Season 7, Episode 8

Elyse: WE'RE THE HISTORY DETECTIVES, AND WE'RE GOING TO INVESTIGATE SOME UNTOLD STORIES FROM AMERICA'S PAST.

Wes: THIS WEEK, WHY WOULD AN AMERICAN ARMY CAPTAIN HAVE ENDED UP WITH MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER?

YOU WOULD NEED EXTRAORDINARY PROOF TO TIE IT TO MUSSOLINI.

LISTEN TO THIS.

Tukufu: DID THE FORMER SLAVE WHO PENNED THESE LETTERS FULFILL HIS AFRICAN DREAMS?

POWERFUL.

Gwendolyn: HOW WOULD THIS BLACK BOX HAVE PROTECTED AMERICANS FROM NUCLEAR ATTACK?

[ buzzes ] Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ I GET SO ANGRY WHEN THE TEARDROPS START ♪ ♪ BUT HE CAN'T BE WOUNDED 'CAUSE HE'S GOT NO HEART ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ Gwendolyn: TH IS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

Wes: OUR FIRST STORY CUTS THROUGH FAMILY LORE FOR THE TRUTH BEHIND A WARTIME SOUVENIR.

IN THE LATE SPRING OF 1945, IN SOME OF THE BLOODIEST FIGHTING OF WORLD WAR II, ALLIED FORCES MOVED NORTH THROUGH ITALY, LIBERATING TOWNS FROM FASCIST CONTROL.

ITALY'S LEADER, BENITO MUSSOLINI, IS IN HIDING.

A DEADLY CAT-AND-MOUSE GAME UNFOLDS AS MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN SPY SERVICE, THE OSS, HUNT FOR MUSSOLINI TO TRY HIM AS A WAR CRIMINAL.

BUT IL DUCE HAS TERRORIZED ITALIANS FOR 21 YEARS, AND THE U.S. MILITARY ARE IN A RACE WITH ITALIAN PARTISANS WHO WANT VENGEANCE.

JERRY STEICHEN OF RENO, NEVADA, HAS A WEAPON WHICH HE BELIEVES MAY BE CONNECTED TO THE LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD'S FIRST FASCIST STATE.

MY UNCLE GOT THIS IN WORLD WAR II.

WE WERE ALWAYS TOLD THAT THIS WAS MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER.

I'VE COME TO RENO TO EXAMINE THIS FAMILY LEGEND.

I REMEMBER SEEING THAT WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID.

WELL, YOU OBVIOUSLY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO PLAY WITH IT, BECAUSE IT'S STILL IN BEAUTIFUL SHAPE.

OH, NO, NO.

AND WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THIS DAGGER?

MY UNCLE, CLARENCE FARBER, WAS A MAJOR IN WORLD WAR II.

HE ALWAYS TOLD ME IT WAS PRESENTED TO HIM BY THE ITALIAN PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS LIBERATING CITIES IN ITALY.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER.

HIS UNCLE REPEATED THE SAME STORY TO OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, AND ALTHOUGH HE'S LOST TOUCH WITH HER, JERRY SAYS HIS UNCLE'S ELDERLY SISTER IS STILL LIVING IN ILLINOIS.

I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT IF THIS IS REALLY MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER, IT'S A QUITE VALUABLE WWII SOUVENIR.

I JUST WOULD REALLY LIKE TO FIND OUT IF THE STORY IS TRUE.

I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE THIS WITH ME, IF IT'S OKAY, BUT I THINK I CAN PROBABLY HELP YOU WITH THIS STORY.

OH, I'D APPRECIATE THAT.

LOOK AT THIS BLADE.

IT HAS NEVER BEEN TOUCHED.

THIS STRIKES ME AS A DRESS DAGGER, NOT ANYTHING THAT WOULD HAVE EVER BEEN USED.

I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH ALL THESE SYMBOLS, BUT THE EAGLE WAS A POPULAR FASCIST ICON.

DOES "M" STAND FOR MUSSOLINI?

EVEN IF THE DAGGER IS PERIOD, I'M FAIRLY SKEPTICAL IT EVER BE LONGED TO THE ITALIAN LEADER.

I'VE DONE A COUPLE STORIES SIMILAR TO THIS ON NAPOLEON'S SWORD, HERMANN GORING'S SHOTGUN.

IN BOTH OF THOSE INVESTIGATIONS, MEMORY AND TIME HAD TURNED THE OBJECT INTO SOMETHING IT WAS NOT.

OVER THE YEARS, THE STORY GETS EMBELLISHED, AND BEFORE LONG, THE STORY BECOMES FACT.

HERE'S A COUPLE PICTURES OF HIM.

THE DAGGER HE'S WEARING HERE HAS A WHITE HANDLE.

THIS ONE HAS A BLACK HANDLE.

BUT WHO KNOWS, MAYBE MUSSOLINI OWNED SEVERAL DAGGERS.

DID JERRY'S UNCLE REALLY RECEIVE THIS AS A REWARD FOR LIBERATING ITALIAN CITIES?

THE AMERICAN INVASION OF ITALY IN 1943 WAS DESIGNED TO STRIKE A BLOW AGAINST HITLER'S UNDERBELLY AND DESTROY THE REMNANTS OF MUSSOLINI'S ARMY.

AFTER LANDING AT SALERNO IN SEPTEMBER 1943, THE ALLIES MET WITH INITIAL SUCCESS, BUT GERMAN COUNTERATTACKS ALMOST DOOMED THE INVASION AND CAUSED MANY CASUALTIES.

FARBER MAY HAVE WITNESSED THAT CARNAGE AND THE SUFFERING OF THE CITIZENS OF SALERNO.

SO LET'S SEE HERE.

IT LOOKS LIKE IN LATE APRIL 1945, MUSSOLINI IS TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THE APPROACHING ALLIED FORCES AND HE'S CAPTURED BY ITALIAN PARTISANS, IT LOOKS LIKE NEAR LAKE COMO.

ON APRIL 28, 1945, THE MAN KNOWN AS IL DUCE, OR "LEADER," WAS EXECUTED ALONG WITH HIS MISTRESS.

HE HAD RULED ITALY WITH AN IRON FIST FOR 21 YEARS.

THE NEXT DAY, HIS BODY IS BROUGHT TO MILAN... AND PUT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY IN THE PLAZA THERE, WHERE THE ENRAGED CITIZENS OF MILAN SPIT ON HIM, KICK HIM, AND THEN HIS BODY IS HUNG UP.

IF JERRY'S STORY IS TRUE, HIS UNCLE WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE GOTTEN THIS DAGGER SOMETIME AFTER LATE APRIL 1945.

BUT I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ABOUT MUSSOLINI'S POSSESSIONS BEING GIVEN TO ALLIED SOLDIERS.

IF I'M GOING TO PROVE THAT THIS WAS MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER, I NEED TO SEARCH MILITARY RECORDS AND FIND OUT IF JERRY'S UNCLE WAS EVEN IN ITALY.

I'VE ORDERED COPIES OF FARBER'S SERVICE HISTORY.

IN THE MEANTIME, AN EXPERT IN WWII WEAPONS, GARY PIATTONI, CONFIRMS IT'S A PERIOD ITALIAN-MADE WEAPON.

THERE'S A LOT OF CLUES AS TO THE TYPE OF DAGGER IT IS.

HERE WE HAVE ON THE INSET INTO THE GRIP...

THE FASCES IS AN ANCIENT ROMAN SYMBOL OF POWER FEATURING A BUNDLE OF STICKS AND AN AXE.

IT BECAME THE SYMBOL OF MUSSOLINI'S FASCIST PARTY.

THE EAGLE WAS ALSO A FASCIST SYMBOL, AND THE "M" DOES SIGNIFY LOYALTY TO MUSSOLINI.

I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE ELEMENTS OF THIS, SYMBOLS OF RANK, THAT TELL YOU WHO WAS ALLOWED TO WEAR THIS DAGGER.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK.

IT'S A MODEL 1939.

THIS DAGGER WOULD HAVE BEEN WORN BY MEMBERS OF THE PNF, OR THE FASCIST PARTY, OR THE MVSN, OR THE FASCIST MILITIA, OFTEN CALLED THE BLACKSHIRTS.

GARY EXPLAINS HOW MUSSOLINI'S SEIZURE OF POWER WAS AIDED BY THE BLACKSHIRTS, A PARAMILITARY GROUP KNOWN FOR THEIR BRUTALITY AND CHARACTERISTIC UNIFORM.

THEY ALSO FAVORED CEREMONIAL DAGGERS.

GARY SAYS THE BEST CLUE TO WHO MIGHT HAVE WORN OUR DAGGER IS THE COLOR OF THE HANDLE.

FOR RANK OF BELOW COLONEL, YOU WOULD HAVE THE BLACK INSET.

FOR COLONEL THROUGH GENERAL OFFICERS, YOU WOULD HAVE A WHITE PLASTIC OR AN IVORINE MATERIAL, AND THEN TRUE IVORY, OR EVEN SOMETIMES FOSSILIZED IVORY, WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR SENIOR LEADERS OR GENERALS.

