1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,520 [dramatic music] 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:06,120 ♪ ♪ 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,560 [David] Tonight on "Secrets Declassified"... 4 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:10,960 the ultimate masters of deception 5 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:13,720 who pulled off schemes so convincing, 6 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,720 they stayed hidden for decades. 7 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,080 From the FBI agent posing for six years 8 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:21,360 as mobster Donnie Brasco... 9 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,320 - He's so deep undercover, he's the best man 10 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:24,920 at a Mafia wedding. 11 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,160 [David] To one cop's unbelievable mission 12 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,680 to become a Black Klansman. 13 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,160 - The idea of a Klan chapter in his city? 14 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:34,720 He ain't having it. 15 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:36,400 [David] And the World War II weapon that's 16 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,760 disguised as a treat good enough to eat. 17 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:40,320 [Sami] All you'd have to do is stick 18 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,120 a detonator into a loaf of bread, 19 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:45,200 you've turned a baguette into a bomb. 20 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:46,840 [David] These are the astonishing 21 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:48,960 and sometimes terrible deceptions carried out 22 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,040 by governments and the people who work for them. 23 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:54,160 It's time to bring them to light. 24 00:00:54,240 --> 00:01:01,280 ♪ ♪ 25 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,280 Imagine taking a job for six months 26 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,160 and ending up living a double life for six years. 27 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,320 That's exactly what one FBI undercover agent does 28 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,920 to bring down one of New York's most feared crime families. 29 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,480 [tense music] 30 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,280 - In the mid 1970s, five Mafia families 31 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:23,880 are locked in a battle for control 32 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,800 of New York's underworld. 33 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,240 - This mob war creates an explosion of crime 34 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,160 in the greater New York area. 35 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,360 Murder, prostitution, drug dealing-- 36 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:36,840 this has to be brought under control. 37 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:39,520 [David] To take down organized crime, 38 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:41,680 the FBI needs informants. 39 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,520 But when it comes to the Mafia, nobody talks. 40 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:48,560 - A Mafia family is an impenetrable fortress. 41 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:50,840 Its activities are shielded by a sacred code 42 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:52,880 of silence known as omerta. 43 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,040 Informers and their families 44 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,040 face threats of brutal retaliation. 45 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,240 [David] With no one daring to rat, 46 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:03,120 the bureau takes a different tack. 47 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:06,920 - The FBI decides to embed one agent in the Mafia's world 48 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:09,240 for six months, long enough, they hope, 49 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,000 to win the mobsters' trust and gather the intelligence 50 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,400 needed to begin breaking apart the mob. 51 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,680 [David] This is the FBI's first long-term 52 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,240 undercover operation targeting the Mafia. 53 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:24,320 To pull it off, the bureau turns to Joe Pistone. 54 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,000 [Greg] Pistone is a young but seasoned agent 55 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,720 with a unique set of qualities, 56 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,040 qualities that make him perfect for infiltrating the Mafia. 57 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,080 [Dan] He's of Sicilian descent. 58 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,720 He speaks fluent Italian, and he grew up 59 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:39,720 in the blue collar neighborhoods of New Jersey. 60 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,800 Those are Mafia heartland, so he has an intimate 61 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:48,440 understanding of mob culture and its rules. 62 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,320 [David] To enter the Mafia's world, 63 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,080 Pistone first creates a bulletproof cover story. 64 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:56,800 - Pistone is reborn as Donnie Brasco, 65 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:00,240 a slick, small time jewel thief with a yellow Cadillac 66 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:02,760 and a bling fashion sense. 67 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:04,440 The FBI forms this new identity 68 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:06,480 with painstaking precision. 69 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,520 They give Pistone a fake driver's license 70 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:11,720 and a fake Social Security number. 71 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,280 [David] Next, Pistone needs someone 72 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,440 who can get him an in with New York's Mafia, 73 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,240 so he spends night after night in the city's mob haunts 74 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:22,400 looking for an opening. 75 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,320 - After weeks of work, he finally gets his break. 76 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,920 A contact introduces him to Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero, 77 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,120 a respected foot soldier in the Bonanno family. 78 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:35,120 [David] Lefty could be Pistone's ticket 79 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,160 into the heart of this notorious crime family. 80 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,200 But to win this mafioso over, Pistone must convince him 81 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:44,080 he's the real deal. 82 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:45,880 [Greg] The only way to gain Lefty's trust 83 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,160 is to help him commit mob crimes. 84 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,480 This means that Pistone has to hock stolen goods, 85 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,240 sell weapons, and collect on loans. 86 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:56,640 - As an FBI agent, it's a constant balancing act. 87 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:58,240 He's permitted to get his hands dirty, 88 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,680 but they have two strict rules: 89 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,120 no violence, and he can never be the one to initiate a crime. 90 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,520 [David] While the FBI keeps tabs from afar, 91 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:11,400 Pistone plays the aspiring mobster to perfection. 92 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,520 Finally, Lefty brings him into the Bonannos' inner circle, 93 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:19,200 and Pistone is plunged into New York's underworld. 94 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:21,399 - Soon, Pistone is gathering a mountain of evidence 95 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:23,240 against dozens of Bonanno mobsters. 96 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,440 And the operation's going so well that, 97 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,160 when the six months are up, his supervisors decide 98 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:30,680 to extend it indefinitely. 99 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:32,440 [David] But Pistone faces a problem 100 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,280 he never saw coming as the line between 101 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,440 his two identities begins to blur. 102 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:40,960 - Pistone begins to develop genuine friendships 103 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:42,640 with Lefty and his crew. 104 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,920 - He's so trusted by Lefty that Lefty invites him to be 105 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,200 the best man at his wedding. 106 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:51,440 [Sami] That's one of the highest honors 107 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,840 in Sicilian Mafia culture, and here it is, 108 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:55,800 unknowingly being given to a cop. 109 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:57,360 He's constantly forced to confront 110 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,280 an impossible question. 111 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,600 Do his loyalties lie with his new friends or with his badge? 112 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,600 - By 1981, Pistone has been living his life for six years. 113 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,040 He's so trusted, his mob associates want to make him 114 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:15,360 a fully initiated member of their world, a made man, 115 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,240 but that means one final test, committing cold-blooded murder. 