1 00:00:01,867 --> 00:00:04,100 [narrator] A French compound where a staggering deception 2 00:00:04,100 --> 00:00:05,767 was launched. 3 00:00:05,934 --> 00:00:08,767 [Sascha] What unfolded was one of the great spy stories 4 00:00:08,767 --> 00:00:09,900 of the Second World War. 5 00:00:11,767 --> 00:00:15,266 An iconic Philadelphia venue that set the stage 6 00:00:15,433 --> 00:00:17,467 for era-defining artists. 7 00:00:18,467 --> 00:00:23,367 [Olivia] All these famous entertainers. It was electric in here. 8 00:00:23,533 --> 00:00:28,166 And a mansion in Malaysia, the scene of a baffling crime. 9 00:00:28,166 --> 00:00:31,467 [Dominic] This house was the site of a brutal killing. 10 00:00:31,467 --> 00:00:33,767 His body was found with a shotgun wound 11 00:00:33,934 --> 00:00:35,166 to the back of the head. 12 00:00:35,166 --> 00:00:38,500 [theme music playing] 13 00:00:44,667 --> 00:00:47,667 Eighty miles from the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, 14 00:00:47,667 --> 00:00:51,166 is a hidden facility, the propaganda mouthpiece 15 00:00:51,166 --> 00:00:52,467 of a repressive regime. 16 00:00:52,633 --> 00:00:55,467 [intense music playing] 17 00:00:57,367 --> 00:01:00,767 [Dominic] There's forest as far as the eye can see. 18 00:01:00,934 --> 00:01:03,667 It feels remote, out of the way, 19 00:01:03,667 --> 00:01:06,567 the perfect place to hide something. 20 00:01:06,734 --> 00:01:09,667 [Jim] Then out of the trees rises this structure. 21 00:01:09,667 --> 00:01:12,567 The whole thing has an ominous feel. 22 00:01:12,567 --> 00:01:15,500 [Lynette] It's massive and concrete. 23 00:01:15,667 --> 00:01:21,166 It is one of these Eastern European communist monoliths. 24 00:01:21,166 --> 00:01:24,867 Among the derelict remains, there are clues 25 00:01:24,867 --> 00:01:28,467 to why it was built in such an isolated location. 26 00:01:29,667 --> 00:01:33,967 [Jim] Inside, it's been virtually stripped to the walls, 27 00:01:34,133 --> 00:01:36,367 but there's a few hints that it was a highly 28 00:01:36,533 --> 00:01:38,200 technological structure. 29 00:01:38,367 --> 00:01:41,166 [Dominic] There are these channels cut into the floor, 30 00:01:41,333 --> 00:01:42,767 maybe for pipes or cables. 31 00:01:43,700 --> 00:01:46,967 You can also see platforms that look like the basis 32 00:01:47,133 --> 00:01:48,467 for some kind of machinery. 33 00:01:49,667 --> 00:01:52,867 [Jim] It has its own power line leading to it. 34 00:01:52,867 --> 00:01:56,567 So clearly whatever happened here required an enormous 35 00:01:56,567 --> 00:01:57,834 amount of electricity. 36 00:01:58,767 --> 00:02:02,567 Could this have been some kind of secret government office 37 00:02:02,734 --> 00:02:04,667 or military research facility? 38 00:02:06,066 --> 00:02:08,800 Created to fight a disinformation campaign 39 00:02:08,967 --> 00:02:11,600 from deep behind the Iron Curtain, 40 00:02:11,767 --> 00:02:14,266 when the West gained the edge, 41 00:02:14,433 --> 00:02:17,800 this Cold War confrontation turned hot. 42 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,467 [Jim] The Bulgarian government's control over information 43 00:02:23,467 --> 00:02:28,000 was so complete and so paranoid, they were even willing 44 00:02:28,166 --> 00:02:31,700 to launch a daring assassination in the streets of London. 45 00:02:35,367 --> 00:02:37,867 [bell tones playing softly] 46 00:02:37,867 --> 00:02:40,266 [Spiridon ] This was where I had my first serious job. 47 00:02:40,433 --> 00:02:43,166 It was truly impressive, because the security 48 00:02:43,166 --> 00:02:45,166 was just like the state border. 49 00:02:45,333 --> 00:02:47,567 [soft music plays] 50 00:02:47,734 --> 00:02:51,800 Spiridon Harizanov began working here as a technician 51 00:02:51,967 --> 00:02:57,467 in September 1988, when Bulgaria was part 52 00:02:57,467 --> 00:02:59,767 of the Communist Soviet bloc. 53 00:03:00,767 --> 00:03:03,367 This place was buzzing with life. 54 00:03:03,533 --> 00:03:04,900 Over 100 people worked here. 55 00:03:06,567 --> 00:03:08,867 Construction on this high-security 56 00:03:08,867 --> 00:03:13,900 government complex began in 1974. 57 00:03:14,066 --> 00:03:16,800 But it was designed to take part in a fight 58 00:03:16,967 --> 00:03:19,467 that began decades earlier. 59 00:03:20,967 --> 00:03:24,667 [Dominic] The Cold War was as much a political and ideological 60 00:03:24,834 --> 00:03:26,900 battle as a military confrontation. 61 00:03:27,066 --> 00:03:30,967 As the eastern and western superpowers were facing off 62 00:03:31,133 --> 00:03:34,667 with their nuclear arsenals, another unseen battle was 63 00:03:34,834 --> 00:03:37,567 unfolding over the airwaves. 64 00:03:37,734 --> 00:03:41,767 These structures were part of communist Bulgaria's attempt 65 00:03:41,767 --> 00:03:44,967 to convert the world to their way of thinking 66 00:03:45,133 --> 00:03:48,000 using international radio broadcasting. 67 00:03:50,300 --> 00:03:52,667 [Spiridon] This was the heart of some of the transmitters. 68 00:03:53,900 --> 00:03:56,467 And here was the booth with the control panel. 69 00:03:58,166 --> 00:04:00,400 [Jim] This complex had enough power, it was said, 70 00:04:00,567 --> 00:04:04,900 to broadcast a shortwave signal six times around the world. 71 00:04:07,367 --> 00:04:10,667 [Spiridon] Everything broadcast from here was propaganda. 72 00:04:12,767 --> 00:04:16,166 Some programs were aimed to Bulgarians living aboard, 73 00:04:16,333 --> 00:04:20,367 but a large part of them were aimed at another audience. 74 00:04:20,533 --> 00:04:21,667 Latin America, um... 75 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:27,166 North America, West Africa, in various languages. 76 00:04:27,333 --> 00:04:30,100 We broadcast to some of the farthest corners 77 00:04:30,100 --> 00:04:31,266 of the world. 78 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,467 This is the Padarsko Radio Center. 79 00:04:36,467 --> 00:04:39,767 Its transmissions included speeches from the country's 80 00:04:39,934 --> 00:04:43,367 leader, Todor Zhivkov, praising Bulgaria 81 00:04:43,533 --> 00:04:46,166 as a socialist workers' paradise. 82 00:04:46,333 --> 00:04:49,000 The reality was very different. 83 00:04:50,266 --> 00:04:53,000 [Spiridon] Bulgaria was a complete police state. 84 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,266 There were eyes and ears everywhere. 85 00:04:56,500 --> 00:05:01,867 [Lynette] People were not permitted to know anything that 86 00:05:02,033 --> 00:05:06,900 their dictators didn't want them to know. 87 00:05:07,066 --> 00:05:10,800 [Jim] So western nations set up operations to broadcast 88 00:05:10,967 --> 00:05:13,467 to various countries behind the Iron Curtain. 