Klaus Barbie posing with the other OKW officers.

Klaus Barbie (October 25, 1913 – September 25, 1991) was an SS-Hauptsturmführer, soldier and Gestapo member. He was known as the Butcher of Lyon. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Oberkommando der Wehrmacht OKW most notably stands for Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - the high Command of the Third Reich armed forces. ... is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ... SS redirects here. ... Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945. ... This article is about a military rank. ... The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei: “secret state police”) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ...

Early life

Klaus Barbie was born in Bad Godesberg, near Bonn, Germany. Barbie was born to a Roman Catholic family. His parents were both teachers. Until 1923 he went to the school where his father taught. Afterward, he attended a boarding school in Trier. In 1925, his whole family moved to Trier. In 1933, Barbie’s father and brother both died. The death of his hard-drinking and abusive father derailed plans for young Barbie to study theology or otherwise become an academic, as his peers had expected. While unemployed, Barbie was drafted into the Nazi labor service (Reichsarbeitsdienst)membership was compulsory for all young German men and women. Location of Bad Godesberg in Bonn Bad Godesberg became a municipal district of Bonn in 1969. ... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Trier (French: ; Luxembourgish Tréier) is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. ... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... The Reichsarbeitsdienst (or RAD, Reich Labour Service) was an Auxiliary formation which provided support for the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. ...

In September 1935, he joined the SD or Sicherheitsdienst (security service), a special branch of the SS. The SD was a branch of the SS and the intelligence gathering arm of the NSDAP(Nazi party). Soon he was sent to serve in the Netherlands. In 1942, he was sent to Dijon and in November of the same year he was sent to Lyon, where he became the head of the local Gestapo. Sicherheitsdienst (SD) sleeve insignia. ... SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... This article is about the French city. ...

War crimes

He first set up camp at Hôtel Terminus. It was his time as head of the Gestapo of Lyon that earned him the name Butcher of Lyon. He personally tortured prisoners and is blamed for the deaths of 4,000 people.^[1] He is best known primarily for one of his "cases", the arrest and torture of Jean Moulin, one of the highest-ranking members of the French Resistance. In April 1944, Barbie ordered the deportation to Auschwitz of a group of 44 Jewish children from an orphanage at Izieu. For other uses, see Torture (disambiguation). ... Jean Moulins most famous depiction Jean Moulin (June 20, 1899–July 8, 1943) was a high-profile member of the French Resistance during World War II. He is remembered today as an emblem of the Resistance primarily due to his courage and death at the hands of the Germans. ... The Croix de Lorraine, the symbol of the resistance chosen by de Gaulle French Resistance is the name used for resistance movements during World War II which fought the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy regime. ... Deportation is the expelling of someone from a country. ... Auschwitz, in English, commonly refers to the Auschwitz concentration camp complex built near the town of Oświęcim, by Nazi Germany during World War II. Rarely, it may refer to the Polish town of Oświęcim (called by the Germans Auschwitz) itself. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Izieu is a village and commune in the Ain département in central-eastern France on the Rhône River, located between the cities of Lyon and Chambery. ...

In 1947, Barbie became an agent for the 66th Detachment of the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC).^[2] In 1951, he fled to Juan Peron's Argentina with the help of a ratline organized by the Ustashi Roman Catholic priest Krunoslav Draganović. Asked by Barbie why he was going out of his way to help him escape, Draganovic responded, "We have to maintain a sort of moral reserve on which we can draw in the future."^[3] He then emigrated to Bolivia, where he lived under the alias Klaus Altmann. Testimony of Italian insurgent Stefano Delle Chiaie before the Italian Parliamentary Commission on Terrorism suggests that Barbie took part in the "Cocaine Coup" of Luis García Meza Tejada, when the regime forced its way to power in Bolivia in 1980.^[4] The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The History of the Counter Intelligence Corps was a classified 30 volume book prepared in the late 1950s by Maj. ... Juan Domingo Perón (October 8, 1895 – July 1, 1974) was an Argentine military officer and the President of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1974. ... Ratlines were systems of escape routes for Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe at the end of World War II. These escape routes mainly led toward safe havens in South America, particularly Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Chile. ... An UstaÅ¡e guard pose among the bodies of prisoners murdered in the Jasenovac concentration camp The UstaÅ¡e (also known as Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian extreme nationalist movement. ... Krunoslav Draganović (?–1983) was a Croatian Catholic priest known as one of the main organisers of the ratlines which aided the escape of wanted fascist war criminals from Europe after World War Two. ... Stefano Delle Chiaie (born 1934) was a figure on the far right of Italian politics who went on to become a wanted man worldwide. ... Luis García Meza Tejada (b. ...