116 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,120 ♪ ♪ 117 00:05:22,240 --> 00:05:25,000 - The Bonanno family eventually asks Brasco 118 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:28,280 to carry out a hit as a means of proving 119 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:29,920 his loyalty to the family. 120 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,240 - Undercover agents are granted some latitude 121 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:33,800 to break the law, but murder? 122 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:35,960 Firmly off limits. 123 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:37,960 [David] The bureau has no option 124 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:39,800 but to pull Pistone out. 125 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,440 In July 1981, he boards a plane leaving New York, 126 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,240 and Donnie Brasco disappears forever. 127 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,760 ♪ ♪ 128 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,000 One year later, a landmark trial begins. 129 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,160 The star witness? Pistone. 130 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:58,920 - His explosive testimony helps dismantle 131 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:00,680 the Bonanno family and their rivals, 132 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,040 sending more than 120 mobsters to prison. 133 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:05,920 [David] Among them is Lefty, who is sentenced 134 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,120 to 15 years for racketeering and conspiracy. 135 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,240 With so many foot soldiers behind bars, 136 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,000 the Bonanno family is decimated and left reeling 137 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,360 for more than a decade. 138 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:19,520 - This is one of the most devastating blows 139 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,280 the American Mafia has ever suffered. 140 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,280 [David] Four years after the trial, Pistone leaves the FBI 141 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,880 and finds himself needing a new way to make a living. 142 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,400 So he cashes in on his remarkable story 143 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,520 with a best selling book, laying bare how one cop 144 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,160 fooled New York's Mafia 145 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:42,880 into accepting him as one of their own. 146 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,080 Joe Pistone deceived the mob with the right clothes, 147 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,320 the perfect accent, and a watertight backstory. 148 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:51,160 Our next spy's undercover mission 149 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:54,080 hinges on an altogether more intimate detail-- 150 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,400 not what's in his papers, but what's in his pants. 151 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:02,080 ♪ ♪ 152 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,760 [Hakeem] In the late 1950s, Egypt's President Nasser 153 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:07,960 is determined to turn his nation 154 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,480 into an unshakeable power in the Middle East. 155 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,240 One of the ways he wants to do this 156 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,120 is to launch an Egyptian ballistic missile program. 157 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:18,520 - The problem is that he doesn't have the expertise 158 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,720 inside the country to be able to launch this program, 159 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,960 so he turns to German rocket engineers 160 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:25,880 who were actually part of the missile program 161 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,800 during World War II. 162 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,480 [David] For Egypt's neighbor, the state of Israel, 163 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,000 the rocket program is a major red flag. 164 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:37,960 - Israel is alarmed by the idea of the dictator 165 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,640 of an unfriendly country having long-range missiles. 166 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:43,920 If Egypt perfects these missiles, 167 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,120 they could strike Israel with no warning. 168 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,800 [David] Israeli intelligence decides to send in a spy, 169 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:52,800 but that means finding a Jewish agent 170 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,360 who can befriend former Nazi scientists. 171 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,480 One man fits the bill. 172 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,080 [Andrew] Wolfgang Lotz is an Israeli spy who was born 173 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:04,280 in Germany to a Jewish mother. 174 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:08,120 He's blond-haired, blue-eyed, and speaks fluent German, 175 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,560 which makes him the perfect fit to go into Cairo 176 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,640 to cozy up to some German rocket engineers. 177 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:15,320 [David] In December of 1960, 178 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:17,680 Mossad deploys Lotz to Egypt 179 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,600 armed with an extravagant cover. 180 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,600 - Lotz's cover story is that he's a fabulously wealthy 181 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,280 ex-Nazi officer who has 182 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,920 an unquenchable thirst for champagne. 183 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,320 [David] To find his marks, Lotz begins wining and dining 184 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,200 Egypt's high society. 185 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,360 - Lotz is a fun guy. He's really good at parties. 186 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,480 He's great at cocktail conversations. 187 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:40,039 He quickly becomes the drinking buddy 188 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:42,400 of a lot of high-ranking Egyptian officers, 189 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:44,240 including, in particular, General Osman. 190 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:45,680 [Greg] This is the very general who 191 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,120 oversees security for the rocket bases 192 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,240 that he's here to spy on. 193 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,240 [David] Lotz's party is cut short 194 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,080 when Mossad sends an urgent report. 195 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:57,920 - Israeli reconnaissance identifies what it believes 196 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,800 to be a rocket base in the desert east of Cairo 197 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:02,760 in a place called Shallufa. 198 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:04,640 - They want to send Wolfgang Lotz in 199 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:09,480 to basically see whether or not this is an active base. 200 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,680 If it turns out to be the real deal, 201 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:13,800 Mossad will probably recommend that 202 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,080 the Israeli Air Force bomb the site. 203 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:19,320 ♪ ♪ 204 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:22,360 [David] Lotz heads into the desert to investigate. 205 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,240 He brings his wife along so they can pose as tourists 206 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:27,600 visiting a nearby lake. 207 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,480 - At a crossroads, they identify a lone track 208 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:33,240 and a sentry box, no barriers, and a single guard. 209 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,640 And that one guard steps away for a bathroom break, 210 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:37,320 so the two of them jump on the accelerator 211 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,360 and charge down the track past the barrier. 212 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:42,160 [Paul] This is a terrible idea. 213 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:43,560 They haven't thought through 214 00:09:43,680 --> 00:09:45,280 the ramifications of what they're doing. 215 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,400 Lotz and his wife are intercepted by a Jeep load 216 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,000 of heavily armed Egyptian military troops. 217 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:53,720 [David] Inside the base, the commanding officer 218 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:55,640 interrogates them. 219 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:57,360 [Andrew] Lotz makes up a tale about how they were trying 220 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,040 to find a place to picnic, and they just got lost, 221 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:02,320 so he tells the base commander to call his friend 222 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:04,320 General Osman to prove his identity. 223 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,520 - A few minutes later, Lotz is chatting with Osman, 224 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,360 who even unknowingly teases him about his spy mission. 225 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,880 Osman has no idea how close to the truth he really is, 226 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,840 and the pair is set free. 227 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,120 [David] But just as Lotz's operation is gaining momentum, 228 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,560 his plan falls apart. 229 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:26,840 - Lotz has been secretly communicating with the Israelis 230 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:28,800 using a covert radio transmitter, 231 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,200 and the Egyptians pick up on his transmissions. 