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00:00In Michigan, a top-secret Air Force base, embroiled in controversy.
00:06It's possible there was some form of cover-up.
00:09The official documentation does have some redacted sections.
00:14In Italy, an entrepreneur's dream shattered by links to organized crime.
00:20Was he guilty? Or was this just a huge miscarriage of justice?
00:26And a California transportation hub that inspired lasting change.
00:34Oakland has always had a secret sauce in people fighting for greater justice and a better way to live.
00:50In northern Michigan, on the edge of Lake Superior,
00:54remnants of a global conflict conceal a tale of intrigue.
01:03A dirt track leads to a clearing dotted with large, industrial-looking buildings.
01:09This is a site built for function, not beauty.
01:12On the edge of this place are what look like just normal suburban streets.
01:17There's a basketball court and a baseball field and what looks like the remains of a bowling alley.
01:24This has all the amenities of any small town.
01:28But why are they out here?
01:31There's only 2,000 permanent residents in this entire area.
01:34And so to have this little city just up here on the top of a mountain, popping out of nowhere,
01:40is just very unusual.
01:43But this was not a normal town.
01:47When constructed, this was a covert facility with one objective, to protect America.
01:53At the top of the hill, two large constructions stand out.
01:58This is a clue to the place's true function.
02:00The U.S. Air Force is using this technology to defend the country from what they thought was a real
02:07existential threat.
02:09Yet this site would become infamous because of its connection to an alleged government cover-up that involved the disappearance
02:17of two American aviators.
02:20The jet and its occupants vanished, and the mystery has never been solved.
02:30So I first visited this site about 10 years ago with my cousin.
02:35And we made kind of the joke that everybody makes.
02:39If we ever had the opportunity to purchase this, then we had to try and purchase it.
02:44Come on right here.
02:45In 2021, Zachary Garner did buy this property.
02:50He's been working hard to uncover its secrets ever since.
02:55We wanted to save it, preserve the history, tell the story.
02:59This place and most of the others like it were always surrounded with an air of mystery because everything that
03:05happened up here was classified during the times when it was active.
03:10There was a good reason this site was clandestine.
03:13It was built as a reaction to the rising threat of communist activity.
03:20On August 29, 1949, in the very early part of the Cold War, the Soviet Union detonated their first atomic
03:29bomb, codename Joe 1.
03:32Even more terrifying news was to follow.
03:35The Soviets also created long-range aircraft capable of delivering nuclear bombs to the United States.
03:41This new reality caught the United States off guard.
03:46They were unprepared and they were nervous.
03:50If America was to regain the upper hand, they needed a system that would provide early detection of any incoming
03:58threat from the Soviet Union.
03:59The United States takes action by setting up radar stations all across the country.
04:05Calumet Air Force Station was part of this radar network.
04:12So they built a lot of these stations further north in the U.S. and Canada because they were specifically
04:17monitoring for bombers coming over the Arctic Circle from the Soviet Union.
04:22That was the quickest or shortest flight path from primarily to Soviet Air Force bases.
04:29Should a Soviet aircraft approach, Calumet would be able to detect it and help guide American fighters to intercept and
04:36destroy it.
04:38This station in particular was right in the flight path if they would have sent bombers to either Chicago or
04:45New York.
04:47By April of 1951, Calumet was fully operational.
04:52Less than two years later, it was called into action.
04:56On the evening of November 23rd, 1953, the radar operators here noticed a flight that was coming through Lake Superior
05:05that was not registered on any particular flight plan.
05:10If this was a Soviet bomber, they needed to act fast.
05:16The operators noted the coordinates and sent them to Kinross Air Force Base, located 190 miles southeast of Calumet.
05:26From there, an F-89 Scorpion jet was immediately scrambled to intercept.
05:34First Lieutenant Felix Monclaw, an experienced airman who clocked 811 hours, took the pilot's seat.
05:41Behind him was the navigator, Second Lieutenant Robert Wilson.