BECAUSE THE GRIP OF THIS DAGGER IS BLACK, THAT MEANS THAT THIS COULD HAVE ONLY BEEN CARRIED BY SOMEONE BELOW THE RANK OF COLONEL.

CORRECT.

IT'S CERTAINLY UNLIKELY THAT MUSSOLINI WOULD HAVE WORN THIS DAGGER IN PUBLIC, BASED ON HIS RANK.

FOR SUCH A RELATIVELY ORDINARY DAGGER, YOU WOULD NEED EXTRAORDINARY PROOF TO TIE IT TO MUSSOLINI.

THE HISTORY DETECTIVES OFFICE HAS LOCATED FARBER'S RECORDS.

IN HIS APPLICATION TO JOIN THE ARMY, THERE ARE SOME POTENTIALLY INTERESTING ITEMS.

FARBER HAD WORKED IN BOTH LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PRISON SECURITY.

HE HAD ALSO BEEN TRAINED BY THE FBI IN COUNTERESPIONAGE.

FARBER WAS NO ORDINARY SOLDIER.

BUT THE ONLY MENTION OF HIS WAR SERVICE IS THAT HE ENTERED THE ARMY AS AN OFFICER IN 1942.

UNFORTUNATELY, HIS WARTIME RECORDS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN A FIRE.

JERRY MENTIONED THAT HIS UNCLE HAS A SISTER LIVING IN THE MIDWEST.

HER NAME IS RUBY VANT, AND I'VE TRACKED HER DOWN.

I'M HERE IN A LITTLE OLD TOWN ABOUT 100 MILES SOUTH OF CHICAGO, OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF ILLINOIS FARM COUNTRY.

AND I'M HERE TO SEE CLARENCE FARBER'S 101-YEAR-OLD SISTER, HOPING MAYBE SHE CAN TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT CLARENCE'S MILITARY CAREER.

RUBY, DID CLARENCE EVER SHOW YOU THIS DAGGER?

WELL, I KNEW HE HAD IT, BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER IT.

SO, RUBY, DID CLARENCE EVER TALK ABOUT WHAT HE DID DURING WORLD WAR II?

NO, HE WOULDN'T TALK ABOUT THE WAR.

MANY RETURNING G.I.s WERE QUIET ABOUT THEIR SERVICE YEARS, EAGER TO PUT THE HORRORS OF WAR BEHIND THEM.

BUT RUBY SAYS SHE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP ME.

A BOX OF HER BROTHER'S DOCUMENTS HAVE SAT IN HER ATTIC, WHERE SHE STORED THEM 30 YEARS AGO.

FROM THE OLD BOX COME FRAGMENTS OF INFORMATION.

FARBER DID SEE SERVICE IN ITALY DURING THE WAR.

IN SEPTEMBER '43, HE JOINED THE INVASION FORCES AND LANDED AT SALERNO.

IT LOOKS LIKE FARBER WAS IN THE 2675th REGIMENT ALLIED COMMISSION.

HIS MILITARY OCCUPATION IS LISTED AS PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.

AFTER THE WAR, HE STAYED ON IN ITALY.

IT SEEMS AS IF HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING WAS PUT TO GOOD USE BY THE U.S.

OCCUPATION FORCES.

HE WAS ASSIGNED TO SALERNO AS THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PRISONS AND CHIEF OF THE ITALIAN POLICE AGENCIES.

HERE IS SOMETHING THAT JERRY WAS TALKING ABOUT.

IT'S A COPY OF A PROCLAMATION FROM THE CITY COUNCIL OF SALERNO TO FARBER.

"HE WAS ALWAYS FULL OF COMPASSION "TOWARDS THOSE WHO SUFFERED AND REVEALED HIMSELF "AS POSSESSING QUALITIES OF GREAT GENEROSITY AND KINDNESS TO THOSE IN PAIN."

BUT THERE'S NOTHING ABOUT A GRATEFUL CITIZENRY GIVING HIM MUSSOLINI'S DAGGER.

THE OLD BOX DOES CONTAIN A SURPRISE, THOUGH: A LETTER WITH A VERY DIFFERENT ACCOUNT OF HOW JERRY'S UNCLE GOT THE DAGGER.

LISTEN TO THIS: "CAPTAIN CLARENCE L. FARBER AND ANOTHER OFFICER "WERE SENT TO PICK UP MUSSOLINI.

"WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THEIR DESTINATION, "MUSSOLINI AND HIS MISTRESS WERE HANGING IN THE TOWN SQUARE.

"HE AND THE OTHER OFFICER WENT TO MUSSOLINI'S APARTMENT.

"CAPTAIN FARBER PICKED UP THE DAGGER MUSSOLINI WORE "ON HIS DRESS UNIFORM.

THE OTHER OFFICER TOOK MUSSOLINI'S UNIFORM."

ALTHOUGH IT'S AN INCREDIBLE STORY, IT'S STILL ONLY FARBER'S ACCOUNT AS TOLD TO HIS SECOND WIFE.

AND THE DATES IN THIS VERSION DON'T QUITE MATCH HIS OFFICIAL SERVICE RECORD.

HE WAS AT FIFTH ARMY HEADQUARTERS IN SEPTEMBER, 1944, IN PISA, AND HE REMAINED IN PISA UNTIL JULY 1, 1945.

NOW, WHY IS THAT INTERESTING?

WELL, MUSSOLINI WAS ULTIMATELY CAPTURED AND KILLED IN THE LAKE COMO DISTRICT, A LONG WAY FROM PISA.

BUT FARBER HAD FBI ESPIONAGE TRAINING.

WAS HE SECRETLY INVOLVED IN THE HUNT FOR MUSSOLINI?

I'M AT THE SPECIAL FORCES MUSEUM IN FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL ROBERT W. JONES, JR., OF THE U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND SAYS FARBER'S MILITARY UNIT HAD AN ESSENTIAL ROLE KEEPING THE PEACE IN POSTWAR ITALY.

SO EXACTLY WHAT DID THE ALLIED CONTROL COMMISSION DO?

WELL, THE 2675 REGIMENT, ALLIED CONTROL COMMISSION, IS A MILITARY GOVERNMENT UNIT, TODAY WHAT WE CALL CIVIL AFFAIRS.

THE ALLIED CONTROL COMMISSION WAS SET UP...

HE SAYS THE CIVIL AFFAIRS DIVISION WAS ESTABLISHED BY PRESIDENTIAL ORDER IN 1942.

ITS MISSION WAS TO PLAN FOR RUNNING THE GOVERNMENTS OF COUNTRIES THAT HITLER AND MUSSOLINI HAD TYRANNIZED.

THEY'RE GOING TO GO IN AFTER A BATTLE, RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF THE COMBAT TROOPS, TO ESTABLISH CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THOSE AREAS: PUBLIC SAFETY, WATER, ROADS.

IN TOWN AFTER TOWN, FARBER'S UNIT PROVIDED IMMEDIATE RELIEF.

BUT WERE THEY ALSO INVOLVED IN THE MANHUNT FOR BENITO MUSSOLINI?

LIEUTENANT COLONEL JONES DOUBTS IT.

THAT WOULD PROBABLY FALL UNDER THE OSS.

HE SUGGESTS I SPEAK TO TROY SACQUETY, AN OSS HISTORIAN.

TROY EXPLAINS HOW THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES WAS AN INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION CREATED DURING WORLD WAR II.

IT WAS THE PRECURSOR OF TODAY'S CIA.

OKAY, SO WE'VE GOT THESE OSS GUYS BEHIND THE LINES, RIGHT?

RIGHT.

WHAT ARE THEY DOING, WHAT'S THEIR MISSION?

YOU HAVE SPECIAL OPERATIONS, OR S.O.

THESE ARE THE GUYS THAT ARE DEMOLITIONS, SABOTAGE.

AND THEN YOU HAVE THE OPERATIONAL GROUPS, OR O.G.s, AND THESE GUYS ARE TRAINING THE PARTISANS AND LEADING THEM IN HARASSING OPERATIONS AGAINST THE RETREATING ENEMY.

SACQUETY EXPLAINS HOW IN LATE APRIL 1945, THE ITALIAN LEADER WAS ON THE RUN FROM HIS MANY ENEMIES AND TRYING DESPERATELY TO FLEE ITALY.

MUSSOLINI WAS TRYING TO ESCAPE TO SWITZERLAND AND HE WAS WITH A GERMAN COLUMN.

IF AN OSS GROUP HAD CAPTURED MUSSOLINI, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A BIG INTELLIGENCE COUP, RIGHT?

OH, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A HUGE PROPAGANDA COUP.

IN MODERN TERMS, HE WOULD BE CONSIDERED A HIGH-VALUE TARGET.

BUT THE U.S. MILITARY WAS NOT THE FIRST TO REACH MUSSOLINI.

HE WAS STOPPED BY PARTISANS.

HE PUT ON A GERMAN GREATCOAT AND HELMET AND TRIED TO PASS OFF AS A DRUNK GERMAN SOLDIER.

THE RUSE WAS DISCOVERED AND THEY CAPTURED MUSSOLINI.

