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The Last Hunt For Nazi Gold S01E05 The Italian Job NOW H 264
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00:02Italy 1943 Mussolini falls fascism cracks Nazi Germany's strongest ally switches
00:14sides and joins the Allies for a moment it looks like liberation it doesn't last
00:30September 1943 the Germans hit back its operation AXA they sweep down the peninsula
00:39reinstall Mussolini and turn Italy into a puppet regime of a collapsing Reich then
00:46comes the prize inside the Bank of Italy lies the National Reserve around 120 tons
00:54of gold worth around 17 billion US dollars today under German control it's moved out
01:02of Rome first to Milan then north to the fortress of Franzenfester buried in the
01:10mountains of South Tyrol that is a vault with a view but the gold doesn't stay
01:16there in 1944 shipments begin moving again this time towards Germany and by the end
01:23game that paper trail it's turned into smoke some of the gold is said to have
01:29reached Berlin some vanishes into the confusion of a continent in freefall and
01:36that's where the rumors begin lost convoys quiet deals Alpine hiding places so
01:43where did the gold end up who took it and how much of it never came back
02:00I'm Guy Walters I'm a historian I'm a journalist and I'm a sort of explorer of all the hidden secrets
02:09of the
02:09Second World War and the Nazi period
02:14hi I'm Justine I'm the international woman of adventure I speak many languages I'm the
02:21perfect person to hunt for some Nazi gold
02:29together we've crossed borders track rumors and dug through more than our fair share of
02:35cold mud and colder archives now we're on the trail of one of the most enduring legends of the
02:43Italian front the missing gold of the Banker d'Italia seized by the Nazis in 1943 and scattered as their
02:52Empire fell apart the Nazis they they moved in quickly and that gold in the Bank of Italy it was
02:59not gonna stay there for long believe you me our mission follow those routes north dig into bunkers
03:06and fortresses test the rumors and follow the paper trails and find out whether this lost Italian gold
03:13is real treasure still hidden in the Alps or just another wartime myth
03:37summer 1943 Sicily has already fallen the Americans and the British own those beaches now and they are
03:46harbored in the islands dusty old ports for the Germans it's a cold shock the war has finally crossed the
03:54water and landed in Italy's backyard
04:11in 1943 Italy had one of the largest gold reserves in Europe it had over 127 tons of bullion and
04:21it had
04:21coins with bars and they're all stacked in the Bank of Italy right in the heart of Rome so when
04:29the Allies
04:29land Berlin has to move quickly and those Nazis pour into Italy incredibly fast the third right basically
04:40treated Italy after its collapse as a great big bank you know ready to be emptied and that's why
04:47essentially the Nazis turn up at the Bank of Italy in Rome and they just help themselves to all the
04:53gold for
04:53safekeeping Vincenzo Attellini was head of the Bank of Italy and when the Nazis turned up one day he had
05:01no
05:02choice but to hand over his country's gold now that gold was put into boxes sent north and hidden away
05:09and
05:10while it was still Italy's gold on paper in reality it had been moved to places where paperwork meant
05:16nothing at all some of that gold was recovered some simply disappeared we're only going to know how much
05:24of that story uh you know still lies buried by continuing the search it never ends
05:45so we are going to go to Italy uh we're going to go to the Alto Adige in the very
05:51north of Italy I love
05:52that part of Italy it is lovely one of my favorites so we're going to go to Italy here
05:57we start in northern Italy in the south Tyrol think forests bunkers think SS convoys moving by night in
06:07late 1943 then Fortezza an alpine fortress and a perfect place to lose a few tons of bullion I've
06:19got to say that if you're gonna store a hundred and twenty four tons of gold bullion you're gonna
06:25do it here at Fortress Fortezza over a hundred tons passed through Nazi hands and some shipments simply
06:35vanished and then we go to bunker three opened years later and one of the most mysterious sites in
06:45the whole area and just above Fortress Fortezza three sites one missing fortune to find it we've got to
06:54go underground so you're up for a bunker fantastic tunnels bunkers yes that's all up my street
07:21as we cross the border from Austria into Italy there's a notable change of style and pace on the
07:28roads the Italians bow to nobody so I need to do my best to keep up and stay in the
07:33fast lane what do you
07:36say about my driving style though well that it's quite a haphazard you know like haphazard yeah okay
07:43not the last minute this is going well this is going well the lucky hell okay this is like all
