The Dark Truth About The Nazi Sect Established In Chile

Nazism is a disease that humanity has yet to squash, and even after their defeat in World War II, many Nazis were able to escape to the Americas, away from justice for the crimes they committed before and during the war. While some kept a low profile and faded away into obscurity, others took a more bold approach. According to BBC, one escaped Nazi founded a commune in the '60s in Chile, where the atrocities of the fallen political party continued.

Paul Schafer founded the Colonia Dignidad, over 200 miles outside of Chile's capital Santiago, in 1961. It was made to resemble a simple Bavarian village but housed a secretive cult and eventually functioned as a detention center for the opponents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The commune had Germans and Chileans living as virtual slaves for Schafer, who kept them on the premises with vicious dogs and regularly separated children from their families so he could sexually abuse them. Colonia Dignidad also had an underground tunnel system, where Pinochet sent people to be tortured and eventually "disappeared."

According to The Guardian, the site of Colonia Dignidad is now a resort named Villa Baviera, but the grounds still hold a dark, deadly secret. Over 300 political dissenters were sent to the commune throughout the '70s, and around 100 are suspected of being murdered. Relatives of the site's victims hope that a search for buried remains will provide closure and answers to the atrocities that went on within the barbed wire fences of Colonia Dignidad.

Not every body will be able to be recovered. In 1978, the secret police began to destroy evidence, digging up around 40 bodies and chemically burning them. But while it was thought that there was no hope of acquiring new evidence, testimonies revealed that one grave had been left intact. Schafer was arrested in 2005 and died five years later in a prison hospital, yet other employees of the commune have been able to escape due to a lack of evidence. Now it's possible that the crimes of the Colonia will come to light.