05:47On that day, the weather was pretty typical for late November.
05:51It was cold, low visibility, cloudy, and of course dark.
05:55Operators at Calumet were tracking the object and then sending directions to navigator Robert Wilson.
06:02For the next 30 minutes, a high-speed game of cat and mouse played out in the skies above Lake
06:08Superior.
06:10Every time the radar would spin around, they would get an updated location on the bogey and tell them a
06:16new heading.
06:18Yet reports claim the unidentified entity moved with alarming irregularity in ways that shouldn't be possible.
06:26The blip was changing course, changing airspeed, changing altitude, and they just weren't sure what it was.
06:34At 6.52 p.m., the operators let the crew know that the object was at their 11 o'clock,
06:4210 miles out.
06:44The two men would have by now had the unknown object in their sights.
06:49At 6.55 p.m., the radar signature of the Scorpion jet converged with that of the unknown object, forming
06:57a single dot on the radar screen.
07:00They assumed that the fighter jet was flying in formation with the bogey and making contact with the pilot.
07:08Then the unthinkable happened.
07:10When radio operators tried to hail Monclaw, they heard nothing back.
07:16Next, the jet's transponder signal was lost, and its radar signature disappeared from their screens.
07:22The staff at Calumet urgently tried to reestablish contact with the missing Scorpion jet, but to no avail.
07:30The Scorpion jet had vanished.
07:35According to the official reports from the Air Force, the dot of the aircraft that was still in the air
07:40continued on its original flight path flying east.
07:45In the following days, a number of aircraft joined the search from all over the country, but no trace of
07:52the plane or the two airmen was ever found.
07:55During this period, the American public was increasingly fascinated by the phenomena of UFOs, after a number of high profile
08:04sightings occurred across the country.
08:06The incident quickly became a source of various conspiracy theories.
08:11Many of the most extraordinary revolved around alien abduction.
08:15As we were researching, we interviewed several different people that had intimate knowledge, and slowly we were able to put
08:22together what we believed to be the full story.
08:27In the 1950s, radar operators at a top secret military site spotted an unidentified object flying in restricted airspace.
08:38An F-89 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept, but mysteriously vanished.
08:45Wild theories soon began to surface.
08:48The conspiracy that has formed from the blips merged is that the UFO ate the aircraft or absorbed it, and
08:59that's why it was never seen or heard from again.
09:03The Air Force put forward a very different explanation.
09:07When they looked on the screen and saw those two blips merge, that simply meant that they were within half
09:13a mile of one another, not that they actually ran into each other.
09:18And while no conclusive evidence has ever been found to explain the aircraft's disappearance, the most plausible theory is some
09:28type of mechanical failure.
09:30The F-89 Scorpion had known issues just a year before all F-89s had been grounded to fix a
09:38wing problem.
09:40Yet respected UFO researcher Major Donald Kehoe believed the government was trying to hide the truth.
09:48He claimed the wife of Felix Monclaw was given two different stories by the U.S. Air Force as to
09:54how her husband died.
09:56At first, she was told his jet crashed into Lake Superior.
10:00Then she was told his jet exploded in mid-air.
10:05Kehoe also suggested certain details were left out of the official record to cover it up.
10:11The official documentation does have some redacted sections that we've been unable to figure out what it says.
10:17But ultimately, the puzzle was never solved.
10:22My personal opinion is that the fighter jet got too close to the other aircraft during intercept, made some maneuver
10:30to avoid hitting it and crashed into Lake Superior.
10:35But this all still leaves a crucial question unanswered, which is what was that original radar signature that the Calumet
10:43Station detected?
10:45It remains a mysterious footnote to the Cold War, which claimed the lives of two American airmen.
10:58Calumet continued to operate in secrecy for the next 35 years, until communism collapsed and the threat of nuclear war
11:07subsided.
11:08In September 1988, the station was closed and the remaining personnel were transferred elsewhere.
11:17Zachary now has big plans to open Calumet to the public, so its story can continue to be told.