07:51men
07:52I'm a brilliant driver because my ego is out there forget that okay yeah it's going our brilliant
07:57drive thank you justine this conversation never happened this conversation yeah it's over
08:07we're heading into the alpine hills of South Tyrol where bunkers still lie hidden in all that rock
08:14they were built along Italy's northern alpine border in the late 1930s and Mussolini's alpine wall was
08:22intended to defend against potential invasion then in 1943 everything changed Italy surrendered the
08:32Germans moved in and the bunkers fell into Nazi hands as the right collapsed and that gold vanished
08:39these bunkers stopped being defenses and start looking like hiding places if you wanted to hide 24 tons of
08:48gold they're exactly the right place but before we head for those bunkers and the fortress at Fortetza we've
08:59got to go to the Neustift Abbey in South Tyrol it's here we're meeting a friend and historian Madeleine
09:09Johnson and she is going to enlighten us as to the turbulent history of those Italian gold reserves
09:21in all these transfers of gold they've been keeping track and they weigh it and whatever but at some
09:28point in Germany it gets transferred from larger bags into smaller bags so that's where discrepancies
09:36show up because they're like well 50 bags came in but 100 went out it's like wait what or you
09:41know we
09:42got 100 but they said so that sort of adds to this discrepancy it's not just Italian gold because when
09:51they invaded France they took gold they took gold from Yugoslavia they took gold from Greece and they
09:58took gold from Albania and so this stuff is all in the basement of this place north of here in
10:06a region
10:07of Italy in a fort Fortress Fortetza that's right in September 1943 those 127 tons of gold were stashed
10:18away deep within the rocks and corridors of Fortress Fortetza and there it lies ready for whatever
10:27nefarious purposes the Nazis may have for it now we understood better the history of the area and with
10:37our great lesson from Madeleine we felt ready to find a key location where all those Nazi gold rumors
10:45leaders were going to lead us
10:49in the hospital praise to God I got down on the knees
10:55so you're gone then what's your favorite car uh my favorite car my ultimate faith is the Porsche 911
11:03Porsche Porsche you're one of those people who says Porsche are you Porsche Porsche
11:07Luxerton well you've got a Porsche I have what have you got Cammon a Cayman I don't even
11:13know what that is it's an alligator or something okay we've just basically a driving through a massive
11:21road works uh actually they're building a massively new road and this is the way to the bunker and
11:28oh bloody hell look at this lots of rocks we're gonna try you uh
11:33I'm glad we got the Jeep, but we will see how we do.
11:38The place is where I end up trying to find Nazi gold.
11:44Right, here we go.
11:46We have arrived.
11:48Okay, I admit we are in a bloody road.
11:53You promised me boats, diving, all sorts of adventures,
11:59and you take me to a building site?
12:02Yeah, okay, I have to admit, I'm sorry.
12:04This is about the first time I've apologised to you.
12:07This was a railway line where those two yellow diggers are,
12:13and you can just about see the remnants of the railway line,
12:15and there was a railway bridge, and there was a nice track here,
12:18and instead, we've driven through all that mud and stuff,
12:22so thank God we got the handy Jeep.
12:23Anyway, right, we've got to get over this,
12:25and then we're going up there,
12:26and we're going to find something called the Kugelbunker.
12:34This way.
12:37Here we go, and I think the bunker,
12:39it says the bunker is somewhere around here.
12:46It's going to be somewhere here.
12:49Well, it looks like...
12:50Yes, yes, it's here.
12:52That is a secret bunker.
12:54That, ladies and gentlemen,
12:55that is where you're going to hide gold.
12:57Ow.
12:58This is nasty.
13:00I don't want to step into the pool again.
13:01This is nasty.
13:02This is definitely, definitely a...
13:06You could hide something here easily.
13:09At first glance, those bunkers around Fortepse
13:11seem like the relics of the Nazi war machine.
13:14Cold, concrete remnants of a vanished empire.
13:18There's some steps.
13:20You know, obviously totally dressed for the occasion.
13:22Yes.
13:22I'll let you check out the road first.
13:25I'm going down, going down.
13:26I think one of the problems with hunting for Nazi gold,
13:30I discovered,
13:31was that you've got to have a pretty strong nose.
13:35Gratifying no smell of urine or faeces,
13:38which is very rare for us bunkerologists.
13:41Okay, I can confirm no gold is down here.
13:45What there is, is a load of...
13:48Someone has dumped their kind of bathroom and kitchen tiles in this place.
13:53And...
13:54This is not a place for gold, as much as it looks amazing.
13:58It's a concrete room.
14:01Okay.
