they connect the contemporary Czechoslovakian state to a long history of independence and sovereignty.
08:39The Crown Jewels include a number of precious items amassed throughout the castle's history.
08:44This includes the St. Wenceslas' crown, which is a masterpiece of pure gold encasing more than a hundred precious stones.
08:54The seven keys to the crown jewels are traditionally dispersed among the nation's most revered political and religious figures,
09:02including, most notably, the president.
09:05Yet, as Hitler's forces stormed the castle,
09:08Emile Hatcher is forced to relinquish his key to the invaders.
09:12The castle and the precious heirlooms it guards fall to Hitler's trusted official and perhaps one of the darkest minds of the Reich.
09:20But Einhard Heydrich is one of the rising stars of the Nazi party when he is appointed as the Reich protector of Bohemia and Moravia.
09:27But at this time, he has turned himself into one of the most powerful members of the Third Reich.
09:33Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, is de facto right-hand man.
09:38Hitler himself calls Heydrich the Man with the Iron Heart, but he's more widely regarded as the Butcher of Prague.
09:45Under his rule, thousands of dissenting citizens face execution,
09:49while tens of thousands more perish in the squalid conditions of his ghetto or the brutal concentration camps that it services.
09:56All the while, in the comforts of the castle,
09:58Heydrich is said to familiarize himself with the riches locked behind the chapel walls.
10:04We don't know for sure, but rumors have always held that Heydrich was particularly interested in and even obsessed with the Bohemian crown jewels.
10:12And people even say that he actually put the St. Wenceslas crown on his head.
10:16Local law warns that any usurper who dares to don the St. Wenceslas crown is doomed to meet a gruesome end within a year's time.
10:25Though it remains uncertain whether Heydrich truly places the crown upon his head,
10:30he lasts a mere eight months in Prague before his vicious day of reckoning arrives.
10:34The resistance movement that grows up in occupied Czechoslovakia really has their sights set on killing him.
10:43And one group eventually is successful.
10:47A grenade was thrown at the vehicle and detonated just outside of the car, mortally wounding Heydrich.
10:53Heydrich doesn't die immediately, but he does succumb to his wounds a couple of days later.
10:58Heydrich's death, however, means little to a regime intent on maintaining their claim by any means necessary.
11:05Within just 24 hours, another SS commander takes his place, holding the Reich's ominous control from the palace over Prague.
11:16In the northern reaches of the East Prussian province, another ancient fort is transformed into a Nazi institution.
11:24Among the first of the castles to fall to the Reich is Marienburg, today known as Malbork.
11:30A sprawling brick compound in modern-day Poland, this colossal structure is the largest castle in the world by land area,
11:38occupying a plot of 52 acres or over 210,000 square meters along the edge of the river Noga.
11:46This castle is unique.
11:49When I look at it, you immediately recognize the color of it.
11:52It doesn't look like that sort of fairytale vision of what a castle might be.
11:57Marienburg Castle is a massive red brick structure that's situated in what was once known as East Prussia.
12:04It's believed that this structure is built up from more than 30 million individual bricks.
12:11That castle was a former castle of the Teutonic Knights.
12:17The Teutonic Knights were a kind of a crusading order of warrior monks, just like the crusaders that went to Jerusalem,
12:26except they went east into Russia, into what will become Russia, into what will become the Ukraine and Poland.
12:36The castle is in Ordensburg, a fortified monastery designed to cement the hold of the Baltic lands
12:42by acting as both a defensive fort and a launch point for further invasions in the region.
12:46That history allowed Hitler to link his Nazi movement with this medieval Germanic society,
12:54and he liked to do that a lot, whether it's Vikings or the Teutonic Knights or old Germanic religion.
13:00He liked to claim that what he was doing was a continuation and a revitalization of what he saw as true Germanic heritage,
13:07whether that's religious, military, or cultural.
13:10In 1933, the Nazi flag is hoisted above the high castle.
13:13Once a relic of the Middle Ages, Marienburg is transformed into an ideological nerve center of the Reich,
13:20a new iteration of the Ordensburg, no longer guarding a monastic society, but rather the education of Nazi elite.
