Germany and Chile want to commemorate the victims of the former sect settlement Colonia Dignidad in the South American country with a memorial.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Chilean President Gabriel Boric spoke out in favor of this on Sunday evening (local time) after a meeting in Santiago de Chile.

The idea of ​​erecting a memorial on the site almost 400 kilometers south of the Chilean capital "has the support of our government and we will participate accordingly," said Scholz.

Boric thanked the German government for the “willingness to contribute to the search for the truth.

"We fully support that.

The Chilean state fights tirelessly for all truth and justice”.

"The history of Colonia Dignidad is terrible"

The Colonia Dignidad had developed into a place of horror from 1961 years.

At that time, the lay preacher Paul Schäfer had moved from Germany to Chile with his followers and founded the “Colony of Dignity” at the foot of the Andes.

For decades he let the cult members work there without pay, tore families apart and abused children.

During the military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), opponents of the regime were tortured and murdered on the 17,000-hectare site.

"The history of Colonia Dignidad is terrible," said left-wing politician Boric, who was elected Chile's youngest president in December 2021.

With the then 35-year-old politician, a new political generation moved into the presidential palace that no longer consciously experienced the military dictatorship and want to part with its legacy.

Tour of the Museum of the Military Dictatorship at the request of the President

At the request of the head of state, the chancellor's visit to Chile began with a joint tour of the "Museum of Remembrance and Human Rights", which commemorates the military dictatorship under Pinochet.

After their conversation, the two then visited the “White Salon” in the Presidential Palace, where the socialist President Salvador Allende committed suicide on September 11, 1973 when the putschists stormed the palace.

Scholz still has his own memories of the Pinochet dictatorship.

At the end of the 1980s he visited Chile as an official of the International Union of Socialist Youth.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the putsch.

The Colonia Dignidad was placed under receivership by the Chilean government in 2005.

In the meantime, the hotel "Villa Baviera" (Villa Bavaria) is located on the site, in which former members of the sect are still active.

Scholz emphasized that Germany wanted to make its contribution “as a partner” when setting up a memorial.

"We want to be helpful.

We know how sensitive the whole issue is, there are different groups of victims.” The decisions about the memorial would have to be made in Chile.

Raw material partnership agreed

The Chancellor's visit was also about expanding cooperation in the raw materials sector.

A cooperation agreement was signed in the presence of Boric and Scholz.

The German company Aurubis and the Chilean copper group Codelco also agreed to work together to modernize copper production.

The huge deposits of lithium in Chile, which is required for the production of electric cars, are also interesting for Germany.

At the moment, however, China is primarily involved, which has the capacities for further processing.