[ OPENING MUSIC PLAYS ] Narrator: OVER TWELVE MILLION
MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN PASSED THIS WAY, PASSED THROUGH ROOMS
AND CORRIDORS HAUNTED WITH A SPECIAL STILLNESS
WHICH REMAINS ONLY IN PLACES ONCE NOISY WITH HUMAN LIFE. HERE THEY BOUGHT TICKETS FOR A THOUSAND PLACES
IN AMERICA. HERE THEY TRADED THEIR DRACHMAS,
THEIR LIRAS, AND THEIR RUBLES, FOR DOLLARS. HERE THEY SANG
THEIR FIRST AMERICAN SONGS, EXPERIENCED THEIR FIRST
AMERICAN CHRISTMAS, AND HANUKKAH. HERE THEY WAITED
TO BE GIVEN PERMISSION TO PASS OVER TO THE NEW LAND. TENS OF MILLIONS OF US HAVE RELATIVES
WHO CAME THIS WAY, SAT IN THIS ROOM, PART OF THE LARGEST
HUMAN MIGRATION IN HISTORY. OF THE MANY WHO CAME, SOME WERE TURNED AWAY. BUT EVEN THEY WOULD LEAVE
PART OF THEMSELVES IN AMERICA, TO REMIND US
WHY THEY HAD COME SO FAR, WHY THEY HAD MADE THE JOURNEY. Woman: YOU NEVER KNOW HOW HARD
IT WAS TO LEAVE HER. THAT WAS THE HARDEST THING
I THINK I EVER HAD TO DO. Man:
SHE SAID IF YOU LEAVE, WHY, I DON'T EVER WANT YOU
TO COME BACK AGAIN. Woman:
LONG HARD LIFE IT WAS. Narrator: EUROPE HAD ALWAYS
LOST ITS CHILDREN TO AMERICA, AND NOW THERE WERE
NEW REASONS TO LEAVE. INDUSTRIAL CHANGE
AND POLITICAL UNREST HAD BROUGHT
INCREASED JOBLESSNESS AND POVERTY TO ITALY
AND SOUTHERN EUROPE, AND REACHING AS FAR NORTH
AS THE INDUSTRIAL CITIES OF POLAND AND RUSSIA. IN AMERICA, THEY WERE SAYING,
THERE WAS A FUTURE, PERHAPS A FORTUNE TO BE MADE. IN THE SOUTHERN EUROPEAN PORTS OF NAPLES, PIRAEUS, TRIESTE, AND CONSTANTINOPLE, THEY GATHERED TO BOARD
THE SHIPS TO AMERICA. SOME WERE BIRDS OF PASSAGE, LEAVING TO SEEK WORK AND RETURN. OTHERS WITH HOPES TO FIND
AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY THE GOOD,
PERMANENT LIFE THAT AWAITED, THEY WERE TOLD, THREE THOUSAND
MILES ACROSS THE SEA. IN THE RURAL AREAS
OF EASTERN EUROPE, THEY HAD,
IN ADDITION TO POVERTY, OTHER REASONS
TO LOOK TO AMERICA. THE GOVERNMENT WAS TAKING
YOUNG BOYS TO THE ARMY. IN A MOTHER'S LIFETIME
SHE MIGHT NOT SEE HIM AGAIN. AND ALWAYS THERE WAS THE POLICE, THE HISTORIC PERSECUTOR
OF THE ARMENIAN, SLOVAK, AND JEW. Woman:
YOU KNOW WHAT I SEE NOW, I SEE THE PEASANT
WITH A WAGON AND HAY TO TAKE ME, TAKE ME AWAY. THE WHOLE TOWN
WAS AROUND MY WAGON. EVERYBODY CAME TO SAY GOODBYE. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW
TO SAY GOODBYE. Man:
POLAND, RUSSIA, ROMANIA, AND EVERYBODY JUST WANTED TO GET OUT OF THERE. [ TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS ] Narrator: MAKING THEIR WAY
TO THE RAILHEADS, THEY SOUGHT PASSAGE TO THE SEA. SOME HAD MONEY FOR THE JOURNEY AND SOME DID NOT. BUT TURNING BACK
WAS SELDOM AN ALTERNATIVE. Man:
I DIDN'T PAY NO TICKET. GET ON A TRAIN AND PRAY FOR LUCK. Man: THEY CARRIED US
JUST LIKE YOU WOULD CARRY A LOAD,
A BUNCH OF PIGS. IF YOU WERE GOING TO
MOVE A BUNCH OF CALVES, A BUNCH OF PIGS, WOULD YOU
PUT THEM IN A PASSENGER CAR? THAT'S THE WAY
THEY LOOKED AT US. [ TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS ] Narrator: FOR MANY, ENTERING THE GREAT
