Colonia Dignidad

By the mid-1970s, the German nationalist sect settlement Colonia Dignidad was suspected of serving as a torture school for the Chilean dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet and being heavily involved in illegal arms deals. Human rights activists accused sect leader Paul Schäfer of physical and psychological violence as well as the sexual abuse of minors. The book "Colonia Dignidad: From Psychosect to Torture Camp," written by Dieter Maier under the pseudonym Friedrich Paul Heller, summarizes the main allegations in 1993, providing numerous pieces of evidence for the now-proven criminal activities of the "model settlement" and demonstrating how the German foreign policy and judiciary at the time allowed the sect to operate with gross negligence. The book is still considered the most comprehensive and well-founded account of Colonia Dignidad (now Villa Baviera) during the military dictatorship and serves as an important contribution to its exposure. It is now available in a new edition with a current afterword by the author.