11:25The entire top of the mountain here that we're standing on now will be turned into a museum dedicated to
11:29radar stations in the Cold War.
11:32We expect this to be kind of a lifetime project, and we're here for it. It's really exciting.
11:40In central Italy, 40 miles from Florence, is the site of a fallen stronghold, besieged by personal tragedy.
11:52We are in the foothills of Tuscany, famous for its glorious countryside, incredible wines, and centuries-old towns.
12:02So it's no great surprise when you come across what appear to be ancient remains, concealed in dense forest.
12:11The structure has thick stone walls, a crenellated tower, and a drawbridge.
12:17All the hallmarks of a medieval castle.
12:21But look closer, and you start to see problems with that theory.
12:27All around are clues that suggest not everything is what it seems.
12:32Some of the features are more recent, like there's a gazebo with a plastic canvas roof.
12:41Inside, it gets even stranger.
12:44There are bars, stages, and even the artwork appears as if made to look old.
12:50All sorts of people used to come here from all over Italy.
12:55VIPs, celebrities, politicians, and it was a great success.
13:01But the question is, who killed the party?
13:05This place would be engulfed by scandal.
13:08We're talking links to organized crime, a wrongful arrest, and lives torn apart.
13:19The last time I came here, it was about ten years ago, and now the building, everything is completely covered
13:27with trees and plants.
13:29It looks so strange and even sad.
13:32When Daisy Vanelli was young, this enchanted setting was her family's business, and it played a very important role in
13:41her life.
13:42I remember my childhood here with my sister and my brothers.
13:49When we were younger, it was like our playground.
13:52The construction was inspired by my father's passion for castles.
13:59Like many good stories, this one begins with an ambitious vision to build something magical.
14:05And the person behind everything we see here, a man named Walter Vanelli.
14:13So, Walter is a local entrepreneur.
14:17And back in the 80s, he had this idea that he wanted to create a beautiful hotel in the mountains.
14:25But then my father came up with the idea of opening a nightclub.
14:30He discussed this idea with my two brothers, who were in their 20s at that time, and who enthusiastically opted
14:38for the nightclub idea.
14:41It wasn't long before the wacky concept that we see today emerged.
14:48Walter funded the project using his own money, that of investors, and by loaning around $750,000 from the bank.
14:58In 1987, construction began.
15:01But bringing his dream to life proved to be a difficult task.
15:06Walter changed his mind constantly about what it should look like.
15:12One day, he'd ask the builders to build something.
15:15Then the next day, knock it down, start over again from scratch.
15:21Honestly, we all thought we'd never get the club finished.
15:26But finally, we did it.
15:30In the end, the club had three dance floors, two restaurants, four bars.
15:36It took six years and cost around $5 million.
15:42The Vanellis called their labor of love the Excalibur.
15:46On December 23, 1993, it opened for business.
15:52And on that night, there were 3,000 people.
15:57Up there was the DJ booth.
15:59I remember flag bearers, fire eaters, fireworks, yes, champagne, a lot of drinking, a lot of dancing, a lot of
16:10fun.
16:11Everything that made it a night to remember.
16:16As the months passed, the club's reputation continued to grow.
16:20There were politicians, celebrities, soccer players and even royalty in the form of Princess Stephanie of Monaco,
16:29the rebellious youngest daughter of Grace Kelly.
16:32Everything was looking really good.
16:35We were making good money and everything was just perfect.
16:39The Excalibur was a huge hit.
16:42What could possibly go wrong?
16:44The answer was everything.
16:50When the Excalibur nightclub first opened in 1993, it was a resounding success.
16:57But two and a half years later, Walter Vanelli's dream turned into a nightmare.
17:04In July 1996, around 5 a.m., a police helicopter swooped in and landed next to the club.
17:14Armed officers streamed out and raided the house that Walter was living in.
17:20He was handcuffed, hooded and taken to a high security prison.