THE OSS HAD MISSED THEIR TARGET BY A FEW DAYS.

THIS IS FROM OPERATIONAL GROUP SUWANNEE, AND WHAT IS SAYS HERE IS, "MUSSOLINI REPORTED CAPTURED BY PATRIOTS.

"IF IN HANDS OF PARTISANS UNDER YOUR CONTROL, "FIFTEEN ARMY GROUP REQUESTS THEY TURN HIM OVER TO YOU TO BE HELD FOR ALLIED COMMAND."

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS DATED APRIL 29th, BY WHICH TIME MUSSOLINI IS ALREADY DEAD.

TROY, PART OF MY STORY INVOLVES A G.I.

CAPTAIN NAMED CLARENCE FARBER.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE FIFTH ARMY WOULD HAVE SENT FARBER TO MILAN TO PICK UP MUSSOLINI TO TAKE HIM TO PRISON AND GO THROUGH HIS APARTMENT?

IT'S POSSIBLE.

AS EARLY AS THE 28th, THE ADVANCE ELEMENTS OF THE AMERICAN ARMY WERE IN MILAN.

WHAT TROY SHOWS ME NEXT GIVES ME SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION FOR JERRY.

EVERY INVESTIGATION THAT I DO FOR HISTORY DETECTIVES, I LEARN SOMETHING NEW.

WHAT I FOUND OUT WAS THAT THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF DAGGER THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORN BY MUSSOLINI HIMSELF.

IT'S A DAGGER THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORN BY SOMEONE BELOW THE RANK OF COLONEL.

BELOW COLONEL.

THE FACT IS, YOU WOULD NEED EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT IT WAS OWNED BY MUSSOLINI.

I SHOW JERRY THE LETTER THAT CLAIMED HIS UNCLE GOT THE DAGGER WHEN HE WAS SENT TO PICK UP MUSSOLINI.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANY OF THIS BEFORE.

IT WASN'T UNTIL I HAD SPOKEN WITH OSS HISTORIAN TROY SACQUETY THAT I UNDERSTOOD THE LIKELY STORY BEHIND THE DAGGER.

I'LL SHOW YOU SOME THINGS HERE, PHOTOGRAPHS OF MUSSOLINI HUNG UP IN THE SQUARE.

OH, YEAH, I'VE SEEN THOSE BEFORE.

AND THESE WERE PRINTED BY THE THOUSANDS AS SOUVENIRS, BUT WHEN THEY COME BACK, THE STORY COMES IN THAT GRANDDAD TOOK THESE PHOTOGRAPHS HIMSELF AND THAT HE WAS THERE.

I GUESS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT THIS WHOLE STORY COULD BE JUST A G.I.

's MEMORY?

ABSOLUTELY.

THE DEFINING MOMENT IN THE WAR IN NORTH ITALY IS HELD IN YOUR HANDS RIGHT THERE, AND EVERYONE WANTED TO BE THERE.

I TELL JERRY HE HAS AN AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FASCIST DAGGER FROM WORLD WAR II, BUT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE IT HA D ONCE BELONGED TO MUSSOLINI.

OKAY.

YEP.

WELL, IT'S GOOD TO KNOW WHAT I GOT.

THIS SHOULDN'T REALLY DIMINISH THE STORY ABOUT CLARENCE HERE.

RIGHT.

HE WAS GIVEN THE JOB, AMONG OTHERS, TO BRING ORDER TO A SHATTERED, WAR-TORN COUNTRY.

AND BY ESTABLISHING THE POLICE SYSTEM AND THE PRISON SYSTEM IN ITALY AS THE ALLIEDS TOOK IT OVER, HE ALLEVIATED THE SUFFERING OF THOUSANDS OF ITALIANS.

AND IN THAT SENSE, HE'S A TRUE WAR HERO, BUT LIKE A LOT OF G.I.s, BROUGHT BACK SOMETHING FROM HIS SERVICE AND MAYBE EMBELLISHED IT JUST A LITTLE BIT.

YEAH, I SEE WHERE THAT COULD HAPPEN, YOU KNOW.

Gwendolyn: PERHAPS THE BIGGEST SPOILS OF WORLD WAR II WERE DISCOVERED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IN 1945 SOME 200 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BERLIN IN MERKERS MINE.

ON APRIL 8th, THE ARMY DYNAMITED THE ENTRANCE.

INSIDE, G.I.s FOUND THE SHOCKING REMNANTS OF SIX YEARS OF WAR AND NAZI TERROR.

PILED HIGH WERE ART MASTERPIECES AND THE BULK OF THE RESERVE FROM THE GERMAN CENTRAL BANK.

THOSE RESERVES INCLUDED 8,000 BARS OF GOLD, 55 BOXES OF GOLD BULLION, AND HUNDREDS OF BALES OF FOREIGN CURRENCY.

MUCH OF THIS TREASURE HAD BEEN PLUNDERED FROM THE MUSEUMS AND CENTRAL BANKS OF OCCUPIED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.

EXCITEMENT ABOUT THE DISCOVERY WAS TEMPERED WITH A GRISLY REALIZATION: HITLER'S SS HAD ALSO USED THE MINE TO HOARD GOLD AND JEWELS TAKEN FROM DEATH CAMP INMATES, INCLUDING DENTAL FILLINGS, WEDDING RINGS, AND PERSONAL EFFECTS.

ONE WOMAN'S HANDBAG STILL SMELLED OF HER PERFUME.

FOLLOWING THE WAR, MUCH OF THE GOLD WAS DIVIDED AMONG A TRIPARTITE GOLD COMMISSION: FRENCH, BRITISH, AND AMERICAN.

BETWEEN 1946 AND 1998, SOME OF THE GOLD WAS ALSO DIVIDED AMONG SEVERAL OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS.

IN 1997, A CONFERENCE ON NAZI GOLD WAS ESTABLISHED TO ASSIST HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS WHO FILED CLAIMS TO THE RECOVERED PERSONAL GOLD.

BY 2002, THE CONFERENCE COLLECTED AND PAID OUT NEARLY $60 MILLION TO CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING SURVIVORS.

Tukufu: OUR NEXT STORY TRACES ONE FREEDMAN'S DREAM TO RETURN TO AFRICA.

BY THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, THE UNITED STATES WAS HOME TO INCREASING NUMBERS OF FREE BLACKS.

IN SOME PLACES, MUCH OF THE WHITE ESTABLISHMENT CONSIDERED THEIR STATUS WITH GROWING ALARM.

IN THE SOUTH, WHERE THE SLAVE SYSTEM WAS MOST ENTRENCHED, FREE BLACKS WERE CONSIDERED A THREAT TO THE STATUS QUO.

HOSTILITY AND VIOLENCE AGAINST FREE BLACKS WERE COMMON.

THIS TENSION GAVE BIRTH TO THE BACK TO AFRICA MOVEMENT.

OVER THE NEXT CENTURY, SOME 16,000 BLACK AMERICANS SAILED TO WEST AFRICA TO ESTABLISH THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA.

IT WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST OU T-MIGRATIONS IN U.S. HISTORY.

VERNETIA JENKINS OF LYNCHBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, HAS LONG BEEN MYSTIFIED BY SOME OLD FAMILY LETTERS AND THEIR CONNECTION TO AFRICA.

THE LETTERS REPRESENT HOPE FOR A NEW LIFE FOR MY ANCESTORS.

I'M ON MY WAY TO SEE VERNETIA AND LEARN MORE ABOUT HER STORY.

THE HISTORY OF THE BACK TO AFRICA MOVEMENT HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME.

I WROTE MY FIRST BOOK ON THE FOUNDING OF LIBERIA.

TUKUFU ZUBERI.

SO WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME HERE?

THE LETTERS.

NOW, WHAT ARE THESE LETTERS?

THESE ARE LETTERS THAT WERE WRITTEN TO MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, MARY VANCE FROM HER BROTHER, HARVEY McLEOD.

THE CORRESPONDENCE SPANNED FROM 1875 TO 1880, BUT IT IS THIS LETTER FROM 1877 THAT HAS CAUGHT VERNETIA'S ATTENTION.

HE KEPT MAKING REFERENCE THAT, "LIBERIA IS OUR HOME."

NOW, DID HE MOVE TO LIBERIA?

I DON'T KNOW IF HE MADE IT BACK, BUT I KNOW THAT HE WANTED TO GO BACK.

AND I KNOW THAT HE WAS ENCOURAGING HIS SISTER TO GO BACK WITH HIM.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HARVEY McLEOD AND MARY VANCE?

I WAS ABLE TO TRACE THE FAMILY BACK TO 1810.

VERNETIA TELLS ME HER GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, MARY VANCE, REMAINED IN SOUTH CAROLINA, BUT THE FAMILY LOST TRACK OF WHAT HAPPENED TO MARY'S BROTHER, HARVEY McLEOD, BEYOND THIS 1877 LETTER.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO FIND OUT FOR YOU?

DID HARVEY McLEOD MAKE IT BACK TO LIBERIA?

IT'S PRETTY EXCITING THAT YOU KEPT THESE DOCUMENTS ALIVE.