232 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:34,640 - In February of 1965, Lotz and his wife 233 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:38,120 return home, and it's filled with Egyptian agents. 234 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,400 They find the radio transmitter. 235 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,040 Lotz knows at this point the game is up. 236 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:46,840 - Lotz and his wife are accused of being Israeli spies. 237 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,280 The punishment for that is execution. 238 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,760 To save them both, this smooth-talking spy 239 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,160 must spin his greatest lie of all. 240 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,040 [Hakeem] Lotz insists that he's a German patriot, 241 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,320 and he only agreed to spy for Israel 242 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,200 because he needed the money, 243 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,160 and they threatened to expose his SS background 244 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:07,640 if he refused. 245 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:09,400 [David] The problem is, 246 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,760 Lotz's interrogators aren't convinced. 247 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:16,000 - They press him with the same question over and over, 248 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,400 is he Jewish? 249 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,160 [David] Luckily for Lotz, he has one ace left to play, 250 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,400 a bold move that could put their doubts to rest. 251 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,600 - Lotz's father wasn't Jewish, and his Jewish mother 252 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:33,960 wasn't particularly religious, so he'd never been circumcised. 253 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,720 - Lotz decides that his best form of evidence 254 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:38,600 is to pull down his pants. 255 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:40,880 ♪ ♪ 256 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,240 - Faced with this incontrovertible 257 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,400 physical evidence, his interrogators 258 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:48,440 finally buy his story. 259 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:50,680 [David] Lotz is imprisoned for spying, 260 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:53,120 but he escapes execution. 261 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:55,880 Three years later, he's returned to Israel 262 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,240 in a prisoner exchange, yet the details of his mission 263 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,080 remain secret. 264 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,640 Then, in 1972, Lotz breaks his silence 265 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:09,840 by publishing an explosive memoir, "The Champagne Spy." 266 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,040 The book finally reveals how this silver-tongued spy 267 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:17,080 fooled Egypt's military by baring it all. 268 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:21,800 - Stealing secrets is part of the spy game. 269 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:23,840 But what about stealing hearts? 270 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:25,760 When East German intelligence needs 271 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:27,800 to reel in new informants, 272 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,320 they settle on a ruthless solution: 273 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:34,120 building an entire army of catfish. 274 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:36,920 [suspenseful music] 275 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,560 [Martin] It's the 1950s. Germany is a divided nation. 276 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:42,480 Both sides are desperate to learn 277 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:44,360 information about the other. 278 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:45,720 [Dan] Western intelligence agencies 279 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:47,480 can afford all kinds of sophisticated 280 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:49,080 electronic surveillance, 281 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:51,640 but East Germany's secret police, the Stasi, 282 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:53,360 don't have that kind of budget. 283 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,240 They rely on this vast network of informants. 284 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,520 [David] The man tasked with recruiting this network 285 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,280 is Markus Wolf, the elusive head 286 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,040 of the Stasi's foreign intelligence unit. 287 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,360 Looking into Western Germany, he spots a potential goldmine. 288 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,400 - He comes up with an idea to take advantage 289 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:16,600 of a situation that develops naturally 290 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,040 in both the East and the West after World War II-- 291 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,760 there are more women than men. 292 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:26,160 [Dan] Young women outnumber men about 2 to 1. 293 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:30,360 A whole bunch of women now hold jobs in government, parliament, 294 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:32,760 and intelligence services, and they have access 295 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:36,600 to tons of classified documents and confidential chatter, 296 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:41,160 just the kind of intelligence the Stasi is looking for. 297 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,280 [David] Many of these women find themselves alone. 298 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,440 Sensing an opportunity, Wolf devises a plan 299 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:49,800 to target lonely hearts. 300 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,800 - Markus Wolf decides to create an army of eligible men 301 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:58,920 who in reality are Stasi agents sent to court these women 302 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,520 and steal the government secrets they hold. 303 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,440 - To ensure these women fall head over heels, 304 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:08,880 Wolf handpicks a special cadre of suitors. 305 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:13,240 He calls them his Romeos. 306 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:14,960 [Kavitha] Wolf recruits men who aren't 307 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:17,160 stereotypical womanizers. 308 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,640 Instead, they're educated, well-mannered men 309 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:24,280 who can listen, empathize, and create genuine emotional bonds. 310 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,320 [Greg] Only one in a hundred candidates make the cut. 311 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:29,600 Those who make it through are sent to what 312 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,800 is effectively a dating school for spies. 313 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,480 [Kavitha] The Romeos are given meticulous instructions 314 00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:38,320 on everything from how to wine and dine a partner 315 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,240 to the finer points of female anatomy. 316 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:47,360 [David] Across three decades, Wolf molds around 80 Romeos. 317 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,240 one of them is a blond, blue-eyed physicist 318 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,680 named Rudolf Reck. 319 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:53,160 - While Reck is undergoing training, 320 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:57,200 Stasi agents are building detailed profiles 321 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,800 of women who have access to high-value intelligence, 322 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,520 who could also be susceptible to Reck's charms. 323 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:07,200 [David] Wolf's matchmakers soon set their sights 324 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,880 on a young West German woman named Gabriele Kliem. 325 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,000 - Kliem is the ideal target because her job as a translator 326 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,520 with the U.S. embassy in Bonn puts her in a position 327 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,560 to get her hands on information 328 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,200 that is classified. 329 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:25,240 - She's also 32, single, and she's told her friends 330 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,480 that she had this love affair with a blonde hair, 331 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,400 blue-eyed math teacher. 332 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:33,960 So the Stasi knows that Reck is her type. 333 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:38,080 [David] Now Reck's entire mission rests on one question: 334 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,600 will she say yes to a date? 335 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,800 ♪ ♪ 336 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,360 - In July 1977, Kliem is sitting 337 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,760 on the banks of the Rhine when Reck approaches her. 338 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,720 He introduces himself as Frank Dietzel, 339 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,680 a Munich-based physicist who works 340 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:57,920 at a peace research institute. 341 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,560 [Greg] Reck puts all of his newly acquired skills 342 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,640 to action and quickly sweeps Kliem right off her feet. 343 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:05,480 The plan works beautifully. 344 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,480 After three months of dating, he asks her to marry him. 345 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,880 And of course, she says yes. 346 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,320 [David] Reck has wooed his target. 