A dark past haunts Villa Baviera - Chile

A dark past haunts Villa Baviera, former Colonia Dignidad in southern Chile. Sexual abuse of children went on for decades here, and torture of dissidents to the Pinochet regime are known to have taken place within the colony. The German ex nazi Paul Schäffer ruled Colonia Dignidad with an iron hand for over thirty years. - Paul Schäffer was the ultimate patriarch, he was our father and the possessor of ”truth”. He had an almost divine significance for the people here. Nobody ever questioned him, says one of the residents of the colony. The colony was founded by Schäffer 1961 and it was made up of German immigrants. Defectors from the colony have portrayed it as a cult in which leader Paul Schäfer held ultimate power. In april 2010 Paul Schäffer deceased and for the first time in its history Colonia Dignidad came out of the shadows. Today 150 people live in the colony, and although the residents are reserved and marked by a life in isolation they are slowly beginning to open up to the public.