Relief, N.C.; Navalny; The Swingiest County; The Cap Arcona | 60 Minutes Full Episodes

Hurricane Pen and Aftermath

• Hurricane Pen is the deadliest to hit the US mainland since Katrina, causing tidal waves of damage in North Carolina's mountain valleys (7s).
• The US government did not geoengineer the storm, and residents are helping each other clean up and clear up conspiracy theories (30s).
• Alexei Navalny, a fearless opposition leader to Vladimir Putin, was beaten, poisoned, and died at age 47 in a Russian penal colony; his secret prison diaries will be published as a memoir (42s).
• Navalny's widow, Julia, is now leading the fight against Putin, a dangerous position to be in (1m0s).
• Door County, Wisconsin, is a crucial county in the upcoming election, with a history of predicting the winner of the national election (1m17s).
• Hurricane Helen hit Florida and carved a 500-mile path of destruction north, killing over 240 people, the deadliest storm to strike the US mainland since Katrina (2m6s).
• Western North Carolina was one of the hardest-hit areas, with residents caught off guard by the storm's impact on the Appalachian mountain range (2m21s).
• The storm's remnants devastated communities, knocking over bridges and sending homes and people downstream (2m55s).
• Survivors, including Jane Witson Peterson, shared their experiences, with Peterson's family store being destroyed by the floodwaters (3m49s).
• Peterson's 96-year-old mother, who was trapped inside the store, is struggling to cope with the loss of her home and livelihood (4m51s).
• -year-old Paradi Witson shared a hymn about the expectations of a home in heaven on her front lawn, surrounded by what's left of her home on Green Mountain, which was devastated by the storm. (5m8s)
• The Appalachian Mountains, specifically the communities built in the valleys, were severely affected by the storm, with many residents experiencing the worst flooding since the great flood of 1916. (5m30s)

The Appalachian Mountains Devastation

• The Appalachian Mountains, specifically the communities built in the valleys, were severely affected by the storm, with many residents experiencing the worst flooding since the great flood of 1916. (5m30s)
• Jeff Howell, the Emergency Management coordinator for Yancey County, reported that the area was hit hard by the storm, with the devastation catching most residents by surprise. (6m14s)
• Forecasters stated that the stage was set for disaster well before the storm arrived, with a weather front stalling over the mountains and causing heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the storm. (6m41s)
• The storm caused widespread destruction, with creeks and streams rerouting and growing bigger and stronger, and landslides occurring in the area, resulting in entrapments and rescue calls. (7m4s)
• The storm also caused communication disruptions, with no radio communication, cell phone, or internet available, making it difficult for rescue crews to respond to calls for help. (7m21s)
• Asheville, located 45 miles south of the affected area, acted as a catch basin for the water that funneled down the Appalachian Mountains, triggering landslides and causing the two rivers that intersect with the city to swell to the highest levels in history. (7m36s)
• Rescue crews used boats to navigate the city, and radios, cell phones, and the internet were knocked out, making it difficult for rescue efforts to be coordinated. (8m10s)
• In Yancey County, rescue crews abandoned the Emergency Operations Center and sheriff's department, and instead went out to search for people in need of rescue. (8m23s)
• A local firefighter and his wife were among those rescued, after their house was washed off its foundation and they were floating down the river, where they hung onto a tree for 2-3 hours until they were found. (8m38s)
• More than 70 search and rescue teams from across the country were dispatched to North Carolina, with locals helping to guide them up the treacherous mountain terrain to look for survivors. (9m11s)
• In the week after the storm, hundreds of people were reported missing, with some families unable to reach their loved ones for days, and others unable to reach them at all. (9m30s)

Relief and Recovery Efforts

• Hundreds of storm victims in North Carolina have been receiving warm meals daily from a local resident, known as the new Ray, who has been feeding them (10m5s).
• Donations and relief workers have poured in, with FEMA setting up over 40 processing centers to provide assistance to those affected, having distributed more than a million dollars to North Carolina victims so far (10m23s).
• Aid is being delivered to remote areas by helicopters and even mules carrying loads of medicine, as more than 500 roads remain closed and over 100 bridges need to be replaced (10m31s).
• A patchwork of dusty routes now holds the region together, with many communities cut off and requiring detours to access (10m43s).
• Jeff How, a US army veteran, is trying to get help to his neighbors in Y County, which has been severely affected by the flood, with many areas inaccessible due to the damage (10m56s).
• How is also dealing with a storm of disinformation, including conspiracy theories and false claims about the government's response to the flood, which is impacting workers on the ground and taking their focus away from their tasks (11m40s).
• A neighboring county investigated reports of an armed militia targeting FEMA workers, resulting in one arrest and a temporary suspension of door-to-door operations in Western North Carolina (12m22s).
• The area of Relief, North Carolina, is still in need of help, with less than 1% of residents in the hardest-hit areas having flood insurance (13m14s).

