The Schutzstaffel (SS): Waffen-SS, Gestapo & Einsatzgruppen
Nazi Gestapo Chief Known as the Butcher of Lyon: Klaus Barbie
15m
Klaus Barbie became one of the most notorious Nazi war criminals in occupied France. As Gestapo chief in Lyon, he earned the name “Butcher of Lyon” for his brutal persecution and torture of members of the French Resistance and the deportation of thousands of Jews.
Among his victims was legendary Resistance leader Jean Moulin, who was tortured after his capture in 1943. Barbie was also responsible for the 1944 raid on the Jewish children’s home at Izieu, where 44 children and seven adults were arrested. Most were later murdered in Auschwitz.
After the Second World War, Barbie escaped Europe and built a new life in Bolivia under the name Klaus Altmann. For decades, the Butcher of Lyon avoided justice—but eventually, he was forced to answer for his crimes.
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