89 00:05:13,467 --> 00:05:16,467 There were several of these operations, Voice of America, 90 00:05:16,633 --> 00:05:19,967 Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe, and the BBC. 91 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:26,567 [Lynette] And all of these radio stations are designed to have real 92 00:05:26,567 --> 00:05:32,367 journalists sending real news to parts of the world where all 93 00:05:32,533 --> 00:05:35,900 they were fed was government propaganda. 94 00:05:36,967 --> 00:05:39,967 Those broadcasts were our only way of learning what was truly 95 00:05:40,133 --> 00:05:42,700 happening in Bulgaria and the rest of the world. 96 00:05:44,266 --> 00:05:46,000 They also broadcast a lot of interviews 97 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,100 with political leaders like President Eisenhower, 98 00:05:49,266 --> 00:05:53,000 John F. Kennedy, entertainers like Elizabeth Taylor, 99 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,900 Tom Jones, civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King. 100 00:05:58,066 --> 00:06:01,500 But it wasn't just American voices and celebrities that 101 00:06:01,667 --> 00:06:03,467 were beaming into Bulgaria. 102 00:06:03,633 --> 00:06:07,500 Exiles and dissidents were brought in to broadcast 103 00:06:07,667 --> 00:06:11,567 their criticisms of the regime back into the country. 104 00:06:11,734 --> 00:06:15,600 Help us to keep our young people from falling under 105 00:06:15,767 --> 00:06:17,667 the influence of the communists. 106 00:06:18,867 --> 00:06:24,367 In 1969, one of these political opponents fled to the west. 107 00:06:24,367 --> 00:06:26,700 From there, he took to the airwaves, 108 00:06:26,867 --> 00:06:28,667 attacking the Bulgarian regime. 109 00:06:29,667 --> 00:06:32,600 His name was Georgi Markov. 110 00:06:32,767 --> 00:06:35,066 [Dominic] He had settled in England, where he worked 111 00:06:35,233 --> 00:06:39,000 for Radio Free Europe, the BBC, and other radio stations 112 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,266 broadcasting back into his home country. 113 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:44,100 [Dominic] I believe there isn't a single 114 00:06:44,266 --> 00:06:47,567 Bulgarian who hasn't listened to Georgi Markov's program 115 00:06:47,567 --> 00:06:50,467 in absentia reports about Bulgaria. 116 00:06:51,567 --> 00:06:56,567 Markov is being very pointed in his criticism 117 00:06:56,734 --> 00:07:00,867 of the Bulgarian government and of Todor Zhivkov, 118 00:07:01,033 --> 00:07:04,100 who was the Bulgarian dictator. 119 00:07:04,266 --> 00:07:07,467 Markov is a very dangerous nuisance. 120 00:07:07,633 --> 00:07:09,867 [intense music playing] 121 00:07:09,867 --> 00:07:13,500 Fearing his shows could incite a rebellion, 122 00:07:13,667 --> 00:07:17,600 Bulgarian authorities turned to facilities like Padarsko 123 00:07:17,767 --> 00:07:20,266 to stop them. 124 00:07:20,266 --> 00:07:23,500 [Spiridon] This particular building housed the so-called lightning jamming 125 00:07:23,667 --> 00:07:27,667 transmitter, which was used to disrupt enemy radio stations. 126 00:07:27,834 --> 00:07:31,667 However, we also had another nickname for it, the buzzer. 127 00:07:33,367 --> 00:07:36,467 [Jim] During shows they thought were particularly damaging, 128 00:07:36,633 --> 00:07:41,266 like Markov's shows, they would tune to that channel, 129 00:07:41,433 --> 00:07:45,567 broadcast on the same frequency, interfering noise, 130 00:07:45,567 --> 00:07:47,400 music, crazy sounds. 131 00:07:47,567 --> 00:07:49,500 [Markov on recording] Here's the Soviet government's 132 00:07:49,667 --> 00:07:53,867 $120 million a year direct answer to Radio Liberty. 133 00:07:53,867 --> 00:07:56,100 [radio interference] 134 00:07:56,100 --> 00:07:57,667 [on recording] Jamming. 135 00:07:57,667 --> 00:08:03,000 But those determined to tune into Markov shows found a way. 136 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,300 [mysterious music playing] 137 00:08:05,467 --> 00:08:09,100 [Jim] A person could arrange their antenna in a certain way, 138 00:08:09,266 --> 00:08:12,166 or maybe drive out in the countryside, 139 00:08:12,166 --> 00:08:15,700 and they could often wind up hearing these broadcasts. 140 00:08:17,166 --> 00:08:20,266 [Spiridon] I listened to Radio Free Europe at home almost every day. 141 00:08:21,500 --> 00:08:23,600 Even though my colleagues, who had just taken over 142 00:08:23,767 --> 00:08:26,367 the shift from me, were trying to jam it. 143 00:08:28,166 --> 00:08:32,967 Infuriated that Markov's attacks continued to be heard, 144 00:08:33,133 --> 00:08:36,200 the regime decided to take direct action. 145 00:08:37,266 --> 00:08:41,066 They were willing to go anywhere and do anything 146 00:08:41,233 --> 00:08:43,567 to stop people telling the truth. 147 00:08:43,734 --> 00:08:46,000 [intense music playing] 148 00:08:49,567 --> 00:08:52,200 In the late 1970s, communist Bulgaria was using 149 00:08:52,367 --> 00:08:56,467 the Padarsko Radio Center to jam enemy transmissions 150 00:08:56,467 --> 00:08:57,567 from the West. 151 00:08:58,900 --> 00:09:01,300 Dissident journalist Georgi Markov, 152 00:09:01,467 --> 00:09:04,467 broadcasting from London, was their public enemy 153 00:09:04,467 --> 00:09:05,567 number one. 154 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,367 But they weren't that successful at blocking 155 00:09:10,533 --> 00:09:12,200 these transmissions. 156 00:09:12,367 --> 00:09:15,200 The Bulgarian authorities were so outraged 157 00:09:15,367 --> 00:09:18,467 that they took a desperate measure. 158 00:09:18,633 --> 00:09:22,967 [Dominic] On September 7, 1978, Markov was walking across 159 00:09:23,133 --> 00:09:26,700 London's Waterloo Bridge, heading for his job at the BBC. 160 00:09:26,867 --> 00:09:30,467 Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his leg, as if he'd been 161 00:09:30,633 --> 00:09:31,867 stung by an insect. 162 00:09:32,867 --> 00:09:36,567 [Lynette] When that happened, he saw somebody bend over 163 00:09:36,567 --> 00:09:39,300 and pick up an umbrella and walk away. 164 00:09:40,266 --> 00:09:42,600 And he thought no more about it. 165 00:09:42,767 --> 00:09:45,367 [Jim] But by that evening, he was deathly ill and went 166 00:09:45,533 --> 00:09:46,700 to the hospital. 167 00:09:46,700 --> 00:09:48,266 They couldn't really figure out what was wrong with him 168 00:09:48,433 --> 00:09:51,100 except for a tiny puncture in the back of his leg. 169 00:09:51,266 --> 00:09:52,767 But four days later, he was dead. 170 00:09:53,967 --> 00:09:57,967 There's a widespread theory that a Bulgarian secret service 171 00:09:58,133 --> 00:10:03,000 officer had an umbrella capable of injecting a pellet 172 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:09,367 of ricin poison into Markov's leg, and the poison killed him. 173 00:10:09,367 --> 00:10:14,100 Across the west, the attack was front-page news. 174 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:18,066 But in Bulgaria, the official line was complete silence. 