Klaus Barbie

(1913-1991)

German SS officer, head of the Gestapo in Lyon and convicted war criminal

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Nikolaus Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German officer of the Schutzstaffel and Sicherheitsdienst who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortured prisoners—primarily Jews and members of the French Resistance—as the head of the Gestapo in Lyon. After the war, United States intelligence services employed him for his anti-communist efforts and aided his escape to Bolivia, where he advised the dictatorial regime on how to repress opposition through torture. In 1983, the United States apologised to France for the U.S. Counterintelligence Corps helping him escape to Bolivia, aiding Barbie's escape from an outstanding arrest warrant.