17:28Walter had no idea why he'd been arrested.
17:33But it turns out he was being accused of being a key player in the Brenta Mafia.
17:39The Brenta Mafia was a ruthless criminal organization founded by career criminal Felicia Maniero.
17:49His illicit empire made millions from, you know, drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering.
17:59But in 1994, his criminal dealings caught up with him after a crackdown on mafia gangs.
18:06He was arrested and became an informant to save his own skin.
18:12He gave up over 400 mob bosses, corrupt judges, corrupt policemen, and he named Walter as part of the operation.
18:26Walter had met Maniero 20 years earlier, but this was long before the mafia boss had founded his criminal enterprise.
18:35Since then, there had been no further dealings and Walter was given no explanation of why he had been implicated.
18:45Prosecutors insisted he be kept in isolation and refused to tell him when a trial date would be set.
18:51Walter chose to take matters into his own hands.
18:55My father had to go on a hunger strike because they gave him no possibility to tell his side of
19:03the story.
19:04And so he had to do that in order to be heard.
19:08Only then did the authorities start to listen.
19:12After this, the anti-mafia prosecutor, Dr. Fogliadelli, conducted more investigations and interviewed people from the mafia clan.
19:23His findings eventually found that Walter had no mafia involvement and he was cleared of all charges completely.
19:33In June 1997, Walter was finally released after almost a year in prison.
19:39The reason Maniero originally named him remained a mystery.
19:44But he always kept his dignity and he always maintained a positive attitude, really.
19:52He is an incredible person for this.
19:55It was a terrible miscarriage of justice, but there was even worse news to come.
20:02Following Walter's initial arrest, local newspapers and TV stations relentlessly covered the event.
20:10They linked his suspected mob affiliation to the Excalibur.
20:15Which inevitably led to a significant drop in attendances.
20:21This, coupled with a landslide that blocked the main road leading to the club, signalled its demise.
20:28And so from the 2,500 people crossing the nights, the attendance dropped to only a few hundred.
20:39In July 1996, while Walter was still locked up, the Excalibur was forced to close.
20:51Today, the future of the Excalibur is uncertain.
20:56It's up for sale.
20:58So perhaps one day, the hills surrounding this medieval discotheque will once again be alive with the sound of music.
21:07I'd love to see it getting back to his original glory.
21:13It will be so nice to see it full of people having fun and dancing.
21:24In Oakland, California is a faded relic that fostered a movement whose impact is still felt to this day.
21:37This area has an industrial feel to it.
21:40There are freeways, rail lines and an active port.
21:44Then on the edge of a pretty residential neighborhood, you see this building unlike the rest.
21:49It's majestic and imposing with these three huge arched windows.
21:54Once you get inside, you've got light flooding in, illuminating the marble floors.
22:00You've got ornate plaster work.
22:02And then in other parts of the structure, there's a more utilitarian space.
22:07Yet the interior reveals little about this building's original purpose.
22:12The big giveaway is Outback.
22:15You see this set of railroad tracks heading out of the structure, so clearly it's a railroad station.
22:23This grand site was built at a time when Oakland was a city on the rise.
22:30The people that worked here were viewed as very important people in the community.
22:36That's because they did so much more than just keep the wheels turning.
22:41Their actions would help bring change to America.
22:45This place is related to the civil rights struggle, particularly on the West Coast,
22:50because so much of the organizing happened here.
22:53Their battle would inspire leaders for generations to come.
23:02In Oakland is the rundown shell of a once majestic railway building.
23:09David Peters is the founder of the Black Liberation Walking Tour.
23:14This long forgotten station is an important stop on his route.
23:19What a sense of awe and wonder I'm feeling right now to be able to be in this place
23:24that has so much history.
23:27You know, many people think that the resistance movement in Oakland started with the Black Panthers.
23:32And there's a reason for that, but they didn't just spring out of nowhere.
23:35And this place is integral to that.
23:38I can feel goosebumps on my arms right now as I talk about it.