175 00:10:19,667 --> 00:10:21,767 [Spiridon] The news couldn't have got out here. 176 00:10:21,934 --> 00:10:24,700 He was considered an enemy of the people. 177 00:10:24,867 --> 00:10:28,767 It was on Radio Free Europe or the BBC that I learned about 178 00:10:28,767 --> 00:10:30,667 the murder of Georgi Markov. 179 00:10:31,967 --> 00:10:35,000 Markov's killers were never brought to justice, 180 00:10:35,166 --> 00:10:37,967 and Padarsko continued to operate until a wave 181 00:10:38,133 --> 00:10:42,367 of democratic protests toppled the regime in the late '80s. 182 00:10:44,367 --> 00:10:47,867 [Spiridon] Right after the political changes in 1989, 183 00:10:48,033 --> 00:10:51,667 we stopped using the jamming transmitter. 184 00:10:51,667 --> 00:10:56,467 In 1990, Todor Zhivkov was arrested and put on trial 185 00:10:56,633 --> 00:10:59,000 for corruption and abuse of power. 186 00:10:59,967 --> 00:11:02,000 He died while under house arrest, 187 00:11:02,166 --> 00:11:04,066 eight years later. 188 00:11:04,233 --> 00:11:08,467 This facility was still used to transmit radio Bulgaria 189 00:11:08,633 --> 00:11:10,567 for another couple of decades. 190 00:11:10,734 --> 00:11:13,567 [mysterious music playing] 191 00:11:13,567 --> 00:11:19,667 [Spiridon] February 1st, 2012, was my last day of work here. 192 00:11:19,667 --> 00:11:23,667 And after that, this place gradually turned 193 00:11:23,834 --> 00:11:26,266 into the scrap and ruins you see today. 194 00:11:33,066 --> 00:11:36,000 [mysterious music playing] 195 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:40,000 [Jim] No one has nostalgic memories of this facility, 196 00:11:40,166 --> 00:11:43,900 no one is organizing fundraising to restore it 197 00:11:44,066 --> 00:11:47,000 or turn it into a park or a museum. 198 00:11:47,166 --> 00:11:49,900 It sits here out in the forest, abandoned, 199 00:11:50,066 --> 00:11:52,100 a bad memory of a very dark time. 200 00:11:52,100 --> 00:11:56,567 [mysterious music playing] 201 00:11:56,567 --> 00:12:00,667 In Malaysia's Penang province, tales of haunting 202 00:12:00,834 --> 00:12:04,600 and violence swirl around an isolated relic. 203 00:12:07,066 --> 00:12:09,800 [mysterious music playing] 204 00:12:09,967 --> 00:12:12,367 [Jim] We're in a lush, tropical area. 205 00:12:12,367 --> 00:12:14,000 And at first, all you see is trees. 206 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,667 It looks like an unbroken forest. 207 00:12:16,667 --> 00:12:20,567 [Chelsea] In the middle of it all is this large, imposing ruin. 208 00:12:20,567 --> 00:12:24,300 Clearly, no one has lived here for a very long time. 209 00:12:24,467 --> 00:12:27,667 But the sparse interior does hold evidence 210 00:12:27,834 --> 00:12:30,266 of who built this place. 211 00:12:30,266 --> 00:12:33,100 [Dominic] You can tell it was once a luxurious residence 212 00:12:33,266 --> 00:12:35,100 for a very wealthy person. 213 00:12:35,100 --> 00:12:38,967 But it doesn't look like a traditional Malay building. 214 00:12:39,133 --> 00:12:42,467 It's been built from heavy stone with palatial 215 00:12:42,633 --> 00:12:44,266 European features. 216 00:12:44,433 --> 00:12:46,867 Could this be a colonial structure? 217 00:12:47,033 --> 00:12:50,967 Built using the profits from an incredible resource boom, 218 00:12:51,133 --> 00:12:54,767 as a family tried to reassert dominance over this land, 219 00:12:54,934 --> 00:12:58,300 it became the scene of a twisted crime. 220 00:12:58,467 --> 00:13:02,100 [Chelsea] It's one of Malaysia's most famous unsolved murders, 221 00:13:02,100 --> 00:13:04,367 but there are no shortage of theories. 222 00:13:06,066 --> 00:13:08,200 [mysterious music playing] 223 00:13:09,867 --> 00:13:13,100 [Clement speaking] 224 00:13:19,900 --> 00:13:24,166 When Clement Liang first visited this grand ruin, 225 00:13:24,166 --> 00:13:28,066 locals told him about a spirit they believe still stalked 226 00:13:28,233 --> 00:13:29,166 these halls. 227 00:13:30,367 --> 00:13:33,500 [Clement speaking] 228 00:13:50,166 --> 00:13:54,300 John's full name was John St. More Ramsden. 229 00:13:54,467 --> 00:13:58,066 He was part of a colonial dynasty who controlled vast 230 00:13:58,233 --> 00:14:02,400 amounts of land in British Malaya in the 1870s. 231 00:14:04,867 --> 00:14:09,100 At first, the estate grew sugarcane, but a technological 232 00:14:09,266 --> 00:14:12,266 advancement would lead to a far more lucrative crop 233 00:14:12,433 --> 00:14:14,266 being grown here. 234 00:14:14,266 --> 00:14:18,266 This radical transformation began with a revolutionary 235 00:14:18,433 --> 00:14:21,867 discovery made more than 9,000 miles away 236 00:14:22,033 --> 00:14:23,900 in Woburn, Massachusetts. 237 00:14:26,300 --> 00:14:29,667 [Jim] In the mid-19th century, a self-taught American chemist 238 00:14:29,834 --> 00:14:32,700 named Charles Goodyear started tinkering with rubber 239 00:14:32,867 --> 00:14:37,000 to try to make it more durable, and tougher and more elastic. 240 00:14:37,166 --> 00:14:40,500 Eventually, he came across a formula that was stretchy, 241 00:14:40,667 --> 00:14:43,166 but could return to its original shape. 242 00:14:43,166 --> 00:14:45,166 There was nothing quite like it. 243 00:14:46,967 --> 00:14:52,300 Rubber very quickly became one of the most in demand products 244 00:14:52,467 --> 00:14:53,500 in the world. 245 00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:56,000 Malaysia turned out to be one of the best places 246 00:14:56,166 --> 00:14:57,367 to grow rubber. 247 00:14:57,533 --> 00:14:59,500 And within a few years, it was making more than 248 00:14:59,667 --> 00:15:01,166 a third of the world's supply. 249 00:15:09,767 --> 00:15:12,166 Instead of traveling from Britain themselves, 250 00:15:12,166 --> 00:15:14,300 they hired managers to run the estates. 251 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,000 And it was called Caledonia House. 252 00:15:27,367 --> 00:15:30,767 Over the subsequent decades, demand for rubber 253 00:15:30,934 --> 00:15:32,367 continued to boom. 254 00:15:32,367 --> 00:15:35,066 And from their luxurious mansion, 255 00:15:35,233 --> 00:15:38,867 the Ramsden family's managers oversaw an increasingly 256 00:15:39,033 --> 00:15:40,367 diverse workforce. 257 00:15:41,467 --> 00:15:45,600 [Jim] As the Malaysian economy grew, it pulled in hundreds 258 00:15:45,767 --> 00:15:48,600 of thousands of immigrants from China and elsewhere 259 00:15:48,767 --> 00:15:52,467 who mixed with the indigenous Malaysian population. 