Colonia Dignidad

===Nazi ties===
{{Disputed section|date=July 2022}}
The [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and [[Simon Wiesenthal]] claim that [[Josef Mengele]], the infamous Nazi [[concentration camp]] doctor, known as the "Angel of Death" for his lethal [[Nazi human experimentation|experiments on human subjects]] was present at the colony.<ref>Infield, ''Secrets'', p. 207.</ref> The colony itself rejected the accusation when Wiesenthal published it in 1997 in the Chilean press. The German government states that to this date, there is "no evidence to support or invalidate Wiesenthal's claim or the more general allegation that the Colonia Dignidad or its legal successors was a place of refuge for Nazi criminals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Der Bundestag |title=Drucksache 14/7867 |url=https://dserver.bundestag.de/btd/14/078/1407867.pdf |publication-date=2001-12-13}}</ref> 

The Nazi underground in South America was established some time before [[World War II]]. [[Juan Perón]] provided shelter to some escaped Nazi criminals. [[Nazi sympathiser|Nazi sympathy]] in South America decreased until [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]] took power.<ref name=":2" /> It was suggested that part of the intense [[racism]], [[Antisemitism|anti-Semitism]], and [[Class discrimination|classism]] in Chile can be attributed to Nazi presence.{{cn|date=November 2021}}

The high concentration of Germans in Chile shaped the country's overall attitude towards subjects like education and military. A few of the Germans who immigrated to Chile in the 1960s were former Nazis led by Paul Schäfer.<ref name=":3" /> Colonia Dignidad was a “Nazi stronghold protected by the Chilean government[...].”<ref name=":1" /> Former members of the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] and [[Gestapo]] had the job of demonstrating Nazi torture methods to the secret police of Chile. Many of Schäfer's followers who had Nazi pasts joined him to escape post-World War II [[war crime]] investigations.<ref name=":1" /> The presence of Colonia Dignidad had an effect on the general political opinion of the surrounding areas, and the government as well because of this, considering the political ties between Colonia Dignidad and the Chilean government.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Valades |first1=Adriana |last2=Garza Elizondo |first2=Humberto |date=Summer 1992 |title=Las Relaciones Políticas y Culturales Entre Alemania y América Latina |journal=Foro Internacional |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=455–466 |via=JSTOR}}</ref>