The Chilean government’s decision to expropriate Villa Baviera (formerly Colonia Dignidad), the site of systematic torture during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, marks a critical turning point in the country’s efforts to come to terms with the past.[i] Founded in 1961 by Paul Schafer, a German national with a Nazi background, the settlement is remembered not only as the center of a political community, but also as a secret center of torture and ill-treatment used by the Pinochet regime to eliminate dissent. The government’s effort to open the dark pages of the past to the public by building a “memory and education center” on the land in question can be read as a human rights-based reconstruction process.
The Colonia Dignidad was founded in 1961 by a former Nazi paramedic named Paul Schafer in the Maule region of southern Chile.[ii] While fleeing accusations of abuse in Germany, Schafer created a closed commune in Chile, where he exercised total psychological and physical control over its members, most of whom were German.
This closed structure took an even darker turn in 1973 when Pinochet seized power in a military coup. In collaboration with DINA, the Pinochet regime’s secret police, Colonia Dignidad was transformed into a secret detention and ill-treatment center, where hundreds of political prisoners were subjected to physical and psychological torture.[iii] The remoteness, inaccessibility and isolation of the commune made it an ideal place for the mistreatment of dissidents.
According to the Chilean Minister of Justice, Jaime Gajardo, the plan is to expropriate 117 hectares of land and turn it into a site of memory. The government’s aim is to turn it into a place where all Chileans can freely visit, study and learn about what happened. The construction of such a public site of memory not only documents what happened in the past, but also allows society to confront these events and raise awareness to prevent similar things from happening again.[iv]
This move can be seen as part of the Gabriel Boric government’s policy of prioritizing the human rights agenda. Boric’s young and progressive administration aims to ensure that the crimes of the dictatorship are not forgotten and that the voices of all those victimized during this period are heard. In particular, the expiration of Boric’s term in office in March 2026 is one of the reasons for accelerating this expropriation process.
In Colonia Dignidad, both members of the commune under Schafer’s control and political prisoners brought in by the Pinochet regime were victimized. Individuals who grew up in the closed system created by Schafer, mistreated or completely isolated from the outside world, were also subjected to the systematic human rights violations of the dictatorship.
The process of expropriation also poses serious economic and legal challenges. Villa Baviera today has a population of around 100 people, many of whom are descendants of former German settlers. Some of the land in the area is used for tourism activities, including hotels and restaurants. It is still unclear on what criteria the state will expropriate these lands and for what compensation.
Taking into account the concerns of some local residents that “new generations unrelated to the past” will be victimized would be an important approach. However, the real issue here is how to balance individual economic rights with historical responsibility. The right to private property is not an absolute priority when it comes to a site that has become a symbol of human rights violations.
In other places around the world, sites of memory created to confront the past (e.g. Sachsenhausen in Germany or the ESMA Museum in Argentina) have become cornerstones of social consciousness. Chile’s effort to transform Villa Baviera into a site with a similar mission is not only a symbolic step, but also an expression of a moral responsibility towards the future. Such sites not only perpetuate the memory of the victims, but also embody the state’s commitment not to allow similar violations to happen again.
The history of Villa Baviera is not only an internal Chilean affair. This is because the majority of the founders and first inhabitants of the settlement are of German origin, and Paul Schafer fled accusations of abuse in Germany and sought refuge in Chile.[v] This situation also raises Germany’s historical and legal responsibility. In the early 2000s, the German federal government established various compensation mechanisms for victims of Colonia Dignidad, but these measures were limited in scope. Today, Germany could contribute financially to the establishment of this memory site with international support, as well as contribute to the process of justice by supporting the documentation of victims’ testimonies. The future of Villa Baviera is therefore important not only for Chilean society, but also for the international community in terms of confronting the past and collective memory.
The decision to expropriate Villa Baviera is important for making visible the crimes of a totalitarian regime, giving a voice to the victims and breaking the silence to cover up human rights violations. The settlement is remembered both as one of the dictatorship’s secret torture centers and as a witness to the order of psychological and physical oppression established by Schafer. Therefore, the transformation of Villa Baviera into a place of memory is important in terms of recognizing different dimensions of victimization and developing a common understanding of justice. At the same time, it can be said that it means the state taking responsibility for its silence in the past. Although the expropriation process involves technical and social challenges, its success will depend not only on the transformation of the physical space but also on the restoration of social consciousness. The future transformation of Villa Baviera into a site of education and remembrance will also contribute to the vision of a democratic future based on human rights.
[i] Cortes, Nicolas. “Chile’s Government to Expropriate Land Tied to Pinochet‑Era Torture”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chiles-government-expropriate-land-tied-pinochet-era-torture-2025-07-23/, (Date Accessed: 27.07.2025).
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Ibid.
[v] “Nazi Jailed for Abuse of 25 Children in Chilean Colony”, The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nazi-jailed-for-abuse-of-25-children-in-chilean-colony-479763.html, (Date Accessed: 27.07.2025).