260 00:15:52,467 --> 00:15:54,567 [Chelsea] The family were raking in the cash. 261 00:15:54,734 --> 00:15:58,000 At the time, it was said to be the most valuable European 262 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,967 holding in British Malaya. 263 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,367 But this massive wealth was being watched jealously 264 00:16:04,533 --> 00:16:06,100 from overseas. 265 00:16:06,100 --> 00:16:08,800 [Dominic] And soon, war would bring disaster 266 00:16:08,967 --> 00:16:10,367 to Caledonia Plantation. 267 00:16:11,900 --> 00:16:16,400 [Dominic] On December the 8th, 1941, almost simultaneously 268 00:16:16,567 --> 00:16:18,367 with their attack on Pearl Harbor, 269 00:16:18,533 --> 00:16:21,467 the Japanese army invaded British Malaya. 270 00:16:22,567 --> 00:16:25,400 [Jim] They had enormous resources, including 271 00:16:25,567 --> 00:16:27,100 these rubber plantations. 272 00:16:27,266 --> 00:16:30,400 Those were vital for Japan's military efforts. 273 00:16:30,567 --> 00:16:32,300 [gunshots blast] 274 00:16:32,467 --> 00:16:35,367 They swept through the country at lightning speed, 275 00:16:35,533 --> 00:16:38,100 and after just three months, the unprepared British 276 00:16:38,266 --> 00:16:39,467 surrendered in Singapore. 277 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,867 Caledonia was now under Japanese occupation, 278 00:16:45,033 --> 00:16:48,100 but the British would do whatever it took to regain 279 00:16:48,100 --> 00:16:52,266 control of the valuable colony, leading to the funding 280 00:16:52,433 --> 00:16:55,400 and arming of communist guerrillas to continue 281 00:16:55,567 --> 00:16:58,667 the fight behind enemy lines. 282 00:16:58,667 --> 00:17:03,867 With the communists' help, Japan was defeated in 1945. 283 00:17:04,033 --> 00:17:05,867 But when Britain returned to Malaya, 284 00:17:05,867 --> 00:17:08,767 these guerrilla fighters switched their focus 285 00:17:08,767 --> 00:17:11,867 from one colonial oppressor to another. 286 00:17:12,033 --> 00:17:15,166 [Clement speaking] 287 00:17:24,967 --> 00:17:28,667 To these insurgents, families like the Ramsdens 288 00:17:28,667 --> 00:17:32,166 were the ultimate symbol of colonial exploitation. 289 00:17:37,567 --> 00:17:42,166 Soon, a violent murder would plunge this mansion into chaos. 290 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,100 In 1946, Caledonia House in Malaysia lay at the heart 291 00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:55,166 of a valuable rubber plantation ruined under Japanese 292 00:17:55,333 --> 00:17:57,600 occupation during the Second World War. 293 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,800 Its British colonial owners, the Ramsdens, were determined 294 00:18:02,967 --> 00:18:06,800 to restore it despite a growing local armed resistance. 295 00:18:07,867 --> 00:18:10,467 [Dominic] The patriarch of the family sent his son, 296 00:18:10,467 --> 00:18:12,567 John, to repair the estate. 297 00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:17,100 He is said to have treated the plantation workers well, 298 00:18:17,100 --> 00:18:20,100 offering them lavish dinners at the house, 299 00:18:20,266 --> 00:18:23,900 and even having their children driven to school in his car. 300 00:18:25,166 --> 00:18:27,467 [Chelsea] But no matter how good his relationship 301 00:18:27,467 --> 00:18:30,367 with the workers might have been, at the end of the day, 302 00:18:30,367 --> 00:18:33,266 this was a colonial enterprise that was built 303 00:18:33,266 --> 00:18:35,400 on racism and inequality. 304 00:18:35,567 --> 00:18:39,066 Two years after John Ramsden arrived here, 305 00:18:39,233 --> 00:18:42,600 these tensions would come to a head. 306 00:19:05,100 --> 00:19:08,500 The estate watchman and three plantation workers 307 00:19:08,667 --> 00:19:10,700 heard the shots and rushed inside. 308 00:19:23,266 --> 00:19:26,867 When the police arrived, they began combing the mansion, 309 00:19:26,867 --> 00:19:28,767 and its grounds, for evidence. 310 00:19:30,100 --> 00:19:34,266 Outside, they found two spent shotgun shells 311 00:19:34,266 --> 00:19:36,400 underneath one of the rubber trees. 312 00:19:38,367 --> 00:19:42,900 Very quickly, John Ramsden's murder got connected 313 00:19:43,066 --> 00:19:45,367 with a much bigger story. 314 00:19:45,367 --> 00:19:48,500 Over the following couple of weeks, other overseers 315 00:19:48,667 --> 00:19:52,100 of plantations in Malaysia were also killed. 316 00:19:52,266 --> 00:19:55,166 And these killings were connected with a communist 317 00:19:55,166 --> 00:19:57,367 insurgency that was sweeping the islands. 318 00:20:04,767 --> 00:20:07,166 But the police officer in charge of the case, 319 00:20:07,166 --> 00:20:10,266 William Haynes, was not convinced 320 00:20:10,266 --> 00:20:13,367 that this was a political assassination. 321 00:20:13,533 --> 00:20:17,066 He believed evidence uncovered at the murder scene pointed 322 00:20:17,233 --> 00:20:19,767 towards an inside job. 323 00:20:19,934 --> 00:20:22,700 [Dominic] Near the body, they found a pair of shoes 324 00:20:22,867 --> 00:20:25,266 that didn't seem to belong to anybody working 325 00:20:25,266 --> 00:20:26,367 at the residence. 326 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,200 [Clement speaking] 327 00:20:34,467 --> 00:20:36,767 [Chelsea] It seemed like an open and shut case, 328 00:20:36,767 --> 00:20:39,367 but he claimed he'd been framed. 329 00:20:39,533 --> 00:20:42,767 [Jim] Another suspect was John Ramsden's driver, 330 00:20:42,934 --> 00:20:46,767 and it was said that Ramsden was having an affair 331 00:20:46,934 --> 00:20:50,100 with the driver's sister, so he might have had 332 00:20:50,100 --> 00:20:52,467 a powerful motive for the killing. 333 00:20:53,767 --> 00:20:58,166 Both Mohammad Ramjan and the driver were arrested, 334 00:20:58,333 --> 00:21:01,667 but there was a fatal flaw in the police's case. 335 00:21:01,667 --> 00:21:06,000 With the murder weapon still missing, and only circumstantial 336 00:21:06,166 --> 00:21:08,667 evidence to go on, they were released. 337 00:21:08,834 --> 00:21:13,667 On September 3rd, 1948, 87 days after John's murder, 338 00:21:13,834 --> 00:21:16,200 the investigation was halted. 339 00:21:17,567 --> 00:21:22,166 [Clement speaking] 340 00:21:25,767 --> 00:21:28,200 [Dominic] Back in Britain, the Ramsden family was 341 00:21:28,367 --> 00:21:31,266 so heartbroken that they ordered the liquidation 342 00:21:31,433 --> 00:21:33,500 of all of their holdings in Malaya, 343 00:21:33,667 --> 00:21:36,066 including the Caledonia plantation. 344 00:21:37,500 --> 00:21:40,166 After a long and brutal insurgency against 345 00:21:40,166 --> 00:21:44,667 British rule, in 1963, the independent country 346 00:21:44,834 --> 00:21:46,066 of Malaysia was established. 