347 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,120 His next move is to build a relationship 348 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,520 where he holds all the power. 349 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,600 - Reck claims to be away on business for long stretches 350 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,600 and insists that they only meet in hotels every few weeks. 351 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:27,280 The arrangement keeps her isolated and removed 352 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,080 from his real life. 353 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,680 - He talks about their future life as a married couple, 354 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:33,200 having children. 355 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,520 But through all of this, he manages to keep 356 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,560 delaying the actual wedding. 357 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:40,600 - Reck has been trained in psychological manipulation, 358 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,600 and he uses it to control Kliem. 359 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:48,080 She's terrified of losing him, so she feels obligated 360 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,880 to do whatever he asks for. 361 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,320 [David] With Kliem firmly under Reck's thumb, 362 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,000 he moves to the final phase of his mission-- 363 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,200 convincing her to bring him intelligence 364 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,920 he can take back behind the Iron Curtain. 365 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:06,160 - Reck begins to insist that she prove her love for him 366 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:08,960 by photographing top secret documents 367 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:11,880 all for his supposed peace research. 368 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,520 - She finally caves in, 369 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:17,000 and for years, she smuggles out top secret documents 370 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:21,319 from the U.S. embassy, including training programs 371 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:23,839 and plans for advanced weapons. 372 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,319 - Unknown to her, Reck is funneling all this information 373 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:29,280 straight to East Berlin. 374 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,040 [David] But Kliem can only take so much. 375 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,720 In August 1984, she breaks off the engagement. 376 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,720 Even then, her ordeal isn't over. 377 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,760 - In 1991, Kliem is arrested for espionage. 378 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,800 It emerges that a Stasi defector has exposed 379 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:49,000 the Romeo operations, revealing Kliem's name and her role 380 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:51,600 in stealing documents from the embassy. 381 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,800 [David] Kliem receives a suspended two-year sentence 382 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:56,840 and a heavy fine for espionage. 383 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:58,640 But she's not alone. 384 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:01,480 Over 40 victims of the Stasi's Romeo program 385 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:04,960 are prosecuted, with some jailed for years, 386 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,160 but the man behind it all evades justice. 387 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,120 - For decades, Markus Wolf keeps his secrets 388 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:11,520 hidden from the West. 389 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,680 But in 1997, he publishes his memoir. 390 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,040 And in that, he pulls back the curtain 391 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,520 on the disturbing realities of his Romeo operations 392 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:21,480 for the very first time. 393 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:23,600 [David] Wolf offers no apology. 394 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:25,520 He was running an intelligence service, 395 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:27,440 not a lonely hearts club. 396 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,680 In fact, he writes, "As long as there is espionage, 397 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:34,440 "there will be Romeos seducing unsuspecting Juliets 398 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:36,560 with access to secrets." 399 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:40,720 - When one Jewish prisoner is forced 400 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:43,000 to help save the lives of Nazi troops, 401 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:46,000 he conspires to do the exact opposite 402 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:48,880 and spins a lie that will kill hundreds, 403 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,360 all from inside a concentration camp. 404 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,480 [tense music] 405 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,400 - By 1942, German forces on the Eastern front 406 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:02,040 are being decimated by the Red Army, 407 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:07,120 by the brutal Russian winter, and also by an invisible enemy, 408 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:08,640 typhus. 409 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:10,960 - Typhus is a bacterial infection 410 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:12,960 that is caused by lice. 411 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,280 And if it is left untreated, it will produce 412 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:19,080 a neurological decline and eventually death. 413 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:21,840 - Under the grueling conditions of the Eastern front, 414 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,520 it is spreading like wildfire. 415 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,080 [David] More than 40,000 German soldiers 416 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,600 have been struck down, and 4,000 have died 417 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:31,400 in just 12 months. 418 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,120 Hitler's generals need to find a way 419 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,600 to protect their troops fast. 420 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,400 - Effective typhus vaccines already exist. 421 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:40,400 The problem is scale. 422 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:43,560 - They can only produce 6,500 doses per month. 423 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:45,920 And yet, they have millions of people in uniform 424 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:47,840 who could be potentially exposed. 425 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,440 This is a major problem for their ability 426 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:52,800 to continue to wage war. 427 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,640 - The SS decides to establish a large scale 428 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:57,520 vaccine production facility 429 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,520 inside the Buchenwald concentration camp, 430 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,840 where they can use forced labor to make 431 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,560 vast quantities of vaccine. 432 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,160 [David] But untrained inmates 433 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,640 don't make great microbiologists. 434 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:12,960 They fail to produce even a single working dose 435 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,240 of typhus vaccine, let alone enough 436 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:17,720 to inoculate the entire German army, 437 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,000 so the Nazis seek out an expert they think 438 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:21,600 will solve the problem. 439 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,240 [Hakeem] Dr. Ludwik Fleck is a renowned 440 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,720 Polish-Jewish microbiologist and immunologist. 441 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,520 - He has developed typhus vaccines previously. 442 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,400 And convenient for the Germans, 443 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:35,400 he's already being held in the concentration camp 444 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,920 at Auschwitz. 445 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,120 - Fleck is transferred to Buchenwald 446 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,520 and ordered to produce a working vaccine. 447 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:45,240 But this scientist has no intention 448 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:47,040 of helping Hitler's army. 449 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:51,360 Instead, he gambles his life on a truly audacious deception. 450 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,160 [Hakeem] Fleck sees the opportunity 451 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,440 to convince the Nazis that he's producing 452 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:57,080 a working typhus vaccine, 453 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,600 but then mass produced a useless version 454 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:03,360 and send it out to thousands of Nazi troops on the front line. 455 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,200 - German command is gonna believe their soldiers 456 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,200 have been vaccinated when, in reality, 457 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:08,920 they're just sitting ducks, 458 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,480 totally vulnerable to this disease. 459 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,000 [David] This is no easy deception to pull off. 460 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,200 For Fleck's plan to work, he must produce two vaccines, 461 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,920 one real and one fake. 462 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,240 His first task, make the real one. 463 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:25,960 [Amy] The inmates have been trying 464 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,680 to produce a vaccine by growing typhus bacteria in rabbits. 