Klaus Barbie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nikolaus Barbie
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| Born |
Nikolaus Barbie
25 October 1913 |
| Died | 25 September 1991 (aged 77) Lyon, France
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| Other names | "Butcher of Lyon" Klaus Altmann |
| Political party | NSDAP (1937–1945) |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Conviction(s) | Crimes against humanity |
| Criminal penalty | Death; commuted to life imprisonment |
| Career | |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/ |
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| Years of service | 1935–1945 |
| Rank | Hauptsturmführer |
| Unit | Sicherheitsdienst (SD) |
| Spouse(s) |
Regina Margaretta Willms
(m. 1939) |
| Children | 2 |
Nikolaus Barbie (born October 25, 1913 – died September 25, 1991) was a German officer during World War II. He was part of the SS and SD, working in Vichy France. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" because he was the head of the Gestapo in Lyon. He was responsible for the harsh treatment of prisoners, especially Jews and members of the French Resistance.
After the war, intelligence services from the United States used Barbie for his efforts against communism. They even helped him escape to Bolivia. There, he advised the government on how to control people who opposed them. In 1983, the U.S. apologized to France for helping Barbie escape when he was wanted for arrest.
In 1972, it was found that Barbie was living in Bolivia. While there, the West German Intelligence Service also hired him. Barbie is thought to have played a part in a government takeover in Bolivia in 1980. After that government fell, Barbie lost his protection. In 1983, he was arrested and sent to France. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison. He had been sentenced to death twice before, but France had stopped using the death penalty in 1981. Barbie died in prison from cancer in 1991, at 77 years old.
Contents
Early Life and Joining the SS
Nikolaus "Klaus" Barbie was born on October 25, 1913, in Bad Godesberg, which is now part of Bonn, Germany. His family came from Merzig, near the border with France. His father fought in the First World War and was injured.
In 1933, Klaus Barbie faced sadness when his younger brother and then his father passed away. These events changed his plans to study theology or become a scholar. While unemployed, Barbie joined the Reich Labour Service. On September 26, 1935, at age 22, he joined the SS. He started working for the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), which was the intelligence part of the Nazi Party. In May 1937, he officially became a member of the Nazi Party.
Barbie's Role in World War II
After Germany took over the Netherlands, Barbie was sent to Amsterdam. He was part of a department that found and deported Dutch Communists, Jews, and Freemasons. In October 1940, Barbie arrested Hermannus van Tongeren, a leader of the Freemasons. Van Tongeren died in a concentration camp a few weeks later.
In 1942, Barbie was sent to Dijon, France. In November of that year, at 29, he became the head of the local Gestapo in Lyon. He set up his main office at the Hôtel Terminus in Lyon. He was known for his harsh treatment of prisoners there.
Historians believe Barbie was directly responsible for the deaths of up to 14,000 people. He took part in roundups, like the Rue Sainte-Catherine Roundup, where 84 people were arrested in one day. He also arrested Jean Moulin, a very important leader of the French Resistance. For his actions against the French Resistance and capturing Moulin, Adolf Hitler gave him the Iron Cross (First Class) in 1943.
In April 1944, Barbie ordered 44 Jewish children from an orphanage in Izieu to be sent to Auschwitz.
Working for US Intelligence After the War
In 1947, Barbie was hired by the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps (CIC). The U.S. used Barbie and other former Nazi Party members to help fight against communism in Europe. They were interested in what Barbie knew about British questioning methods and other former SS officers. The CIC later housed him in a hotel. He reported on French intelligence activities because the U.S. suspected French groups might be working with the KGB.
A U.S. Department of Justice report in 1983 stated that U.S. government officers protected Barbie. They helped him escape from being arrested by France. Because of this, Klaus Barbie did not face trial in France in 1950. He lived freely for 33 years as someone wanted by the law.
France found out Barbie was with the U.S. They had already sentenced him to death for his actions during the war. They asked the U.S. to hand him over, but the U.S. refused. Instead, the CIC helped him escape to Bolivia. This was done through "ratlines," which were escape routes organized by U.S. intelligence and some religious groups. The CIC said Barbie knew too much about their spy networks. They also worried about embarrassment if it became known they had hired him.
In 1965, Barbie was also hired by the West German foreign intelligence agency, Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). He used the codename "Adler" (Eagle). He sent at least 35 reports to the BND headquarters.