347 00:21:46,233 --> 00:21:47,567 [marching footsteps] 348 00:21:47,567 --> 00:21:50,633 And Caledonia House was left to ruin. 349 00:21:53,100 --> 00:21:55,767 [melancholic music playing] 350 00:21:55,767 --> 00:21:58,767 After its abandonment, life for the Caledonia House 351 00:21:58,767 --> 00:22:01,166 went from bad to worse. 352 00:22:01,333 --> 00:22:04,600 [Dominic] In 2020, a fire ripped through the property, 353 00:22:04,767 --> 00:22:09,200 and later, a commercial crane working nearby tipped over 354 00:22:09,367 --> 00:22:10,700 and smashed through the roof. 355 00:22:12,300 --> 00:22:14,000 [Clement speaking] 356 00:22:28,367 --> 00:22:31,100 [suspenseful music playing] 357 00:22:31,266 --> 00:22:34,567 In the French capital, a decaying compound 358 00:22:34,734 --> 00:22:37,800 holds secrets, of an extraordinary deception. 359 00:22:37,967 --> 00:22:42,200 [intense music playing] 360 00:22:44,500 --> 00:22:48,000 We're in the quiet outskirts of Paris, 361 00:22:48,166 --> 00:22:51,467 and under this looming broadcast tower is a collection 362 00:22:51,467 --> 00:22:54,300 of buildings that look significantly older. 363 00:22:54,467 --> 00:22:57,767 This feels institutional, or perhaps military. 364 00:22:57,767 --> 00:23:00,200 [Sascha] But as you look closer, you notice something 365 00:23:00,367 --> 00:23:01,767 more sinister. 366 00:23:01,767 --> 00:23:04,567 [Michele] Built into these walls are rows of casemates, 367 00:23:04,567 --> 00:23:08,300 but instead of windows, they have heavy iron bars. 368 00:23:08,467 --> 00:23:11,100 These were clearly repurposed as prison cells, 369 00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:12,900 but who were they keeping here? 370 00:23:13,066 --> 00:23:16,667 During the Second World War, thousands were detained 371 00:23:16,834 --> 00:23:18,967 inside these walls. 372 00:23:19,133 --> 00:23:22,867 But one man would make his escape and do untold damage 373 00:23:22,867 --> 00:23:24,567 to the Nazi regime. 374 00:23:24,567 --> 00:23:28,100 [Lynette] He convinces British counterintelligence 375 00:23:28,266 --> 00:23:32,667 that he really is a German spy who is willing to be 376 00:23:32,667 --> 00:23:35,066 a double agent. 377 00:23:35,233 --> 00:23:38,100 [Sascha] He would be one of the most notorious spies 378 00:23:38,266 --> 00:23:42,266 of his entire generation. He was known as Agent Zigzag. 379 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,367 In Paris, France, lies an oppressive compound 380 00:23:49,533 --> 00:23:52,400 linked to a daring wartime double cross. 381 00:23:53,767 --> 00:23:57,700 Thomas Fontaine has spent decades uncovering its story. 382 00:23:59,500 --> 00:24:00,767 [Thomas] We're in a place of great 383 00:24:00,934 --> 00:24:03,967 importance to the history of France's occupation 384 00:24:04,133 --> 00:24:07,600 between 1940 and 1944, but a site that remained 385 00:24:07,767 --> 00:24:10,667 largely unknown until the early 2000s. 386 00:24:10,834 --> 00:24:12,667 [mysterious music playing] 387 00:24:12,834 --> 00:24:15,400 It was built in the 1830s 388 00:24:15,567 --> 00:24:18,867 as part of a ring of defenses around the capital. 389 00:24:19,767 --> 00:24:22,867 But these days, it's not known for its protection of the city, 390 00:24:22,867 --> 00:24:24,900 but rather something far more menacing. 391 00:24:26,166 --> 00:24:28,166 [Lynette] In May and June of 1940, 392 00:24:28,333 --> 00:24:31,266 the German armed forces, very rapidly, 393 00:24:31,266 --> 00:24:35,967 encircle the French and British armies in northeastern France. 394 00:24:36,967 --> 00:24:39,467 The French state surrenders. 395 00:24:39,467 --> 00:24:41,266 [marching footsteps] 396 00:24:41,266 --> 00:24:43,066 Paris was under occupation. 397 00:24:44,066 --> 00:24:47,300 [Sascha] Here on the edge of the city was a valuable asset, 398 00:24:47,467 --> 00:24:49,667 and the Germans weren't gonna let that go to waste. 399 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,166 The Nazi occupiers quickly transformed it from a place 400 00:24:54,333 --> 00:24:56,066 to keep enemies out 401 00:24:56,233 --> 00:24:58,767 into a facility to contain them. 402 00:25:00,100 --> 00:25:02,800 This is Fort De Romainville. 403 00:25:02,967 --> 00:25:04,667 [mysterious music playing] 404 00:25:04,667 --> 00:25:08,967 [Thomas] The primary function was to be a camp specifically 405 00:25:09,133 --> 00:25:11,100 for nationals of enemy powers. 406 00:25:11,100 --> 00:25:15,367 There were many British nationals who were arrested 407 00:25:15,367 --> 00:25:20,100 specifically because Germany was at war with England. 408 00:25:20,100 --> 00:25:23,600 One of those inmates was an English petty criminal 409 00:25:23,767 --> 00:25:25,767 who fled the country and was captured 410 00:25:25,934 --> 00:25:28,266 in Nazi-occupied territory. 411 00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:32,700 His name was Eddie Chapman. 412 00:25:34,100 --> 00:25:37,166 [Thomas] Eddie Chapman was interned in the men's section, 413 00:25:37,166 --> 00:25:39,900 likely in one of the rooms on the ground floor. 414 00:25:41,266 --> 00:25:43,667 [Michele] There was no contact with the outside world, 415 00:25:43,834 --> 00:25:46,567 rations were strict, and prisoners could be executed 416 00:25:46,734 --> 00:25:50,367 without any explanation or warning. 417 00:25:50,367 --> 00:25:52,600 [Sascha] Chapman realized he wasn't gonna survive this place, 418 00:25:52,767 --> 00:25:54,767 and four months into his imprisonment, 419 00:25:54,767 --> 00:25:56,100 he found a lifeline. 420 00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:58,500 [intriguing music playing] 421 00:25:58,667 --> 00:26:01,467 His salvation came from a shadowy 422 00:26:01,467 --> 00:26:06,567 Nazi organization, the Abwehr, Germany's intelligence service. 423 00:26:08,100 --> 00:26:11,266 [Thomas] The Abwehr are searching for V men, 424 00:26:11,266 --> 00:26:13,400 individuals who will provide intelligence 425 00:26:13,567 --> 00:26:16,567 and engage in espionage. 426 00:26:16,734 --> 00:26:19,000 [Lynette] From the beginning of the Second World War, 427 00:26:19,166 --> 00:26:24,000 the Germans had tremendous difficulty recruiting agents 428 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,467 in England. 429 00:26:26,467 --> 00:26:30,467 So the German intelligence people go to Chapman 430 00:26:30,467 --> 00:26:36,000 and they say, "Can you go and be a German agent?" 431 00:26:36,166 --> 00:26:39,200 Chapman accepts the German intelligence offer, 432 00:26:39,367 --> 00:26:43,000 and he's told that he needs to blow up 433 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:47,700 the de Havilland Aircraft factory in England. 