465 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,000 But Fleck realizes that what they're extracting 466 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:32,840 from the rabbits isn't typhus. 467 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,800 It's the animal's own white blood cells. 468 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,640 - Fleck arranges for a fresh sample of typhus bacteria 469 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,840 to be sent from Krakow, one far better suited 470 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,200 to growing inside rabbits. 471 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,440 - Using this, he infects the animals 472 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,880 and harvests their tissue, allowing him to cultivate 473 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:54,080 small batches of genuine, effective typhus vaccine. 474 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,320 [David] When the Nazis test Fleck's jabs, 475 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,600 they pass with flying colors. 476 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,280 Now Fleck starts the second phase of his plan, sabotage. 477 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,000 - He begins mass producing 478 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:07,640 a fake typhus vaccine destined for the front lines. 479 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:11,920 This is basically just water, blood, and preservatives. 480 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:13,920 It's completely useless. 481 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,680 [David] Tens of thousands of doses of Fleck's fakes 482 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,040 are created and sent east. 483 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,520 Then he adds one final twist to his deception. 484 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,680 - He returns to a secret stockpile of genuine serum 485 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,400 that he's put aside, and he marked it 486 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:29,680 with a little red dot. 487 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:31,840 [Dan] In a truly heroic act, 488 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,040 he uses those vials to secretly vaccinate 489 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,440 the most vulnerable prisoners of the concentration camp, 490 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,120 likely saving countless lives. 491 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:41,880 [David] But after months of pulling the wool 492 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,520 over the Germans' eyes, Fleck's plan 493 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,080 comes under dangerous scrutiny. 494 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,600 [Don] Reports begin filtering back from the front 495 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,520 that vaccinated troops are still falling ill. 496 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:55,480 Nazi command grows suspicious and demand proof 497 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:57,040 that Fleck's vaccine is effective. 498 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,000 - Fleck argues that no vaccine can be foolproof, 499 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:04,080 and he submits small samples of the real vaccine for testing. 500 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,200 [Don] Appeased by these lab results, 501 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,400 the Nazi officials are satisfied, 502 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:13,120 and shipments of Fleck's fake vaccine resume. 503 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:17,240 [David] Fleck's extraordinary deception only ends in 1945 504 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:20,400 when U.S. forces liberate Buchenwald. 505 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:23,360 A year later, at the Nuremberg trials, 506 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,920 Fleck and fellow inmates are called to testify 507 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,440 about the Nazis' medical experiments at the camp. 508 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,080 Here they make a shocking admission. 509 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,440 - They reveal for the first time that they secretly sent 510 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,560 200,000 doses of fake typhus vaccine 511 00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,320 to the German front line. 512 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,240 [David] But the details of exactly how Fleck achieved 513 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:48,400 this incredible feat remain a mystery for nearly 70 years, 514 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,640 until author Arthur Allen publishes a book on Fleck 515 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,040 in 2015. 516 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,240 Drawing on survivor testimony and Fleck's own writings, 517 00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:59,320 it's the first ever detailed account 518 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:01,200 of his heroic deception, 519 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,960 finally sharing Fleck's story with the world. 520 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,160 - When one of America's most notorious organizations 521 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:13,840 moves into town, one detective wants to go undercover 522 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:16,040 to find out what they're up to. 523 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,080 There's just one problem: 524 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:19,720 they're the KKK, 525 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:21,680 and he's Black. 526 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,640 [tense music] 527 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:26,040 ♪ ♪ 528 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:29,760 - In October 1978, Detective Ron Stallworth 529 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,200 of the Colorado Springs Police Department 530 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:34,160 is combing through the newspaper 531 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,120 when a small classified ad catches his eye. 532 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:39,200 - "Call this number to receive more information 533 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:43,080 "about joining the Colorado Springs chapter 534 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,200 of the Ku Klux Klan." 535 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:47,360 [Hakeem] Stallworth is the only Black detective 536 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,600 on the Colorado Springs force. 537 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:54,560 And the idea of a Klan chapter getting a foothold in his city, 538 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,240 he ain't having it. 539 00:24:57,360 --> 00:24:58,560 [David] Stallworth knows exactly 540 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,720 what the Klan is capable of. 541 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,160 A decade earlier, the KKK murdered three civil rights 542 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,800 activists in Mississippi. 543 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:09,040 Determined to find out what they're up to 544 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,600 in Colorado Springs, 545 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,320 he takes a chance and pens a reply. 546 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:15,920 [Paul] The letter that Stallworth writes 547 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:17,360 is a work of fiction. 548 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:19,880 He's filling it with all kinds of references 549 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,800 to wanting to further the cause of the white race. 550 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:24,240 But when he finishes the letter, 551 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:26,360 he actually signs his own real name 552 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,120 and provides a phone number. 553 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:30,720 - He assumes that he's just gonna receive some pamphlets 554 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:32,960 in the mail or something. 555 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,080 [David] A week later, the phone rings. 556 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:36,720 - The man on the other end of the line 557 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:39,760 is Ken O'Dell, the local chapter organizer for the KKK. 558 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:41,960 O'Dell explains that he's looking 559 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:43,480 to recruit new members. 560 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:44,920 [Don] He says to Stallworth, 561 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:46,640 hey, you sound like a great guy, 562 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:48,360 but before we can admit you, 563 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:50,920 we have to meet you face to face. 564 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:52,720 [David] Secretly joining the KKK 565 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,520 would be the perfect way to uncover any criminal activity. 566 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,040 But while Ron can play a convincing white supremacist 567 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,800 over the phone, he can't in real life. 568 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:04,760 - Stallworth's solution is to recruit 569 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:07,560 a white colleague to impersonate him at the meeting. 570 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:09,280 He turns to a friend named Chuck, 571 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:10,800 an undercover Narcotics officer, 572 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,880 and explains the situation he's got himself into. 573 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,840 [David] Once Chuck stops laughing, he agrees to help. 574 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,360 A new undercover operation begins to take shape, 575 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:25,160 one unlike any other in the FBI's history. 576 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:27,760 - Chuck will become Ron's physical stand-in 577 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:29,560 attending the in-person meetings. 