23:43The story of struggle that unfolded within these walls all began with a marvel of American engineering.
23:52Originally, Oakland was just a small town at the edge of the bay.
23:55But its fortunes massively changed with the arrival of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.
24:02One thing a lot of people don't realize is that it didn't go all the way to San Francisco.
24:06It actually ended here in Oakland.
24:09Passengers would get off the trains and go to a nearby ferry terminal
24:13to take a ferry across the bay to the city of San Francisco.
24:18By the early 1900s, the existing wooden railway station couldn't support the increasing number of travelers or their baggage.
24:27In 1912, the Southern Pacific Railroad unveiled a grand new terminus.
24:34This is Oakland's 16th Street Station.
24:39Driven by the railroad industry, Oakland's economy was booming and its population was skyrocketing.
24:45Many of those migrating to the city were African Americans looking for a new life away from the racism and
24:52segregation of the Jim Crow South.
24:55But finding work was no easy task.
24:58One area that did become a good opportunity for black workers was in serving the clientele that rode these railroads
25:08on long distance trips.
25:11The Transcontinental Railroads here had ultra luxury sleeper cars called Pullman cars.
25:17These cars were an important part of the history here.
25:21It took an army of employees to deliver the indulgence that the company's founder, George Pullman, wanted to achieve.
25:28They were employed almost entirely from the African American community.
25:32They were called the Pullman Porters and they carried out their duties with pride.
25:38Because of its vital position at one end of the Transcontinental Railroad, Oakland and this station became a very important
25:44hub for the Pullman Porters.
25:48We're in the historic baggage wing.
25:50This is the place where the Pullman Porters would have handled the servicing thousands of passengers on the trains that
25:59came through this station.
26:00Dozens of trains on a daily basis.
26:03But it was difficult work and not as well paid as comparable white workers would be.
26:09They often worked as many as 400 hours a month with little time off and no overtime.
26:18In 1923, a man named C. L. Dellums moved from Texas to Oakland.
26:25His arrival would herald a brighter future for the Pullman Porters.
26:29When Dellums came to Oakland, he hoped to enroll in law school.
26:34To make money, he took a job as a Pullman Porter.
26:38But he quickly realized that between the long hours and the low wage, he couldn't actually afford school.
26:45So, unfortunately for him and his law school dreams, but so fortunately for us, he continued to work as a
26:51porter.
26:51And C. L. Dellums immediately distinguished himself by demanding better conditions for the black workers.
27:00But the Pullman Company was resistant to change.
27:04Fortunately, Dellums wasn't on his own.
27:07In 1925, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids was founded in New York City.
27:15This was a group that wanted to unionize the porters, give them some negotiating power to demand better pay and
27:24better conditions.
27:26They clearly knew that it was going to be a struggle. The union's motto was fight or be slaves.
27:33When Dellums learned about the founding of the Brotherhood Union, he knew that this was something that he really wanted
27:41to embrace.
27:41And he helped organize the Oakland porters and maids to join the organization.
27:47Certainly here in this baggage room would have been a place where the porters were organizing and talking about their
27:53frustrations.
27:55The Pullman Company was strongly opposed to this fledgling union and refused to recognize them.
28:02They did everything in their power to stop Dellums in his tracks.
28:07Dellums himself got fired in 1927.
28:11The company claimed that he'd been found sleeping on the job, but in fact, this was a common tactic they
28:17used to get rid of people that they saw as troublemakers.
28:22So the Pullman Car Company, they used every dirty tactic, every dirty trick in the book to be able to
28:29squash this union.
28:31The company encouraged African-American staff to tell on their fellow workers and would dismiss employees if they joined the
28:39union.
28:40The company also transferred work away from Oakland so they could make do with fewer porters at that station.
28:47Dellums wasn't deterred and he continued the fight, but then disaster struck.
28:55In the 1920s, after working at the 16th Street station in Oakland, C.L Dellums became a key member of
29:04one of America's first African-American unions.
