A Sinister Sect: Colonia Dignidad poster

A Sinister Sect: Colonia Dignidad (2020)

Documentary · History

The self-proclaimed preacher Paul Schäfer gathered people around him in post-war Germany. The sect founded a youth home near Cologne. But in 1961 Schäfer had to flee. Many followers followed him to Chile. 350 kilometers south of Santiago, far away from civilization, they begin building the Colonia Dignidad. A supposed model village with workshops, agriculture, livestock breeding was being created. But paradise became hell because slave labor, violence and sexual abuse soon became a part of everyday life. After the military coup in 1973, Schäfer served the new rulers: secret police chief Manuel Contreras and dictator Augusto Pinochet now came and went in the colony, while the opponents of the terrorist regime are tortured and killed in the cellars. Using unpublished archive material and contemporary witness statements, this 4-part documentary miniseries traces the complex, 50-year history of perpetrators, victims, supporters and opponents of this place that became the epitome of evil.

IMDb rating
7.6 (449 votes)
Seasons
1
Language
DE
Type
Mini-series

Ratings refreshed Jul 3, 2026 · 1 season indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (2020)

7.85 avg 4 episodes 7.3 → 8.3 52 min avg

Ep 1: 7.3 · 21 votesEp 2: 7.9 · 20 votesEp 3: 7.9 · 20 votesEp 4: 8.3 · 20 votes
Season 1 episodes — IMDb ratings
#TitleRatingVotes
1Im Paradies7.321
2Lange Schatten7.920
3Blick in den Abgrund7.920
4Ans Licht8.320