Paul Schäfer
| Paul Schäfer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Paul Schäfer Schneider 4 December 1921 Troisdorf, Germany |
| Died | 24 April 2010 (aged 88) Santiago, Chile |
| Occupation | Medic, leader of Colonia Dignidad |
Paul Schäfer Schneider (4 December 1921 – 24 April 2010) was the founder and former leader of a sect and agricultural commune of German immigrants called Colonia Dignidad ("Dignity Colony")—later renamed Villa Baviera—located in the south of Chile, about 340 km south of Santiago, where many sexual abuses against minors took place. Investigations by Amnesty International and the Chilean National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Report have verified that Colonia Dignidad was used by DINA, the Chilean secret police, as a torture and detention center during Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship.
Schäfer was born in Troisdorf, Germany, and joined the Hitler Youth movement at a young age. He served as a medic in the Wehrmacht during World War II, where he reached the rank of Corporal. Following the war he set up a children's home and Baptist ministry. In 1959, he created the Private Social Mission, purportedly a charitable organization. That same year, he was charged with sexually abusing two children and fled West Germany with some of his followers.
Schäfer followed the teachings of American preacher, William M. Branham, one of the founders of the post World War II healing revival and who also was an influence on Jim Jones. Branham advocated "a strict adherence to the Bible, a woman's duty to obey her husband and apocalyptic visions, such as Los Angeles sinking beneath the ocean."
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