Stories of Loss and Survival

• James War and his mother, Juel, lived in Relief for 55 years before the flood, which buried their home in mud, and they were among the few who evacuated before the storm (13m7s).
• The couple reported that six of their neighbors died in the flood, including a family of four who tried to escape in a car that was crushed by the powerful water (13m48s).
• Crews are still searching for debris and bodies along the rivers in North Carolina, with at least 125 people killed by the storm and over 50 still missing (14m14s).
• A community in the Appalachian Mountains is struggling to recover from a disaster, with residents expressing their determination to stay and rebuild despite the challenges they face (14m39s).
• The community's recovery efforts are being hampered by disinformation and mistrust in the government, which can impact people's ability to access aid and support (15m3s).

Alexei Navalny: Life, Imprisonment, and Death

• Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader, died in prison in February at the age of 47, sparking an international outcry (15m20s).
• Navalny was a prominent critic of Vladimir Putin and had been imprisoned for three years for his activism, during which time he wrote a memoir documenting his experiences (15m28s).
• Navalny's wife, Yulia, is now the leader of his opposition movement and says that his memoir represents his final act of defiance against Putin's regime (16m25s).
• Yulia Navalny is not afraid of the risks she faces as a result of her husband's activism, despite an arrest warrant being issued for her by a Russian court (17m10s).
• Alexei Navalny was a trained lawyer and anti-corruption activist who built a pro-democracy movement in Russia, posting his findings online about bribes and kickbacks involving Putin and his associates (17m50s).
• Navalny was subjected to multiple arrests, beatings, and assassination attempts, including a poisoning with a Soviet-era military-grade nerve agent in 2020 (19m3s).

Navalny's Memoir and Final Days

• Navalny's memoir recounts his experiences in prison and his determination to continue fighting against Putin's regime, even in the face of extreme adversity (19m5s).
• Alexei Navalny was in a coma at a Russian hospital after being poisoned, and his wife, Julia, pressured Putin to release him so he could fly to Germany for treatment (19m29s).
• Navalny spent five months recovering in Germany, during which time he started writing his memoir (19m51s).
• In January 2021, the Navalnys returned to Russia, where Alexei was arrested and led away by Russian police (20m5s).
• Julia explained that the decision to return to Russia was not a debate, but rather a foregone conclusion, as Alexei had always intended to go back as soon as possible (20m51s).
• Navalny's arrest sparked protests across Russia, but he continued to maintain a presence on social media, allowing him to keep up his attacks on Putin (21m35s).
• Navalny's team released drone footage of what they claimed was Putin's billion-dollar palace on the Black Sea, which was viewed over 100 million times on YouTube (21m55s).
• Navalny's conditions in prison were harsh, including sleep deprivation, punitive solitary confinement, and almost no medical care, but he remained positive and continued to write (22m20s).
• Navalny described the punishment cell as a "doghouse" where prisoners were sent to be tortured, raped, and sometimes murdered (22m45s).
• Despite the harsh conditions, Navalny remained optimistic, writing that he was among the happiest 1% of people on the planet and had enormous support from the people (23m31s).
• Navalny managed to write much of his book while in prison, using a clandestine operation to smuggle out the pages, and was able to maintain his spirits despite constant surveillance (23m58s).
• Alexei Navalny's diaries were smuggled out when he went to court, which was often as he was tried and convicted several times on various pretexts, with each verdict resulting in a move to a different prison with harsher conditions (24m46s).
• Navalny was transferred to a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle in December and made his final court appearance, looking healthy and in good spirits, but was dead the next day, with Russian officials announcing the cause of death as "not criminal in nature" due to combined diseases (25m6s).
• Putin may have seen Navalny as a potential threat, realizing he could be a new leader of Russia and encourage people to stand against him, leading to the decision not to let him be free (25m44s).
• Navalny's wife, Yulia, posted a message after his death, stating that Putin killed her husband and that he is a murderer and a war criminal who should be in prison (26m15s).
• Yulia also mentioned that Putin's place is in a Russian prison, not in a cozy cell, and that he needs to be held accountable for his actions (26m45s).

