Klaus Barbie – the butcher of lyon

Nikolaus “Klaus” Barbie (born on 25.10.1913, deceased on 25.09.1991) – also known as the “Butcher of Lyon”, head of the Gestapo in Lyon and officer in the SS-Hauptsturmführer rank, responsible for deportation of 7,500 Jews to extermination camps and directly responsible for about 4,300 deaths.

After the occupation of France by German troops in 1940, he was entrusted with the leadership of the fourth section of the Gestapo in the Sipo-SD commandant, Rhône-Alpes region. As the head of the Gestapo in the local SD cell, Barbie was responsible for fighting the Resistance, counterintelligence, the Holocaust, counterfeiting and intelligence archives. As Fritz Hollert’s deputy, he was the second most important SD officer in occupied Lyon.

Klaus Barbie was directly responsible for deporting 7,500 Jews to the extermination camp. He was known for effectively suppressing resistance. It is estimated that he is directly responsible for the deaths of around 4,300 people. In the first half of 1944, he participated in anti-partisan activities in Jura and in other parts of the region.

After the war, paradoxically, he was employed and protected by the British and the Americans. He worked in intelligence, dealing with the fight against the left opposition to the occupation of Germany by the Western Allies. In 1955, he ended the cooperation with the Allies, received a new identity and, with his family, emigrated to Argentina and then to Bolivia.

In 1971, he was hunted down and recognized by hunters of Nazi war criminals, Serge and Beate Klarsfeld. Unfortunately, it took some time before the newly appointed Bolivian government agreed to arrest and extradite Barbie to France in 1983. He was charged with crimes against humanity. On July 4, 1987, he was sentenced to life imprisonment (maximum sentence). Klaus Barbie died in prison in 1991 due to leukemia.

I recommend the following books:

Henryk Kawka “Klaus Barbie – the Butcher of Lyon”
Andrew Nagorski “The Nazi Hunters”