SO DO YOU MIND IF I TAKE THE LETTERS WITH ME?

YOU MOST CERTAINLY CAN, AS LONG AS I GET THEM BACK.

YOU'RE SURE TO GET THEM BACK.

THE IDEA OF QUITTING AMERICA AND GOING BACK TO AFRICA IS AS OLD AS WHEN THE FIRST AFRICANS ARRIVED HERE ENSLAVED AND IN CHAINS.

BUT THE ORGANIZED EFFORTS TO TAKE GROUPS OF AFRICANS BACK TO THE AFRICAN CONTINENT STARTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1800s.

LET'S JUST LOOK AT THE QUALITY OF THE LETTERS.

THEY'RE DEFINITELY ON OLD PAPER.

THE PAPER IS BEGINNING TO FALL AP ART AND THE WRITING IS FADED.

LET'S GET INTO ONE OF THESE LETTERS.

"DEAR SISTER, HOPE THAT GOD WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND TO COME AND GO TO LIBERIA, AFRICA, WITH US."

AND HERE HE STATES, "LIBERIA IS OUR HOME."

IT'S WRITTEN FROM ARCHER... LOOKS LIKE FLORIDA, DECEMBER 18, 1877.

BY THIS TIME, LIBERIA WAS AN INDEPENDENT NATION RUN BY FREE BLACKS.

IT'S NOT HARD TO IMAGINE HARVEY McLEOD'S CURIOSITY ABOUT LIFE THERE.

"WE ALL DONE SENT A DELEGATE ON TO SEE AFTER THE COUNTRY."

IT WAS COMMON TO SEND A REPRESENTATIVE AHEAD TO REPORT BACK ABOUT LIBERIA BECAUSE MIGRATION WASN'T EASY.

"WE WANT TO TRY AND GET OFF BETWEEN NOW AND JANUARY NEXT."

HE'S CLEARLY CONCERNED ABOUT KEEPING THE FAMILY TOGETHER.

HE'S ASKING AFTER OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS.

HE TALKS ABOUT HIS MOTHER.

HE SAYS HE DIDN'T SEE HER AGAIN "UNTIL WE ALL GOT FREE."

SO THE FAMILY HAD DEFINITELY BEEN ENSLAVED.

AND HERE HE'S TRYING TO MUSTER THE FAMILY UP: LET'S QUIT THIS PLACE AND GO TO LIBERIA, WHERE WE CAN FIND SOME FREEDOM.

POWERFUL.

I'M HEADED TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WHICH HOLDS THE MAJORITY OF RECORDS RELATED TO THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY.

I'M MEETING HISTORY MARIE TYLER-McGRAW, WHO KNOWS THE ARCHIVES WELL.

THE GUY I'M INVESTIGATING WROTE THESE LETTERS AND HE WAS INTERESTED IN MIGRATING TO LIBERIA.

OH, YES.

THAT'S VERY INTERESTING.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT HE WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH TO MIGRATE?

THE PROCESS WOULD INVOLVE HIM GETTING IN TOUCH WITH AN ORGANIZATION CALLED THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY, FOUNDED IN WASHINGTON IN 1816 BY A GROUP OF WHITE MEN WHO FELT THAT FREE BLACKS IN AMERICA SHOULD BE RESETTLED SOMEWHERE.

MARIE EXPLAINS HOW THE SOCIETY WAS SUPPORTED BY DIFFERENT GROUPS FOR VERY DIFFERENT REASONS.

ITS FOUNDERS INCLUDED KENTUCKY SENATOR HENRY CLAY.

THE SOCIETY APPEALED TO MANY FREE BLACKS AS A WAY TO HELP THEM REACH AN AFRICAN PROMISED LAND, BUT IT WAS ALSO SUPPORTED FINANCIALLY BY SOUTHERN SLAVEHOLDERS WHO FEARED REVOLTS BY FREE BLACKS AND BY SOME NORTHERN WHITES WHO WORRIED ABOUT AN INFLUX OF BLACK WORKERS.

BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY DID MANAGE TO SEND ALMOST 14,000 PEOPLE TO LIBERIA.

DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE OF THE FIRST MIGRANTS SENT TO AFRICA BY THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY.

THE FIRST SHIP WAS THE ELIZABETH, WHICH LEFT THE UNITED STATES IN 1820.

THERE WERE 88 PEOPLE, AND THEY HAD A VERY DIFFICULT TIME WHEN THEY GOT TO THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA.

SETTLERS STRUGGLED TO GROW FOOD, AND MANY DIED FROM DISEASE.

TO A GREAT EXTENT, THE AMERICANS CLUNG TO THE COASTLINE AND NEVER HAD MUCH CONTROL OVER THE BACKCOUNTRY.

THEY PERSEVERED, NAMING THE CAPITAL MONROVIA AFTER THE U.S. PRESIDENT JAMES MONROE, RETAINING AMERICAN-STYLE DRESS AND ARCHITECTURE, AND ATTEMPTING TO CONVERT AFRICANS TO CHRISTIANITY.

THEY REALLY WANTED TO RE-CREATE THE WORLD THEY HAD KNOWN, ONLY THIS TIME BEING IN CHARGE THEMSELVES.

WITHIN A FEW DECADES, FREE BLACKS KNOWN AS AMERICO-LIBERIANS HAD BUILT A REPUBLIC IN AFRICA AND REPLACED THE SOCIETY'S APPOINTED WHITE AGENTS WITH THEIR OWN LEADERS.

SO THEY WERE READY BY 1847 TO DECLARE THEIR INDEPENDENCE.

AS A NEW INDEPENDENT NATION, LIBERIA WAS PREPARED TO WELCOME AN INFLUX OF FREEDMEN.

EVEN THOUGH SLAVES HAD BEEN EM ANCIPATED AFTER THE CIVIL WAR AND GIVEN SOME RIGHTS, MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS WERE STILL ANXIOUS TO SEE GREATER FREEDOM IN A NEW COUNTRY.

IN THE PERIOD AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF LETTERS WRITTEN TO THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY ASKING FOR ASSISTANCE IN GOING TO LIBERIA.

MARIE EXPLAINS THAT FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES MEANT THE SOCIETY WAS ABLE TO HELP FEWER APPLICANTS.

OF THOSE THOUSANDS OF LETTERS, ONLY 2,500 PEOPLE ACTUALLY WENT IN THE 40 YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.

STILL, THE LETTERS POURED IN.

A NORTH CAROLINA MAN LACKING FUNDS TO SAIL FROM NEW YORK WROTE, "I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO GO TO AF RICA FOR THREE OR FOUR YEARS.

TIMES IS GETTING HARDER, AND I NEVER WILL GET THERE."

A WOMAN LAMENTED, "I CANNOT MAKE MY LIVING FOR MYSELF AND THREE CHILDREN.

"LET ME KNOW WHO TO APPLY TO FOR TRANSPORTATION, FOR I AM VERY ANXIOUS TO LEAVE THIS PART OF THE WORLD."

AND A SOUTH CAROLINA MAN SIMPLY STATED, "I AM WILLING TO DESERT MY HOME TO ENJOY MY LIBERTIES."

HOW WOULD I FIND OUT IF HARVEY McLEOD SUBMITTED AN APPLICATION TO THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY?

HE MAY HAVE WRITTEN A LETTER, BUT THE LETTERS AND THE NAMES ARE NOT IN ANY KIND OF ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

A FASTER WAY MIGHT BE TO LOOK AT THE SHIP'S MANIFESTS FOR THE PERIOD OF THE LATE 1870s AND THE 1880s.

MARIE'S COLLEAGUE, HISTORY PROFESSOR ERIC BURIN, HAS CREATED A DATABASE OF EMIGRANTS TO LIBERIA USING U.S. AND LIBERIAN CENSUS RECORDS AND COLONIZATION SOCIETY SHIP MANIFESTS.

IT INCLUDES INFORMATION ON THE 16,000 BLACK AMERICANS WHO EMIGRATED TO LIBERIA BETWEEN 1820 AND 1904.

SO WHAT CAN WE FIND OUT ABOUT A SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL USING YOUR DATABASE?

NAME, AGE, SEX, LITERACY, OCCUPATION.

IF HARVEY McLEOD IS IN THERE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY HIM THAT WAY.

NICE.

ERIC SAYS THAT WHILE OVERALL MIGRATION SLOWED DRAMATICALLY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE MIGRATING FROM THE SOUTH ROSE SIGNIFICANTLY.

HARVEY McLEOD HAD LIVED IN FLORIDA.

SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE ARE ALL THE EMIGRANTS THAT LEFT FROM FLORIDA BETWEEN 1820 AND 1904.

A HUNDRED AND TWO MIGRANTS LEFT ON AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY SHIPS FOR LIBERIA DURING THE PERIOD WHEN HARVEY McLEOD PLANNED TO SET SAIL.

HARVEY ISN'T LISTED IN ANY OF THE MANIFEST RECORDS, BUT ONE OF HIS LETTERS WAS WRITTEN FROM ARCHER, FLORIDA, WHICH ERIC CONFIRMS IS IN ALACHUA COUNTY.