Yulia Navalny and the Opposition's Future

• Navalny's political network inside Russia has been crushed, and his team now operates out of Vilnius, Lithuania, with three of his lawyers on trial in Russia (27m16s).
• Yulia continues to lobby Western leaders to stand up to Putin and is constantly on the road, with the question remaining whether Putin has won and shut down the opposition (27m37s).
• Despite the challenges, Navalny's supporters remain, with millions still backing him, as evident from the number of people visiting his grave and leaving flowers (28m2s).

Door County: A Bellwether County

• In a separate topic, Door County, Wisconsin, is considered the swingiest county in the US, having voted for the winning candidate in every presidential election this century, with a distinct shade of purple and unencumbered by tribal loyalties (28m45s).
• The county, with a population of 30,000, is known for its natural beauty, including limestone cliffs, trees that blaze to life in the fall, and enduring traditions like the fish boil (29m39s).
• Niles Weborg, an 84-year-old former fire chief, describes Door County's location in Wisconsin, noting it is situated on a peninsula with both a bay side and a Lake Michigan side (30m6s).
• Historically, Door County was strictly Republican, but with the arrival of transplants, it has become a swing county, with Joe Biden winning the county by 292 votes in the 2020 presidential election (30m33s).
• Republican Joel Kitchens, who represents Door County in the State Assembly, attributes the county's swing status to its diverse population, which includes people from cities, suburbs, and a strong agricultural community (30m53s).
• The county is 92% white but has a mix of affluent and struggling residents, with signs of both wealth and poverty visible along the Lake Shore and Bayshore (31m12s).
• Austin Vander Tai, a 25-year-old sixth-generation dairy farmer, cites inflation as the top issue affecting his vote, as it impacts the cost of feed, fuel, seed, and fertilizer for his farm (31m35s).
• In contrast, Emma Cox, who runs a new age boutique in the tourist town of Sister Bay, identifies reproductive rights as her top concern in the election (32m15s).
• Door County is seen as a bellwether county, with its residents feeling pressure to deliver in the election, and Sturgeon Bay is considered the county's gravitational and political center (32m46s).

Sturgeon Bay and Wisconsin's Political Landscape

• The town of Sturgeon Bay has a mix of industries, including shipbuilding, and a diverse population with varying sensibilities, even among its residents who own pets (32m58s).
• A popup rally in Sturgeon Bay, organized by John and Annette Vincent, aimed to drum up support for the Democratic ticket, highlighting the county's purple status and the coexistence of different ideologies (33m12s).
• In Wisconsin, a state considered very purple, many people relocated from cities like Chicago to gauge the local political winds, with a positive response being anything from a nod to an enthusiastic wave or a thumbs up, and the data shows over 80% positive responses to negative ones (34m2s).
• For a more scientific assessment of the state, the director of the Marquette Law School poll, Charles Franklin, is consulted, and his poll currently has Kamala Harris up by four points (34m28s).
• However, being a pollster is challenging due to polling errors in 2016 and 2020, particularly when accounting for the Trump vote, with most polls, including CBS, falling short in capturing Trump's support (34m49s).
• The people mobilized by Trump to vote tend to turn out for him but seem to drop out of the electorate in the midterm, making it difficult for pollsters to capture their support (35m14s).
• Wisconsin's Republican party chair, Brian Schimming, is working to identify and mobilize hidden Trump voters, estimating that there are hundreds of thousands of people in the state who think like Trump supporters but don't vote (35m43s).
• The Democratic strategy involves running up the numbers in Milwaukee and Dane County, while trying to minimize losses in rural areas that have swung towards Trump (36m14s).
• The state's 10 electoral votes are crucial, and the outcome of the presidential election may depend on the results in Wisconsin, which was the state that tipped the Electoral College for Donald Trump in 2016 (36m50s).
• Wisconsin was decided by less than 1% in the last two elections, but around 80% of the state's counties were decided by a double-digit margin, making Dor County's distinction as a swing county even more significant (37m7s).
• Whoever wins Dor County on Election Day will likely win the state of Wisconsin, and whoever wins Wisconsin will likely win the national election (37m27s).