434 00:26:48,867 --> 00:26:53,166 On December 16th, 1942, Chapman parachuted 435 00:26:53,166 --> 00:26:55,800 into Britain for his first mission. 436 00:26:55,967 --> 00:27:00,567 He was carrying a radio, a pistol, a cyanide pill, 437 00:27:00,734 --> 00:27:03,367 and close to a thousand pounds in cash. 438 00:27:04,266 --> 00:27:07,467 On the morning of February 1st, 1943, 439 00:27:07,467 --> 00:27:10,767 British newspapers reported an unexplained explosion 440 00:27:10,767 --> 00:27:12,367 at the de Havilland factory. 441 00:27:12,533 --> 00:27:13,867 [dramatic chord strike] 442 00:27:13,867 --> 00:27:17,100 [Lynette] As far as the Germans are concerned, 443 00:27:17,266 --> 00:27:21,667 this new agent of theirs, Mr. Chapman, is now 444 00:27:21,667 --> 00:27:25,867 the great star of the German intelligence service. 445 00:27:27,667 --> 00:27:30,467 But he had been conning German intelligence 446 00:27:30,633 --> 00:27:31,867 from the very start. 447 00:27:33,300 --> 00:27:37,967 For Chapman, the idea of being able to get out of jail, 448 00:27:38,133 --> 00:27:40,667 well, he'll do anything, won't he? 449 00:27:40,667 --> 00:27:43,467 And as soon as he gets on the ground, 450 00:27:43,633 --> 00:27:47,400 as soon as he has a chance, he tells 451 00:27:47,567 --> 00:27:51,367 British counterintelligence what he is up to. 452 00:27:51,533 --> 00:27:56,867 So in order to build his credibility, 453 00:27:57,033 --> 00:28:02,000 the British Armed Forces simulate the destruction 454 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,000 of the de Havilland factory. 455 00:28:05,700 --> 00:28:10,000 They arranged the fake sabotage of the airplane plant using 456 00:28:10,166 --> 00:28:13,900 an illusionist and a planted story in the newspaper. 457 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,500 Nazi intelligence bought the lie. 458 00:28:18,567 --> 00:28:20,667 Chapman returned to Germany under the guise of having 459 00:28:20,834 --> 00:28:23,166 pulled off a successful attack. 460 00:28:23,333 --> 00:28:25,567 He was rewarded with a massive payment 461 00:28:25,734 --> 00:28:29,567 and given the Iron Cross, the only British citizen 462 00:28:29,734 --> 00:28:31,767 to ever give one. 463 00:28:32,700 --> 00:28:36,266 Believing he was their best agent, he was soon tasked 464 00:28:36,433 --> 00:28:38,500 with a new mission. 465 00:28:38,667 --> 00:28:40,967 [Michele] Chapman was parachuted again into Britain 466 00:28:41,133 --> 00:28:44,100 in June of 1944 to report on the accuracy 467 00:28:44,100 --> 00:28:48,500 of the V-1 and V-2 rockets being fired across the Channel. 468 00:28:48,667 --> 00:28:52,800 [Lynette] He tells his British controllers what the job is, 469 00:28:52,967 --> 00:28:58,266 and British counterintelligence calculate exactly 470 00:28:58,433 --> 00:29:04,266 how wrong they want the German aim to be. 471 00:29:04,433 --> 00:29:07,266 Chapman was one of the most successful double agents 472 00:29:07,266 --> 00:29:08,800 of the entire war. 473 00:29:08,967 --> 00:29:12,300 He remained in London and was dismissed by British 474 00:29:12,467 --> 00:29:16,467 Intelligence in November 1944. 475 00:29:16,467 --> 00:29:20,266 But the French prison he left behind had been transformed 476 00:29:20,266 --> 00:29:24,800 after a brave struggle against Nazi occupation erupted 477 00:29:24,967 --> 00:29:26,100 across the country. 478 00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:27,367 [gunshot blasts] 479 00:29:27,367 --> 00:29:29,467 Resistance was growing, and it would eventually 480 00:29:29,467 --> 00:29:32,700 lead back camp at Fort de Romainville. 481 00:29:36,266 --> 00:29:41,400 In 1944, Fort de Romainville in France was operating 482 00:29:41,567 --> 00:29:43,467 as a Nazi prison camp, 483 00:29:43,633 --> 00:29:47,500 holding heroic female resistance fighters determined 484 00:29:47,667 --> 00:29:50,767 to stand up against the terrors of the Third Reich. 485 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:54,300 Fort de Romainville became a departure point 486 00:29:54,467 --> 00:29:57,100 for deportation, specifically for women, 487 00:29:57,100 --> 00:29:59,066 to the Nazi concentration camp system. 488 00:29:59,233 --> 00:30:02,000 [intense music playing] 489 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,200 Before they left, they were held in the fort's 490 00:30:05,367 --> 00:30:07,667 dank casemates. 491 00:30:07,834 --> 00:30:12,967 [Thomas] I'm always deeply moved whenever I enter Casemate 17. 492 00:30:13,133 --> 00:30:16,066 The inmates, before heading into the unknown, wish to leave 493 00:30:16,233 --> 00:30:18,867 their name, a date, a trace of their passage, 494 00:30:19,033 --> 00:30:21,000 like a message in a bottle. 495 00:30:22,066 --> 00:30:24,500 These are the last records, many of these people 496 00:30:24,667 --> 00:30:27,100 would leave behind. 497 00:30:27,266 --> 00:30:31,767 Throughout the war, more than 3,800 women were detained here 498 00:30:31,767 --> 00:30:34,800 before being sent to Nazi concentration camps. 499 00:30:36,467 --> 00:30:40,100 Fort de Romainville was finally liberated by the allies 500 00:30:40,100 --> 00:30:42,500 in August 1944 501 00:30:42,667 --> 00:30:45,467 and was abandoned by the French military 502 00:30:45,467 --> 00:30:47,200 in the early 2000s. 503 00:30:48,867 --> 00:30:52,166 After his dismissal by British intelligence, Eddie Chapman 504 00:30:52,333 --> 00:30:55,266 continued living life on his own terms. 505 00:30:55,433 --> 00:30:58,100 Spending his time in the company of beautiful women 506 00:30:58,100 --> 00:31:01,967 and even becoming embroiled in a gold smuggling operation. 507 00:31:02,133 --> 00:31:05,500 [intriguing music playing] 508 00:31:05,667 --> 00:31:10,867 Since 1945, Parisians have held ceremonies here to remember 509 00:31:10,867 --> 00:31:14,300 those imprisoned and deported from Romainville. 510 00:31:15,867 --> 00:31:19,867 Plans are underway to transform parts of the fort 511 00:31:19,867 --> 00:31:20,900 into a museum. 512 00:31:21,066 --> 00:31:23,100 [melancholic music playing] 513 00:31:23,266 --> 00:31:27,166 [Thomas] It's a place that is doubly moving as a historian 514 00:31:27,333 --> 00:31:29,066 and as a human being. 515 00:31:30,500 --> 00:31:33,567 It's truly important to preserve these sites, 516 00:31:33,567 --> 00:31:37,867 to understand what transpired, and to pass on that knowledge. 517 00:31:39,867 --> 00:31:42,467 [intense music playing] 518 00:31:42,467 --> 00:31:46,467 In the City of Brotherly Love, is a faded landmark, 519 00:31:46,633 --> 00:31:50,300 once the life and soul of an uptown district. 520 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:54,867 [dramatic music playing] 521 00:31:54,867 --> 00:31:56,867 [Rob] We're on the on the north side of Philadelphia, 522 00:31:56,867 --> 00:31:59,800 on a busy road flanked by offices and shops. 