13:28So Hitler's aim is not only to establish the Nazi regime, but ensure that that regime is upheld by future generations of Germans.
13:37So the role of these schools was to produce the next generation of politicians, civil servants, and generals
13:45who were going to succeed in the continued administration of the Third Reich.
13:50The Ordensburg curriculum is completed in four phases at different castles across the Reich.
13:56Hitler envisions Marienburg as the final, crucial enrollment before the indoctrination of its pupils is complete.
14:02The sprawling campus is planned to house 1,000 students and 500 hand-picked staff members at a time.
14:10Its spacious courtyard will be filled with the crack of live-fire military drills,
14:15and its lecture halls will echo with the impassioned political rhetoric,
14:18the perfect facility to forge a new generation of German might.
14:23Marienburg was the ideal place to set up this project.
14:26It was incredibly spacious, and most of its facilities had been well-maintained over the years.
14:31With infrastructure complete and the program approved, Marienburg is readied for its first students.
14:38But in 1939, the siren of war abruptly halts enrollment as young men are diverted to duties along the front lines.
14:46But the castle grounds don't fall silent.
14:49Instead, the building's grand refectory comes alive with nationalist zeal.
14:53The grand refectory is the largest hall in the Marienburg castle complex.
14:58It has huge vaulted roofs and 14 tall windows.
15:04Prior to occupation, this room was a very ceremonial room, but a celebratory one.
15:09It was where feasts would be had, king's feasts with the various royalty,
15:14and it would be a place of celebration and lightness.
15:17As plans for an Ordenberg are set aside, the castle gates remained open to an entire population of Hitler youth.
15:25Here, beneath the magnificent vaulted ceilings of the grand refectory,
15:29the children of the Reich will conclude a political pilgrimage by swearing an eternal oath to their glorified Fuhrer.
15:35Why bring children so far from the heart of Germany to swear this oath in some of the most far-flung reaches of Hitler's empire?
15:45They established the Hitler Youth as well as the League of German Girls.
15:50So boys and girls are going to be enlisted.
15:53Hitler Youth are shuttled to Marienburg in droves, where they swear allegiance to Hitler beneath the blood banner,
16:07a Nazi flag said to be soaked by the blood of Nazi martyrs.
16:11As it billows above the borderlands, penants of the Teutonic knighthood are soon ceremoniously revived across the castle grounds.
16:18By 1936, Hitler mandated that German children were to join these youth organizations.
16:25Now, obviously, what he meant by that was that children that are considered to be Aryan would join.
16:30Those who are not would obviously be forbidden.
16:32Propagandists declare a day of return to ancient symbols of the order,
16:36a spectacle designed to captivate their most impressionable adolescent minds.
16:41Hitler famously said, whoever has the youth has the future.
16:44And what he really means by that is that if you can control the minds of the youth,
16:50you can ensure that they think the way that you want them to do when they become adults in the future.
16:56As a young man, Adolf Hitler himself was captivated by the romantic allure of European castles.
17:02Long before his sinister ambitions took hold,
17:05his sketchbook was filled with the intricate details of towering stone facades
17:09and imposing turrets that adorned the German countryside.
17:11For Hitler, these drawings were more than mere artistic exercise,
17:16but windows into a world of potential, a dream waiting to be seized.
17:21Among these architectural musings was Neuschwanstein Castle,
17:25a majestic structure nestled in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps.
17:29This castle, it's iconic.
17:31It is in this mountainous region with forests, deep forests,
17:36and it's positioned on an elevated point,
17:41and it looks like it's out of a dream.
17:46This actually inspired Walt Disney for the Magic Kingdom,
17:49and you can see that parallel.
17:50It's quite clear there.
17:52Unlike its medieval counterparts scattered across Central Europe,
17:55this mist-shrouded fortress is dated to just the 19th century,
18:00an era that rarely saw new castles being erected.
18:03Born from the whimsical desires of an extravagant monarch,
18:07it stands as a monument to aesthetics rather than authority.
