The tribute goes back to a decision made by the Chilean Foreign Ministry last year during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the coup. The aim was to honor international solidarity with Chilean refugees during the 17-year military dictatorship. At Freie Universität Berlin, employees of the Institute for Latin American Studies were particularly active in supporting refugees from academia.

The military coup in Chile in 1973 left deep scars in the lives of countless people and still marks a caesura in the country's history today. Many Chileans were forced into exile; around 6,000 Chileans found refuge in Germany, which was divided at the time.