AND ALACHUA COUNTY IN PARTICULAR SEEMED TO BE AN EPICENTER.

OF ALL THE EMIGRANTS WHO LEFT FROM FLORIDA, 43% LEFT FROM ALACHUA COUNTY.

WAS THERE SOMETHING PECULIAR GOING ON IN ALACHUA COUNTY?

I IMAGINE A LOCAL HISTORIAN WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL YOU A LOT MORE.

I WANT TO SEE WHETHER THERE IS ANY TRACE OF HARVEY McLEOD IN FLORIDA RECORDS, BUT FIRST LET ME SEE WHAT I CAN FIND IN SOUTH CAROLINA, WHERE THE FAMILY WAS FROM.

IF HE WAS ENSLAVED, I MIGHT FIND HIM USING THE LAST NAME OF THE SLAVEMASTER, McLEOD.

THERE'S A JOHN R. McLEOD IN SUMTER COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA, WHO HAS A NUMBER OF SLAVES THAT COULD BE HARVEY, AND THIS GUY IS EXACTLY THE RIGHT AGE.

HE'S LISTED AS A FUGITIVE FROM THE STATE.

HE ACTUALLY ESCAPED FROM SLAVERY.

NO WONDER HE WANTED TO GET OUT OF AMERICA AND GO TO LIBERIA.

HE WAS ALREADY EXPRESSING THOSE TENDENCIES TO LEAVE, GO OUT, AND FIND HIS OWN FREEDOM.

THAT IS, IF THIS IS OUR GUY.

I'M CHECKING FLORIDA CENSUS RECORDS FROM 1870, AND THERE'S A HARVEY McLEOD.

HE'S A FARMER, 27 YEARS OLD, BORN IN SOUTH CAROLINA, AND THIS IS INTERESTING: HE'S LIVING IN ALACHUA COUNTY.

NOW LET'S SEE HOW FAR WE CAN GO WITH THIS.

LET'S GO TO THE NEXT CENSUS, 1880.

HE'S STILL A FARMER IN ALACHUA COUNTY IN 1880, BUT AFTER THAT HE DISAPPEARS.

DID HE LEAVE WITH OTHER EMIGRANTS TO LIBERIA?

I'VE COME TO ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA, TO MEET LOCAL HISTORIAN PAUL ORTIZ.

SO THE GUY I'M INVESTIGATING WAS HERE IN THE 1870s, AND HE WAS A FARMER, AND I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT ABOUT HIM AND THE POSSIBILITY THAT HE MAY HAVE MOVED TO LIBERIA.

HMM, WOW.

THIS IS REMARKABLE.

PAUL TELLS ME HARVEY McLEOD IS EMBLEMATIC OF MANY BLACKS WHO FIRST CAME TO FLORIDA.

LIKE LIBERIA IN THE EARLY 19th CENTURY, THE STATE HAD PROMISED FREEDOM AND A NEW START.

ENSLAVED AFRICAN AMERICANS FOUND OUT EARLY ON THAT IF THEY COULD MAKE IT TO FLORIDA, THEY HAD A CHANCE TO GAIN THEIR FREEDOM.

YOU COULD JOIN THE SEMINOLE INDIANS.

THESE WERE NATIVE AMERICANS WHO WERE THEMSELVES FLEEING FROM THE BRITISH, TRYING TO KEEP PLANTATION SLAVERY OUT OF FLORIDA.

IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING EMANCIPATION, THE FUTURE LOOKED BRIGHT.

THE YEAR AFTER THE CIVIL WAR ENDED, CONGRESS PASSED THE SOUTHERN HOMESTEAD ACT, AND THIS ACT OPENED UP TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ACRES TO SMALL FARMERS.

THERE WAS THIS TREMENDOUS SENSE OF POSSIBILITY.

SOME EXPERTS IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY REFERRED TO FLORIDA AS THE NEGRO'S NEW JERUSALEM.

BUT EVENTS IN THE LATE 1870s MAY ALSO EXPLAIN WHY HARVEY McLEOD WAS WRITING TO HIS SISTER AFTER THE CIVIL WAR ABOUT MOVING TO LIBERIA.

YOU HAD THE ELECTION OF 1876.

SOME PEOPLE CALL IT THE GREAT COMPROMISE; OTHER PEOPLE CALL IT THE GREAT BETRAYAL FROM A BLACK PERSPECTIVE.

ESSENTIALLY, THE DEMOCRATS GAVE THE REPUBLICANS THE ELECTION IN RETURN FOR THE END OF FEDERAL OCCUPATION OF THE SOUTH.

THE SOLDIERS WERE PULLED OUT.

THE KU KLUX KLAN IS VERY ACTIVE IN ALACHUA COUNTY.

THERE ARE A LOT OF LYNCHINGS.

THE SOUTHERN HOMESTEAD ACT HAS BEEN REPEALED.

SO FOR A SMALL FARMER LIKE MR. McLEOD, THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD OF TIME TO MAKE A GO OF IT.

PAUL SAYS NOT ALL EMIGRANTS TO LIBERIA RELIED ON THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY.

THERE WERE THESE INFORMAL NETWORKS THAT PEOPLE TRIED TO USE TO RAISE FUNDS TO GET TO AFRICA.

JIM POWELL AT THE ALACHUA COUNTY ARCHIVES HAS PICKED UP HARVEY'S TRAIL AND FOUND HIS SIGNATURE ON A LONG-AGO PROPERTY SALE.

OKAY, THIS IS GREAT.

WE HAVE HIM SIGNING A DEED IN ALACHUA COUNTY, IN FLORIDA, IN 1883.

HARVEY McLEOD, WHO WAS ONCE ENSLAVED, WAS A LANDOWNER.

HE AND HIS WIFE, AMY, WERE SELLING ONE ACRE OF THEIR LAND TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION FOR A DOLLAR, BASICALLY GIVING IT AWAY.

WAS HE FREEING UP LAND IN PREPARATION TO MOVE TO LIBERIA?

LOOK WHAT I FOUND.

JIM HAS UNCOVERED A KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE.

BUT TO CONFIRM THE INFORMATION, I'M CALLING IN A RESEARCH REQUEST TO MY OFFICE.

OKAY, HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW.

[ phone rings ] WHEN THE CALL COMES IN, IT'S MORE THAN I'D HOPED FOR.

HELLO?

YES.

RIGHT.

OKAY, THAT'S GOOD.

I THINK I'VE FOUND MY MAN.

I'M HEADED BACK TO TELL VERNETIA WHAT I'VE LEARNED.

YOUR QUESTION LED ME ON A FANTASTIC JOURNEY, AND WHAT I DISCOVERED ABOUT HARVEY McLEOD WAS A VERY POWERFUL STORY WITHIN ITSELF.

I TELL HER THAT HER GREAT-GRANDUNCLE HARVEY MAY HAVE ESCAPED FROM SLAVERY.

INCREDIBLE.

AND THAT HE WAS AN INDEPENDENT FARMER AND LANDOWNER IN FLORIDA.

THIS IS AMAZING.

IT IS AMAZING.

IT'S PHENOMENAL.

I FOUND THE ANSWER TO WHETHER HARVEY McLEOD WENT TO LIBERIA IN A VERY SURPRISING PLACE.

THIS IS ANOTHER DEED BOOK.

AND ON THIS FAR SIDE, YOU'VE GOT HARVEY McLEOD.

BUT THE NAME IS SPELLED DIFFERENTLY.

A CLERK MISSPELLED McLEOD IN OFFICIAL RECORDS.

IT'S A SLIGHT VARIATION BUT EXPLAINS WHY I MISSED HIM IN THE CENSUS RECORDS.

BUT IF YOU'LL LOOK, IT'S THE SAME PIECE OF LAND BETWEEN THE TWO.

SAME GUY, SAME PROPERTY, DIFFERENT SPELLINGS.

THIS LAND DEED IS FOR THE TRANSFER OF SMALL PORTIONS OF HA RVEY'S LAND TO A THIRD PARTY, AND IT'S DATED 1902.

THAT'S 25 YEARS AFTER HARVEY WAS PLANNING TO GO TO LIBERIA.

SO HARVEY McLEOD DID NOT GO TO LIBERIA.

HE NEVER MADE IT.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?

A LITTLE SAD, BECAUSE IN THE LETTERS, IT JUST SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS JUST SUCH A PASSION THAT HE HAD THAT HE WROTE FROM, THAT IT WAS HOME, AND IT WAS LIKE HE NEEDED TO BE BACK THERE.

THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF WHETHER HARVEY McLEOD WENT TO LIBERIA OR NOT IS ONLY PART OF WHAT WE HAVE TO TELL YOU.

AND NOW I NEED YOU TO COME OUTSIDE WITH ME.

THERE'S MORE?

THERE'S MORE.

YOU CAN OPEN YOUR EYES NOW.

I WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO YOUR COUSIN, ELEANOR.

HI.

HI.

HOW ARE YOU DOING?

GOOD TO MEET YOU.

GLAD TO MEET YOU.

THIS IS HARVEY McLEOD.