18:11Neuschwanstein Castle is commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria,
18:16and Ludwig II is also referred to as Mad King Ludwig,
18:21and he was a great patron of the arts.
18:24He was very interested in art and music.
18:27He loved the music of Richard Wagner,
18:30but he was also a quiet man
18:33who wanted to be able to find a place where he could kind of retire
18:36and be away from kind of the hustle and bustle of his daily activities.
18:41Another fan of Wagner is Adolf Hitler.
18:47Murals of Wagner's Parsifal Opera illuminate the singer's hall,
18:51while paintings of European folktales enliven the parlors and study.
18:56As beautiful inside as it is out,
18:58this private paradise cements Ludwig II's legacy as the fairy tale king.
19:03However, he himself only enjoys its splendor for a brief time.
19:07In 1886, before the castle can be completed,
19:10he drowns under mysterious circumstances.
19:13And half a century later,
19:15Hitler's watercolor fantasy is brought to life
19:18as the Nazis claim Neuschwanstein as their own.
19:21In a region engulfed by war,
19:23why would the Nazis invest resources
19:26into this secluded bastion tucked away in the Alps?
19:30It's not until May of 1945,
19:33as the Reich begins to crumble beneath the Allied onslaught,
19:36that the true purpose of this castle is unveiled.
19:38Tracing a trail of records from a museum in France,
19:43a special Allied task unit famously known as the Monuments Men
19:47is led up the winding path to Neuschwanstein.
19:50On the eve of the Nazi surrender in Bavaria,
19:52they enter the unguarded palace,
19:55unaware of the staggering discovery that awaits within its walls.
19:58The Monuments Men were a group of Allied soldiers
20:01with a background in art history or curation or museum work,
20:04and their goal was to protect priceless cultural treasures
20:08from the depravities of war.
20:10As the Allies pushed into Germany and Nazis began to surrender,
20:15the Monuments Men were tasked with finding and recovering plundered art,
20:19works of art that were stolen and pillaged by the Reich.
20:21They knew that this happened,
20:24but they really weren't aware of the extent.
20:26When the Monuments Men enter Neuschwanstein
20:30and discover this cache of over 20,000 artifacts and items
20:36that had been looted by the Nazis,
20:39they notice that there is, in the corner of these works of art,
20:44the inscription ERR.
20:46Hidden behind the ornate doors of the palace chambers
20:50lies a dark wartime secret.
20:54Neuschwanstein Castle, once a peaceful sanctuary,
20:57has been transformed into a storehouse of plunder.
21:00ERR stands for the Reichsleiter-Rosenberg Task Force.
21:06The ERR was established by Hitler,
21:08and the directive was to go into museums, libraries,
21:13libraries, and families, personal homes,
21:17and take any items and artifacts of any value.
21:21Room after room is crammed with crates, shelves, and chests
21:25overflowing with priceless relics.
21:27Furniture and sculptures are piled high to the ceilings.
21:31The Nazis kept meticulous records,
21:33and that habit or that practice
21:35benefits the Monuments Men in their mission.
21:37It helps them establish the provenance of these paintings
21:41that were looted and plundered.
21:42So I think Hitler also did have this ambition
21:45to develop the Fuhrer Museum,
21:47and obviously to make that museum world-class,
21:50and one that would have the best pieces of art
21:55from around Europe was probably something
21:59that Hitler was aspiring to.
22:02Throughout the course of the war,
22:03it's estimated that the ERR is responsible
22:06for the theft of over 2 million artworks
22:08and 3 million culturally important books.
22:11To store their poached goods,
22:13the Nazi organization sets up a regional headquarters
22:16at Neuschwanstein,
22:17and beneath the castle's fairy-tale facade,
22:20a full-scale looting operation unfurls.
22:23Neuschwanstein is this incredible secluded castle,
22:30really in the middle of nowhere,
22:31in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps.
22:34However, clearing the castle of its ill-gotten loot
22:40would prove to be a grueling task.
22:43Navigating this castle is difficult,
22:46let alone it being packed with crates
22:49and boxes of precious pieces of art
22:53and sculptures and various artifacts.