14:02Yeah, I was expecting that.
14:04I am depressed.
14:05This has been a dreadful mistake.
14:07It will look so much better on Google.
14:09Well, perhaps we'll have better luck at the fortress itself.
14:15It's time to get back on the road
14:18and head up to Fortress Fortezza.
14:23In the country field, I saw her face.
14:26They told me she was gone.
14:32Welcome to the Festum Fortezza.
14:35We are here because those naughty Nazis
14:39decided to take all of the Bank of Italy's gold reserves,
14:45124 tonnes of gold, and bring them here.
14:49So about a fifth of it went missing.
14:52And there are some people who think
14:54that that 24 tonnes of gold, it could be right behind me.
14:59We've got to go into that fortress and have a look for it.
15:02Let's do it.
15:02Waiting for us at Fortezza is a historian
15:06who has spent years chasing this story.
15:10I am Tony.
15:11Tony.
15:12Tony is a man who knows about the gold in these walls
15:16better than anyone else.
15:18Wow.
15:21It's enormous.
15:23Believe you me, Fortezza is a big, old place.
15:27Yeah, it's got at least 400 rooms.
15:29It's got countless passageways,
15:30stairs, nooks, crannies, lifts,
15:33great big armoured doors,
15:35endless kind of caverns, caves.
15:37It's a rabbit, Warren.
15:39Perfect for hiding your gold.
15:42Is there any gold still here?
15:44Yeah.
15:45Doveil oro.
15:46Under my bed?
15:47Not him.
15:49Tony's gold bed.
15:54So, what I can really tell here,
15:57what's really obvious,
15:58is that the fortress is built
16:02on rock and in rock.
16:04On rock and in rock.
16:06And for this reason,
16:07a very important fort was built here,
16:10which was supposed to close this valley,
16:12close this passage,
16:13and also control the passage to the Val Posteria,
16:16towards the east of Italy, let's say.
16:20And the same reason why they were built here,
16:23later, after the First World War,
16:25a whole series of bunkers.
16:27By the Second World War,
16:28Fortezza is little more
16:30than a kind of legacy fortification.
16:33You know, it's still used by the Italians,
16:35but it has real,
16:37no strategic or kind of,
16:39you know, tactical value.
16:40But it will prove
16:42to be a significant hidey hole.
16:50The gold was brought to Fortezza
16:52in November 1943
16:55because they,
16:57who had been requisitioned to Central Bank,
16:59at the Bank of Italy, in Rome,
17:03it was basically German units
17:04of German military soldiers.
17:07However, they requisitioned this gold
17:10on behalf of the fascist government.
17:12And in their escape towards Milan,
17:15then after,
17:16they returned this gold
17:17to the disposal of the fascist government.
17:21Do we know why Fortezza
17:24was chosen specifically for the gold?
17:27This was a special area
17:28because here,
17:29in the provinces of Bolzano,
17:31Trento and Belluno,
17:33there was a German operation zone
17:35called the Foralpen operation zone.
17:41However,
17:43it was under the direct control
17:45of the gold fighter of Innsbruck,
17:48Franz Hofer.
17:50Hofer positioned himself
17:52as the kind of protector of Tyrol
17:54and he often styled himself
17:56as kind of deeply tied
17:58to the Alpine region.
18:00And what he did
18:01was to support
18:02this kind of massive network
18:04of defensive constructions,
18:06you know,
18:06in Tyrol and the Fortezza,
18:09therefore,
18:09gained this new significance
18:11under Hofer's watch.
18:13So, Hofer was technically responsible
18:15for holding on to the area
18:17as part of the supposed
18:19Alpine fortress scheme.
18:27I love this.
18:29This is a proper cave.
18:34Gold arrived here.
18:36Everything that remained,
18:38everything that was still in Rome,
18:40was brought here.
18:41It amounted to about 120 tons.
18:44These were ingots,
18:46typical national ingots,
18:48bearing the mark
18:48of the Bank of Italy,
18:50packed in wooden or metal crates,
18:52in leder taschen,
18:53basically leather bags,
18:55or in small barrels
18:56filled with gold coins.
18:58Much of the gold
19:00was then sent toward Berlin
19:01and to various destinations.
19:03From early 1944,
19:05the Nazis began
19:06moving the gold out.
19:08Two convoys went to Berlin
19:10and a third went to Switzerland.
19:12In total,
19:14we can estimate
19:14about 94 tons
19:16left Italy that year.
19:19For the Third Reich,
19:20this was hard currency.
