Paul Schäfer

Paul Schäfer was the founder and leader of Colonia Dignidad, a German settlement established in Chile in 1961. Under Schäfer's leadership, Colonia Dignidad became notorious for its cult-like practices, forced labor, sexual abuse of children, and collaboration with the Pinochet regime. During the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990), the settlement served as a detention and torture center for political prisoners. Schäfer fled Chile in 1997 after being accused of sexual abuse and was eventually arrested in Argentina in 2005. He was convicted of child sexual abuse and human rights violations and died in prison in 2010. While Schäfer is deceased, he is indirectly newsworthy because the current Chilean government's decision to halt the expropriation of Colonia Dignidad land for a memorial site brings renewed attention to the atrocities committed under his leadership and the ongoing struggle for justice and remembrance for the victims.