The self-proclaimed preacher Paul Schäfer gathered people around him in post-war Germany. The sect founded a youth home near Cologne. But in 1961 Schäfer had to flee. Many followers followed him to Chile. 350 kilometers south of Santiago, far away from civilization, they begin building the Colonia Dignidad. A supposed model village with workshops, agriculture, livestock breeding was being created. But paradise became hell because slave labor, violence and sexual abuse soon became a part of everyday life. After the military coup in 1973, Schäfer served the new rulers: secret police chief Manuel Contreras and dictator Augusto Pinochet now came and went in the colony, while the opponents of the terrorist regime are tortured and killed in the cellars. Using unpublished archive material and contemporary witness statements, this 4-part documentary miniseries traces the complex, 50-year history of perpetrators, victims, supporters and opponents of this place that became the epitome of evil.
Episodes
Season 1
Media
Backdrops and posters from the title's official gallery
Top Cast
Jonas Baeck
Himself - Narrator
Edeltraud Bohnau
Herself - Interviewee
Willi Malessa
Himself - Interviewee
Wolfgang Kneese
Himself - Interviewee
Erika Tymm
Herself - Interviewee
Günter Schaffrik
Himself - Interviewee
Karl Van Den Berg
Himself - Interviewee
Robert Matthusen
Himself - Interviewee
Esther Müller
Herself - Interviewee
Martin Matthusen
Himself - Interviewee