22:56One by one, the monument's men must carefully carry
22:59600 crates of invaluable treasures
23:01down four floors of steep, winding staircases,
23:05a process that takes over six weeks to complete.
23:09Clearing that out, moving that,
23:12is a project on its own as well.
23:15While Neuschwanstein will long be remembered
23:17as a gilded cage for stolen valuables,
23:20a different kind of clandestine operation unfolds
23:22some 500 kilometers to the north
23:24in the German state of Saxony.
23:27Here, concealed behind chapel walls,
23:29lavatories and phantom partitions,
23:32a maze of hand-chiseled tunnels
23:33snakes beneath the grounds of Kolditz Castle,
23:36not dug by the Nazis,
23:38but by those they have captured.
23:41Kolditz Castle is a Renaissance-era fortress
23:43that sits atop a hill overlooking the Molde River.
23:47In a castle of this scale,
23:49there are several passageways.
23:51There are nooks and crannies.
23:52There are big cellars.
23:53There are thick walls.
23:55Sound doesn't necessarily translate
23:56through these thick walls.
23:59Over its history,
24:00it's been used for a number of different purposes,
24:02including a zoo and a psychiatric hospital,
24:05but always with the intention
24:07of keeping its residents contained within.
24:10The seemingly impenetrable Kolditz Castle
24:12rests atop a steep, craggy hill
24:14and is encircled by a two-metre-thick wall.
24:17Each door is guarded
24:18and each window fortified with strong iron bars.
24:22And the reason for this is Kolditz
24:23is where the Germans put their most problematic POWs.
24:27And what I mean by problematic,
24:29the ones that were the most effective at escaping.
24:35However, as resistance begins to simmer,
24:37only a select class of prisoners
24:39are chosen to be contained here,
24:41high-ranking officials who are prone to escape.
24:45So Kolditz Castle is a little bit of a paradox.
24:47So on the one side,
24:48you've got this amazing fortress
24:49that you can securely place
24:51all these problematic POWs
24:53that are regularly escaping.
24:55But by putting them all together,
24:58you're allowing all these escape artists
25:00to collaborate with each other.
25:01So in many aspects,
25:02you're creating a whole new problem.
25:05Escape attempts were numerous
25:06throughout World War II,
25:08and some Allied officers
25:09were especially talented in this pursuit.
25:12For those that were caught in the act,
25:14many of them would be funneled
25:15to Kolditz Castle,
25:16now known as Oflag IVC.
25:19To locate your prison facility
25:22away from the borders of any states,
25:28any other states,
25:30means that once you escape that prison,
25:33if you manage to escape the prison,
25:35traversing all that distance
25:38without getting caught
25:39is survivability, really.
25:41That's the issue.
25:44Oflag IVC quickly gained infamy
25:46across Europe
25:47for being the only German prison
25:48with more guards than inmates.
25:51For prisoners to achieve a clean break,
25:53they must navigate a series
25:54of daunting obstacles,
25:57descending unnoticed to the main floor,
25:58crossing terraces under armed watch
26:01and clearing a courtyard
26:02with just two exit points.
26:04If they can make it here,
26:06then they must surmount
26:07a barrier of barbed wire
26:08and scale a massive defensive wall,
26:11beyond which lies a 75-meter drop
26:13into the murky river below.
26:15In the eyes of the Nazis,
26:16Kolditz is escape-proof,
26:18but nothing will stop
26:19their inmates from trying.
26:21Now, despite being
26:21one of the most heavily fortified prisons,
26:24Castle Kolditz actually has
26:27the highest success rate
26:28for escapes.
26:32Because of the intricacies
26:33of the circulation
26:35throughout this building,
26:37there's blind spots.
26:39The guards would not be able
26:41to have eyes on
26:42all of these different locations,
26:43and the group of prisoners here
26:46were experts in exploiting
26:48those blind spots
26:49and creating distractions
26:51and creating opportunities
26:52to squirrel away
26:54in a small area
26:56that's unsupervised
26:58and start digging a tunnel.