PORT CITIES OF NORTHERN EUROPE WAS LIKE ENTERING A NEW WORLD. THEY HAD REACHED THE SEA, AND THE IMMIGRANT WAS NOW IN THE HANDS
OF THE STEAMSHIP COMPANY. [ SHIP'S HORN BLOWS ] IMMIGRANTS FROM THE EAST
AND NORTH SWARMED INTO BREMEN, ANTWERP, HAMBURG, AND LIVERPOOL, TO BE PROCESSED
FOR THE PASSAGE TO AMERICA. THEY STOOD IN LINE TOGETHER, THOSE WHO SAW AMERICA
AS AN ADVENTURE, WITH THOSE WHO SAW AMERICA
AS A BEACON OF HOPE. IT WAS A BUSINESS OF NUMBERS, AN OPERATION DESIGNED TO HOUSE,
FEED, AND PROCESS FOUR THOUSAND PEOPLE AT A TIME, TO IDENTIFY THOSE
WHOM AMERICAN AUTHORITIES MIGHT REJECT AND RETURN
TO EUROPE AT STEAMSHIP EXPENSE. Woman: FIRST THING
THEY DO WITH YOU IS DELOUSE YOU. LOOK YOUR HAIR ALL OVER. YOUR HAIR, IF THERE WAS A NIT
IN YOUR HAIR THEY WOULD-- YOU WOULD HAVE TO SHAMPOO IT. Narrator: FEARING EPIDEMICS,
HUGE FACILITIES WERE ESTABLISHED TO FUMIGATE CLOTHING,
BAGGAGE, AND PEOPLE. PROCESSED AND TICKETED, THEY WAITED FOR THEIR SHIP. [ SHIP'S HORN BLOWS ] THEY BOARDED
IN MANY PARTS OF EUROPE AND IN MANY KINDS OF VESSELS, MOST TO NEW YORK
AND SOME TO OTHER PORTS. BUT THEY HAD
ONE THING IN COMMON. THEY WERE TRAVELING STEERAGE, AND THE STEAMSHIP COMPANIES UNDERSTOOD THE PROFIT
IN NUMBERS. [ SHIP'S HORN BLOWS ] THEY BEGAN A JOURNEY THAT COULD
LAST FROM A WEEK TO A MONTH. [ SHIP'S HORN BLOWS ] Woman: THAT WAS THE LAST TIME
IT EVER RAN AGAIN. THAT WAS THE LAST TRIP SHE MADE. SHE SHOULD HAVE NEVER
MADE THAT ONE EITHER. Narrator: FOR SOME IT WOULD BE
A VOYAGE WITHOUT INCIDENT. FOR OTHERS, THE CROSSING
WOULD PROVIDE DAYS FOR WHICH THEY WERE ILL PREPARED. Man:
THEY GAVE US A TIN PLATE, WITH A FORK AND A SPOON, A CUP OF SOUP AND NOT MUCH BREAD. FIFTEEN DAYS. Man:
THERE WAS ALL ONE BIG ROOM. IT WAS IN THE CELLAR. THERE WAS LITTLE LIGHTS
GOING ON THERE ALL THE TIME. LITTLE LIGHTS. WE WERE RIDING IN THE STEERAGE, LIKE ANIMALS. Woman:
YOU COULD SEE A LOT OF WATER, BUT WE DIDN'T SEE THE SKY. NO SKY. Narrator:
TO ESCAPE THE THROBBING ENGINES AND THE ODOR OF SPOILED FOOD,
THOSE WITH BLANKETS CAME ON DECK FOR AIR. Man:
SHE WAS SICK ALL THE TIME. PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW
WHERE THE TOILETS WERE AND SO THEY HAD TO USE THE-- IT WAS A TERRIBLE LIFE. Woman:
I PRAYED ONE NIGHT THAT THAT SHIP WOULD GO DOWN. IT WAS SO HORRIBLE. IT HAD TO STOP FOR AWHILE
FOR SOME, YOU KNOW,
THE WAVES WAS WASHING-- I WAS VERY SICK. OH, GOD, I PRAYED
IT WOULD GO DOWN. Man: THERE WAS ONLY ONE THING
IN MY MIND. I WANTED TO GET OUT OF THERE, AND TO COME TO AMERICA. Man: IT APPEARED, LIKE IN A FOG. AND EVERYBODY
WENT OVER TO THE RAILING. JUST ADMIRING. Man: I THOUGHT I WAS--
I THOUGHT I WAS IN HEAVEN. MY GOD, THIS-- IS THIS A CITY ON EARTH OR IS THIS A CITY IN HEAVEN? I'D NEVER SEEN
A BUILDING LIKE THAT. BUT BEAUTIFUL. I HAD TO CRY. Woman: EVERYBODY WAS
JUST WAITING TO GET OFF THAT, STANDING, WAITING
TO GET OFF THAT SHIP. [ SHIP'S HORN BLOWS ] Woman: YOU WERE JUST WONDERING