523 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,400 [Alicia] One building along this strip stands out, 524 00:32:04,567 --> 00:32:07,200 and it looks like it's from a different era. 525 00:32:07,367 --> 00:32:09,867 [Chelsea] From its design, with its ornate brickwork 526 00:32:09,867 --> 00:32:13,100 and detailed carvings, you can tell that this was 527 00:32:13,100 --> 00:32:16,367 a building of importance to the surrounding community. 528 00:32:16,367 --> 00:32:18,700 [Alicia] There remains part of a marquee with the word 529 00:32:18,867 --> 00:32:20,567 "uptown" written on it. 530 00:32:20,567 --> 00:32:25,166 This was clearly some type of theater or music venue. 531 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:30,667 Inside, the true extent of its ruin becomes clear. 532 00:32:30,834 --> 00:32:33,266 [Chelsea] In the main room, there's a dramatic sight. 533 00:32:33,433 --> 00:32:37,000 A gaping hole in the roof lets in enough light to illuminate 534 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,500 a huge open space. 535 00:32:39,667 --> 00:32:42,600 [Rob] This may look forgotten now, but in its heyday, 536 00:32:42,767 --> 00:32:45,800 this was part of a network that spanned the whole 537 00:32:45,967 --> 00:32:49,100 of the east coast and fostered some of the greatest 538 00:32:49,100 --> 00:32:51,100 entertainers of the 20th century. 539 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,667 [Chelsea] Ray Charles, James Brown, Jackson Five, 540 00:32:54,667 --> 00:32:57,266 this place played host to the Who's Who 541 00:32:57,433 --> 00:32:58,967 of American Icons. 542 00:32:59,133 --> 00:33:01,567 [Alicia] But this wasn't just a place for entertainment. 543 00:33:01,567 --> 00:33:03,867 It was also a place for activism. 544 00:33:06,367 --> 00:33:08,266 [dramatic music playing] 545 00:33:08,266 --> 00:33:12,100 Wow, I haven't been here since the '70s. 546 00:33:12,100 --> 00:33:13,500 It's amazing. 547 00:33:15,767 --> 00:33:18,667 My mom worked here as a cashier. 548 00:33:18,667 --> 00:33:22,567 I wasn't allowed in the booth because she was handling money. 549 00:33:22,567 --> 00:33:25,400 Starting when she was 14 years old, 550 00:33:25,567 --> 00:33:29,266 Olivia Riley spent many of her evenings and weekends 551 00:33:29,266 --> 00:33:31,100 in this theater. 552 00:33:31,100 --> 00:33:33,567 [Olivia laughs] I was kind of famous because 553 00:33:33,567 --> 00:33:36,066 everybody knew she was my mother. 554 00:33:36,233 --> 00:33:38,800 They kind of hung around me 555 00:33:38,967 --> 00:33:41,500 because they can get in for free. 556 00:33:42,467 --> 00:33:45,367 There was a lot of excitement because you were looking 557 00:33:45,533 --> 00:33:47,600 forward to seeing all the acts. 558 00:33:47,767 --> 00:33:52,100 They were all up and coming and famous artists. 559 00:33:52,100 --> 00:33:55,967 From its earliest days, this was the cultural heart 560 00:33:56,133 --> 00:33:57,367 of the neighborhood. 561 00:33:57,367 --> 00:34:02,000 It was built in the late 1920s, an era of rapid expansion 562 00:34:02,166 --> 00:34:03,000 in the city. 563 00:34:03,166 --> 00:34:04,600 [jazz music playing] 564 00:34:04,767 --> 00:34:06,667 Philadelphia was one of the most important 565 00:34:06,834 --> 00:34:09,467 manufacturing centers in the world. 566 00:34:09,633 --> 00:34:12,100 [Alicia] Factories and warehouses dotted this area, 567 00:34:12,266 --> 00:34:14,767 and soon neighborhoods of row homes were built 568 00:34:14,934 --> 00:34:17,467 in order to accommodate the workers. 569 00:34:17,467 --> 00:34:20,667 As newcomers poured in, there was an increase in demand 570 00:34:20,667 --> 00:34:22,900 for entertainment venues. 571 00:34:23,066 --> 00:34:26,767 On February 16th, 1929, Warner Brothers opened 572 00:34:26,934 --> 00:34:30,000 the lavish 2,000-seat Uptown Theater. 573 00:34:31,567 --> 00:34:33,000 [Chelsea] They spared no expense. 574 00:34:33,166 --> 00:34:36,100 It had terracotta facades, stained-glass windows, 575 00:34:36,266 --> 00:34:37,867 and velvet seats. 576 00:34:38,033 --> 00:34:41,266 [Rob] This was a luxurious way to watch movies for everyone, 577 00:34:41,433 --> 00:34:43,367 from the city's wealthy industrialists 578 00:34:43,533 --> 00:34:45,734 to working-class families. 579 00:34:48,166 --> 00:34:52,667 On its opening night, crowds flocked to see "On Trial," 580 00:34:52,667 --> 00:34:54,300 starring Pauline Frederick. 581 00:34:55,467 --> 00:34:58,567 It was the perfect choice to showcase the Uptown's 582 00:34:58,734 --> 00:35:00,200 cutting-edge design. 583 00:35:00,367 --> 00:35:02,000 [jazz music playing] 584 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:05,567 [Rob] Hollywood was riding high on the success of silent films, 585 00:35:05,567 --> 00:35:08,767 and the Warner Brothers studio decided to take a gamble 586 00:35:08,934 --> 00:35:11,266 on a revolutionary new development, 587 00:35:11,433 --> 00:35:14,000 speaking films, known as talkies. 588 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,166 [Alicia] This theater was specifically wired for sound. 589 00:35:18,333 --> 00:35:22,000 The audio quality here was second to none. 590 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,567 It seemed destined for success, but just eight months 591 00:35:25,734 --> 00:35:29,600 after it opened, the country was struck by disaster. 592 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:32,166 The Wall Street crash. 593 00:35:32,333 --> 00:35:34,066 [indistinct chatter] 594 00:35:34,233 --> 00:35:37,400 [Alicia] This recession resulted in the collapse of most 595 00:35:37,567 --> 00:35:40,767 of Philadelphia's manufacturing industry. 596 00:35:40,767 --> 00:35:44,500 And over the next few decades, many of its residents fled 597 00:35:44,667 --> 00:35:46,300 to the suburbs. 598 00:35:46,467 --> 00:35:48,867 But a change was coming to this neighborhood 599 00:35:48,867 --> 00:35:52,066 that would give it a second life and a brush with stardom. 600 00:35:57,066 --> 00:36:00,266 In the early 1950s, Philadelphia's 601 00:36:00,266 --> 00:36:03,667 Uptown Theater was down on its luck, 602 00:36:03,667 --> 00:36:06,767 but its fortunes were about to change. 603 00:36:07,767 --> 00:36:10,867 [Rob] By this time, with migration from southern states, 604 00:36:10,867 --> 00:36:13,467 north Philadelphia had become a vibrant hub 605 00:36:13,467 --> 00:36:16,667 of African American culture and arts. 606 00:36:16,834 --> 00:36:21,266 [Alicia] In 1952, Theater Mogul Samuel H. Stiefel 607 00:36:21,266 --> 00:36:24,867 bought the Uptown with plans to completely repurpose it. 608 00:36:26,900 --> 00:36:28,567 [Chelsea] It had incredible acoustics, 609 00:36:28,734 --> 00:36:31,066 left over from its days as a movie theater. 