The Survivors, Colonia Dignidad ONLINE ANSCHAUEN: STREAMEN, LEIHEN ODER KAUFEN

The Survivors, Colonia Dignidad - The Survivors, Colonia Dignidad – Season 1 - Inhaltsangabe:

The case of Colonia Dignidad is unique in the world. The word “cult” does not quite cover the horrors that took place there for over 40 years. Its links with Pinochet's dictatorship and power were instrumental to keeping most of its story hidden behind the scandal of the numerous child abuse crimes committed by its leader, Paul Schäfer. But there is so much more to Colonia Dignidad. From its beginnings, it was one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Latin America. Schäfer built an evil empire based on the abuse and exploitation of the members of its congregation, who went through unspeakable physical, psychological, and spiritual torture. A criminal cult that survived through its links with power and became an accomplice of Pinochet's secret police, it took part in the disappearance, torture, and extermination of the regime's opponents. Years later, it would come crumbling when it was no longer possible to hide the great numbers of child victims from some of the most vulnerable families in the region. To this day, the law remains indifferent to the multiple crimes committed, and there is little empathy toward the victims. For the settlers, it has been hard to live in the real world after having spent four decades locked up, believing that their leader spoke the only truth and that his words were the words of an agent of God. For the families of detained and missing people, it has been impossible to find any truth, justice, or reparation. The Chilean child victims have been abandoned to their fate. This documentary series is the story of the horror the Survivors went through, which was well known by two governments. The Survivors tell us about their experiences, what they fight for and how they intend to move on in spite of it all.

The Survivors, Colonia Dignidad - All Round - Inhaltsangabe:

Jürgen Szurgelies is a different kind of Survivor. Despite having grown up with abuse and regular beatings, he now chooses to live in Villa Baviera. Working at the tourist center is his way of remaining connected with the world. Winfried Hempel tells us his personal story in Colonia Dignidad, which took place around the time when law enforcement entered Colonia Dignidad in search of Schäfer, who had just been accused of child abuse. The police and children's rights advocates explain the baffling situation they stumbled upon after entering the enclave, which at the time had managed to remain isolated for 30 years from the world. A complex security and surveillance system was implemented not only to avoid potential invasions, but also to prevent escapes. This impenetrable territory spanning 17,000 hectares was used by DINA – Pinochet's secret service – to kidnap, torture, and execute people. Colonia Dignidad and its connections with the dictatorship made it the center of political and commercial dealings. Its role in repression, as well as its weapons manufacturing and trafficking activities, would tie the colony to Pinochet and the Chilean far-right for many years. But apparently, many settlers were unaware of most of what was happening. Each one of them carries but a part of this story, one that shook the entire nation and the world in the middle of the Cold War.

The Survivors, Colonia Dignidad - Schäfer's Portrait - Inhaltsangabe:

In March 2020, in Santiago, Chileans who had been abused by Paul Schäfer as children gave a deposition before the Human Rights Commission. In the last 23 years, they had gone through episodes of re-traumatization as a result of having been neglected by the state, and after endless legal battles, they shared their accounts with the former colony's lawyers. The Survivors from the Youth of the Permanent Vigil reminisce about their traumatizing experiences. With the arrival of democracy, Schäfer was afraid of facing trial. In order to avoid it, he used his charity work and the Chilean locals as a protective shield. He staged a media circus to gain the local people's sympathy, then crafted the notion of an evil Chilean state that harassed him with no legal basis in an act of ideological retaliation. Fearing the imminent loss of the hospital, Schäfer built a true defense task force. The settlers were forced to take part in this circus without knowing that Schäfer had started abusing the students at the Permanent Boarding School, the children of patients and vulnerable families from the region. But charity wasn't merely a facade. For the first enslaved generation who had survived the war, personal suffering was endured in the name of the most vulnerable and in the pursuit of being closer to God. How was it that they never realized what was going on? Is there a way to reconcile the different generations of settlers? Those who built Paradise and those who just wanted to escape from Hell?

The Survivors, Colonia Dignidad - The Far West - Inhaltsangabe:

How could something like this have gone on for so long? The exchange of favors, diplomacy and the use of personal information granted the colony total impunity. Schäfer had found a way to secure the support of key players in Chilean society: a network of protection that spanned several presidential mandates since his arrival in Chile. After the first leaked reports of crimes within the colony, there were opportunities to investigate and serve justice. What happened to those who tried to uphold the law? What happened to those who never administered justice despite having the power to do so? The Survivors tell us what they know and reveal how bereft they became after decades of government inaction, media cover-ups, and the influence of the colony's network of connections. However, when justice finally entered Colonia Dignidad to capture its leader, it resulted in a clash with the settlers who still believed in their pastor's innocence and were willing to give their lives for him.

The Survivors, Colonia Dignidad - The Settlers and the Colony - Inhaltsangabe:

Schäfer has left Colonia Dignidad. A power struggle for control in the villa ensues. Meanwhile, the settlers begin to understand that the world is not as Schäfer described it. For the first time in their lives, they experience a sense of freedom, which takes them by surprise. The settlers learn overnight to live as adults. Their hopes for a family and the desire to live their lives are not compatible with the system of repression that still lingers in the community. The colony breaks apart, many settlers leave, never to return, and others reinvent Villa Baviera as their home. The Charitable Society becomes a holding company while the rest of the settlers struggle to survive. Justice progresses as the higher-ups who fought to succeed Schäfer are issued sentences and flee to Germany to avoid prison. A new chapter in the colony's history begins, one of survival and reparation. The land becomes a vital and troubled space for the Survivors. Some kinds of damage can never be repaired. The conflicts of interest and the lack of political resolution make this a story of heart-wrenching injustice. The Survivors appeal for help from the Chilean and German governments to find out the truth and to build a dignified life and possibly a future in which they do not solely have to rely on their own resilience to finally move on.