Colonia Dignidad, an isolated colony established by Nazi Paul Schafer who fled Germany after World War II, fled Chile and is also a secret community of extremist spiritual groups. It is notorious for detaining, torturing and murdering dissidents and for using iron fists to control believers.
Today, few people know about this terrible spiritual group. A few days ago, Australia's Yahoo News reported on it in detail.
Children in the Dignity Colony are often abused. Source: The Colony: Unveiling Chile's Dark Past
Yahoo News called Shafar one of the worst humans ever, and his cruelty was rare in the world.
Schaffar was reportedly born in Bonn, Germany, and an accident as a student caused him to lose his right eye. During World War II, he fought as a medic, but later he claimed that his disability in his right eye was caused by war.
Paul Shafar, the leader of the Colony of Dignity
After World War II, Shafar worked as a young pastor in a German church when he was dismissed after news that he had sexually harassed boys. He then became an independent preacher, wearing leather shorts, playing the guitar carelessly, wandering the German countryside and encouraging people to repent to him.
By 1952, Shafar had reportedly gathered many followers around him, mainly war widows and their children. In 1959, Shafar was again accused of sexually abusing two boys, and the German local authorities charged him and issued an arrest warrant, and Shafar subsequently fled to Chile.
After arriving in Chile, Shafar remained uncontrous by nazi nature, and soon expelled some Chilean nuns from their land and established a camp of his own, surrounded by barbed wire, armed guards, and the vicious dogs he had arranged. The camp is home to a group of about six, all dressed in costume similar to the German style of the 1930s. Everyone has to work more than 12 hours a day without any compensation.
Children in the Colony of Dignity Source: Yahoo News
Yahoo News reported that Shafar had built his own "kingdom" here, becoming a dictatorial monarch who said no.
His followers were forced to work on the land, members of the opposite sex were not allowed to have unauthorized access, members had to confess their "sins" to Shafar on a regular basis, "guilty people" were often publicly humiliated during gatherings and meals, and women were considered inherently guilty. The children are separated from their parents and raised by strict "aunts" and "uncles" in separate dormitories for men and women. Any contact with the outside world was also prohibited — radio, newspapers, or even calendars were not allowed to appear in the camps.
Shafar's purpose in doing so, like most leaders of extremist spiritual groups, is to not want his followers to have other objects of worship and belief. This is also why almost every leader of an extremist spiritual group or even a cult likes to break up the family and likes to limit the information available to followers to ensure that he must be the unique leader in the hearts of believers.
To this end, Shafar also did not allow his followers to celebrate any festivals and forbade all celebrations, which he believed were for other religions.
Even one year as Christmas approached, when the children living in the "Colony of Dignity" began to get excited about the coming Santa Claus, Shafar asked one of his followers to dress up as Santa Claus to visit the kindergarten, and then Shafar pulled out a pistol and shot Santa Claus. However, this is a fake scene by Shafar, who did not really kill the follower, but he intimidated the children by "murdering" Santa Claus, informing the followers that no one was allowed to celebrate Christmas.
And all this is just the beginning of the tragedy.
People whose whereabouts are unknown in the "Dignity Colony"
Dignity Colony is not just a farm-based community of extremist spiritual groups, it also houses secret rooms everywhere, including underground.
The Dignity Colony is filled with secret basements, some of which are penal chambers.
According to Yahoo News, Shafar was not only a Nazi, but also a sadist. His favorite methods were electrocution, tying victims to metal bed frames and attaching electrodes to their panty areas, and training dogs to attack the reproductive organs of disobedient people as a way to maintain the obedience of camp members.
After Shafar settled in Chile, the abuse and molestation of children did not stop. There are reports that Shafar often asked his followers to send boys from the camp to his room.
After his crimes were exposed, "Uncle Paul" (Shafar's full name was Paul Shafar) also became a code name for Chilean pedophiles.
Elderly Paul Shafar Source: The Guardian
Later, according to the Guardian, Shafar disappeared from the "colony of dignity" in the late 1990s. In 1996, numerous indigenous people in the community reported their personal experiences to the police, and a San Diego judge signed a subpoena accusing Shafar of child abuse. But despite frequent police raids of the neighborhood, Shafar was never found until 2005, when he was found hiding in an expensive villa complex near Buenos Aires, Argentina.
On May 24, 2006, Shafar was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing 25 children and paid about $1.5 million in damages to 11 minors.
On April 24, 2010, the 88-year-old Shafar died of heart failure at the Santiago de Chilean Prison Hospital.
The "Colony of Dignity" was renamed "Bavila Village". Source: Yahoo News
According to the BBC, at least 100 people are believed to have been murdered in the Dignity Colony. Today, the "Colony of Dignity" has been renamed "Villa Baviera" and is a tourist destination with German-themed restaurants and hotels.
Everything seemed to have returned to calm.