HE'S NAMED AFTER YOUR GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

IT'S SO GOOD TO MEET YOU.

THERE IS NO RECORD OF THE ELDER HARVEY McLEOD AFTER 1903, AND HIS LAND HAS ALL BEEN SOLD OFF.

BUT ONCE I DISCOVERED TH E OTHER SPELLING OF HIS NAME, I WAS ABLE TO TRACK DOWN HIS DESCENDANTS, STILL LIVING IN FLORIDA.

UNTIL NOW, THEY DIDN'T KNOW VERNETIA EXISTED EITHER.

THIS REUNION WOULD SURELY MAKE HARVEY McLEOD PROUD.

JUST AS HE ALWAYS WANTED, THE FAMILY IS TOGETHER AGAIN.

SEVERAL COMMUNITIES SETTLED BY FORMER SLAVES STILL MAINTAIN A UNIQUE CULTURE.

THE SEA ISLANDS OFF SOUTH CAROLINA AND NORTHERN GEORGIA ARE HOME TO THE GULLAH, OR GEECHEE PEOPLE.

DESCENDANTS OF FORMER SLAVES FROM SIERRA LEONE AND SENEGAL, THEIR GEOGRAPHIC ISOLATION HAS ALLOWED THEM TO KEEP THEIR LANGUAGE AND ANCESTRAL TRADITIONS RELATIVELY INTACT.

IN THE 1700s, AMERICAN COLONISTS REALIZED THAT THEY COULD GROW RICE ON THE SEMI-TROPICAL SEA ISLANDS.

THEY PURCHASED LARGE NUMBERS OF SLAVES FROM AFRICA'S RICE COAST AND SET UP ENORMOUS PLANTATIONS.

IN 1861, AT THE START OF THE CIVIL WAR, UNION FORCES INVADED THE ISLANDS TO BLOCK CONFEDERATE SHIPPING ROUTES.

THE SLAVES WERE FREED.

THE GULLAH WERE THE FIRST FREED SLAVES TO SERVE IN THE UNION ARMY, OWN LAND, AND EVEN BUILD A SCHOOL.

THE GULLAH LANGUAGE, STILL SPOKEN TODAY, IS A COMBINATION OF SEVERAL AFRICAN DIALECTS AND OLD ENGLISH.

GULLAH TRADITIONS ARE PRESERVED IN DISTINCT FOOD, CRAFTS, AND STORYTELLING.

DESPITE MAINTAINING THEIR CULTURE FOR CENTURIES, MANY GULLAH GROUPS NOW FEEL THREATENED BY THE ENCROACHING ISLAND TOURIST INDUSTRY.

Gwendolyn: OUR LAST STORY PEERS INSIDE A BLACK BOX THAT MAY SHED LIGHT ON SOME OF THE DARKEST DAYS OF THE COLD WAR.

THE U.S. ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI IN 1945 RAISED THE STAKES OF MODERN WARFARE.

ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER WORLD WAR II, AMERICA'S FORMER ALLY, THE U.S.S.R, BECAME HER COLD WAR ARCHENEMY.

THE SOVIET UNION'S SURPRISE TESTING OF ITS OWN ATOMIC BOMB IN 1949 HELPED TRIGGER A NUCLEAR ARMS RACE, WITH EACH SIDE PURSUING EVER MORE COSTLY AND DEADLY TECHNOLOGIES.

MORE THAN 60 YEARS AFTER THE START OF THE COLD WAR, WAYNE GILBERT OF WESTMINSTER, COLORADO, HAS STUMBLED ACROSS A DEVICE THAT HE THINKS MAY HAVE BEEN INTENDED TO HELP AMERICANS BELIEVE THEY COULD SURVIVE A SOVIET NUCLEAR ATTACK.

THE MORE QUESTIONS I ASKED, THE MORE CURIOUS I BECAME.

HI, YOU'RE WAYNE?

YES, NICE MEETING YOU.

NICE TO MEET YOU, TOO.

IT'S A CURIOUS LITTLE DEVICE.

NEAR: NATIONAL EMERGENCY ALARM REPEATER.

SO WHAT DID YOU THINK IT WAS?

IT SAYS "WARNING DEVICE" HERE.

WELL, I'M NOT EXACTLY CERTAIN.

IT DOES HAVE THE CIVIL DEFENSE SYMBOL ON IT.

WAYNE BELIEVES THE TRIANGLE RE SEMBLES THE INSIGNIA HE FOUND IN AN OLD CIVIL DEFENSE HANDBOOK.

THE 1951 BOOKLET ASSURES CITIZENS THAT THEY COULD SURVIVE AN ATOMIC BLAST.

I WOULD PRESUME THAT IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE COLD WAR.

I'M NOT CERTAIN EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS USED FOR.

WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?

WELL, I FOUND IT AT A HAMFEST, ACTUALLY.

WHAT'S A HAMFEST, IS THAT ABOUT A HAM RADIO?

WELL, YES.

WE GO TO HAMFEST TO GET PARTS THAT WE CAN USE TO REPAIR OLD BROADCAST RADIOS.

SO, WAYNE, TELL ME WHAT YOU'D LIKE FOR ME TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS LITTLE BLACK BOX.

WELL, WAS THIS EVER MASS-PRODUCED?

AND ACTUALLY, WHAT WAS IT FOR?

THOSE ARE INTRIGUING QUESTIONS.

I MAY TAKE SOME TIME AND JUST LOOK IT OVER MORE MYSELF, BUT I'M EXCITED TO DO THIS STORY.

I REMEMBER CIVIL DEFENSE DRILLS FROM WHEN I WAS GROWING UP AND BUILDINGS MARKED AS FALLOUT SHELTERS.

I DON'T RECALL SEEING ANYTHING RESEMBLING THIS LITTLE DEVICE.

EVER SINCE THE SOVIET UNION SUCCESSFULLY TESTED ITS OWN ATOMIC BOMB IN 1949, AMERICANS HAD LIVED UNDER THE SPECTER OF NUCLEAR WAR.

IN 1951, PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN CREATED THE FEDERAL CIVIL DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION AND LAUNCHED A PUBLIC EDUCATION PREPAREDNESS CAMPAIGN.

TV Announcer: Our chances for survival will be far better than those of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

SO I THOUGHT IT'D BE INTERESTING TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE FILMS FROM THE EARLY '50s.

♪ Duck and cover ♪ It's a bomb.

Duck and cover!

WITH THE HELP OF MADISON AVENUE AND HOLLYWOOD, FILMS LIKE DUCK AND COVER SUGGESTED THAT WITH THE RIGHT PREPARATION, AMERICANS COULD SURVIVE A NUCLEAR ATTACK.

♪ You and you And you and you ♪ ♪ Duck and cover ♪ IN THE EARLY 1960s, THE COLD WAR DEBATE OVER CIVIL DEFENSE POLICIES BECAME FAR MORE INTENSE.

FOLLOWING THE BERLIN CRISIS OF 1961, PRESIDENT KENNEDY LAUNCHED A VAST PROGRAM OF MARKING PUBLIC BUILDINGS AS FALLOUT SHELTERS.

BUT A GROWING NUMBER OF ACADEMICS AND SCIENTISTS PROTESTED THAT CIVIL DEFENSE PLANS CREATED A FALSE SENSE OF HOPE FOR THE PUBLIC AND SIGNALED TO OUR ENEMIES THAT WE WERE PREPARED TO FIGHT A NUCLEAR WAR.

THERE'S NO MENTION OF THE NEAR DEVICE IN THE OLD FILMS.

WHAT WAS ITS MESSAGE?

THE BOX IS STAMPED "ESSEX WIRE CORPORATION" AND "PATENT PENDING."

LET'S SEE WHAT I CAN FIND ABOUT THE ESSEX WIRE COMPANY.

WELL, IT SIMPLY SAYS THAT IT WAS A COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY BUT DOESN'T GIVE ANY OTHER INFORMATION.

THESE LOOK LIKE TWO PRONGS FOR AN ORDINARY WALL PLUG, BUT HOW WOULD IT HAVE WORKED?

JON ALTHOUSE IS A MASTER ELECTRICIAN.

I'M CURIOUS WHAT HE CAN FIGURE OUT FROM THE DEVICE'S CIRCUITRY.

EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT?

I CANNOT SAY I'VE EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.

LET'S SEE WHAT'S INSIDE.

OKAY.

NOW, THIS IS SOME OLD WORK.

THIS APPEARS TO BE A BUZZER.

WAYNE MAY HAVE PICKED UP THIS BOX AT A HAM RADIO FEST, BUT JON SAYS IT WAS NOT DESIGNED TO RECEIVE AN ORDINARY RADIO SIGNAL.

ONLY A SPECIAL HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC CURRENT COULD SET IT OFF.

SOMEBODY WOULD HAVE TO INITIATE THE SIGNAL FOR THIS TO RECEIVE IT.

IF I JUST SHORT THIS LITTLE CONTACT TOGETHER, CLOSE THAT SWITCH, WE'LL MAKE IT RUN OFF NORMAL POWER.

OKAY.

I'M NOT SURE THIS IS SOMETHING I REALLY WANT TO HEAR, BUT I CAN'T BUT BE A LITTLE CURIOUS.