19:22You know,
19:22this is money
19:23to keep that war machine alive,
19:25even though the Third Reich
19:26is clearly crumbling.
19:29It's spring 1945.
19:31The war is nearing its end.
19:33But up here in the Alps,
19:34it's still biting.
19:36Because that campaign
19:37by the Allies
19:38to take Italy
19:39has been one of the most
19:41violent and drawn out
19:43of the whole Second World War.
19:46Nearly every gorge,
19:49every mountainside,
19:50every hill
19:51has involved
19:52the most vicious fighting,
19:55with machine gun fire
19:56raining down from the slopes,
19:58mortars bursting in the trees.
20:00It has been
20:01the most brutal campaign
20:04and has cost
20:05hundreds of thousands
20:07of lives.
20:08But eventually,
20:10that German line
20:11breaks.
20:13It was later found
20:14and seized
20:14by American units,
20:16by American infantry units,
20:18which found,
20:19still here,
20:2025 to 26 tons of gold.
20:2325 tons of gold
20:25still hidden
20:26inside the fortress.
20:29As the Reich collapses,
20:31soldiers enter the fortress
20:32and find barrels of gold
20:35left behind
20:36in the rush
20:36to retreat.
20:40Over 150 barrels
20:42and crates,
20:43a forgotten vault.
20:46The treasure
20:47is eventually
20:48returned to Italy.
20:55Justine and I
20:56wanted to see
20:56with our own eyes
20:57just how much gold
20:59was actually found here.
21:01Justine,
21:01welcome to my gold room.
21:13Here it is.
21:14This is a depiction
21:14of how much gold
21:15there was here.
21:17That is pretty much
21:18the size of an average
21:18garden shed.
21:19And actually,
21:19when you look at it,
21:20it's kind of surprisingly
21:21small for something
21:23that's worth so much.
21:24it's proof that
21:26vast fortunes
21:28can just fit
21:29in very few
21:30steel boxes.
21:31If someone gave you that,
21:32you'd be very happy
21:33because that amount
21:34of gold
21:34is worth today
21:3610,
21:3711 billion pounds.
21:39Imagine,
21:40however,
21:41about a fifth
21:42of that
21:42might be missing.
21:45But what of the
21:46Italian gold
21:47which had made
21:48its way to Berlin
21:48and then perhaps
21:50into Switzerland?
21:51Because while the gold
21:52in Berlin was recovered
21:53and returned
21:54to the post-war
21:55Italian government,
21:56Switzerland has always
21:58been notoriously
21:59tight-lipped
22:00about the treasures
22:01which came its way
22:02in the final stages
22:04of World War II.
22:06But that is
22:07for another day.
22:12Here at Fortetza,
22:13the walls
22:14are now quiet.
22:15The vault
22:16is now empty.
22:17There is no
22:17forgotten hoard,
22:18just cold stone
22:19and empty tunnels.
22:21Whatever passed
22:22through here
22:23is now long gone.
22:24That gold
22:25now remains
22:25a kind of ghost story
22:27and the search
22:28for what's missing
22:28has to move on.
22:36Even though
22:37we've drawn a blank
22:38at Fortetza,
22:39we treasure hunters
22:40don't give up
22:41that easily.
22:42So we start
22:43hatching plans,
22:45tracing old routes,
22:46looking into
22:47those rumours.
23:04It's time to head
23:05to the eternal city,
23:07back to where
23:08where it all began.
23:10If there are more
23:11clues out there,
23:12the chances are
23:13I'm going to find
23:14them in Rome.
23:23Mussolini is booted
23:24out in July 1943
23:25and the armistice
23:27takes place
23:27in September
23:28and the Nazis
23:29know they've got
23:30to act quickly
23:31if they want to
23:32take control of Italy.
23:33They seize railways,
23:34buildings,
23:35you name it,
23:36they are going to take
23:37over this entire country.
23:39But there's one building
23:40near here
23:42which they really want
23:43to get their hands on
23:44and that's where
23:45I'm going to next.
24:00That building behind me
24:02is the Italian central bank,
24:04the Banca d'Italia.
24:06And it's here in September 1943
24:08that the Nazis turned up,
24:10knocked on the door
24:11and they said to the boss,
24:12Vincenzo Azzolini,
24:14we want to have your gold.
24:15And Azzolini is going,
24:17I'm not going to give you
24:17my gold.
24:18But the Germans
24:19are insistent.
24:20They say,
24:21we want to have your gold
24:22for safe keeping.