578 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,320 - Stallworth takes the lead on all things communication 579 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:34,200 and administrative, so he's the one 580 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:35,720 handling the phone calls. 581 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:37,200 He's the one sending the correspondence. 582 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,280 - And two cops playing a single alter ego 583 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:41,680 will require impeccable coordination to pull off. 584 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,720 Their stories, their opinions, their emotions 585 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:46,920 all need to be consistent to make sure 586 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:51,200 that nobody suspects that Ron is really two different people. 587 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,680 [David] On November 9, 1978, 588 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,720 they face their first big test, 589 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,760 their debut meet with local Klan boss Ken O'Dell. 590 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:02,120 - Stallworth acts as surveillance outside 591 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:04,200 while Chuck goes into a local dive bar 592 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,720 to carry out the meeting. 593 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:08,840 [Hakeem] Chuck anxiously studies O'Dell 594 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:10,760 for any signs that he's been had. 595 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,800 But it becomes clear, O'Dell and his buddies 596 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,880 don't suspect a thing. 597 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,520 [Andrew] Chuck does so well that O'Dell actually 598 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,320 starts to volunteer that local military personnel 599 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:25,280 are also signing up secretly for the KKK. 600 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:26,720 [David] By the end of the night, 601 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:29,360 Ron and Chuck get what they came for. 602 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,840 - O'Dell hands Chuck a membership application 603 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:36,200 along with instructions for paying the $10 entry fee. 604 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,520 - Stallworth becomes the first known Black man 605 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:40,920 to apply to the KKK. 606 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,720 He and Chuck have infiltrated one of America's most 607 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,720 secretive extremist organizations, 608 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:51,160 but their incredible double act doesn't stop there. 609 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,760 [Sami] Over several months, Stallworth and Chuck 610 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,600 both play Ron and gather detailed intel 611 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,760 on the Klan's activities and its members. 612 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:01,760 Their intelligence helps to prevent multiple cross burnings 613 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,120 and even foils a neo-Nazi bomb plot. 614 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:06,960 [David] Their biggest coup uncovers 615 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:11,160 just how far the Klan's secretive reach extends. 616 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:12,960 [Andrew] One morning, two officers 617 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:14,920 from the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, 618 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,200 the FBI equivalent for the Air Force, 619 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,360 show up unannounced at Stallworth's desk. 620 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:21,160 They've heard about the investigation, 621 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,480 and they wanna know whether any U.S. military officers 622 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:25,520 have joined the KKK. 623 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,800 [Sami] Ron's immediately escorted to a secure base 624 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:29,840 for a briefing with a colonel. 625 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,240 [David] The colonel asks Ron for a list of every KKK member 626 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:35,480 he's managed to unmask over the course 627 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,640 of his investigation. 628 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:39,040 - The colonel reviews Stallworth's list 629 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,040 and makes a chilling discovery. 630 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,960 Two of the Klan members are high-ranking officers 631 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,520 with top secret clearance. 632 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,400 [Andrew] These two men had secrets 633 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:49,920 to American air defense systems 634 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:51,800 that protect all of North America. 635 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:53,280 There's no telling how much information 636 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,680 they've given the KKK. 637 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:57,720 [David] The colonel takes immediate action. 638 00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,240 [Sami] Within minutes, 639 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,040 the colonel is on the phone to the Pentagon, 640 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:02,840 and the men are quietly reassigned 641 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,800 to the military equivalent of Siberia. 642 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,160 [David] Stallworth and Chuck's undercover investigation 643 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:12,480 continues into April 1979, when their own success 644 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,320 becomes their downfall. 645 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,800 - Stallworth and Chuck have impersonated a local KKK member 646 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,160 so well that a fellow Klansman has 647 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,760 actually nominated Ron to be the new leader 648 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:24,400 of their chapter. 649 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:26,600 - Now, Stallworth wants to continue the investigation, 650 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:29,040 but his bosses are terrified of the potential scandal 651 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:30,960 that could erupt if word got out 652 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,960 that a Black cop was leading the local KKK, 653 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:36,040 so they pull the plug. 654 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:38,720 [David] For decades, the details of their operation 655 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:40,360 stay hidden. 656 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,080 Then, in 2006, after retiring from the force, 657 00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:48,560 Stallworth speaks to a local reporter about his career, 658 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:52,680 giving "Deseret News" an unexpected scoop. 659 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,120 His extraordinary story eventually 660 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,320 catches Hollywood's attention and inspires 661 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,960 the film "BlacKkKlansman." 662 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,560 - Not all masters of deception disguise themselves. 663 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,400 Sometimes it's a weapon that goes undercover. 664 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:12,360 When America wants to secretly arm 665 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:14,840 resistance fighters battling Japan, 666 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:17,960 it creates an edible explosive. 667 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,120 [tense music] 668 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,520 [Sami] In early 1941, even though the United States 669 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,280 has not yet entered World War II, 670 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:28,320 it's already working secretly to undermine 671 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:30,360 Japan's war effort in China. 672 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:32,520 - The United States is sending a large quantity 673 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,400 of high explosive that the Chinese desperately 674 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,640 need to continue fighting. 675 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:40,320 [David] But in December, the covert supply route 676 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,480 being used by American agents is cut off. 677 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,200 - Japan seizes both Hong Kong and Burma, 678 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,320 two critical corridors through which the American 679 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:50,520 supply network operates. 680 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:52,040 - The U.S. has to come up with another way 681 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:55,000 to slip explosives to the Chinese resistance. 682 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:57,160 [David] That means smuggling the explosives 683 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:01,440 through Chinese ports now under Japanese control. 684 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,800 So the Office of Strategic Services, 685 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,640 America's first intelligence agency, 686 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:08,920 decides it needs a disguise. 687 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:12,680 And they find inspiration in an unlikely place. 688 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,120 - Chinese ports handle hundreds of tons 689 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,360 of ordinary flour every day. 690 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,960 And a lot of explosives are odorless and tasteless 691 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:21,960 and pretty much look like flour. 