WHERE YOU WERE COMING TO OR WHAT WAS GOING
TO HAPPEN TO YOU. YOU KNOW, IN YOUR MIND. [ SHIP'S HORN BLOWS ] Narrator: STILL SEPARATED
FROM THE FIRST CLASS AND CABIN PASSENGERS
WHO WERE PROCESSED BY IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS
ON BOARD, THE IMMIGRANT FROM STEERAGE WAITED YET ANOTHER BOAT RIDE, THIS ONE FROM
THE HUDSON RIVER PIER TO AN ISLAND IN THE UPPER BAY. CROWDED INTO BARGES AND FERRIES,
THEY APPROACHED THE PLACE THAT HAD BECOME A LEGEND
IN THEIR MIND. Woman:
I COULDN'T GET MY EYES OFF THAT. IT'S GREAT. I WAS KIND OF GLAD TO SEE
ELLIS ISLAND, AS BAD AS IT WAS. IT WAS GOOD TO SEE
ANY KIND OF LAND, IT WAS. Woman: ACCORDING TO THE HOUSES
I LEFT IN MY TOWN, THIS WAS LIKE-- LIKE A WHOLE CITY, THAT I ALMOST
FELT SMALLER THAN I AM. Man: AND WHEN
I CAME THROUGH THESE DOORS I SAW ALL THESE PEOPLE THERE,
I FIGURED, WELL, I GUESS I'LL HAVE
TO STAY HERE FOR GOOD PROBABLY, BECAUSE, ALL THESE PEOPLE, WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE? AND NOBODY WAS HAPPY. YOU DON'T KNOW
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. Woman:
I HAD A COAT AND A DRESS AND A PAIR OF SHOES, THAT'S IT. Man:
ONE SUITCASE I HAD WITH ME AND ABOUT-- ABOUT FIFTY DOLLARS I GUESS. Woman:
MY BASKET--MY LITTLE BASKET, THAT'S ALL I HAD WITH ME. YOU WERE LUCKY TO HAVE THE ONE. Man: WE HAD NO OTHER POSSESSIONS
BUT THAT. WE HAD NO BAGGAGE. WE HAD NOTHING. Woman:
NOTHING EXCEPT THE CLOTHES. WE HAD NOTHING. Narrator:
CLINGING TO THEIR POSSESSIONS, THEY ENTERED THE GREAT BUILDING AND CLIMBED THE STAIRS. Woman: JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH,
I SAYS, WHERE AM I? Man: THEY WOULD COME RIGHT IN TO THE BIG HALL, AND THERE THEY WERE TOLD TO SIT
AND STAY THERE, AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW
WHERE THEY WERE. IT WAS A NEW LAND
BUT THEY HADN'T BEEN IN LAND-- IT WAS JUST A BIG HALL. AND ALL YOU COULD GET WAS TEARS AND CRYING OF THE CHILDREN. Narrator:
FOR THE VAST MAJORITY, THE PROCESS WOULD LAST
LESS THAN A DAY. BUT NOW THEY WAITED, THOSE FROM EUROPE
AND THE NEAR EAST, WITH THOSE WHO HAD ARRIVED
FROM THE CARIBBEAN. THOSE WHO WERE
THE FIRST IN THEIR FAMILY TO COME TO AMERICA WITH THOSE WHO WOULD BE MET. THOSE WHO CAME
TO MAKE MONEY AND RETURN, WITH THOSE WHO WERE DETERMINED NEVER TO RETURN. Man: SO THEY ALL HAD THIS FEAR, THIS WORRY. THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT POLICE, 'CAUSE THEY WERE ALWAYS CHECKED
IN THE OTHER COUNTRIES. Man: THE WORD "GOVERNMENT"
FRIGHTENED ME. GOVERNMENT WAS TYRANNY, GOVERNMENT WAS OFFICERS WHO LOOKED AT YOU
WITH THE SENSE THAT THEY WANTED TO HATE YOU OR ELIMINATE YOU, AND THE IDEA
THAT THERE IS DEMOCRACY OR THAT
THE POLICEMEN WILL HELP YOU WAS VERY NEW TO ME. A POLICEMAN, TO ME, WAS SOMEONE WHO COULD
CUT MY HEAD OFF. Man: THAT WAS
THE MOST DANGEROUS THING FOR EVERYBODY TO GO THROUGH-- THE EYES. Narrator: TRACHOMA, THE DREADED DISEASE
OF THE IMMIGRANT, THE DIAGNOSIS