24:24And Azzolini realises
24:25he has no choice
24:27because if he refuses,
24:28the Germans will carry out
24:29reprisals.
24:31So on the 23rd
24:32and the 27th of September,
24:34the Germans turn up,
24:35they go to the vault
24:36and they take away
24:40119 tonnes of gold.
24:42The irony is today,
24:44if the Germans wanted
24:45Italy's gold,
24:46all they have to do
24:47is take it from there
24:48and put it across the road
24:50at the Deutsche Bank
24:52right here.
24:56Now that I'm here in Rome,
24:58there's one place
24:59I absolutely have
25:00to investigate.
25:01Monte Serrate,
25:03just 40 kilometres
25:04from the capital.
25:06Now, after Italy
25:07switched sides
25:08in September 1943,
25:09the Germans moved in
25:10and they moved in fast.
25:12And what they did
25:13was to occupy
25:14this vast bunker complex
25:17started by Mussolini
25:19that was, you know,
25:20buried deep
25:21into the mountainside.
25:23And it's from here,
25:24there was a kind of
25:25nerve centre
25:26for the German command
25:27from where Rome
25:29was defended,
25:30orders were issued
25:31and when the retreat
25:32would come,
25:34the tunnels
25:34would be sealed
25:35and left behind.
25:37So if you're going
25:37to hunt for missing gold,
25:39this is not a bad place
25:41to start.
25:42In fact,
25:43it's a brilliant place
25:44to start.
25:45There's only one man
25:46to do it with
25:47and that is the mayor
25:48of nearby Sant'Oresti,
25:51Professor Gregory Paolucci.
25:53Nice to meet you.
25:54The bunker is this way.
25:55Yes, the entrance
25:56is under the missile.
25:57Okay, let's go,
25:58let's go.
25:59Yeah.
25:59Take me down your bunker.
26:00So this is the original
26:02entrance right here?
26:03No, we have 22 entrances.
26:0522 entrances?
26:05Yes.
26:25And here we are
26:27inside one of
26:28the most complex
26:29and mysterious bunker
26:30systems in Europe.
26:33Built on the orders
26:34of Mussolini
26:35from 1937,
26:37it was meant
26:37to stretch
26:38for 14 kilometres,
26:41but he only managed
26:42to complete four.
26:45From here,
26:45it was believed
26:46that the Italians
26:47could continue
26:48their war effort
26:49even if they were
26:50driven out of Rome
26:51and at the very moment
26:53when gold and valuables
26:55were being moved
26:55across Italy,
26:58rumours began
26:59to circulate
27:00that some of that gold
27:02passed through
27:04right here,
27:05hidden somewhere
27:06underground,
27:07even if only
27:08for a short time.
27:09Okay, we've been
27:10walking for quite
27:10a long time now
27:11and I want to know
27:13where you're taking me.
27:14It's a surprise.
27:15For me?
27:16Let me show you.
27:17What you're searching
27:18for here?
27:19Well, I'm looking
27:20for gold.
27:21Oh, let's try.
27:22Let's try the search.
27:23Please tell me
27:23you've got gold.
27:24Yeah, it's a surprise
27:25for you.
27:25Let's go there.
27:27Gregory leads me
27:28into a room
27:28deep inside the bunker.
27:34Oh, wow.
27:37It's a space,
27:38he claims,
27:39that was once
27:40filled with gold
27:41and is now decorated
27:42with replica gold
27:44bars and ingots.
27:47As is stolen
27:49all Italian gold ingots
27:51from Italian bank,
27:52imagine that only 22 tons
27:54of gold came back
27:56after the war.
27:57Yeah.
27:58So, the most important
28:00part remained outside
28:01probably.
28:02So, it's not strange
28:04that from Rome,
28:05only in about one hour
28:07by car,
28:07so imagine that
28:09here was the commander
28:10in chief,
28:11Albert Kesserling,
28:12asked for gold.
28:14So, a part
28:15could be reasonable
28:16that could be brought here
28:20and Kesserling
28:21taken one part.
28:23One part
28:24about 69
28:25or 72 tons
28:27of ingots.
28:28We have only
28:29witnesses.
28:30Okay.
28:31It's not simple
28:32to get witnesses
28:33and even many
28:35histories after
28:36and well-documented
28:39even a man,
28:41a martyr.
28:42A murder?
28:43Yeah.
28:44Yeah, because
28:46who brought
28:47the gold here
28:49was not
28:49the German verband,
28:51it was the SS.
