In the summer of 1993, while other teenagers were making plans for the six-week school holidays, 14-year-old Stefanie Hinrichs sat alone in her bedroom wanting to die. For months her cries for help had gone unnoticed in her deeply religious community where her unravelling depression had been blamed on Satan for trying to tempt her from the 'true' path The Lord had chosen for her.
Disturbingly, the 'true path' involved marrying her paunchy, middle-aged brother-in-law, William Kamm, the bizarre and charismatic leader of a controversial doomsday cult whose disciples were prepping for the end of the world at his fortified compound on the NSW south coast.
For two years, Stefanie's German family had lived a life of piety and prayer in the reclusive Roman Catholic Order of St Charbel outside Nowra, where Kamm - also known as 'Little Pebble' - was revered as a God.
From his "promised land" in Cambewarra, the self-proclaimed prophet had seduced a global following of half a million with his sensational claims that he spoke to God through the Holy Mother, who appeared to him in miraculous monthly apparitions.
Among the many divine directions Mary delivered was the revelation that Kamm, 44, had been chosen to save his flock from the end of the world and lead them into a 'new era' in paradise. But in 1993, Kamm's messages had taken a more sinister turn when he claimed he'd been told to choose 84 "mystical spouses" to bring forth a new race for his new "Garden of Eden".
Twelve members of this mystical harem would be elite "queens" and the remaining 72 would be his "princesses", who had all been selected by God to immaculately conceive his Holy Seed, just as the Virgin Mother had conceived Jesus Christ.
He said their sacrifice would bring them happiness beyond their wildest dreams and God's blessings would rain down on them for eternity.
Esta historia es de la edición March 2023 de Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 2023 de Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
PRETTY WOMAN
Dial up the joy with a mood-boosting self-care session done in the privacy of your own home. It’s a blissful way to banish the winter blues.
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
The unseen Rovals
Candid, behind the scenes and neverbefore-seen images of the royal family have been released for a new exhibition.
Great read
In novels and life - there's power in the words left unsaid.
Winter dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of budget-concious recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the cold weather blues away.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE
Auckland author Sacha Jones reveals how dancing led her to develop an eating disorder and why she's now on a mission to educate other women.
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START
Responsible for keeping the likes of Jane Fonda and Jamie Lee Curtis in shape, Malin Svensson is on a mission to motivate those in midlife to move more.