The Search for the Perfect Door County Voter

• Door County in Wisconsin has historically been a reliable indicator of the presidential election outcome, with the winning candidate in the county also winning the presidency in most cases (37m40s).
• A search was conducted to find a single voter in Door County who has correctly voted for the winning presidential candidate in each of the last six elections (37m45s).
• The search began with a public announcement on a local radio station, but no one responded to claim they had achieved this feat (38m11s).
• The search continued at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant, a local gathering spot, where patrons were asked if they knew anyone who had voted correctly in the last six presidential elections (38m22s).
• A tip led to a man at a local watering hole who claimed to have voted correctly in five out of the last six presidential elections, but he did not vote for Biden in the most recent election (39m6s).
• The man, Trucker Joe, stated that he plans to vote for Trump again in the upcoming election (39m37s).
• The search continued at the Rotary Club of Sturgeon Bay, where a man claimed to have voted correctly in all six presidential elections, but later realized he had not (39m51s).
• Despite not finding a single voter who had correctly voted in all six presidential elections, the search revealed a sense of community and bipartisanship in Door County, where family and community ties are prioritized over party loyalty (40m25s).
• Locals in Door County reported that they avoid discussing politics in order to maintain good relationships with their neighbors and fellow community members (40m43s).
• The tone in Door County is described as being more civil and respectful than the national tone, with a focus on community and family ties (40m48s).
• The county's unique culture is attributed to its Midwestern values and the importance of maintaining good relationships with others (41m13s).

The Cap Arcona Tragedy

• The Cap Arcona, a German ocean liner, was bombed and sank on May 3, 1945, resulting in the deaths of nearly 7,000 concentration camp prisoners, with only about 400 survivors, including Willie Norrath, a political prisoner, (42m0s).
• The Cap Arcona was originally a luxury cruise ship, known as the "queen of the Atlantic," that transported well-heeled passengers from Europe to South America in two weeks, featuring amenities such as a tennis court, a heated swimming pool, and a luxurious restaurant, (45m35s).
• The ship was commandeered by the Nazis in 1939 to serve as a floating barracks in the Baltic, and by the end of the war, it had been transformed into a floating concentration camp, (46m24s).
• A memorial in Lübeck Bay honors the victims of the Cap Arcona and a smaller cargo ship that were bombed on May 3, 1945, and features a Star of David to represent the Jewish people who were among the victims, (44m4s).
• Every year, a somber ceremony is held at the memorial site to remember those who perished and those who suffered, (44m50s).
• British historian Bill Nien has spent much of his career studying the Holocaust and has written about the Cap Arcona's improbable journey from luxury liner to death trap, (44m4s).
• The Cap Arcona's story is one of the most horrific and little-known war stories, and its sinking is often overshadowed by the story of the Titanic, (42m48s).

Remembering the Cap Arcona

• Bruno Norrath Wilson, the son of a survivor, visits the memorial site to honor his father and to try to imagine what happened on the ship, (45m6s).
• Manfred Goldberg, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, recounts his experiences during World War II, including being forcibly removed from his hometown of Castle in central Germany at the age of 11 and sent to concentration camps with his mother and younger brother (46m44s).
• Goldberg's younger brother, Herman, was taken by the SS and never seen again, and Goldberg and his mother were forced to continue working as if nothing had happened (47m37s).
• Goldberg and his mother were eventually sent to the Stroff camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, where they encountered another young boy, George Schwab, who was imprisoned there too (48m8s).
• Schwab, now 92, recalls the harsh conditions in the camp, including the crematoria burning bodies and gassing (48m20s).
• Schwab's father, a prominent physician, tried to protect other Jews in their hometown of Leopoldville but was arrested, beaten, and killed by German soldiers (48m35s).
• Willie Neth, a non-Jewish German who opposed the Nazi regime, was arrested for distributing anti-fascist flyers and sent to the Neuengamme Work Camp near Hamburg (49m0s).
• Historian Bill Niven describes the Neuengamme Work Camp as a "factory of death" where prisoners like Neth were forced to make bricks and died in large numbers (49m35s).
• Neth managed to survive, and as fate would have it, he, Schwab, the Goldbergs, and others would end up at Lübeck Bay, one of the last Nazi defensive positions in 1945 (50m0s).

From Luxury Liner to Concentration Camp

• The Nazis ordered the evacuation of concentration camps to get rid of evidence, and thousands of prisoners were sent to Lübeck Bay, where they were forced to endure harsh conditions on barges with little food, water, or toilet facilities (50m50s).
• The Cap Arcona, a former luxury ocean liner, was converted into a floating concentration camp by the Nazis, holding over 4,000 prisoners, despite being designed for 1,500 people (52m17s).
• The prisoners were initially held on barges, which were towed by a tugboat for six days, covering about 400 miles across the Baltic Sea, before being transferred to the Cap Arcona (51m27s).
• The Cap Arcona arrived in Lübeck Bay on April 14, 1945, and was anchored about two miles offshore with limited food and water (51m49s).
• The Nazis intended for the prisoners to die, and many were already dying on the barges due to poor conditions (52m30s).
• The SS guards abandoned the prisoners, leaving them adrift in the bay, supposedly in a minefield (52m47s).