692 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:23,760 - The OSS comes up with this idea of, 693 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:25,960 why don't we create something that 694 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:29,200 is both flour that you can actually cook with, 695 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,480 but it is also an explosive. 696 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:33,960 [David] This mission to cook up 697 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:35,960 this remarkable edible disguise 698 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:39,000 is codenamed "Aunt Jemima". 699 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:40,720 But to perfect the recipe, 700 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:43,240 the OSS needs a real wiz in the kitchen. 701 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:47,240 Enter George Bogdan Kistiakowsky. 702 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:49,520 [Dan] Kistiakowsky is a Ukrainian-born 703 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,040 Harvard chemistry professor and the chief explosives 704 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,440 expert for America's wartime science agency. 705 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:59,040 Now, his first task is to find an explosive compound 706 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,600 that can convincingly pass as flour. 707 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:05,440 [Sami] He starts with RDX, a white crystalline powder 708 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:07,600 about one and half times more powerful than TNT, 709 00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:09,480 and closely resembles flour, 710 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,960 though slightly coarser in texture. 711 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:13,880 [David] This explosive can visually 712 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,800 pass for flour at the border. 713 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,640 The problem is, its cover will be blown 714 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,280 the moment any suspicious guard puts it in an oven. 715 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:26,080 - Any baker knows that the best bread is cooked at 716 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:29,320 around 430 degrees Fahrenheit, but RDX ignites 717 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:31,680 at around 390 degrees Fahrenheit. 718 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:33,320 Meaning that if you attempt to turn it 719 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:35,000 into a muffin or a loaf, it could end 720 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,800 in a very explosive kitchen nightmare. 721 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:41,200 - Kistiakowsky pivots to a different explosive. 722 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:42,840 This one's called HMX. 723 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,080 - Crucially, its ignition temperature 724 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:49,040 is a far safer 530 degrees Fahrenheit. 725 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,680 [David] In the kitchen, Kistiakowsky experiments 726 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:54,440 with this new explosive, working out how to mix it 727 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:57,520 with flour to cook up authentic baked goods. 728 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:01,120 - He settles on a blend made of 80% explosive 729 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:03,120 and 20% real flour. 730 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:05,520 - When you mix this with ordinary baking ingredients 731 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,160 like eggs and milk, a dough can be made 732 00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,240 and baked into muffins, cookies, or loaves 733 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:12,960 that look completely real. 734 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,160 [David] After baking, Kistiakowsky's treats 735 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,000 will still pack a punch. 736 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:19,200 - All you'd have to do is stick a detonator 737 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,440 into a loaf of bread, and no joke, 738 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,120 you've turned a baguette into a bomb. 739 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,000 [David] Now the OSS must make sure 740 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:29,280 whatever it cooks up tastes as good as it looks. 741 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:31,120 - If, hypothetically, a smuggler gets stopped 742 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:32,960 and questioned, they may have to eat 743 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:36,160 whatever they bake to prove that it is what they say it is. 744 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:39,280 - The problem is that Kistiakowsky's HMX mixture 745 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,960 in anything more than small quantities is toxic. 746 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,280 Any smuggler forced to eat an entire muffin 747 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,120 would fall violently ill, an immediate giveaway 748 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,440 that this is no ordinary flour. 749 00:33:52,560 --> 00:33:55,080 Kistiakowsky bakes batch after batch of explosives 750 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,240 until he finally cracks it: a mixture that's safe to eat, 751 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,720 powerfully explosive, and convincingly delicious. 752 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,600 To prove it, he stages an unforgettable demonstration. 753 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:08,320 [Don] Kistiakowsky goes to 754 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:10,360 a high-level war department meeting 755 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,520 and brings with him a batch of his very own 756 00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:14,480 home baked "Aunt Jemima" cookies. 757 00:34:14,600 --> 00:34:16,840 Right in front of the military's top brass, 758 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,159 he decides to put his own life in his hands. 759 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,760 - He takes a cookie, and he eats it. 760 00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,239 Then he reaches for another one. 761 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:27,840 And he goes through the whole tray, 762 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:30,880 finishing every last crumb. 763 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:32,600 [Don] It's the ultimate demonstration 764 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,560 that this delicious covert weapon 765 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:38,600 is finally ready to be served. 766 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:40,639 [David] The U.S. packs the explosive 767 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,560 into replica Chinese flour sacks 768 00:34:43,679 --> 00:34:45,520 then sends them on their way. 769 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:48,360 [Don] They are delivered into the hands of the resistance. 770 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,639 And although many of its uses remain cloaked 771 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,840 in classified information, it is known that Aunt Jemima 772 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:58,680 is used to knock out a critically important bridge 773 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:00,920 being used by the Japanese military. 774 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,840 [David] For decades, the tale of Aunt Jemima 775 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,120 is whispered about only in intelligence circles. 776 00:35:07,240 --> 00:35:10,160 Then, in 1963, Stanley Lovell, 777 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:13,000 the former head of OSS Research and Development, 778 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:15,720 shares the secret with the world 779 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:18,320 when he publishes the first insider account 780 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:20,240 of the OSS's technical branch, 781 00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,760 laying out the astonishing story 782 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:26,760 of World War II's most explosive kitchen staple. 783 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:32,000 - Desperate times demand daring deceptions. 784 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:34,680 In 1941, when one American singer 785 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:36,880 wants to save her husband from the horrors 786 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,160 of a Japanese internment camp, 787 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,880 she deceives hundreds of enemy troops 788 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,760 and puts on the performance of a lifetime. 789 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,160 [suspenseful music] 790 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,880 [Martin] On December 8, 1941, 791 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,000 the Japanese begin an amphibious landing operation 792 00:35:54,120 --> 00:35:56,800 on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. 793 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,400 - These islands host key U.S. military bases, 794 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:02,320 and Tokyo is determined to stop them 795 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,080 from becoming a launchpad for future American counterattacks 796 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:07,040 in the Pacific. 797 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:09,120 [David] U.S. forces beat a hasty retreat 798 00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:12,000 out of the capital, Manila. 799 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,160 Fleeing with them is a young American couple in love, 800 00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:18,200 Claire and John Phillips. 801 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:19,640 - Claire is a singer from Michigan 802 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:20,760 who's been performing in the Philippines 803 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:22,160 for the last two years. 804 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,400 John is a young and handsome sergeant 805 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:27,200 that she met while working there. 806 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,360 [David] Despite the war, Claire and John marry, 807 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:32,640 tying the knot in a makeshift chapel. 