29:07He fought tirelessly for better working conditions on behalf of its members, who regularly worked 400 hours a month for
29:15low pay.
29:16In 1929, Dellums became vice president of the entire labor union.
29:21It was a long fight and they didn't win initially, but they kept at it.
29:28It would take one of the worst economic disasters in American history to transform the union's fortunes.
29:35In 1929, the Wall Street stock market crashed, ushering in the start of the Great Depression.
29:43The American economy had hit rock bottom and something needed to be done to ease the population's suffering.
29:51During the New Deal under Roosevelt, laws were passed that made it easier for workers to unionize and required companies
29:58to give workers the right to bargain collectively.
30:04In 1935, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters began negotiations with the Pullman Company for union recognition and a fairer
30:13contract.
30:15The Depression had led to a decline in the company's prosperity and they stood vehemently opposed.
30:21But in 1937, the Porters finally won.
30:26The contract improved wages and limited hours to a maximum of 240 hours a month, which is still a lot.
30:35This was the first time in U.S. history that a black union reached a bargaining agreement with a major
30:42American company.
30:45This is a huge, huge win for the Porters.
30:48But this is not only important for the Porters, this is particularly important for black Americans.
30:53After the Brotherhood's monumental victory, the 16th Street Station continued to provide jobs for porters, maids and other staff.
31:01But the winds of change were blowing.
31:03In the 1950s and 60s, with the rise of the automobile and airplane, fewer people relied on passenger trains for
31:10long distance travel.
31:11And the number of porters steadily declined.
31:15Yet the impact of the men and women that worked at the 16th Street Station would not be forgotten.
31:22The legacy of the porters is impossible to overestimate.
31:27The fight for civil rights in C.L. Dellums went so far just beyond the organizing of the union.
31:33Oakland is known to many as birthplace to movements like the Black Panther Party, but those movements are part of
31:40a much longer tradition that stretches back to the incredible work of C.L. Dellums and the Pullman Porters.
31:52C.L. Dellums continued to live in West Oakland until his death in 1989.
31:58But that same year, a natural disaster struck that meant the 16th Street Station had reached the end of the
32:06line.
32:07The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was the final blow.
32:11And in fact, it sustained significant damage and had to be closed.
32:15Currently, greatly concerned about the future of the station.
32:18It's essential that the space be preserved.
32:21It's so important to Oakland.
32:23It's so important to the Bay Area.
32:25It's critical to understand our past, to know where we're going in the future.
32:34In southern Croatia is an overgrown compound that became embroiled in the fate of a nation.
32:45At the tip of this peninsula is a really dramatic sight, this great stone building.
32:50It looks like it's been standing watch for hundreds of years.
32:54But as we move along the coastline, we can see much more modern structures.
33:01So obviously this has been an important place for a long time.
33:05But why?
33:07This is a tiny point of land, but it's a point of power.
33:12It controls access to the bay beyond.
33:16In the 1990s, that access was violently fought over.
33:21And this cliffside citadel played a crucial role in the chaos that followed.
33:27This was a time when neighbors, literal neighbors, became sworn enemies.
33:35A foreign force was sent to keep the entire region from going up in flames.
33:40They came to be peacekeepers, but there was no peace to keep.
33:55Croatia used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
34:00And Croatia was where the Austro-Hungarian Empire based its Mediterranean fleet.
34:12The Austrians built a series of fortifications along the Bay of Couture,
34:17including this grand stone fortress at the tip of Povlaca.
34:21For almost 100 years, this fort stood guard over the mouth of the bay.
34:28But in the wake of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's collapse after the First World War,
34:33a new country called Yugoslavia was formed in this region.
34:38It was comprised of six republics, including Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
34:48Yugoslavia was created on the theory that all of the Slavic states in the Balkans
34:55were all brethren.
34:58But it was a diverse and tenuous coalition.
35:01For years, Yugoslavia was held together by the dictator of Yugoslavia,
35:10Josip Broj Tito.