LET'S PLUG IT IN.

[ buzzes ] WELL, THAT IS LOUD AND THIS DOES GET YOUR ATTENTION.

THAT DOES WAKE ME UP.

WAS THIS THE NOISE AMERICANS WOULD HEAR IN THE EVENT OF A NUCLEAR ATTACK?

I'M AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WHERE I'VE LOCATED A LARGE FILE ON THE NEAR PROGRAM.

HERE'S A MEMO FROM THE FEDERAL CIVIL DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION.

THE PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED IN 1956 DURING THE EISENHOWER ADMINISTRATION.

SO IT'S ABOUT TESTING A NEW INTERNAL WARNING SYSTEM THAT COULD ALERT AMERICANS AT HOME AND AT WORK IN THE EVENT OF ENEMY ATTACK.

ONE CRITERION WAS THAT THE NEAR BOX BE RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE, GIVEN THAT CITIZENS WOULD BUY THEIR OWN DEVICES.

"CONTRACTS WERE ALSO AWARDED TO FIVE MANUFACTURERS "FOR 20,000 RECEIVERS EACH, OR A TOTAL OF 100,000 RECEIVERS."

SO THE ESSEX WIRE ONE WAS ONLY ONE OF FIVE.

THE WARNING SYSTEM TEST WAS DEVELOPED BY MIDWEST RESEARCH AND THE OFFICE OF CIVIL DEFENSE, A CONTRACT OVER A MILLION DOLLARS.

IT LOOKS LIKE THE MIDWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE DID FIELD TESTING AS WELL.

"CHARLOTTE BECOMES CIVIL DEFENSE FOCAL POINT OF THE NATION AS FINAL TESTING IS COMPLETED."

CHARLOTTE IS A SMALL TOWN IN SOUTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN.

IT WAS SELECTED AS A NEAR TESTING SITE IN 1960.

LOCAL HISTORIAN JERI BOHMS HAS FOUND A NEAR DEVICE IN THE ARCHIVES THAT LOOKS QUITE SIMILAR TO OURS.

AND THIS IS IT.

"NEAR RECEIVER MODEL 2."

AND IT WAS MADE BY A DIVISION OF GENERAL MOTORS.

JERI SAYS THIS MODEL 2 WAS TESTED IN THE TOWN.

I THINK THEY DISTRIBUTED ABOUT 1,500, AND I KNOW THAT WITH THAT THEY GAVE OUT THIS BOOKLET THAT KIND OF EXPLAINS WHAT THE NEAR DEVICE WAS AND HOW IT WORKED.

THE BOOKLET EXPLAINS THAT IF RUSSIAN BOMBERS WERE APPROACHING, THE NORTH AMERICAN AIR DEFENSE COMMAND, OR NORAD, WOULD SEND OUT AN ALERT.

I THINK WE GOT OUR SIGNAL ULTIMATELY OUT OF COLORADO SPRINGS, AND THAT WENT THROUGH THE POWER COMPANIES THAT SENT THEIR POWER SURGE THROUGH THE ELECTRICAL WORKS TO MAKE THE DEVICE GO OFF.

DO YOU KNOW WHY CHARLOTTE WAS CHOSEN?

I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY, BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THEY WERE LOOKING AT THE TIME FOR SOMETHING THAT REPRESENTED TYPICAL SMALL-TOWN AMERICA.

WHAT WAS THE POPULATION OF CHARLOTTE AT THAT TIME?

I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 8,000, SO NOT REAL BIG.

WELL, WHAT HAPPENED THE BIG DAY?

HOW DID THEY KNOW HOW MANY WENT OFF?

JERI'S ARRANGED FOR ME TO MEET FRED WHITING, WHOSE HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR CLASS ASSISTED WITH THE TEST.

FRED EXPLAINS HOW IF THE NEAR BUZZER WENT OFF, A HOMEOWNER RELEASED A PINK WEATHER BALLOON THAT HAD BEEN TETHERED TO THE ROOFTOP.

TESTERS COULD THEN COUNT HOW MANY ALARMS HAD PERFORMED CORRECTLY.

WHEN THE ALARM WENT OFF, WE WERE UP IN THE TOP OF THE COURTHOUSE.

THEY HAD SPOTTERS UP THERE TO SEE HOW MANY BALLOONS WENT UP.

NOT ALL THE DEVICES WENT OFF, NOR WERE ALL THE HELIUM BALLOONS SENT SKYWARD.

FAILURE TO LAUNCH SOME OF THE BALLOONS MIGHT HAVE BEEN A RESULT OF THE FUN FRED SAYS THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE HAVING THAT DAY.

IT WAS HELIUM, SO SOME PEOPLE WERE USING THE HELIUM TO MAKE THEIR VOICE SOUND FUNNY, AND THAT KIND OF GOT A LITTLE CARRIED AWAY.

WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE NEAR SYSTEM AFTER THE TEST WAS DONE?

WE KIND OF THOUGHT THAT THAT WOULD CATCH HOLD AND THAT MAYBE THEY WOULD PUT THEM OUT, BUT AFTER WE DID THE TEST AND EVERYTHING, IT JUST FADED INTO HISTORY.

THE TEST WAS ORGANIZED BY TH E MIDWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE.

LINDA COOK IS NOW VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS.

WELL, IT STARTED FOR MIDWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN 1957.

A YEAR AFTER THE CIVIL DEFENSE ADMINISTRATION GREEN-LIT THE NEAR PROGRAM, MRI RECEIVED THEIR ORDERS.

THE MISSION WAS SIMPLE: COME UP WITH A BETTER WARNING SYSTEM.

THE ONLY WAY TO NOTIFY PEOPLE ACCORDING TO THE RECORDS WERE SIRENS AND HORNS, WHISTLES AND VOICE COMMANDS MAINLY THAT WERE OUTSIDE, SO THEY NEEDED SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE INSIDE THE HOMES WHERE IT WOULD REACH MORE PEOPLE.

AND THEY DECIDED TO TAKE THE ELECTRICAL ROUTE VERSUS GOING THROUGH PHONE LINES OR RADIOS BECAUSE 96% OF THE POPULATION HAD ELECTRICITY.

LINDA SAYS THAT WHILE THE TEST IN CHARLOTTE WAS THE LARGEST, THERE WERE SMALLER TESTS IN DOZENS OF TOWNS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

SHE SAYS THE DEVICE PERFORMED SUCCESSFULLY, BUT THERE WERE OTHER COMPLICATIONS.

THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE ALARM WOULD GO OFF, BUT THERE WERE NO INSTRUCTIONS ON WHAT TO DO OR WHAT WAS EXACTLY HAPPENING.

THIS CAME OUT IN SOME OF THE TESTS THAT THEY RAN IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.

AND PEOPLE WOULD GET IN THEIR CARS AND THEN IT WAS A PROBLEM WHERE THEY WOULD JAM THE HIGHWAYS.

SHE'S NOT SURE IF THAT'S WHY THE PROGRAM WAS SHUT DOWN, BUT AFTER A FULL DECADE OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR TESTING AND DEVELOPMENT, THE PROGRAM WAS TERMINATED.

WE DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFIC REASONS WHY IT WAS NOT IMPLEMENTED.

THE CONTRACT WAS COMPLETED.

MARTY SHERWIN IS A PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR AND A HISTORIAN OF THE COLD WAR.

SO, MARTY, HERE IS THE NEAR DEVICE I TOLD YOU ABOUT.

OH, WOW.

EVER SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

NEVER HAVE SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.

"NUCLEAR EMERGENCY ALARM REPEATER," WOW.

WELL, THIS DEVICE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MADE IN 1962.

LET'S TALK A BIT ABOUT THE BEGINNINGS OF AN OFFICIAL AMERICAN CIVIL DEFENSE PROGRAM.

WELL, THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM BEGINS... MARTY EXPLAINS HOW THE APPROACH TO CIVIL DEFENSE DURING THE COLD WAR GREW OUT OF EUROPEAN EXPERIENCES IN WORLD WAR II.

THE AMERICAN WORLD WAR II CIVIL DEFENSE WAS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL AND IT WORKED.

AND IT WAS NATURAL ONCE THE COLD WAR GOT HEATED UP THAT CIVIL DEFENSE WOULD BE PART OF THE AMERICAN RESPONSE.

THIS DEVICE, IT'S RELATIVELY SIMPLE TECHNOLOGY, RIGHT?

I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS IT WAS ATTRACTIVE WAS THAT, "HEY, WE'LL CREATE A DEVICE, YOU PLUG IT INTO YOUR WALL AND IT'LL BUZZ AND IT'LL COST 10 BUCKS MAX."

WHILE MANY CIVIL DEFENSE PLANNERS HAD GOOD INTENTIONS, THE EVER MORE DEADLY CONSEQUENCES OF A WAR FOUGHT WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS WERE BECOMING APPARENT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

THE KIND OF BOMB THAT DESTROYED HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI WAS MAXIMUM 20 KILOTONS, COULD'VE BEEN 2 1/2 TIMES THE SIZE.