28:58And they brought
29:00the gold here,
29:00they obliged
29:02the German soldiers
29:04of the Wehrmacht
29:04to download
29:0572 tons
29:07of ingots
29:08hiding them
29:10inside
29:10a particular
29:12tunnel
29:13of this bunker.
29:14Then they walled up.
29:16The SS
29:16were not obliged
29:17to a military law,
29:19they had a political
29:21police.
29:22So,
29:23they shot
29:24to 12 soldiers,
29:26one of them
29:27was hardly
29:28deeply wounded
29:30but not killed.
29:31So,
29:31he succeeded
29:32to go out
29:34and to save
29:35himself.
29:36After the
29:37Second World War
29:37period,
29:38in 1946,
29:40these soldiers
29:41came back.
29:44According to
29:45Gregory,
29:45the soldier
29:46who survived
29:46the SS shooting
29:47and who returned
29:48for the gold
29:49was called
29:50Willy Wacht
29:51from Hamburg.
29:53Now,
29:53sometime later,
29:54he was found
29:55brutally murdered,
29:57believed by some
29:58to have been silenced
30:00to stop him
30:01revealing
30:01the whereabouts
30:03of the missing
30:04Italian gold.
30:06So,
30:06many people
30:07started to search
30:08for gold
30:09outside the military
30:10zone,
30:11the army zone
30:11and inside the tunnel.
30:13Italian government
30:14unclassified many
30:16documents
30:16from the 60s
30:17and 70s
30:18and there was
30:19the act
30:19in a military
30:21trial
30:22in which
30:24there were
30:24five generals
30:25of Italian army
30:26and the judge
30:28asked to
30:29these five generals
30:30you were
30:31spending many money
30:32in 1967
30:33and 1974
30:35to search
30:36for gold
30:37of Kesterling
30:38or Kappler gold
30:39and not too far
30:40from Rome
30:41in Montessorate.
30:42And the suggestion
30:44is they've been
30:45using this money
30:47to hunt for gold.
30:48Is that correct?
30:49Yeah,
30:50and imagine
30:50that the question
30:51of the judge
30:52was today
30:54clear to us
30:55but the answer
30:56of the general
30:56was blank.
30:58Here,
30:58searching for gold
30:59in 60s,
31:00late 60s
31:00and 70s
31:01were not only
31:03searchers
31:04for galleons
31:05and treasures
31:05but Italian army,
31:07Italian intelligence,
31:09Italian secret service
31:10spending many
31:11public money.
31:13Do they find
31:13any gold?
31:14We don't know
31:15but imagine
31:15that the mystery
31:17of the gold
31:17continues.
31:18because many
31:19Italian,
31:21even national
31:22institutes,
31:23I can give you
31:24the name,
31:25are well interested
31:26in searching
31:27for gold
31:28inside this tunnel
31:29even in next month.
31:31What Gregory
31:32has divulged here,
31:33it's utterly fascinating.
31:35I mean,
31:36the idea
31:36that the SS
31:37may have secreted gold
31:38here
31:39and even murdered
31:40Wehrmacht soldiers
31:41who transported it
31:43is one hell of a claim.
31:45What I've learned
31:46here in Monte Serrate
31:47is that
31:49of all the places
31:50in Italy
31:50where there still
31:51might be gold,
31:52this could
31:53just be the place.
31:55I am totally intrigued.
31:57I want to spend
31:58a lot more time here
31:59but I know
32:00I've got to get back
32:01to Fortezza
32:02and rejoin Justine
32:04who,
32:05while I was away,
32:06managed to get access
32:07to the bunker
32:08near Fort Fortezza
32:10we'd been to before.
32:14Only this time
32:15she's enlisted
32:16the help
32:17of a local expert.
32:23When it comes
32:24to bunkers
32:24and back roads
32:25we turn again
32:26to our friend
32:28Tony,
32:28the man who knows
32:30the hills
32:30and tunnels
32:31around Fortezza
32:32better than anyone else.
32:39Our tour
32:40of the bunkers
32:41of Alto Eadigie
32:43continues
32:44and we've got
32:45Tony here
32:45to lead us
32:46to bunker
32:47number three.
32:51You know what?
32:52Up here
32:53in the Italian Alps
32:54every path
32:54is uphill
32:55both ways.
32:56I love my hills,
32:58don't I?
32:58You love your hills.
33:00By the third
33:01switchback
33:02you start to wonder
33:03if the real
33:04hidden treasure
33:04is just a nice
33:06little level
33:07point on which
33:08to take a breather.
