One of three members of the diet-kitchen, where German food is cooked for the older residents.
Paul Schäfer said he was afraid of the communists. The true purpose of the fence was to prevent residents from escaping.
U. came to Chile at the age of eighteen. He was one of the first. His brother Hartmut was formerly the doctor of the Colonia Dignidad.
Parts of the hotel furniture dates from early times.
Their father H. breeds goats. The generation which was born into the Colonia Dignidad had to work for 40 years without being payed.
The Playground of the hotel.
J. was also adopted against his parents will. He worked on the field and had to carry heavy bags up to 100 kg filled with seeds.
In the „Freihaus“ Paul Schäfer had his private living chambers. This is where he abused the young boys of Colonia Dignidad.
E. works in the bakery and confectionery of the Villa Baviera. Bread, cakes and cookies are exported to the nearby regions.
The 15.000 hectares of land mostly consist of fields and timber. In the times of Schäfer the Colonia Dignidad was self-sufficient.
The owners of these attractions are chilean and come from outside the Villa Baviera to earn their money with tourists.
J. takes care of the gardens at the Villa Baviera. When he gets stressed he takes a little break on the swing.
T. with his wife E. and their daughters. His father Kurt was part of the inner circle of Paul Schäfer. He was sentenced to 5 years.
The chilean tourists do not really deal with the history of the Colonia Dignidad. They are mainly interested in the German cliche.
The former ambulance was imported custom-free from germany.
S. was adopted as a little boy from a slum in Santiago. For him the Colonia Dignidad at first was heaven on earth.
A former community house, that is now divided into apartments. In Schäfer’s original system privacy did not exist for anybody.
M. came as a little girl to the Colonia Dignidad. She worked years under the former doctor of the sect Hartmut Hopp.
Breakfast is served in the little „Comedor“ of the hotel. A TV mounted on the wall plays Volksmusik all day long.
Because of her good grades, C. was out-of-favor. Paul Schäfer wanted to shoot her. Today she has a little familiy.
Tourists while an organized beer drinking contest.
R. with his family. He takes care of the small hydroelectric power station in Villa Baviera with turbines from 1940.
The 15.000 hectares of land mostly consist of fields and timber.
D. joined the Colonia Dignidad as a little child. Today she sells plants to tourists.
The bible „Schild des Glaubens“ was the only book children of the Colonia Dignidad were allowed to read. Many parts were censored.
A chilean singer performing during the „Deer-fest“.
The southern border is the river Perquilauquén. To escape from the Colonia Dignidad residents had to cross the river.
After Paul Schäfer disappeared to Argentina he planed to create a new colony. He arranged that F. accompany him to help.
The school of Villa Baviera is located 5 km away from the village. Both German and Chilean children attend the school.

like wet cement

Chile in 1961.
The first supporters arrive in the Colonia Dignidad (engl. “Colony of the Dignity”) that has just been founded by their leader Paul Schäfer. He promised his followers a god-fearing life in a promised land. In return, they should give humanitarian aid to the poor rural population. From outside the Colonia Dignidad appeared to be an idyllic, self-sufficient community. Yet inside, life consisted of hard labour, abuse of power and child abuse. Leader Paul Schäfer established a system in which he could realize his sexual inclinations without any fear of being caught.

During the times of the Chilean military dictatorship, Schäfer maintained a close contact with head of state Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet used the Colonia Dignidad for illegal arm-trades and the murder of his dissidents.

In 1997, Schäfer fled Chile because he was being pursued criminally.

The village, which is now called Villa Baviera, slowly began an opening process. For the first time,  40-year-old men and women were sexually educated. They got to know, who their parents, who their brothers and sisters are. Many of them got married and started a families. Some took the chance to study outside of the colony, but many were already too old for formal education. Those living in the community had only been educated through seventh grade.

Chile in 2015.
Today only 120 people still live in the municipality, from 330 who formerly lived in the community. The inhabitants of the Villa have no savings, no private possession and no pension. Many of them see the a future for the German village in tourism. The former office-building was rebuilt into a hotel; the local restaurant‘s specialties include smoked pork, Sauerkraut, and pork knuckle. German folk music is played around every corner.

The Chilean society and media are very critical of this type of tourism. They see the inhabitants of the Villa Baviera as culprits for the murders wich happended while Pinochets dicatorship. The documentary work focuses on the status of present-day Villa Baviera. Portraits, daily scenes and landscapes create a deep insight into everyday life. The work seeks to be a analog to the often one-sided reporting about the former Colonia Digindad without blinding the present problems.