While in Bolivia, Barbie managed a company that diverted Belgian and Swiss arms to Israel while Israel was still under a post-1967 war international arms embargo. "A report in the Israeli press alleges that Barbie also had frequent dealings with Israel concerning supplies of Israeli arms to Latin American countries and 'various underground organizations'" ^[5]

Trial

Barbie was identified in Bolivia as early as 1971 by the Klarsfelds (Nazi hunters), but it was only on January 19, 1983, that the newly-elected government of Hernán Siles Zuazo arrested and extradited him to France. Serge (born September 17, 1935) and Beate (born February 13, 1939) Klarsfeld are called Nazi hunters for bringing Klaus Barbie and others to justice. ... is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... Hernán Siles Zuazo (1914-1996) was a politician from Bolivia. ...

In 1984, Barbie was put on trial for crimes committed while he was in charge of the Gestapo in Lyon between 1942 and 1944. At the trial Barbie received support not only from Nazi apologists like François Genoud, but also from leftist lawyer Jacques Vergès. He had a reputation for attacking the French political system, particularly in French colonial territories. Vergès' strategy at the trial was to use the trial to expose war crimes committed by France since 1945. Indeed, many of the charges against Barbie were dropped, thanks to legislation that had protected people accused of crimes under the Vichy regime and in French Algeria. The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei: “secret state police”) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ... This article is about the French city. ... François Genoud (b. ... Jacques Vergès (born March 5, 1925) is a French lawyer and former Free French Forces guerrilla noted for defending unpopular figures. ... Vichy France (French: now called Régime de Vichy or Vichy; called itself at the time État Français, or French State) was the French state of 1940-1944 which was a puppet government under Nazi influence, as opposed to the Free French Forces, based first in London and later in Algiers. ...

His trial started on May 11, 1987, in Lyon — a jury trial before the Rhône Cour d'assises. In a rare move, the court allowed the trial to be filmed because of its historical value. The lead defense attorney was Jacques Vergès, who argued that Barbie's actions were no worse than the ordinary actions of colonialists worldwide, and that his trial was selective prosecution. The head prosecutor was Pierre Truche. During his trial, Klaus famously stated that: "When I stand before the throne of God I shall be judged innocent", indicating that he truly believed his actions were justified. is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... This article is about the French city. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Jury. ... The French Cour dAssises (Assize Court) is the court charged to judge people accused of felonies (crimes as known by French law), and one of the only to be composed of a popular jury. ... Jacques Vergès (born March 5, 1925) is a French lawyer and former Free French Forces guerrilla noted for defending unpopular figures. ... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ...

On July 4, 1987, Barbie was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity, and died in prison of leukemia four years later, at the age of 77. is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, nominally for the entire remaining life of the prisoner, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually 50 years) a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the... This article is in need of attention. ... Leukemia or leukaemia (Greek leukos λευκός, white; aima αίμα, blood) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ...

References

This article is about the year. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Mark Falcoff is an American scholar and policy consultant who has worked with a number of important think tanks, such as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), the Hoover Institution, and the Council on Foreign Relations. ... This article is about the concept of time. ... Stefano Delle Chiaie (born 1934) was a figure on the far right of Italian politics who went on to become a wanted man worldwide. ... Giovanni Pellegrino (June 4, 1939, Lecce-) is the president of the Lecce Province in Italy. ... Magnus Linklater is a Scottish journalist and former newspaper editor. ... Isabel Hilton (born Aberdeen, 1949) is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster based in London. ... Charles Neal Ascherson, commonly known as Neal Ascherson (born October 5, 1931), is a Scottish journalist. ... This article is about the year. ... Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hodder Headline. ...

Further reading

• ISBN 3-88395-431-4 > Barbie (SS, Lyon), p. 453 Fn, O&W ed. 110 case No. 77, Fn 908 KsD Lyon IV-B (gez. Ostubaf. Barbie) an BdS, Paris IV-B, 6. April 1944, RF-1235

• ISBN 10-18620-75522 > GONI, Uki: "The Real Odessa: How Peron Brought the Nazi War Criminals to Argentina". Granta Books; Reprint edition(September 2003). There is a chapter in this book also, it follows the path of how top Nazis made their way to Argentina and Latin America.

• Tom Bower (1984). Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyons. New York: Pantheon. 

External links

• Website about the trial of Klaus Barbie

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Klaus Barbie

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ...