DRUGS 32
Chapter 3
3-1 The film Colonia Dignidad
You may wonder why I am going to put this film here in the book about drugs. But believe me, there’s
a lot going on in the world of drugs and therein the Second World War and some communes were a
great player and moreover, still are.
Germany and Chile definitely are a part of it and then not to speak about England and the Netherlands!
But in this case we see that the Jewish community has a lot to hide, and certainly has not always tried
to deal honestly and openly.
But let’s just first read the description of this film and then we go deeper into this matter.
3-1a Colonia Dignidad
Villa Baviera (English: Bavaria Village) is the current organization occupying the location of the
infamous and disgraced Colonia Dignidad (English: Colony Dignity), in Parral Commune, Linares
Province, in the Maule Region of central Chile Located in an isolated area, Colonia Dignidad was
~35 km southeast of the city of Parral, on the north bank of the Perquilauquén River. Colonia Dignidad
was founded by emigrant Germans in the mid-1950s, to which were added a group led by its eventual
leader, Paul Schäfer, in 1961. The full name of the colony from the 1950s was Sociedad Benefactora
y Educacional Dignidad (English: Dignity Charitable and Educational Society). At its largest, Colonia
Dignidad was home to some three hundred German and Chilean residents, and covered 137 square
kilometers (53 sq mi). 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.
3-1b Protesters asking for justice in 2015
Colonia Dignidad’s longest continuous leader, Schäfer, was a fugitive, accused of child molestation
charges in the former West Germany. The organization he led in Chile was described, alternately, as a
cult or as a group of “harmless eccentrics”. The organization was secretive, and the Colonia was
surrounded by barbed wire fences, and featured a watchtower and searchlights, and was later reported
to contain secret weapon caches. In recent decades, external investigations, including efforts by the
Chilean government, uncovered a history of criminal activity in the enclave, including child sexual abuse.
As well, the findings include that its legal activities were supplemented by income related to weapons
sales and money laundering. Bruce Falconer, writing in a piece entitled “The Torture Colony” (in The
American Scholar), and referencing Chile’s National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, has
reported that a small set of the individuals taken by Pinochet’s Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional during
his rule were held as prisoners at Colonia Dignidad, some of whom were subjected to torture, and that
some Colonia residents of the time were participants in the atrocities.
The population of this location was 198 in the census of 2002. As of 2005, a colony remains on the site,
using the site, with its leaders insisting that it is a different, changed organization. Its current leaders
have attempted to modernize the colony, allowing residents to leave to study at university, and opening
the colony to tourism.
3-1c History
The first inhabitants of Colonia Dignidad arrived in 1961, brought by German citizen Paul Schaefer, who
was born in 1921, in the town of Siegburg near Bonn. Schäfer is a controversial figure. His first employment
in Germany was as a social worker for children in an institution of the local church, a post from which he
was fired at the end of the 1940s; he then faced accusations of sexual abuse against children in his care.
While these first reports led to his dismissal, no judicial proceedings were initiated. He worked next as an
independent preacher. Forming a community in Gronau, an organization dedicated to working with children
at risk. He quickly acquired great influence over his members, who had to perform hard farm work without
pay. Shortly thereafter, stories reemerged relating to the earlier allegations of pedophilia against him.
As a result Schäfer organized in 1961 the emigration of several hundred members of their community
to Chile.
3-1d Problem observed
The main intention of the colony was to project, to the outside world an image of harmony, order and an
inclusive system of communal work. This was emphasised by the work of its own press operations who
were recording and broadcasting videos showing their happy residents, amid celebrations and
commemorations; men dedicated to farm work, women and girls embroidering or preparing butter.
However, Schäfer propaganda efforts were again and again overshadowed by allegations of people
escaping from the colony and obtaining asylum in Germany. The first, Wolfgang Muller fled in 1966 and
first exposed the atrocities that occurred within the colony. Muller obtained German citizenship and worked
in a newspaper, soon becoming an activist in Germany against the leaders of colonia dignidad and finally
became president of a foundation dedicated to the support of victims in Chile.
The following year, he freed another inhabitant of the colony, Heinz Kuhn, who confirmed the allegations
previously made by Müller, and provided more information on abuses. However, these first allegations
were rejected by conservative politicians and emphatically denied by the Chilean extreme right, whose
ties were with the management of the Colony in their preparation of the military coup of September 11,
1973, as demonstrated later in chilean courts cases.
3-1e Secret detention camp
See also: Human rights violations in Pinochet’s Chile The Rettig Commission noted a wealth of information
supporting the accusations of the use of the laundry owned by Colonia Dignidad for detention and torture of
political detainees during the period covered by this chapter ( Chilean Military Governement 1973 onwards).
This farm, commonly known as Colonia Dignidad, is within Parral, on the banks of river Perquilauquén, near
Catillo. The Commission has also noted that other sources, including from abroad, had also concluded that
Colonia Dignidad was used, at least, as a detention center for political prisoners. Among these sources are
spokesmen for the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Working Group on Forced
Disappearance of Persons of the United Nations. The Rettig Commission ultimately based its conclusions
on evidence that it examined directly.
3-1f “Bundesnachrichtendienst” assistance
Journalist John Dinges has reported that there was some degree of cooperation between the
Bundesnachrichtendienst (German Intelligence Service) and Colonia Dignidad, including creation of bunkers,
tunnels, a hospital, and runways for the decentralized production of armaments in modules (part produced in
one place, others elsewhere in another). This subject was proactively hidden, because of the problems
experienced at the time associated with Argentina.
|
