Dignidad: A Nazi Cult in Chile

Episode 4: Villa Baviera

What happened to the former leaders of Colonia Dignidad? What happened to the members of the colony? What happened to the Colony itself? Today, there are guided tours of the place where Shafer abused and raped dozens and dozens of boys. Beers are poured above the floorboards where hundreds of enemies of Pinochet, and members of the colony to stay subservient were tortured in the bunkers. Only one small plaque on a potato cellar, to memorialize those tortured, murdered, and buried here - in the Dignity Colony.

Episode 3: Torture Camp

When the coupe led by Pinochet overthrew the democratic government in 1973, the bonds between the colony and the government deepened. Each needed something from the other - Colonia Dignidad needed protection to do what it wanted, and Pinochet’s military dictatorship needed a place to carry out unspeakable deeds against enemies of the state.

Episode 2: A Fortress in the Forest

Located 220 miles south of Santiago in the Province of Linares, Colonia Dignidad is separated and secluded from any major city. The location was chosen and constructed so that even if anyone managed to escape the barbed wire fence that surrounded the compound, the armed guards and dogs, there was nowhere to run. What else is hiding within the walls of the commune?

Episode 1: The Bad Shepherd

In operation for decades under the leadership of Paul Shafer and influenced by Evangelical Revivalist Christianity, Colonia Dignidad was endorsed by the military dictatorship in Chile. Like many cults, it began with a promise of living off the land and being closer to nature, and far from potential convictions of Nazi crimes.