Barbie, Klaus

Barbie, Klaus, 1913–91, Nazi war criminal known as the "Butcher of Lyons." As Gestapo chief in Lyons, France (1942–44), he was responsible for the deaths of French Resistance members and thousands of Jews. After the war he secretly served as a U.S. army agent in Germany. In 1951 he fled Europe for Bolivia with U.S. help. Identified by Nazi-hunters in the early 1970s, he was expelled from Bolivia in 1983 after a civilian government came to power. He was tried in France, found guilty of crimes against humanity, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Barbie, Klaus

(born Oct. 25, 1913, Bad Godesberg, Ger.—died Sept. 25, 1991, Lyon, France) Nazi leader. As head of the Gestapo in Lyon, France (1942–44), he pursued members of the French Resistance and promoted the torture and execution of thousands of prisoners. After World War II he was seized by U.S. authorities in Germany, who recruited him for counterintelligence work (1947–51) and then moved him and his family to Bolivia. He lived there as a businessman from 1951 until he was extradited to France in 1983 to stand trial. Throughout his trial “the Butcher of Lyon” remained unrepentant and proud of his service to the Nazis. Held responsible for the death of some 4,000 persons and the deportation of some 7,500 others, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.