Season 1 (2020)
Release date: 2020-03-10
Directors: Kai Christiansen, Heike Bittner, Wilfried Huismann, Annette Baumeister
Writers: Annette Baumeister, Wilfried Huismann
Episodes (4):
1. In Paradise
Self-proclaimed preacher, Paul Schäfer from Bonn, emigrates with his community to Chile in 1961. About 350 kilometres south of Santiago, far away from all civilization, they found Colonia Dignidad, the "colony of dignity". In the middle of untouched wilderness, they build an ideal German village with workshops, agriculture, cattle breeding and a hospital for the suffering Chilean population. A model of solidarity and sincerity, it seems. Paul Schäfer, however, is pursuing his own agenda.
Release date: 2020-03-10
2. Long Shadows
300 Germans in Chile, right at the end of the world, have dedicated their lives to the service of God and the poor. Their religious leader, Paul Schäfer, has what he always dreamed of: his own kingdom, sealed off from the outside world.
Release date: 2020-03-10
3. Looking into the Abyss
There is great relief among German sect members about the military coup in September 1973. Paul Schäfer is serving the new rulers: From now on, secret police chief Manuel Contreras and dictator Augusto Pinochet come and go from the colony.
Release date: 2020-03-10
4. Into the Light
Sect leader Paul Schäfer expands his empire and creates a human shield to defend the colony against hostilities. Now he opens up the otherwise very isolated Colonia Dignidad to the Chilean population and also assaults Chilean boys. Unlike the German victims, the Chilean boys confide in their parents. They are shocked and take action. More than 30 years after Schäfer's entry into Chile, the Chilean police start investigations - Schäfer's abuse comes to light.
Release date: 2020-03-10
Rest of the cast - click here to expand
Edeltraud Bohnau - Herself - Interviewee, Willi Malessa - Himself - Interviewee, Wolfgang Kneese - Himself - Interviewee, Erika Tymm - Herself - Interviewee, Günter Schaffrik - Himself - Interviewee, Karl Van Den Berg - Himself - Interviewee, Robert Matthusen - Himself - Interviewee, Esther Müller - Herself - Interviewee, Martin Matthusen - Himself - Interviewee, Anne Schnellenkamp - Herself - Interviewee, Brigitte Baak - Herself - Interviewee, Kurt Schnellenkamp - Himself - Interviewee, Jürgen Szurgelies - Himself - Interviewee, Georg Laube - Himself - Interviewee, Luis Peebles - Himself - Interviewee, Salo Luna - Himself - Interviewee, Roberto Thieme - Himself - Interviewee, Alfred Gerlach - Himself - Interviewee, Luis Henríquez - Himself - Interviewee, Adriana Bórquez - Herself - Interviewee, Jaime Parra - Himself - Interviewee, Samuel Fuenzalida - Himself - Interviewee, Ida Gatz - Herself - Interviewee, Adrian Bravo - Himself - Interviewee
Crew - click here to expand
Melanie Braun - Production Manager, Barbara Schmitz - Commissioning Editor, Richard Krause - Editor, Danjela Brückner - Archival Footage Research, Daniela Bunster - Associate Producer, Rainer Hirsch - Sound, Gunnar Dedio - Executive Producer, Ulrich Stein - Editor, Ulrike Becker - Commissioning Editor, Hans Bauer - Sound, Zora Butzke - Sound, Christiane Hinz - Commissioning Editor, Manuela Piña Lawner - Archival Footage Research, Holger Koop - Production Manager, Jorge Bogalho - Production Manager, Céline Zimmerer - Archival Footage Research, Claudia Hentze - Archival Footage Research, Kai Christiansen - Director, Annette Baumeister - Writer, Tobias Fritzsch - Sound Re-Recording Mixer, Wilfried Huismann - Writer, Hans-Peter Ströer - Original Music Composer, Michael Dreyer - Director of Photography, Erik Schimschar - Director of Photography, Heike Bittner - Director, Birgit Rasch - Supervising Producer, Wilfried Huismann - Director, Annette Baumeister - Director, Cristian Leighton - Idea, Johannes Straub - Director of Photography, Marion Pohlschmidt - Editor