| Colonia Dignidad | |
|---|---|
| Sect's operation space, with overlapping use as concentration and torture camp by DINA | |
 Hotel Villa Baviera in February 2014 | |
  Location of Colonia Dignidad (now Villa Baviera) in Chile | |
| Coordinates | 36°23′13″S 71°35′17″W / 36.38694°S 71.58806°W |
| Other names | Villa Baviera |
| Known for | Internment and murder of dissidents during Pinochet's military dictatorship |
| Location | 35 km east of Parral |
| Built by | Paul Schäfer's sect |
| Operated by | Paul Schäfer |
| Commandant | Paul Schäfer |
| First built | 1961 |
| Operational | 1961–2007 (as sect's operation place)[1] 1973–1985 (as concentration camp of Pinochet's dissidents) |
| Killed | unknown |
| Notable inmates | Boris Weisfeiler (alleged) |
| Notable books | Das Blendwerk: Von der "Colonia Dignidad" zur "Villa Baviera" |
Colonia Dignidad ('Dignity Colony') was an isolated colony established in post-World War II Chile by emigrant Germans which became notorious for the internment, torture, and murder of dissidents during the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s while under the leadership of German emigrant preacher Paul Schäfer.[2] Colonia Dignidad has been described as a "state within a state".[3][4]
Schäfer and members of the colony were deeply religious and followed the teachings of William Branham.[5] The main legal economic activity of the colony was agriculture; at various periods it also was home to a school, a hospital, two airstrips, a restaurant, and a power station.
Colonia Dignidad's longest continuous leader, Paul Schäfer, arrived in the colony in 1961.[6] Schäfer was a fugitive, accused of child molestation in West Germany. The organization he led in Chile was described, alternatively, as a cult or as a group of "harmless eccentrics". The organization was secretive, and the Colonia was surrounded by barbed wire fences, featured a watchtower and searchlights, and was later reported to contain secret weapon caches. External investigations, including efforts by the Chilean government, uncovered a history of criminal activity in the enclave, including child sexual abuse.[7] Reports from Chile's National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation indicate that a small set of the many individuals abducted by Pinochet's Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional during his rule were held as prisoners at Colonia Dignidad, most of whom were subjected to torture, and often to extrajudicial execution as well. Several members of Colonia's leadership of the time, including Schäfer, were participants in the atrocities.
In 1991, the name of the settlement was changed to Villa Baviera. After Schäfer fled to Argentina in 1996 to escape child molestation charges in Chile, control over residents loosened. Residents of the colony are now free to leave, and the site is open for tourism.[8][9]
- ^ de Sena, Donato (8 December 2010). "Villa Baviera, da colonia nazista a villaggio per turisti". Giornalettismo (in Italian). Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Brown, Stephen (7 May 2012). "Insight: German sect victims seek escape from Chilean nightmare past". Reuters.
- ^ Rotella, Sebatian (25 June 1997). "Siege may force colony to yield its secrets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Hevia Jordán, Evelyn (2022). "Colonia Dignidad: Lights and Shadows in the Recognition of the Victims". In Elizabeth Lira; Marcela Cornejo; Germán Morales (eds.). Human Rights Violations in Latin America. Peace Psychology Book Series. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 223–236. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97542-5_16. ISBN 9783030975418. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Brown, Stephen (7 May 2012). "Insight: German sect victims seek escape from Chilean nightmare past". Reuters.
- ^ Infield, Glenn, Secrets of the SS, 1981, p. 206.
- ^ Staff writer (15 December 2013). "The Colony: Chile's dark past uncovered". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
- ^ Reel, Monte (27 February 2013). "Villa Baviera: Chile's Torture Colony Tourist Trap". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
- ^ Oppenheim, Marella (2 May 2018). "Excavations at Chile torture site offer new hope for relatives of disappeared". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 July 2019.