Is Anybody Out There? Learning to love after leaving a cult
Werner and Katharina Schmidtke grew up in a commune in Chile founded by an abusive former Nazi soldier who shut them off from the outside world, but he wouldn鈥檛 keep them forever.
***This programme contains reference to child sexual abuse***
Werner and Katharina Schmidtke met in Chile in the notorious German sect, Colonia Dignidad. Growing up behind a massive guarded fence they wondered what they would find in the world outside - would it be a happier life away from the harsh rules and violence of the cult? Women and men were segregated, but they mixed during orchestra rehearsals.
When the abusive sect leader, Paul Sch盲fer, went on the run from the law, the rules relaxed and relationships were permitted, and it was the 'joyful' flautist Katharina who caught Werner's eye. The couple left Colonia Dignidad and had to make sense of the strange new world beyond the fence together.
Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Louise Morris
Translators: Claas Wuerfel and Florence de Schlichting
(Photo: Werner and Katharina Schmidtke who both played in the orchestra of the secretive German commune Colonia Dignidad; Credit: Werner Schmidtke)
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- Wed 7 Aug 2024 11:06GMT91热爆 World Service
- Wed 7 Aug 2024 17:06GMT91热爆 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Wed 7 Aug 2024 21:06GMT91热爆 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 8 Aug 2024 02:06GMT91热爆 World Service
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