26:59In April 1941,
27:01French officer Alain Loret
27:03becomes the first
27:04off-flag 4C captive
27:05to flee the castle cells,
27:07covertly darting
27:08into an outbuilding
27:09during a guarded exertion
27:11to the prison park.
27:12Many others
27:13that attempt to follow
27:14utilize a maze of tunnels
27:15burrowed through
27:16the castle grounds,
27:17including Le Metro,
27:19a 140-meter-long shaft
27:21maneuvering through
27:21a clock tower,
27:23two floors of cellars,
27:24and ending just steps
27:25from the edge
27:26of the Kolditz cliff.
27:28Kolditz contains
27:29a number of hidden passageways,
27:32large cellars,
27:33and thick walls,
27:34which create a number
27:35of nooks and crannies
27:36that prisoners can exploit
27:38to assist
27:39in their attempts to escape.
27:41The most daring
27:42escape pursuit of all,
27:43however,
27:44is set to be airborne,
27:45using a blind spot
27:46on the tall chapel roof
27:48and a makeshift glider plane.
27:50The engineers draft
27:51the specification
27:52for the escape glider
27:54using a textbook
27:56they actually found
27:57in the prison library.
27:58Building a glider?
28:00That's tough
28:01with limited materials.
28:02You're scrounging up
28:03whatever you can get
28:04your hands on,
28:05from bed slats
28:06to furniture,
28:08to pieces that you can
28:09pry off of that furniture,
28:11to sheet metal
28:11that you might come across,
28:13small pieces of material.
28:15And then it also needs
28:15to be light enough
28:16to fly, essentially.
28:18And these people
28:19aren't aircraft designers.
28:21They're winging it.
28:23The departure date
28:24is set for spring of 1945
28:26when a pulley system
28:27will send the 240-pound plane
28:30soaring off a wooden runway
28:31from the chapel roof.
28:33Fortunately, however,
28:34this perilous scheme
28:35is interrupted
28:36when American troops
28:37stormed the castle,
28:38liberating its detainees
28:40and rendering
28:41an escape unnecessary.
28:46Over 800 kilometers
28:48to the east,
28:49in annexed Poland,
28:50other inmates
28:51are not so fortunate.
28:53Here, in the city of Lublin,
28:54the Nazis lay claim
28:55to a 14th century
28:56Gothic fortress
28:57where the somber reach
28:59of their power
28:59truly begins to emerge.
29:02Lublin Castle
29:03is a large,
29:04rectangular-shaped fortress
29:06overlooking one
29:07of the oldest cities
29:08in Poland.
29:10In the 19th century,
29:11the castle is
29:12under Russian occupation
29:14and the Russians
29:15transform it
29:16into a prison.
29:17And it houses
29:18primarily Jewish
29:19and Polish people
29:20and they are treated
29:22really, really poorly
29:24by the Nazis.
29:26Erected on a hill
29:27that rises above
29:28a marshy plain,
29:30Lublin Castle
29:30was once a near-impregnable fort.
29:33But as Russian
29:33and later Polish
29:35authorities took hold
29:36they would transform
29:37this stronghold
29:38into a place of dread.
29:40Built to hold
29:40a maximum of 700 inmates,
29:42SS officials
29:43with callous disregard
29:44for human dignity
29:45pushed the structure
29:46far beyond its limit.
29:48The prison is overcrowded.
29:51There is a distinct
29:52lack of food.
29:54The conditions are terrible
29:55and many of the prisoners
29:56die of hunger
29:58as well as disease.
30:00Lublin Castle
30:01is chosen not just
30:02as an ordinary prison
30:03but a holding center
30:04for trials,
30:05interrogations
30:06and in many cases
30:08executions
30:08at the hands
30:09of the merciless Gestapo.
30:11Upon arrival
30:12prisoners were often taken
30:13to a building
30:14called Under the Clock
30:15named for the clock
30:16at its entrance.
30:18And there
30:18they would be subjected
30:19to brutal interrogation
30:21and torture
30:21at the hands of the Gestapo.
30:23Many people
30:24did not emerge alive.