33:14Summer 1944.
33:16The Allies
33:17are pushing north
33:18and that Nazi grip
33:19on Italy
33:20is starting
33:21to loosen
33:21and suddenly
33:22Fortezza
33:23it doesn't feel
33:24safe anymore.
33:25So the gold
33:26it's moved again
33:27away from the fortress
33:29and up
33:29into the mountains
33:31towards the bunkers
33:32that honeycomb
33:33the entire area.
33:34They're like
33:35kind of underground
33:36villages
33:36of concrete
33:37and rock.
33:38you've got corridor
33:39after corridor
33:40room after room
33:41if you want
33:42to make
33:43a few tons
33:43of gold
33:44just vanish
33:44in a hurry
33:45you cannot ask
33:47for a better place.
33:50where is this
33:51bloody bunker
33:51anywhere?
33:52We've been
33:52walking for years
33:53and I think
33:54that it's still
33:55up here
33:56so I'm going
33:56The bunker is here
33:58There!
34:00It's over there
34:01Okay
34:01Really?
34:03Okay
34:06I'm not sure
34:07where he's taking
34:08proper secret bunkers
34:09I'm always distrustful
34:11of men like this
34:11leading me
34:12into their bunkers
34:13You can go
34:13on your own then
34:14Right
34:15Okay
34:27Proper bunker
34:28door thing
34:28here
34:29look at this
34:29that's made out
34:31of 29 inches
34:33of steel
34:34or whatever it is
34:35Bloody hell
34:36look at this
34:40Okay
34:41Looks like
34:42he's got
34:43looks like
34:43he's got
34:44a secret door
34:48Finally
34:48this is looking
34:50like the real deal
34:56Alice in Wonderland
35:00That is the most
35:01theatrical bunker
35:02I've ever seen
35:03Bunker 3
35:04has got
35:04such a classic
35:06entrance
35:06I mean
35:07it's got
35:08the most
35:09bunker bunker
35:10entrance
35:11you can imagine
35:12it's
35:13got to have
35:14gold behind it
35:15Right
35:17In we go
35:23Oh my god
35:26it's freezing
35:30Deep in the heart of the mountains of South Tyrol
35:33Justine and I are in part of the bunker complex
35:37which surrounds the infamous Forteza fortress
35:40where it is believed the Nazis smuggled several tons of gold seized towards the end of the war from the
35:48Banca d'Italia
35:53It's a little cool here
35:55We are underground
35:57Are there 10 degrees here?
36:00Yes
36:00now in the summer
36:01it's 10 or 12 degrees
36:03The moment we step inside
36:05those walls
36:06they kind of feel like
36:07they're closing in a bit
36:08I mean
36:08everything's very claustrophobic
36:10it's very airless
36:11there's no natural light
36:12I found it
36:13a real nightmare
36:14I wasn't worried about ghosts
36:16I wasn't even beginning to get worried about finding gold
36:18I just didn't really want to be trapped in a concrete box
36:22cut into a mountainside
36:23What is the size of this bunker?
36:28About 500 square meters
36:30500 square meters?
36:32Okay, that's big
36:33very big
36:34However, the total extent is more than one hectare
36:37more than 10,000 square meters
36:39Wow
36:41And when was this built?
36:42Around 1939
36:46Bunker 3 is one of the most enigmatic
36:48remnants of military infrastructure
36:50in northern Italy
36:54When it was finally reopened decades later
36:57parts of the structure
36:59appeared to have been disturbed
37:01You've got kind of mountings for safes
37:04and storage cabinets ripped out
37:05concrete floor
37:06in certain sections
37:08shows signs of having been cut away or lifted
37:10and we couldn't find any official post-war records
37:14of what was going on here
37:16You know, no really useful military logs
37:18to explain any changes
37:19So you have a kind of vacuum of information
37:22into which fills questions and theories and rumours
37:25and the big question is
37:27could some of those 25 tons of missing gold
37:30been temporarily stored right here?
37:33Atenzione
37:34Atenzione
37:35Atenzione
37:36And it's wet
37:37Watch out guys, this is genuinely slippery
37:43What are all these rooms for?
37:46Munition depositors
37:48Just deposit rooms
37:49They look a bit like
37:50Store rooms basically
37:51Yes
37:51Yeah
37:52Tiny hotel rooms
37:54Yeah
37:54It's getting colder
37:57Oh
37:59I know I'm moaning a lot
38:00but are you cold, Justine?
