Memorial Sites IV
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Skallingen, a coastline full of landmines - DR (Denmark)
During Word War Two, German occupying forces had placed 1,5 million mines along the Danish west coast. Shortly after the capitulation in Spring 1945, German soldiers were forced to removed them, by hand, square meter after square meter, as an horrible act of revenge… Today it is estimated that there are still up to 8000 mines in Skallingen, on the southernmost part of the coastline. The work is still being done and it may take up to 5 years to locate them all…
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Yaros, the "mediterranean Dachau" - ERT (Greece)
It was called "Dachau", "Bastille", "Death Island", "Devil’s Island". Yaros or Yura. A 17 square kilometer rock island, thrown in the middle of the ocean. In Roman and Byzantine years it was already a place of prison and exile, and a pirates’ stronghold. In the Twentieth Century, throughout the Civil war, Yaros was used again as a place of exile, for political detainees, mostly communists...
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Yaros, the "mediterranean Dachau"
Gotenica, the secret shelter of Tito - RTVSLO (Slovenia)
One year after the legendary leader of Yugoslav Communist Party, Tito, had said his historical “no” to almighty Russian dictator Stalin, the Yugoslav communist leaders had a secret shelter ready to protect them in the case of a nuclear war. In the middle of dark woods in south-east Slovenia, huge concrete buildings had been raised in the beginning of the fifties. However, they have never been used as hideaway places but became instead a storage of film archives. Today, even in the modern Republic of Slovenia, the place is still kept as a half-closed area. The history still haunts this village of ghosts.
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Gotenica, the secret shelter of Tito
Hohenschönhausen - the remand prison of the GDR - SWR/WDR (Germany)
Once run by the MfS (Ministry for State Security, or “Stasi” for short) the prison Berlin Hohenschönhausen was used for those awaiting trial. It was not marked on city maps and remained until 1990 one of the most secret and sinister locations in the GDR. It also used to be an indicator of the political situation within the GDR as its constant aim was to “eliminate oppositional forces within the country.” Today Berlin Hohenschönhausen is a memorial place for all Germans and has become a museum.
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Hohenschönhauser - the remand prison of the GDR
Yenice, a secret meeting place for Winston Churchill - TRT (Turkey)
A secret political meeting in January 1943, in a small railway station in Turkey. Winston Churchill, Great Britain’s First Minister, came to Yenice, hoping to convince his Turkish Counterpart Sükrü Saraçoglu, to join forces against Germany. Turkey, however, was determined to preserve neutrality and keep out of the war…
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Yenice, a secret meeting place for Winston Churchill
Underground canals in Warsaw - TVP (Poland)
Warsaw, Poland, 1st August 1944. The soldiers of the underground Home Army, made the decision to rise up for a final battle against the Germans. They were determined to not only defeat the Germans but also save Poland from Stalin.
One of the iconic elements of the Warsaw Uprising was its sewer system. While battles were being fought on the streets of Warsaw, weapons and information were being transported through the underground sewers. The Warsaw sewers also served as an escape route for Polish soldiers and civilians in the last days of the uprising...
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Underground canals of Warsaw
The Boden Fortress - UR (Sweden)
Five forts blasted into the mountain. Thousands of bulwarks and fortifications. In the midst of it all, the town of Boden with its many regiments. Together it made up the Boden Fortress, built in the beginning of the last century - a cold, dark place surrounded by hundreds of kilometers of untouched wilderness.. . Situated 110 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, the Fortress was once the heart and soul of the defence of the upper regions of North Sweden, aimed at stopping the historically hereditary foe of Sweden, the Russians. Until the last mountain fort was taken out of service in 1997, the Boden Fortress was the most secret of all military installations in Sweden…
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The Boden Fortress
The sauna of former president Urho Kekkonen - YLE (Finland)
The Tamminiemi sauna, built for President Urho Kekkonen in 1956, started a plethora of rumors in its day. Who were the sauna guests of this exceptionally powerful president? Did he govern Finland through the network of his sauna friends? Rumors and speculations bloated the sauna’s reputation to almost mythical proportions… Indeed, important and very confidential geo-political issues were negotiated there, especially with Soviet leaders, in the difficult time of the Cold War.
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The sauna of former president Urho Kekkonen