30:29Some were ordered
30:30to remain within the horrid halls
30:32of Lublin.
30:33Others are condemned
30:34to immediate death.
30:35And yet, still worse,
30:37many are sent on
30:38to Majdanek,
30:39one of the largest
30:40concentration camps
30:41in the Reich.
30:42Immediately after the Nazis
30:44take power,
30:45they start opening
30:46concentration camps.
30:48And a Nazi concentration camp
30:49is a brutal prison
30:51that the Nazis used
30:52to put their enemies
30:54and they are to be used
30:56and exploited,
30:57whether that is used
30:59to slave labor
30:59or to be killed.
31:01Among the atrocities
31:02committed at Majdanek
31:03and other camps
31:04will be the use
31:05of an abhorrent technology,
31:07the result of a dark experiment
31:09conducted in the confines
31:10of another faraway fortress.
31:12Situated in a rural
31:15Austrian village
31:16along the River Danube,
31:18Hartheim Castle
31:19is a quintessential
31:20Renaissance-style structure
31:22built in the 17th century.
31:24Its symmetrical stone facade
31:25encloses a serene courtyard
31:27framed by four stories
31:28of classic arches.
31:30Once run by
31:31a Catholic sisterhood,
31:32the setting was a refuge
31:33for physically
31:34and intellectually disabled
31:35citizens in the North Country.
31:38At the end of the 19th century,
31:40Hartheim Castle
31:40has become
31:41a care home
31:42for the disabled
31:44and includes
31:45about 200 patients.
31:48Following the annexation
31:50of Austria to Germany,
31:51management of the facility
31:52is handed over to the Reich.
31:54Although the care home
31:55remains operational
31:56for existing patients,
31:58the Nazis abruptly
31:59restrict public access.
32:02The Nazis took this space
32:03and transformed it
32:04into a progression
32:06of death and murder.
32:08Locals begin to wonder
32:12what's happening
32:13in Hartheim home.
32:15Families are no longer
32:16allowed to visit
32:17their loved ones
32:18and people start to wonder
32:20if the patients
32:21are being taken care of.
32:23Though barred
32:24from its inner workings,
32:25soon locals
32:26can't escape
32:27the nauseating fumes
32:28that permeate
32:29their fields and streets.
32:31To quell public concern,
32:32Hartheim's director,
32:34Christian Wirth,
32:34concocts a calculated lie.
32:37The smoke, he claims,
32:38is merely the byproduct
32:39of an oil processing machine
32:41vital for German U-boats
32:42at war.
32:44However, suspicion heightens
32:45yet again
32:46when relatives
32:46of the institution's residents
32:48begin receiving
32:49a flurry of death notices.
32:51In 1939,
32:52this 4,000-square-meter building
32:55undergoes a complete transformation
32:57to accommodate
32:58its new function.
33:00The top floor
33:01is transformed
33:01into a storage area
33:02for the belongings
33:04confiscated from the prisoners.
33:05The middle two floors
33:06were turned into offices,
33:08quarters, and kitchens
33:09for use by the on-site staff.
33:11But it's the ground floor
33:12that would be transformed
33:13into a chilling
33:14new killing center.
33:15The four wings
33:17surrounding the courtyard
33:18are reconfigured
33:19into a harrowing assembly line
33:20to fulfill the agenda
33:21of the Nazis'
33:22Action T4 project.
33:25Hartheim is no longer
33:26a care facility
33:27but a center
33:28for mass extermination.
33:32Patients brought
33:32to Hartheim by bus
33:33are discreetly unloaded
33:35in a covered garage
33:35to shield their arrival
33:37from public view.
33:38They are then ushered
33:39into a series
33:40of adjoined holding rooms
33:41in the north wing
33:42where they are greeted
33:43by nurses
33:43before undergoing
33:44a cursory medical examination.
33:47The facility's renovation
33:48is designed to deceive.
33:51The prisoners were led
33:52through a series of rooms
33:53that culminated
33:55in what was called
33:55the shower room.
33:56And whenever you hear
33:57the word shower
33:58in the context
33:59of Nazi Germany
34:00you should prepare
34:01for something horrible.
