'Colonia': Film broaches atrocities of German-run sect in Chile
Florian Gallenberger's film "Colonia," premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, revisits the dark history of the Colonia Dignidad, a secretive German-founded colony in Chile. The enclave's legacy remains controversial.
14.09.2015
Although Paul Schäfer was the founder of Colonia Dignidad, an isolated settlement in Chile 400 kilometers south of Santiago, he wasn't the only one who made its creation possible. Established in 1961 by German emigrants with strong Nazi ties, the enclave, which became known for its widespread cases of torture and child abuse, had several supporters in Germany and Chile.
In his book "Colonia Dignidad" (1998), the journalist Gero Gemballa wrote that the media's portrayal of the settlement remained surprisingly factual - practically no exaggerations or creepy legends were added to the descriptions.
"Reality was probably hard to beat," he noted.
Through his research, Gemballa uncovered a network of German, Chilean and international secret services and economic interests. He claims that the settlement was involved in the torture and murder of opponents of the Pinochet regime. This complicity protected Colonia Dignidad (which translates as "dignity colony"
from the Chilean state.
. . .
Paul Schäfer and his colleagues had political support in Germany, too. The conservative German party CSU was particularly impressed by the way the colony transposed Bavarian traditions in the distant Andes.
More:
http://www.dw.com/en/colonia-film-broaches-atrocities-of-german-run-sect-in-chile/a-18712816
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