FOR WHICH COULD LEAD TO ALMOST CERTAIN DEPORTATION. Woman: IF THERE WAS ANYTHING
THEY PUT A CHALK MARK HERE, A CHALK MARK THERE. Narrator:
THOSE IDENTIFIED TO BE SET ASIDE FOR
POSSIBLE REJECTION REPRESENTED A SMALL PERCENTAGE
EXAMINED EACH DAY. BUT THIS WAS LITTLE CONSOLATION
TO A FAMILY SEPARATED. Woman: YOU DIDN'T HAVE
TO KNOW THE PEOPLE, BUT YOU KNOW
THAT SOMEBODY'S MISSING. THE AGONY THEY WENT THROUGH. SO YOU KNOW THAT SOMEBODY'S
MISSING IN THE FAMILY. Man:
ALL OF A SUDDEN THE THOUGHT, MY GOODNESS,
THEY'RE SEPARATING US, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE POLICE
ALWAYS DID. THEY SEPARATED
THE MEN FROM THE WOMEN, AND THEN TOOK CARE
OF THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. AS LONG AS SOME MEMBER
OF THE FAMILY, SOME LOVING MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WAS WITH YOU,
LIFE WAS TOLERABLE. YOU LIVED IN A RELATIONSHIP
OF FAMILY LOVE. EVEN THOUGH
THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY, YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THEY WERE,
YOU COULD CONVERSE, YOU COULD PLAN,
YOU COULD WARM EACH OTHER. Woman: I HAD A FEELING
THAT I'M LEFT ALL ALONE. IT'S A TERRIBLE FEELING. ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY WERE GONE. [ COUGHING ] Narrator:
AMERICA DID NOT WANT THE BURDEN OF AN UNHEALTHY IMMIGRANT. AMERICA WANTED A PERSON
WHO COULD MAKE A LIVING AND WAS NOT
BRINGING INTO THE COUNTRY AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE. Woman:
AND THEY LOOKED YOUR BACK OVER AND YOUR LUNGS AND YOUR HEART AND YOUR EVERYTHING. AND YOU WERE SENT
FROM ONE TO THE OTHER. ONE DOCTOR TO THE OTHER. Woman: AND A LOT OF PEOPLE
WAS PUT AWAY ON THE SIDE. I WOULDN'T WANT
TO HAVE BEEN SENT BACK. Man: PEOPLE WERE REJECTED
BECAUSE THEY SHOWED OUTWARD SIGNS OF ILLNESS, WHAT THEY CONSIDERED
MENTAL DIFFICULTIES. WE DIDN'T CALL IT PSYCHIATRY,
THEY CALLED IT NEUROLOGY. AND WE SAID, WE'RE SORRY. AND THE SHIP THAT BROUGHT THEM
HAD TO TAKE THEM BACK. THAT WAS A TRAGEDY. Man: I DECIDED THAT IF THEY EVER
HAVE TO SEND ME BACK, I'LL JUMP DOWN IN THE WATER. I'LL NEVER GO BACK TO RUSSIA. I NEVER WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN. Narrator:
BUILT FOR FIFTEEN HUNDRED, THE DINING ROOM OFTEN FED
THREE THOUSAND. Man: THERE WOULD BE DISHES
AND FORKS AND KNIVES AND WHITE NAPKINS. LONG TABLES, WELL SET, BUT WHEN THE PEOPLE WENT IN,
IT WAS LIKE--LIKE CHAOS. THEY HANDED US FOOD. FOOD WAS NOT SOMETHING
PEOPLE GAVE YOU. I DIDN'T LIKE IT, BUT THEN I TASTED IT AGAIN. I NEVER HAD SEEN
A BANANA BEFORE. Man: TO ME THE WHITE BREAD
WAS LIKE CAKE ALREADY. Narrator: AT NIGHT ELLIS SERVED
AS A DORMITORY FOR THOUSANDS, WAITING THE NEW DAY. EACH MORNING
THE GREAT HALL WOULD FILL AND THE NOISE WOULD BEGIN AGAIN. HOPEFULLY THEIR PAPERS
WERE IN ORDER: A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH, A LETTER FROM A RELATIVE GUARANTEEING THEY WOULD NOT
BECOME A PUBLIC CHARGE, PROOF THAT THEY WERE NOT
