Klaus Schnellenkamp

Klaus Schnellenkamp (born 24 December 1972 in Colonia Dignidad, Chile) is a German Chilean author. Schnellenkamp escaped from Colonia Dignidad community to Germany in December 2005. His book, Geboren im Schatten der Angst; Ich überlebte die Colonia Dignidad. (Born in the shadow of fear; I survived Colonia Dignidad), details his escape and life during the Military dictatorship of Chile.[1]

Klaus Schnellenkamp
Born (1972-12-24) 24 December 1972
Colonia Dignidad, Chile
OccupationAuthor, entrepreneur
Known forEscape from Colonia Dignidad

Life

Schnellenkamp's parents's Kurt Schnellenkamp Nelaimischkies (14 March 1927 - 26 November 2017) and Elisabeth Witthahn Krüger (31 May 1936 - 23 July 2009) were co-founders of Colonia Dignidad. In 1961, they followed the leader Paul Schäfer to Chile in order to establish and grow the colony. Kurt Schnellenkamp is identified as a bodyguard of Adolf Hitler in the documentary Hunting Hitler.

The parent’s vast power led to the paradoxical enrolment of the son in the paramilitary sect school Colonia Dignidad where he first received premilitary drill, presided over by the ‘AAG’ (an unofficial nongovernmental alliance of reciprocity, in German ‘Außerstaatliche Allianz auf Gegenseitigkeit’, dissolved in 2000). Schnellenkamp attended a private elite school within Colonia Dignidad, sponsored by the ChilAlRotary, where he studied natural and social sciences, in cooperation with the alliance known as AAG (a German-Chilean spin-off of the HIAG). This, in combination with his secretly written poems and ballads, led to repeated punishment and social isolation within the community.[2]

After graduation, Schnellenkamp became active in the business management of the Colonia Dignidad. In spite of his very rebellious position towards the leadership, Schnellenkamp managed to develop and strengthen his position within the community. From this position, he was able to gain insight into the group, which presented itself to the outside world as a charitable community. Due to his public criticism of the economic criminal activity, Schnellenkamp became a victim of several murder attempts.

Since December of 2005, Schnellenkamp has been living in Munich. His autobiography, Geboren im Schatten der Angst (Born in the Shadow of the Fear), was published in Spring 2007 and attracted the attention of both the German and Chilean public. Since May 2008, he has been working as an independent entrepreneur in Munich.

Literature

Klaus Schnellenkamp: Geboren im Schatten der Angst: Ich überlebte die Colonia Dignidad. Herbig, München 2007, ISBN 978-3-7766-2505-9.

gollark: I don't really like this rule, seems very triangular.
gollark: `!enable_investing` or whatever.
gollark: Maybe you could make it so that it'll post a comment if someone runs a command on their post?
gollark: I don't think anyone is doing that, but yes, you could.
gollark: ... well, sure?

References
  1. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Two Germans sentenced in Chile for kidnappings under Pinochet dictatorship | DW | 20.10.2015". DW.COM. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  2. "Insight: German sect victims seek escape from Chilean nightmare past". Reuters. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.