34:02This seemingly standard procedure
34:04will not lead to treatment
34:05because under the
34:06Führer's command
34:07Hartheim Castle
34:08has been transformed
34:09into one of six
34:10designated euthanasia facilities
34:12in the Reich.
34:13The station of the
34:14monstrous
34:14Action T4.
34:17This was a room
34:18that they were locked inside
34:19and then poison gas
34:20was let in
34:21and they were murdered.
34:22Action T4
34:23is a covert operation
34:25initiated by the Nazis
34:26to kill people
34:28who were considered
34:29unworthy of life.
34:31In a grim Nazi experiment
34:33over a hundred individuals
34:35are trapped inside
34:36and 20 minutes later
34:37not a single person
34:39emerges alive.
34:41By 1941
34:42the volume of murders here
34:44is so high
34:45a second chimney
34:46has to be installed on site.
34:48They also disposed
34:51of a lot of the ashes
34:52by pouring them
34:53into an offshoot
34:54of the Danube River
34:55that flowed
34:56near the castle.
34:58Hartheim Castle
34:59is an effective venue
35:01for this
35:03because it is secluded
35:04and it also allows
35:06for Hitler's
35:08terrible operations
35:09to be masked.
35:11The Hartheim showers
35:12claim the lives
35:13of an estimated
35:1430,000 innocent people
35:16including children.
35:18Just a fraction
35:19of the total
35:20euthanized
35:21across Hitler's
35:21Action T4 centers.
35:24Amidst the killings
35:25burners,
35:26nurses
35:26and medical staff
35:27regularly gather
35:28to celebrate
35:29their murderous milestones.
35:31Hartheim Castle
35:32was used
35:33throughout the war
35:34as a killing center
35:35for prisoners
35:36of concentration camps.
35:38On December 11, 1944
35:40as Germany faces
35:41the loss of war
35:42the Nazis carry out
35:44their final act
35:45of gassing
35:45at Hartheim Castle
35:47silencing the last
35:48concentration camp victims
35:50to be suffocated
35:51by the Reich.
35:52All remnants
35:53of their deplorable crimes
35:54at the site
35:55are destroyed.
35:56The chimney is dismantled
35:57and the ovens demolished
35:59hoping to obscure
36:00the full extent
36:01of their cruelty
36:02from the eyes
36:02of both history
36:03and justice.
36:05For the Nazi regime
36:06to destroy evidence
36:08and to not leave behind
36:10any remnants
36:12of the awful,
36:15heinous, brutal acts
36:17that they were carrying out
36:18is essentially a way
36:20for them
36:20to exonerate themselves
36:23from the awful acts
36:26that they committed.
36:28Among these enigmatic structures
36:30is Huska Castle,
36:32a Gothic edifice
36:33in the modern-day
36:34Czech Republic.
36:35Built in the 13th century,
36:36it stands as one of the most
36:37well-preserved castles
36:39of its era,
36:40complete with a grand chapel,
36:42maintained chambers,
36:43and intricately painted murals.
36:45In the wake
36:46of the Nazi invasion,
36:47the Wehrmacht seized
36:48this ancient vestige,
36:50but their reasons
36:51for doing so
36:51remain in question
36:52to this day.
36:54Huska Castle
36:54doesn't seem to have
36:56any strategic value.
36:58It's in the middle
36:59of nowhere.
37:00It is filled
37:01with all these strange
37:03symbols and references.
37:04So why did the Nazis claim it?
37:08Additionally,
37:09the castle has no kitchen facilities
37:11or running water supply,
37:13making its use
37:14all the more puzzling.
37:16Inside the castle chapel,
37:18a series of 14th century frescoes
37:20tell a curious tale.
37:22Dedicated to the biblical
37:23archangel Michael,
37:25known for leading an army
37:26against the forces of Lucifer,
37:28the chapel paintings
37:29depict vicious battle scenes
37:30and dead souls
37:31on the Day of Judgment.