38:02Well I've got my
38:03pure raw Italian jacket
38:05Okay, well I'm just wearing my
38:06French cotton jacket
38:08and it's not working
38:09It's all overall for swanning around
38:11Italian bars and cafes
38:13but it's no good for this kind of
38:14bunker exploration
38:16This is useless
38:16I'm not sure you're gonna get a hot coffee
38:18or a hot cappuccino
38:19around here either
38:20No
38:20Wow
38:21Okay
38:22On it goes
38:24It doesn't bloody end
38:26Tony has told me he's got a little
38:29secret room at the end
38:32Show me your secret
38:36Let's see
38:37Tony's secret
38:40Oh, que bello!
38:42Your favourite princess here
38:46Oh my god
38:47Spider world
38:48And this is your room for tonight
38:50This is horrible
38:53Antonio seemed perfectly at home
38:55in this kind of
38:56arachnid colony
38:57I for one wanted to get the hell out of this
38:59dark world of creepy spiders
39:02I'm getting out of here
39:03I don't want to be here anymore
39:13But just as we near the exit
39:15an unannounced visitor
39:17suddenly appears
39:18Hello
39:19Hello
39:19Hello
39:20Bonjour
39:21Bonjour
39:21Very well
39:23Out of the shadows
39:25just appeared this
39:26somewhat burly individual
39:28in a kind of quasi-military uniform
39:31and no one had any idea
39:33what he was doing there
39:34What brings you here to this bunker?
39:36Yeah
39:36Yeah, I am normally looking for the bunkers
39:39around the Europe
39:40so it's mine
39:41I'm just ripping from the bunkers
39:43to the bunkers
39:45Oh, I see
39:45We have a lot in Czech
39:47and portman as well
39:48So you're here as a tourist?
39:50Yeah
39:50Okay, so you're wearing an abomi hat
39:53a beret
39:54Yeah, yeah
39:54But it's a Czech one, yeah
39:56I see
39:56So, I see
39:58So, you're dressed up
40:00I see, we thought you were a soldier
40:01Yeah
40:02You're just...
40:03Okay, you're dressed up
40:04Yeah, okay
40:04I'm looking how the Italians are prepared
40:07for the next war
40:08with the Russians people, you know?
40:09Okay
40:11Yeah, okay
40:12Good, well
40:12we will let you explore
40:14Okay
40:15Bye-bye
40:15Thank you, bye-bye
40:16Okay
40:28Do we lock him off now?
40:29Yeah, let's shut it in
40:41Of course we didn't shut him in
40:43He was simply one of the many
40:46historical enthusiasts, shall we say
40:48who loves to explore bunker complexes
40:50Now, I would be pretty devastated
40:52if he managed to stumble across the gold
40:55that we had been looking for
40:57This is what happens when you do programs like this
40:59You know that these places just attract
41:02the most diverse range of people
41:06you can possibly imagine
41:07I mean, I've got to confess
41:10you know, we're not the most normal people ourselves
41:11hunting for Nazi gold
41:13but what the hell?
41:40In the post-war years, Italy, of course, refused to let this
41:44story fade
41:45and after several complex negotiations
41:47she got back all her gold
41:50at least we think she did
41:51Now, the head of the Bank of Italia
41:54at the time, Vincenzo Azzolini
41:56was put on trial after the war
41:59and was accused of having willingly given that gold
42:03over to the Nazis
42:05but ultimately he was pardoned
42:07because it was found that he was completely coerced
42:11Atalini had no choice but to hand over his country's gold
42:15Now, at the end of the war
42:17we see the bank's integrity restored
42:19and justice, however imperfect, began to be served
42:23I've rather enjoyed my time at Festung Fortezza
42:26I'm loving Italy
42:28Well, you're loving Italy
42:29because of the food and the people and the fashion
42:32which is why we're trying to look cool here in Italy
42:34not that Tony was that representative of Italian
42:46I was determined I was going to find something
42:49It doesn't matter
42:52because next time we are going to the daddy of Nazi gold locations
42:59That, boys and girls, is Lake Toklitz
43:08There is no place more associated with the hunt for Nazi gold than there
43:14and we are going to meet some legendary figures
43:17with some extraordinary stories to tell
43:20Justine and I are going to go there
43:23and we are going to look for it
43:26Wish us luck
43:28This is the big one
43:29This is the big one
43:44The Toothpress
43:48That it is not
43:49This is the big one
43:49And you are the fellow
44:01Stay to declare
44:04The hope
44:05We are the family
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