Escape and the Final Bombing

• Some prisoners, including George Schwab and Manford Goldberg, managed to escape by using floorboards as oars and sailing towards the shore (53m8s).
• However, they were intercepted by the SS and German troops on the beach, who shot and killed many prisoners (53m45s).
• The surviving prisoners were lined up and told they would be shipped to a labor camp, but instead, they witnessed bombers overhead, targeting the Cap Arcona (54m10s).
• The war in Europe was nearing its end, with Adolf Hitler dead and German forces in retreat, but the prisoners' ordeal was not yet over (54m41s).
• On May 3, 1945, George Schwab and Manford Goldberg were among the prisoners ordered to board the Cap Arcona, but the ship could not come close to shore due to its size (55m20s).
• The prisoners were to be transported to the Cap Arcona by another ship, but the operation was interrupted by bombers and fighter planes, whose nationality was unknown to the prisoners (55m59s).
• The Cap Arcona, a floating concentration camp, was hit by British Typhoon Fighters on May 3, 1945, resulting in the deaths of thousands of prisoners, in a tragic turn of events where the attackers were attempting to liberate the prisoners but ended up killing them instead (56m11s).
• The mistaken attack on the Cap Arcona and a smaller ship is considered one of the most wrenching tragedies of the war, with the prisoners having hopes of survival as the war neared its end, giving them the strength to hang on (56m56s).

The Aftermath and Investigation

• The Cap Arcona Museum in Neustadt in Holstein, Germany, commemorates the attack, which occurred when British Typhoons struck the ship in waves, with around 300 prisoners on board, and an estimated 60 or more bombs dropped (57m14s).
• The attack is considered the worst case of friendly fire in the Royal Air Force's history, with historian Sebastian Hafner blaming the incident on the fog of war (57m45s).
• The Allies believed that the Nazis would attempt to flee across the Baltic to Norway, leading to the targeting of the Cap Arcona, but the British military did not inform the pilots that concentration camp survivors were on board (58m4s).
• Records show that the British were handed two opportunities to learn about the placement of prisoners on the ship, but this information did not reach the RAF pilots (58m34s).
• Historian Daniel Long wrote his PhD thesis on the attack and met with investigators at the British National Archives in London, where he showed them fragile war documents, including the only official investigation into the sinking of the Cap Arcona (58m49s).
• The investigation found that a message was received on May 2, 1945, stating that the ships had been loaded with concentration camp prisoners, but this intelligence did not reach the RAF pilots, leading to the tragic mistake (59m21s).
• The report blamed RAF personnel for the error and called for a further inquiry, but this has never happened, with some considering it pointless to conduct a detailed investigation (59m52s).

Survivors' Stories and Legacy

• The Cap Arcona, a ship carrying over 4,000 prisoners, was bombed in the Bay of Lübeck, resulting in the deaths of approximately 7,000 prisoners, with only about 400 survivors (1h0m35s).
• The survivors described the horrific conditions on the ship, with thousands of prisoners packed together, and the intense fire that broke out, fueled by the burning flesh of the prisoners (1h0m59s).
• Bruno Neth's father, Willie, a political prisoner, survived the bombing by moving to the back of the ship, where it was not burning, and was later rescued by British forces (1h1m21s).
• Willie Neth was taken to shore, where he was reunited with his wife, Ava, who had been transferred to the Naval Base at Lübeck Bay and had seen the bombing from the beach (1h2m2s).
• The reunion was a remarkable coincidence, as Ava had been searching for her husband, and Willie was able to identify himself to her by using his nickname for her, "Mle," which means "I love your round face" (1h2m41s).
• George Schwab, a native of Latvia, was inspired by the horror of the Cap Arcona and went on to have a distinguished career as an academic and peace broker, earning a PhD in political science and working with world leaders (1h3m13s).
• Manfred Goldberg, a survivor of the Cap Arcona, has made it his life mission to share his story and ensure that the world remembers the tragedy, considering it his "revenge on the Nazis" (1h3m59s).
• The Cap Arcona lay half-sunken in Lübeck Bay for four years before being dismantled, but its story has lived on, with families of victims and survivors sailing to the site of the bombing every year on May 3rd to remember and honor the dead (1h4m18s).