Life in Bolivia
Barbie moved to Bolivia in 1951. He lived there for 30 years in Cochabamba, using the name Klaus Altmann. It was easier for him to find work there than in Europe. He had good relationships with high-ranking Bolivian officials, including leaders like Hugo Banzer. "Altmann" was known for his strong German nationalist and anti-communist views. He even became a lieutenant colonel in the Bolivian Armed Forces while involved in arms trading.
Barbie worked with the government of René Barrientos. He used his knowledge of intelligence and questioning to help the government control groups that opposed them. In 1972, under General Banzer, Barbie helped with illegal arrests, questioning, and even killings of people who disagreed with the government.
Barbie also met with Pablo Escobar and other criminals in the late 1970s. He agreed to provide security for Escobar's operations. In return, Escobar funded Barbie's anti-communist activities. Barbie also arranged a large purchase of tanks from Austria for the Bolivian army. These tanks were later used in a government takeover.
Some reports suggest that after Che Guevara appeared in Bolivia in 1966, Barbie's skills in fighting rebels were needed again. He worked for the Bolivian Interior Ministry as an instructor and advisor to security forces. People who met Barbie in Bolivia said he strongly believed in Nazi ideas and was against Jewish people.
The Search for Barbie
Barbie was identified in Peru in 1971 by Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, who were "Nazi hunters" from France. They found a secret document that showed his fake name. On January 19, 1972, this information was published in a French newspaper.
Beate Klarsfeld, along with French journalist Ladislas de Hoyos, flew to La Paz, Bolivia, in January 1972 to find and interview Barbie. The interview happened on February 3, 1972. During the interview, Ladislas de Hoyos asked Barbie in French if he had ever been to Lyon. Barbie, forgetting his fake identity, automatically replied "no" in German. This interview was shown on French TV. A French Resistance member, Simone Lagrange, recognized him as the person who had treated her harshly in 1944.
Even with global attention, Barbie was able to return to Bolivia. The government refused to send him to France, saying they didn't have an agreement for sending criminals back and forth. Barbie insisted he was Klaus Altmann. However, Jewish people who had survived the war knew he was the war criminal from Lyon.
Arrest, Trial, and Death
In 1983, the new democratic government in Bolivia arrested Barbie. They claimed he owed them money. A few days later, they sent him to France to face trial.
Soon after Barbie was sent to France, it became clear that he had worked for U.S. intelligence. It also seemed that U.S. agents might have helped him escape to Bolivia. The U.S. Justice Department investigated this. They concluded that U.S. government officers were directly responsible for protecting Barbie and helping him escape. The U.S. government then formally apologized to France for allowing Barbie to avoid justice for 33 years.
In 1984, Barbie was charged with crimes he committed as Gestapo chief in Lyon between 1942 and 1944. A main charge was the Rue Sainte-Catherine Roundup. His trial began on May 11, 1987, in Lyon. The court allowed the trial to be filmed because of its historical importance.
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Barbie's defense lawyer, Jacques Vergès, tried to argue that Barbie's actions were no worse than what other countries had done in their colonies. He argued that Barbie was being unfairly singled out. During his trial, Barbie said, "When I stand before the throne of God, I shall be judged innocent." His final statement was: "I did not commit the raid on Izieu. I fought the Résistance and that was the war, and today the war is over. Thank you."
The court did not accept the defense's arguments. On July 4, 1987, Barbie was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in Lyon four years later, at the age of 77.
Family Life
In April 1939, Barbie got engaged to Regina Margaretta Willms. They had two children, a son named Klaus-Georg Altmann and a daughter named Ute Messner.
In 1983, Françoise Croizier, Klaus Barbie's French daughter-in-law, said in an interview that the CIA had taken Klaus-Georg in 1946. She claimed this was to make sure his father carried out intelligence missions for the agency. Croizier met Klaus-Georg when they were students in Paris. They married in 1968 and had three children. They lived in Europe and Bolivia using the last name "Altmann." Klaus-Georg died in a hang-gliding accident in 1981.
See also
In Spanish: Klaus Barbie para niños
- Operation Condor
- Operation Bloodstone
- Glossary of Nazi Germany
- List of Nazi Party leaders and officials
- Alice Vansteenberghe