BUT A HYDROGEN BOMB HAD ABSOLUTELY NO LIMIT OF SIZE.

I MEAN, THAT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND.

ONE WEAPON COULD TAKE OUT A WHOLE CITY LIKE NEW YORK, A 20-MEGATON BOMB.

ON SOME LEVEL, IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO BE SUGGESTING TO AMERICANS THAT THEY COULD DO SOMETHING TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THESE NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

THERE'S AN INTERESTING CONTRADICTION IN THE WHOLE KENNEDY CIVIL DEFENSE POLICY.

This country therefore continues to require the best defense in the world.

HE IS BUILDING UP CIVIL DEFENSE, BUT THE RECOGNITION THAT THESE WEAPONS ARE SO POWERFUL THAT CIVIL DEFENSE IS USELESS BECOMES MORE OBVIOUS TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

MARTY SAYS THE NUCLEAR TENSIONS THAT HAD ACCOMPANIED THE BERLIN CRISIS HAD DEEPENED THE FOLLOWING YEAR.

THE LIKELIHOOD OF BOTH SIDES UNLEASHING THEIR NUCLEAR WEAPONS DURING THE OCTOBER 1962 CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS TERRIFIED CIVILIANS AND POLICYMAKERS ALIKE.

BY THE MID-1960s, CIVIL DEFENSE PLANS TO SURVIVE A NUCLEAR WAR WERE LARGELY ECLIPSED BY A NEW DOCTRINE KNOWN AS NUCLEAR DETERRENCE, OR M.A.D., MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION.

THE IDEA BEHIND MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION IS THAT IF THERE IS GOING TO BE NUCLEAR WAR THAT WILL LEAD TO MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION, THEN NO RATIONAL PERSON WOULD ENGAGE IN NUCLEAR WAR.

SO DETERRENCE BECAME THE FOUNDATION OF AMERICAN THINKING.

THAT WASN'T THE ONLY REASON THE NEAR DEVICE ENDED UP IN A BOX OF SPARE PARTS AT A HAM RADIO FEST.

I HAPPEN TO HAVE HERE... MARTY SHOWS ME THE TRANSCRIPT OF A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING THAT HELPS UNLOCK THE MYSTERY OF WAYNE'S LITTLE BLACK BOX.

WELL, WAYNE, DEVICES LIKE YOURS WERE PART OF A FEDERAL CIVIL DEFENSE PROGRAM.

THEY EVENTUALLY PRODUCED 100,000 WARNING DEVICES.

THAT'S AMAZING.

A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF THEM?

A HUNDRED THOUSAND.

I THOUGHT I HAD ONE OF ONE.

WHAT'S INTRIGUING, YOU HAD ASKED IF IT HAD EVER BEEN IMPLEMENTED.

THERE WERE TESTING SITES.

ONE OF THEM WAS A SMALL TOWN CALLED CHARLOTTE, MICHIGAN.

BUT THESE WERE EFFORTS TO SEE WHAT THE WARNING COULD DO.

NOW, WHAT'S OBVIOUSLY MISSING IS, THEN WHAT?

I EXPLAIN TO WAYNE HOW THE 1964 CONGRESSIONAL HEARING HAD FORESHADOWED THE END OF THE NEAR PROGRAM.

"IT SEEMS WE SHOULD NOT SPEND MORE MONEY "IN DEVELOPING POWER-LINE SYSTEMS SUCH AS NEAR "BECAUSE TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS INDICATE THAT THERE ARE OTHER WARNING SYSTEMS POSSIBLE."

SO THAT TOOK CARE OF NEAR.

ONE OF THE REASONS THAT IT WAS KILLED IS THAT ALL IT WAS WAS A NOISE.

YOU KNOW, RADIO WAS BETTER.

VERY INTERESTING HOW THAT ALL PLAYS TOGETHER.

SO THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED THAT THEY COULD SHIFT TO USING THE EXISTING RADIO SYSTEM, AND THE EMERGENCY BROADCASTING SYSTEM, THE EBS, WENT INTO PLACE IN 1963.

THE NEAR PROGRAM WAS FINALLY TERMINATED IN 1967.

I WAS PROUD OF IT BEFORE, BUT I'M A LITTLE MORE PROUD OF IT NOW I KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT IT.

Radio announcer: This is a test.

For the next 60 seconds, this station will conduct a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.

IT WAS NEVER USED TO NOTIFY CIVILIANS OF A NUCLEAR EMERGENCY, BUT FROM 1963 TO 1997, THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM WAS USED REGIONALLY THOUSANDS OF TIMES TO ALERT AMERICANS TO THREATS OF FLOODS, TORNADOES, AND EARTHQUAKES.

THE MOUNTING PUBLIC ANXIETY ABOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS, WHICH HAD BEEN SUCH A KEY FEATURE OF THE CIVIL DEFENSE DEBATE OF THE EARLY 1960s, HELPED CARRY SOVIET AND AMERICAN LEADERS TO THE NEGOTIATION TABLE.

THE FIRST STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TREATY, KNOWN AS SALT I, WAS SIGNED IN 1972 IN MOSCOW BY U.S. PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON AND SOVIET LEADER LEONID BREZHNEV.

SOME AMERICANS OPPOSED THE EMPHASIS ON COLD WAR CIVIL DEFENSE.

PACIFIST GROUPS ARGUED "PROTEST BOMB TESTS," "FEED EUROPE AND ASIA."

IN NEW YORK CITY, A 58-YEAR-OLD WOMAN NAMED DOROTHY DAY ORGANIZED THE PROTESTS.

DAY GREW UP IN CHICAGO.

IN 1927, NOW LIVING IN NEW YORK, SHE CONVERTED TO CATHOLICISM.

SHE FOUNDED THE SOCIALIST NEWSPAPER THE CATHOLIC WORKER FIVE YEARS LATER.

THE PAPER HELPED SPAWN A RADICAL CATHOLIC SOCIAL MOVEMENT THAT CHAMPIONED WORKERS' RIGHTS AND BUILT HOMELESS SHELTERS AS WELL AS FARMING COMMUNES.

THE CATHOLIC WORKER RAILED AGAINST THE BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI.

SHE WROTE THAT THE BOMB EQUATED GOD AND COUNTRY, WHICH WAS UTTER ATHEISM.

SHE THEREFORE REFUSED TO COOPERATE WITH CIVIL DEFENSE DRILLS.

IN JUNE 1955, DAY AND COLLEAGUES SAT OUT THE SIREN DRILL ON THE STEPS OF NEW YORK'S CITY HALL.

REPEATING THE ACTION DURING ANNUAL DRILLS, DAY WAS ARRESTED SEVERAL TIMES, SOMETIMES SPENDING AS LONG AS 30 DAYS IN JAIL.

DAY WENT ON TO PROTEST THE VIETNAM WAR.

SHE WAS LAST ARRESTED IN 1973 AT AGE 75 FOR TAKING PART IN A BANNED PICKET LINE SUPPORTING FARM WORKERS.

SHE DIED IN 1980.

HISTORY DETECTIVES WILL RETURN IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST... 10,000.

15?

15, YOU THINK?

20-, 21,000.

600.

20.

18,500.

24.

IT'S AT LEAST 40.

FORTY-FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND.

650.

20.

650.

This textile would be worth about a half a million dollars.

HALF A MILLION?

NO WAY!

I KNEW IT.

IT'S JUST A BLANKET.

Laying on the back of a chair.

Well, sir, you have a national treasure.

Wow.

A national treasure.

Congratulations.

I can't believe this.

ON THE NEXT HISTORY DETECTIVES, DID DIEGO RIVERA INSPIRE THESE MURAL STUDIES?

THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION.

I HAVE ONE MORE THING I CAN SHOW YOU.

WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND THIS RECENTLY DISCOVERED PORTRAIT?

HAVE YOU TAKEN IT OUT OF THE FRAME?

I THINK WE MIGHT BE SEEING SOMETHING ELSE.

AND A SECRET JAPANESE PLAN TO BOMB THE AMERICAN MAINLAND.

WHY ALL THE SECRECY IF THESE DEVICES WERE DANGEROUS TO THE U.S. POPULATION?

NO SECRET IS SAFE, NEXT TIME ON HISTORY DETECTIVES.

Tukufu: BE A HISTORY DETECTIVE YOURSELF.

GO TO pbs.org AND LEARN MORE ABOUT INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES OR SUBMIT YOUR OWN MYSTERY TO THE TEAM.

YOU CAN ALSO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TONIGHT'S INVESTIGATIONS ONLY AT pbs.org.

THIS EPISODE OF HISTORY DETECTIVES IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.

THE COMPANION BOOK TO THE PROGRAM IS ALSO AVAILABLE.

TO ORDER, CALL PBS HOME VIDEO AT... OR VISIT US ONLINE AT... Captions by LNS Captioning Portland, Oregon www.LNScaptioning.com Elvis Costello: ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ IT'S JUST LIKE WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ ♪ WATCHIN' THE DETECTIVES ♪ Gwendolyn: THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

WE ARE PBS.

[ New Radicals' "You Get What You Give" plays ]