Kinderhilfe Chile Hamburg e.V.

Kinderhilfe Chile Hamburg e.V. was a non-profit organization founded in 1975 and dissolved in 2021. The catalyst for its creation was the arrival of Helmut Frenz, a Lutheran bishop in Chile, who had been denied re-entry to Chile by the military junta that came to power in 1973 through the coup against the Allende government. Kinderhilfe Chile Hamburg was one of numerous local groups belonging to Kinderhilfe Chile, a nationwide, non-partisan organization providing practical solidarity with the children and families of Chileans who were oppressed and persecuted for their opinions that deviated from the military junta's ruling system.

Materials from an exhibition created by Anna Petersen for Kinderhilfe Chile Hamburg e.V. in 2013 to mark the 40th anniversary of the dictatorship:

• 26 arpilleras (textile wall hangings made from fabric remnants with three-dimensional motifs). Arpilleras emerged during the military dictatorship as a means of political resistance. The wives of those who had been imprisoned, murdered, or disappeared tried to express their despair and grief in the arpilleras in order to come to terms with their experiences and gain new courage. The arpilleras were obtained by Kinderhilfe Hamburg through clandestine channels from Santiago.
• Texts and documentation from the 2013 exhibition “The Other September 11: Military Coup in Chile.”
• A large-format banner created on burlap in Hamburg by the Brigada Allende under Boris Eichin to show the public how a mural is created. During the dictatorship, such paintings were secretly created on masonry in an organized, rapid process by an opposition group.
• Approximately 60 black-and-white photographs with motifs from Chile during the dictatorship.
• Posters and other materials documenting the work of Kinderhilfe Chile Hamburg.
   

Provenance: Donated to the IAI by Anna Petersen in September 2025.

Keywords: Chile, dictatorship, children, resistance, solidarity