A CONTRACT LABORER OR A DANGEROUS ALIEN. IN ADJACENT ROOMS THE DETAINED
WERE GIVEN ADDITIONAL SCRUTINY AND AN OPPORTUNITY
TO MAKE THEIR CASE. BUT EXCEPTING
AN APPEAL TO WASHINGTON, THE BOARD OF INQUIRY WAS THE REJECTED IMMIGRANT'S
LAST CHANCE. THROUGH AN INTERPRETER, THEY DID THEIR BEST TO PERSUADE
AND TO OVERCOME THE COMPLEXITIES OF A CHANGING IMMIGRATION LAW. BUT IT WAS IN THE GREAT HALL
WHERE THE VAST MAJORITY FACED THEIR FIRST
AND THEIR LAST TEST. IN HIS HAND
THE MAN AT THE REGISTRY DESK HELD THE SHIP'S MANIFEST. IN HIS POWER, THE RIGHT
TO INTERPRET QUESTIONS INTENDED TO IDENTIFY THOSE WHO SHOULD BE LET IN
OR KEPT OUT. Man:
I DIDN'T KNOW A WORD OF ENGLISH. Man: I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND
ENGLISH, NOT ONE WORD. FIRST QUESTION,
"HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE YOU GOT?" Woman:
YOU HAD TO HAVE FIVE POUNDS. MY FATHER, I REMEMBER,
GAVE ME THAT FIVE POUNDS. Woman: DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG--
IT TOOK A COUPLE OF YEARS, TWO AND THREE YEARS
TO GET THAT TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. Woman:
MY MOTHER, WHEN WE GOT NEARER AND THE PERSON AT THE DESK
CALLED OUR NAMES, MY MOTHER TURNED TO ME,
SHE SAYS, "I WAS NEVER HERE,
HOW DOES SHE KNOW MY NAME?" I SAID, IT'S ALL RIGHT, MA,
SHE KNOWS IT. Man: THEY ASKED FOR MY NAME
AND I TOLD THEM "LICHT" AND THEY SAY,
"HOW DO YOU SPELL IT?" WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW
HOW TO SPELL IT AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT, AND THEY SPELLED IT L-I-C-H-T. I SAID, IT'S ALL RIGHT FOR ME, I DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. Man: BUT THEN THEY SAID,
"ALL RIGHT, YOU CAN GO." Man: "YOU'RE FREE TO GO,
TO HOBOKEN." YEAH. Narrator:
THERE WOULD STILL BE QUESTIONS OF WHAT FOOD TO BUY
FOR THE RAILROAD TRIP TO CHICAGO OR THE BOAT TRIP TO BOSTON. THERE WAS STILL
THE STRANGE NAMES, THE STRANGE NUMBERS, AND
THE FEAR OF LOSING ONE'S MONEY. THERE WAS THE PROCESS
OF BUYING A TICKET, TO PLACES
WITH UNPRONOUNCEABLE NAMES LIKE "PITTSBURGH,"
"HAMTRAMCK," AND "KEOKUK." BUT THOSE WERE DETAILS. THE ISLAND
HAD PASSED THEM THROUGH. THE DOOR TO AMERICA HAD OPENED. Man: IT WAS AS IF
GOD'S GREAT PROMISE HAD BEEN FULFILLED. Man:
I'M GOING INTO A FREE LAND. I DON'T THINK I EVER CAN EXPLAIN THAT FEELING THAT I HAD
THAT TIME. THERE ISN'T SUCH A THING
TO BE EXPLAINED. IT CAME OUT OF MY SYSTEM. IT'S OVER. Man: IT'S NOT MY NATIVE LAND, BUT IT MEANS MORE TO ME
THAN MY NATIVE LAND. IT MEANS MORE TO ME THAN MY NATIVE LAND. Man:
ANY COUNTRY ON EARTH-- THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN-- AND BECOME
A HUMAN BEING AGAIN. IT'S A MIRACLE. Woman: I'M GLAD I'M HERE. COULDN'T BE ANY BETTER,
COULD IT? Man: AND EVERYBODY HAD HOPES AND ONE THING I WAS SURE
AND THOUSANDS LIKE ME, THAT THE DEGRADATION, THE ABUSE, AND THE PRIVATION
THAT WE HAD IN EUROPE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE HERE. Man: OH, GOD, YES, HOPING FOR CENTURIES.
