Trying Nazi Crimes in Postwar France: the 1987 Trial of Klaus Barbie for Crimes Against Humanity

Klaus Barbie, known as the “Butcher of Lyon” served as chief of the Nazi Gestapo in Lyon in occupied France from 1942 until 1944. He was responsible for the torture, murder, and deportation of thousands of Jews and Resistance fighters alike. After the war, Barbie worked for American intelligence in Occupied Germany before fleeing to South America in the early 1950s. There he became wealthy and served as a security advisor to right-wing dictators. Discovered there in the 1970s, he was eventually expelled and sent back to France in 1983.

Barbie stood trial in Lyon’s Palace of Justice on charges of crimes against humanity for crimes committed in Occupied Lyon against Resistance fighters and Jews. The trial was a national and international event, attracting hundreds of journalists from around the world. Barbie was found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. Subsequently, the Barbie trial has had a powerful impact on international law where war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide are concerned. The trial stood as a landmark moment in the French nation’s ongoing efforts to come to terms with the so-called “Dark Years” of World War II and Nazi Occupation.

Dr. Richard J. Golsan
Richard J. Golsan has been a Texas &M University faculty member since 1986. He specializes in twentieth Century French literature and culture, the history of fascism, and legal efforts to come to terms with crimes against humanity and genocide. He taught at Case Western Reserve University and Université Paris III—Sorbonne Nouvelle. He has been awarded the Palmes Académiques by the French government and has been named to the Ordina dell Stella Della Solidarieta Italiana by the Italian government. He is a University Distinguished Professor, Senior Scowcroft Fellow, and Director of the France/TAMU Institute, a Centre d’Excellence of the French government.

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