The Colony: Chile's dark past uncovered
The Colony: Chile's dark past uncovered
How did a secret German sect in Chile become a haven for Nazi fugitives and a torture centre for the Pinochet regime?
Al Jazeera Correspondent Last updated: 09 Nov 2013 14:09
Forty years after the US-backed military coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile, the truth about the sordid abuses and crimes that took place during his dictatorship are still emerging.
The mountains of Patagonia in southern Chile witnessed a particularly bizarre chapter of the Pinochet era; one that is still claiming victims today.
In 1961, a former Nazi officer called Paul Schaefer fled Germany, along with hundreds of others, to found a sect in southern Chile. In an idyllic rural enclave framed by the Andes Mountains he created a virtual state within a state - one where horrifying events unfolded.
Initially with the ignorance of the government, and then with the complicity of the Pinochet regime, children were separated from their parents at birth and raised in a Kinder House. Men and women were kept apart and often drugged, while Schaefer systematically sexually abused boys and, occasionally, girls.
But it was not only the residents of Colonia Dignidad, or the Dignity Colony, that endured such brutalities. The secluded Colony, set on a huge estate featuring forests, mountains and rivers and enclosed by electrified barbed wire fences and look-out posts manned by armed guards, was the perfect place for the interrogation, torture and disposal of anyone Pinochet considered to be an enemy.
More:
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeracorrespondent/2013/11/colony-chile-dark-past-uncovered-2013114105429774517.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
Piñera Dismisses Newly Appointed Governor Linked To German Cult
By admin
Published On: Mon, Mar 22nd, 2010
José Luis Stegmeier reportedly laundered money for notorious Colonia Dignidad community
Chilean President Sebastian Piñera dismissed José Miguel Stegmeier from his newly appointed position as governor of the Biobio Region, just two days after appointing him to lead the region of the country that was hardest hit by the Feb. 27 earthquake.
The dismissal of the agricultural businessman was announced after news reports surfaced linking him to Chile’s notorious Colonia Dignidad, a religious cult that was led by German immigrant Paul Schaefer. Stegmeier allegedly was involved in money laundering activities for the cult.
Chile’s Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter fired Stegmeier Friday night after investigating the accusations and terming then ‘extremely serious.’
Piñera gave his complete backing to Hinzpeter, saying, “This is the way one has to deal with the truth, fast and rigorous. . . . The government will take up this position every time it feels the appointment of an official was not the choice that Chile needs or deserves.”
Stegmeier said the accusations made against him were “completely false” and that he had very little connection to Schaefer, the group’s notorious boss, 88, who is now in prison in Santiago for child sodomy charges.
More:
http://santiagotimes.cl/pinera-dismisses-newly-appointed-governor-linked-to-german-cult/e
(During the run-up to Piñera's election, it was generally known that Piñera himself had been a Pinochet supporter in the "past."
Saw a reference to this article in a post by DU'er Octofish's in a DU google search. I am so glad to find it.
[center]
José Miguel Stegmeier
Paul Schaefer,
Nazi[/center]
Please check this first hand account by someone who stopped by long enough to share it with DU'ers:
levenda Donating Member (3 posts) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wed Oct-19-05 03:56 PM
Response to Original message
5. My visit to the Colony
As one of your posters mentioned, I visited Colonia Dignidad in late June of 1979. "Gate crashed" is probably the better phrase. The whole story is described in my book, Unholy Alliance, but briefly I had learned of the existence of the Colony in a book by Ladislas Farago, Aftermath, and since I was researching the survival of Nazis and Nazi ideology after the War it seemed like a good place to visit.
What an idiot.
Of course, this was during Pinochet's regime and a time of martial law in Chile. I had guns pointed at me more times than I remember. (Well, that's not exactly true. I vividly remember each and every one.)
I spent the night before with a bunch of local militia in the town of Parral, drinking a kind of aguardiente and discussing the Colony. They advised me not to go. They hated the place, and despised the fact that these German nationals had more rights and privileges in their country than they did. But as dawn came up that Sunday morning I found a driver and overpaid him exorbitantly to get me up the Andes mountains and to the Colony. All I really wanted to do was take a few photos and leave. Fat chance.
I arrived there easily enough, snapped off a few photos, and raced back to the car. Then the gates closed electronically in front of us, and a white Mercedes pulled up from out of nowhere, blocking our exit.
More:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x164164
Post #5.
