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Dr.
Cesar N Caviedes
Christa
Mock
Project
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Christa Mock |
The Murder of a Shadow: The case of Christa Mock More than forty years after her gruesome murder on Longotoma Beach in central Chile, the memory of the German teacher Christa Mock remains shrouded in a veil of conjectures and wrong assumptions. The legends surrounding her personality were woven by various actors involved in this drama, each trying to draw personal benefits from the tragedy rather than to do justice to the victim. On one side stand the development agencies in Germany and Chile that facilitated Christa’s mission which emphasize the religious zeal, the idealism and personal dedication of the victim in order to underscore the value of the voluntaries’ contributions abroad. On the other side lie the interests of a sensationalist press exploiting the story of a naive young woman from Europe who should have known better than to venture alone onto a solitary beach in a foreign country. Compounding these interests are those of the German ambassador in Santiago who saw in this event an opportunity to raise his diplomatic stand in front of the Chilean government and to ingratiate himself with his superiors in Bonn. This ambassador’s obvious longings for popularity become very conspicuous when his public addresses and appearances are reviewed. Inquiries into his past disclose that he had been a functionary in the department of foreign affairs of Nazi Germany in charge of political orthodoxy in Poland and France during the occupation period. |
Amador Brito |
Distraught by the perpetuation of these false assumptions, the author of this book, who had personally known Christa, made a commitment to investigate the archives in the diplomatic services and development agencies as well as arrange meetings with members of her family in Germany in order to draw an accurate picture of her character and purposes in life. He established that, contrary to the notions disseminated by the agencies and the German ambassador to Chile, Christa was not of humble provenance but came from a landed family who supported her decision to pursue a higher degree in rural education. Having strong Christian principles the parents accepted the tragic loss of their daughter and put no blame on the agencies. In fact, they even donated a considerable fund for the construction of a school for rural young women in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the country, in Nogales, that bears her name. As to the murderer, the information about him was even more sketchy and inaccurate. In the newspapers he was portrayed as an individual given to violent outbursts and with a long criminal record. He was said to be mentally impaired when, in reality, he had only a speech impediment but was very much aware of his actions and the consequences. He was condemned to death in 1964, but a year later the sentence was commuted to life in prison. In 1985 he was released and returned to his former wayward life. Early in 1986 he was stabbed to death in a drunken brawl. Details about his criminal career were extracted from the transcripts of his trial, from police reports, and from newspapers of the time. The book closes with a sort of epilogue that offers an overview about the different ways in which Christa Mock is remembered and revered in her birth country as well in the country where she perished. In Chile, there is not only the school, but also a humble shrine erected at the site of the crime by the peasants of Longotoma that keep her memory alive. Moreover, in popular folklore there is a tale about a spirit who still roams the beach of Longotoma, and also one about a perennial spring flowing not far from where her body was found. In Germany, Christa continues to be remembered in her native town and her family treasures a large number of documents and personal memorabilia as testimony of her existence. Still, the memory of Christa Mock is more patent in Chile -- although she spent in that country less than five months of her truncated life – where her modest and unassuming personality has been outgrown by the significance of the works erected in her honor. |
El Asesinato de una Sombra: El caso de Christa Mock Después de más de cuarenta años de su cruel homicidio, la memoria que se tiene en Chile de Christa Mock, la maestra alemana violada y asesinada en Noviembre de 1963 por un mariscador en la playa Hualquén de Longotoma, todavía permanece envuelta en una bruma de presunciones y percepciones erradas. La leyenda creada en torno a su personalidad fue tejida por diversos actores implicados en el drama cuyas motivaciones parecen haber sido orientadas más bien a obtener beneficios personales antes que a resaltar los atributos de la víctima. Por una parte se hallan las agencias de desarrollo que auspiciaron el viaje de Christa a Chile, las cuales destacan el idealismo, la abnegación, y la religiosidad de la maestra, para enaltecer así las cualidades de los voluntarios que se enrolaban para servir en el extranjero. Por otra parte, está el interés de la prensa sensacionalista en explotar la historia de una joven europea y desinhibida cuya exposición indebida en una playa solitaria precipitó el acto vejador. El crimen ofreció además una excelente oportunidad al embajador de Alemania para sobrevalorar sus actuaciones diplomáticas ante el gobierno chileno y engraciarse con sus superiores en Bonn. Observado en un contexto histórico, esta búsqueda de popularidad llama bastante la atención. Tras algunas indagaciones acerca de su pasado, se descubre que el embajador había sido un activo funcionario del servicio exterior durante el Nazismo, y que en tal capacidad, había sido un experto en el manejo de la información y de la opinión pública.
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Ambassador Hans Strack |
Del causante de la tragedia se sabe todavía menos que de la víctima. Al delincuente lo presentan los periódicos y los documentos legales como a un débil mental, con dificultades de comunicación, dado a arranques de violencia, y provisto de un nutrido prontuario criminal. Los agravantes del asalto resultaron en una condena a la pena capital en el proceso de 1964. Sin embargo, un año más tarde el presidente Eduardo Frei le conmutó la sentencia por una a prisión perpetua. Aparentemente, la indignación popular al conocerse los detalles del crimen, y los antecedentes delictuales del hechor parecen haber sido olvidados muy prontamente. En Noviembre de 1986, en una página interior de un periódico de Valparaíso, se publicó una corta noticia relatando la muerte a cuchilladas de un tal Amador Brito Gallardo en una fonda de La Calera. ¿Qué sucedió con Brito en los años que mediaron entre la conmutación de su condena a la pena capital y su salida de la cárcel? ¿Cómo pudo la justicia chilena haber dejado en libertad a un criminal prontuariado quien veinticinco años antes había sido condenado a muerte por la crueldad con que había consumado un crimen hacia una mujer indefensa? |
The Mocks in April 1963: last family photo |