37:32The frescoes
37:34inside this chapel
37:36are quite unusual
37:38because they combine
37:40Christian symbolisms
37:42and stories
37:43with these pagan
37:45symbols and myths.
37:47Some say
37:48the reason for the SS capture
37:50lies beneath the soil,
37:52a feature that has haunted
37:53the imaginations
37:54of locals and visitors
37:55for centuries.
37:56Here,
37:57under the thick stone floors,
37:59a seemingly bottomless chasm
38:00yawns into the darkness,
38:02a void that some believe
38:03leads straight to the depths
38:05of hell itself.
38:07Legends about this pit
38:09in Huska Castle
38:10date back to the 13th century.
38:13Even before the castle was built,
38:15this pit was said
38:15to be a gateway to hell.
38:17Local lore
38:18has long warned
38:19of evil forces
38:20roaming these bohemian forests.
38:23Tales of otherworldly creatures
38:24and winged demons
38:25scouring for souls
38:27have all found their origin
38:28in this deep abyss.
38:30And the story goes
38:30that the king of Bohemia
38:32in the mid-1200s,
38:33Otokar II,
38:34offered prisoners
38:35condemned to death
38:36a pardon
38:36if they would agree
38:37to go down into this pit
38:39and see what was actually
38:40going on down there.
38:41And according to local legend
38:43that's been passed down
38:44over the centuries,
38:45when these prisoners
38:46emerged from the pit,
38:47they'd aged rapidly.
38:49Shortly after this,
38:51King Otokar II
38:52actually has a castle built
38:56around this pit
38:58to protect the community
39:00from whatever was down below.
39:03According to some,
39:04this portal to hell
39:05may have held special interest
39:07to Adolf Hitler's right-hand man,
39:09Heinrich Himmler,
39:10one of the primary conductors
39:12of the Holocaust
39:12who held an obsessive interest
39:14in the occult.
39:15Heinrich Himmler
39:16was one of the most powerful men
39:18in Nazi Germany.
39:19As head of the SS,
39:21he wielded enormous power,
39:23but he was also
39:24exceptionally evil.
39:25He is overseeing
39:26the most vile
39:28and evil organization
39:29in Nazi Germany.
39:31Some theories suggest
39:32that Husker plays host
39:34to Nazi occult ceremonies
39:35and experiments
39:36that summon satanic forces
39:38to win the war
39:39and rule the world.
39:41This theory gains credence
39:42in 2016
39:43when around 13,000 books
39:45on the topic of the occult
39:47and witchcraft
39:47are unearthed
39:48from a Nazi vault
39:49near Prague,
39:50all amassed
39:51by Himmler himself.
39:53And the fact that Husker Castle
39:54has this strange,
39:56dark,
39:57kind of foreboding
39:59history
40:00and mythology
40:02that links the occult
40:05with kind of these
40:06symbolisms of paganism
40:08and Satanism
40:09is one reason why
40:11we might think that
40:14perhaps this is why
40:15the Nazis wanted it,
40:16that it was, in fact,
40:17the gateway to hell.
40:20The fall of the Reich
40:22in 1945
40:22eventually sees
40:24Nazi-occupied castles
40:25reclaimed by the regions
40:26that birthed them.
40:27Though most reminders
40:29of Nazi rule
40:30of these ancient sites
40:30have since been erased,
40:32they will inevitably
40:33harbor horrific memories
40:34for decades to come.
40:36The Nazis were responsible
40:38for untold death,
40:41suffering,
40:41and devastation
40:42throughout the territories
40:43that they ruled.
40:44We're still discovering
40:45the extent of that today.
40:47So you have to ask yourself,
40:49what other evidence
40:50of evil acts
40:51is still hidden,
40:52still buried,
40:53underneath castles
40:54or behind the walls
40:56of these historic structures?
40:57Though Nazi Germany
41:00often restored
41:01these castles
41:02to their engineered splendor,
41:04they would forever
41:05taint the legacy
41:06of those who constructed them.
41:08These architectural marvels
41:10will now forever bear
41:11the memory of Nazi Germany
41:13and the atrocities
41:15committed within.
41:16Nazi Germany
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