35:13Tito was sufficiently powerful to keep it all together.
35:19By the 1950s, the old fortress at Povlaca was obsolete,
35:25and Tito decided he needed to modernize and expand the stronghold.
35:31Yugoslavia's geographical position made it a potential target for Cold War rivals
35:36on both sides of the globe.
35:38Tito was always concerned that either the West or the Soviet Union would try to attack Yugoslavia
35:51to control Yugoslavia.
35:54And Tito had to prepare to defend his Adriatic coast against all comers.
36:05The Tito regime then fits these fortifications out with a helipad, new bunkers, and new radar stations
36:13to detect incoming threats.
36:17It was called the Prevlaka military base.
36:21But as it turned out, the enemy that endangered Yugoslavia's borders
36:26didn't come from East or West.
36:30The threat instead came from within, and it would send shockwaves across this entire region.
36:42In Croatia is the site of a rundown military base.
36:47In the 1990s, it would be drawn into a conflict that tore this region apart.
36:53Tito died in 1980.
36:56At that point, there was nothing holding Yugoslavia together anymore.
37:04Slovenia, Croatia, they secede.
37:09Yugoslavia starts to disintegrate.
37:13But the powerful Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic still controlled the Yugoslav people's army
37:20and retained the support of Montenegro.
37:23Together, they were not going to let Croatia and Slovenia leave the Union without a fight.
37:31And so, instead of a peaceful departure, there was going to be a war.
37:39And, of course, the Serbs and the Croats and the Montenegrins battle over these forts at the southern tip of
37:45Croatia.
37:46If Croatia controls Prevlaka, then Croatia is going to control the biggest natural harbor in the former Yugoslavia.
37:59On September 23, 1991, the Yugoslav People's Army advanced into southern Croatia.
38:08Their aim was to crush the Croatian drive for independence
38:13and to seize control of strategically important sites, like the Prevlaka military base.
38:20Historian Ivan Vidzin is an expert on this facility.
38:26So, this area saw a lot of military action in autumn 1991 because Serbian and Montenegrin forces invaded south of
38:34Croatia.
38:36Unfortunately, a lot of heavy bombing and a lot of atrocities have been done in this area.
38:43European countries quickly realized they had to stop the war.
38:48An intervention was needed, and it would take place here, on the peninsula of Prevlaka.
38:55Montenegro and Serbia say that they should control Prevlaka Peninsula.
39:01The Croats say, no, it's part of Croatia.
39:04And the answer was, demilitarize the Prevlaka Peninsula.
39:10On October 20, 1992, United Nations peacekeepers descended on Prevlaka in an attempt to restore order at this contested site.
39:23The main reason for sending this mission here was to, at first, ease the conflict and then to transform a
39:32military question into a diplomatic one.
39:34At that moment, the UN military mission was a success because the Yugoslavani evacuated the peninsula.
39:41And then the international political community recognized this part of Croatian territory as undisputably Croatian.
39:51In theory, Prevlaka is Croatian territory, but there are no Croatian soldiers in the garrison.
40:04Demilitarizing the Prevlaka Peninsula doesn't make anybody happy, but it keeps the peninsula peaceful.
40:13The Croatian war of independence raged on until November 1995.
40:21Across the region, tens of thousands lost their lives.
40:26The Prevlaka Peninsula remained a source of dispute throughout the conflict and beyond.
40:32In 2002, Croatia and Montenegro finally agreed on a temporary solution.
40:38It stipulated that Croatia received control of the entire peninsula as well as some of the waters around it.
40:44Following the settlement, the United Nations peacekeepers were finally able to leave.
40:52Prevlaka has been abandoned ever since.
40:58Today, the Prevlaka Peninsula still belongs to Croatia.
41:03But debate continues to rage over their right to control this controversial area.
41:10It's still grit in the gears between Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro.
41:18But because it's still demilitarized, Prevlaka is no longer a potential battlefield.
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