808 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,160 But these newlyweds are torn apart 809 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:37,480 when John is sent to the front line. 810 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:42,400 Five months later, Claire gets the news she's been dreading. 811 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:43,960 [Greg] Claire learns that John has been captured 812 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,200 by Japanese forces and sent to a prison camp 813 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:51,240 called Cabanatuan, roughly 60 miles North of Manila. 814 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:54,160 - This is one of the most infamous prisoner-of-war camps 815 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,040 in the Philippine Islands. 816 00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,440 [Greg] Meals are mainly basic rations of rice. 817 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,200 Sanitation is all but nonexistent, 818 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:04,920 and dysentery and malaria are everywhere. 819 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:06,760 [David] The thought of her husband suffering 820 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:10,920 is unbearable, so Claire dreams up an audacious scheme 821 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:15,200 to help him survive, one that will call on all her skills 822 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:16,760 as a performer. 823 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,760 - Claire's idea is to open a high-end nightclub 824 00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:23,840 in the heart of Manila that she'll run and star in. 825 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:26,480 She'll pack it with paying Japanese officers 826 00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:29,680 and use the profits to help her husband and other POWs 827 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:34,280 by smuggling money and medical supplies into the camps. 828 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,040 - Claire's grand plan has just one problem. 829 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:39,200 She's an all-American girl. 830 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:41,440 To run the hottest nightspot in Manila, 831 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:44,000 she needs an entirely new identity. 832 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:47,040 So Claire Phillips disappears 833 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:51,000 and Dorothy Fuentes, a Filipino-Italian showstopper, 834 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:52,960 steps into the spotlight. 835 00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:55,240 ♪ ♪ 836 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,520 [Sami] Dorothy's persona is perfect for Claire. 837 00:37:57,640 --> 00:37:59,560 Claire is already an accomplished performer, 838 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,000 and although she doesn't speak Italian, 839 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,360 she knows most Japanese troops won't either. 840 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,800 [Martin] She persuades someone who used to work 841 00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:09,000 in the Italian embassy to cook up some fake documents 842 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:12,320 to support the Dorothy Fuentes cover story. 843 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:14,160 [David] Now Claire gets to work opening 844 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:16,560 the best cabaret in town. 845 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,120 - She pawns her jewelry, including her wedding ring, 846 00:38:19,240 --> 00:38:21,840 and pours every dollar she has into leasing 847 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:23,280 a modest dance studio. 848 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:25,720 Then, she painstakingly transforms it 849 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:29,200 into one of the city's most glamorous nightspots. 850 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,240 - To appeal to Japanese clientele, 851 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:33,400 she names it Club Tsubaki, 852 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:36,320 named after a delicate Japanese flower. 853 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:40,200 [David] On October 15, 1942, Club Tsubaki 854 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:41,960 finally opens its doors. 855 00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:45,480 - Japanese officers are treated to dazzling dance routines 856 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:47,200 and very overpriced drinks. 857 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:48,440 The liquor's flowing. 858 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:50,480 The music is hot. 859 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:52,040 And at 10:00 p.m. on opening night, 860 00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:54,240 they're already turning away customers. 861 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,080 [David] Her grand opening is the talk of the town. 862 00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:00,440 But before Claire can funnel any profits to help John, 863 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:02,800 her world is turned upside down. 864 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:05,840 - Claire receives word that John caught malaria 865 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,120 and has died at Cabanatuan. 866 00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:10,520 [Kavitha] Claire is devastated by the news, 867 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,440 but she realizes that while she couldn't save John, 868 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,080 she can press on to help other prisoners. 869 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:18,360 [David] Driven by Claire's grief, 870 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:22,120 Club Tsubaki is soon raking in thousands of dollars a week. 871 00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:26,200 Now Claire needs to get this money and the aid it can buy 872 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,680 to the prisoners inside Cabanatuan. 873 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:31,920 - She links up with a Filipino allied guerrilla network, 874 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:33,840 and they quickly devise an ingenious way 875 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:35,720 to slip goods past the guards. 876 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:38,120 [Kavitha] They have sweet-faced young women 877 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:40,840 pose as street vendors, and they sell bags of fruit 878 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:44,320 to prisoners on work detail for just a few centavos. 879 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:46,040 [Sami] The bags look completely innocent, 880 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:49,480 but inside are hollowed-out bananas stuffed with medicine 881 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,880 or secret messages, while some bags have false bottoms 882 00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:55,440 that hide hundreds of pesos. 883 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:57,920 [David] Soon, Claire is funneling the equivalent 884 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:01,280 of $20,000 U.S. a week into the camps, 885 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:03,680 money that's used to buy vital rations 886 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:06,280 at the camp's commissary. 887 00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:10,240 Thanks to Club Tsubaki, countless lives are saved. 888 00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:13,280 But after almost two years, the curtain finally 889 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,480 comes down on Claire's daring act. 890 00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:19,640 - In early 1944, incriminating resistance letters 891 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:21,720 are discovered inside Cabanatuan 892 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:23,520 that point directly to Claire. 893 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:26,120 - Soon after, armed policemen storm the club 894 00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:27,640 and Claire is arrested. 895 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,160 Japanese military police subject Claire 896 00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:33,680 to weeks of brutal interrogation and torture. 897 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:35,840 - She displays incredible resolve, 898 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:38,760 refusing to reveal the names of co-conspirators 899 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:41,040 who could be targeted and keeps the details 900 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,520 of her operation completely hidden. 901 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:45,960 [David] In November 1944, 902 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:47,640 Claire is tried in a military court 903 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,400 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. 904 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:52,600 - Clare endures brutal conditions. 905 00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:55,200 She's starved and forced to do hard labor. 906 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:57,600 Her weight drops to a mere 85 pounds, 907 00:40:57,720 --> 00:40:59,440 leaving her on the brink of death. 908 00:40:59,520 --> 00:41:01,880 ♪ ♪ 909 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,600 [David] Her rescue comes in the nick of time 910 00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:09,520 when, in February 1945, U.S. troops retake Manila. 911 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:12,480 Two years later, she shares her story with the world 912 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:16,360 in a sensational memoir. 913 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:18,680 Shortly after, the United States government 914 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:21,800 awards the singer-turned-spy the Medal of Freedom 915 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,400 for her truly heroic wartime deception. 916 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:30,440 From a fake mafioso to a Black cop posing as a Klansman, 917 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:33,320 true masters of deception can pull the wool 918 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:34,920 over anyone's eyes. 919 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:37,280 But no lie lasts forever, 920 00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:41,960 and even the greatest impostors get unmasked in the end.