610 00:36:31,233 --> 00:36:33,967 And Stiefel saw an opportunity to put it to new use 611 00:36:34,133 --> 00:36:35,700 as a music venue. 612 00:36:35,867 --> 00:36:39,567 [Alicia] But the Uptown Theater wasn't the only one of its kind. 613 00:36:39,567 --> 00:36:42,467 Rather, it was part of a circuit that stretched across 614 00:36:42,467 --> 00:36:44,367 the entire east coast. 615 00:36:44,367 --> 00:36:46,400 Along with the Apollo in New York 616 00:36:46,567 --> 00:36:49,567 and the Howard Theater in Washington, DC, 617 00:36:49,567 --> 00:36:52,967 and the Regal in Chicago, and many others, 618 00:36:53,133 --> 00:36:56,100 this made up what was called the Chitlin' Circuit. 619 00:36:56,100 --> 00:36:59,567 [Olivia] Because of ray racism, African American acts couldn't 620 00:36:59,567 --> 00:37:02,867 perform in certain areas, so they would do 621 00:37:03,033 --> 00:37:04,266 the Chitlin' Circuit. 622 00:37:05,066 --> 00:37:07,967 [Rob] The Chitlin' Circuit gave so many Black entertainers 623 00:37:08,133 --> 00:37:10,600 a chance during the era of Jim Crow 624 00:37:10,767 --> 00:37:14,266 when they were barred from white mainstream venues. 625 00:37:14,433 --> 00:37:17,367 This stage would play host to some of the era's most 626 00:37:17,367 --> 00:37:19,000 legendary Black performers. 627 00:37:20,166 --> 00:37:23,967 I saw every show at least two times. 628 00:37:24,133 --> 00:37:26,400 I didn't miss a show. 629 00:37:26,567 --> 00:37:30,567 I saw the Jackson 5, James Brown, now Harold Melvin 630 00:37:30,567 --> 00:37:33,000 and the Blue Notes, and Marvin Gaye, 631 00:37:33,166 --> 00:37:35,100 I saw him so many times. 632 00:37:36,467 --> 00:37:40,166 But my favorite was The Isley Brothers because 633 00:37:40,333 --> 00:37:43,100 I was a part of history. 634 00:37:43,266 --> 00:37:46,100 At the end of their act, they just started singing 635 00:37:46,266 --> 00:37:51,000 "Shout," and every time they sang "Shout," they jumped. 636 00:37:51,166 --> 00:37:53,266 Everybody in the audience jumped. 637 00:37:53,433 --> 00:37:55,300 It was electrifying. 638 00:37:55,467 --> 00:38:00,700 Ron Isley created that song that night that I was here. 639 00:38:00,867 --> 00:38:03,367 [Chelsea] These acts would come for a few days, or even a week, 640 00:38:03,367 --> 00:38:06,867 playing shows around the clock for a ticket price as low as 641 00:38:07,033 --> 00:38:08,900 50 cents. That's still only 642 00:38:09,066 --> 00:38:11,867 a little more than five bucks in today's money. 643 00:38:12,033 --> 00:38:16,066 On Saturdays, sometimes they'd even do five or six shows 644 00:38:16,233 --> 00:38:17,667 back to back. 645 00:38:18,700 --> 00:38:21,900 Tens of thousands of people came through this auditorium 646 00:38:22,066 --> 00:38:25,767 in the 1960s, and the theater gained a reputation 647 00:38:25,767 --> 00:38:28,667 as one of the country's most iconic venues. 648 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,400 If there was one man responsible for a lot 649 00:38:32,567 --> 00:38:36,567 of the Uptown success, it was the promoter, Georgie Woods. 650 00:38:36,567 --> 00:38:40,867 [Olivia] He had a nice voice. He had a beautiful personality. 651 00:38:41,033 --> 00:38:44,967 And he captured a lot of people's attention. 652 00:38:45,133 --> 00:38:49,400 He drew a big crowd. So they made him the emcee. 653 00:38:50,367 --> 00:38:52,900 [Alicia] He was known for bringing in incredible performers 654 00:38:53,066 --> 00:38:55,266 at incredibly low prices. 655 00:38:55,266 --> 00:38:57,567 It was reported that he got The Supremes to play 656 00:38:57,734 --> 00:39:00,367 for 10 days for $400. 657 00:39:01,900 --> 00:39:06,667 But Woods was not just a DJ, emcee, and promoter. 658 00:39:06,667 --> 00:39:10,467 He was a passionate advocate for civil rights. 659 00:39:10,467 --> 00:39:16,467 In 1963, he helped charter 21 buses to take Philadelphians 660 00:39:16,467 --> 00:39:22,100 to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic march on Washington. 661 00:39:22,266 --> 00:39:25,000 That same year, he would use the Uptown 662 00:39:25,166 --> 00:39:26,367 to support the cause. 663 00:39:27,867 --> 00:39:30,667 Georgie Woods saw the Uptown Theater not just 664 00:39:30,667 --> 00:39:33,867 as an entertainment venue, but as a vehicle for change. 665 00:39:35,467 --> 00:39:38,567 [Rob] Woods began organizing what he called freedom shows, 666 00:39:38,567 --> 00:39:40,767 fundraisers for civil rights organizations 667 00:39:40,934 --> 00:39:43,066 right across the country. 668 00:39:43,233 --> 00:39:46,567 These star-studded concerts provided much needed funds 669 00:39:46,567 --> 00:39:50,500 for charities and civil rights organizations. 670 00:39:50,667 --> 00:39:53,567 And Woods' contribution to the movement was soon 671 00:39:53,567 --> 00:39:57,867 recognized on the stage where it all began. 672 00:39:58,033 --> 00:40:01,767 He was even honored by the NAACP in a ceremony held 673 00:40:01,767 --> 00:40:03,100 right here at the Uptown. 674 00:40:04,367 --> 00:40:07,667 But the success of the civil rights movement in ending 675 00:40:07,667 --> 00:40:10,867 segregation across the country would have 676 00:40:10,867 --> 00:40:14,100 unintended consequences for the Uptown Theater. 677 00:40:14,100 --> 00:40:16,367 [melancholic music playing] 678 00:40:16,533 --> 00:40:19,600 Some say that after integration, when Black performers 679 00:40:19,767 --> 00:40:22,900 could go to more venues, the importance of places 680 00:40:23,066 --> 00:40:25,767 like this on the Chitlin Circuit declined. 681 00:40:27,767 --> 00:40:33,166 In 1972, Georgie Woods stopped producing shows here. 682 00:40:33,166 --> 00:40:35,767 And as many residents left for the suburbs over 683 00:40:35,767 --> 00:40:39,100 the following years, its fate was sealed. 684 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:44,600 [Olivia] It closed because of the neighborhood changing. 685 00:40:44,767 --> 00:40:46,667 I think that's what really happened. 686 00:40:48,266 --> 00:40:52,567 The Uptown Theater finally shut its doors in 1978. 687 00:40:55,867 --> 00:40:59,100 In 2001, the Uptown Entertainment 688 00:40:59,100 --> 00:41:02,367 and Development Corporation purchased the building. 689 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:09,900 They now hope to breathe new life into this aging structure. 690 00:41:10,066 --> 00:41:13,467 [Olivia] The plans is to get the uptown renovated, 691 00:41:13,633 --> 00:41:17,867 restored for the community. A lot of things happened here. 692 00:41:18,033 --> 00:41:20,266 The performers, they couldn't have made it unless they 693 00:41:20,433 --> 00:41:23,000 made it here at the Uptown. 694 00:41:23,166 --> 00:41:25,567 And everybody remembers coming here. 695 00:41:25,734 --> 00:41:27,266 So it should be open.