Today's case of real life imitating the Gothic concerns Colonia Dignidad, "a secretive, apocalyptic religious cult" (NYT), founded in Chile by ex-Nazis. Colonia is quite the mix, something right out of modern Gothic, or William S. Burroughs.
Founded in 1961 by a Luftwaffe medic, who fled postwar Germany on accusations of serial child molestation, Colonia featured secrecy, isolation, a compound, cult-like organization, hard agricultural work, segregation by sex, a mysterious leader (titled "Perpetual Uncle"), and lots of weapons. A powerplant and airport complete the James Bond villain picture. There are also accusations of harboring Nazis.
Isolation and weapons proved useful to some Chileans in the 1970s. During Pinochet's dictatorship, DINA used Colonia as a detention, torture, and execution center, not unlike Villa Grimaldi.
Colonia drew unwanted outside attention starting in the 1980s, when an American professor disappeared nearby.
Now it's called Villa Baviera, "Bavarian Village."
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