Barbie, responsible for atrocities against Jews and resistance activists in France , was known as the "Butcher of Lyon. In , the death of his father prevented Barbie from attending university in order to study theology. While seeking out a career, the year-old Barbie joined the SS in In his initial post he trained as an interrogator, a role to which he would return later in his career to terrifying effect. Following the capitulation of the Netherlands to the German army in May , Barbie was assigned to intelligence work in Amsterdam.
In , he was reassigned to France, first to Dijon and then to Lyon, which was the center of the French Resistance Movement. In all, it is believed that Barbie was responsible for the execution or murder of over 4, individuals and for the deportation of 7, Jews, most of whom perished in Auschwitz.
Known for his ruthless cruelty, Barbie personally interrogated and tortured his victims from his headquarters in the notorious Hotel Terminus. His most famous victim was the hero of the French resistance, Jean Moulin, whom Barbie personally interrogated on a daily basis for three weeks. Moulin refused to divulge any intelligence to his captors, and died from the effects of his torture near Metz on July 8, , on his way to captivity in Germany.
Their would-be rescuers, Sabine and Miron Zlatin, had hidden the children in a remote farm house in the Rhone Valley. The children ranged in age from 4 to Their Jewish identities were a closely guarded secret, and in official records the young persons were identified only as refugees. Fearing that local authorities might intervene, Barbie arranged for their immediate transfer to Drancy transit camp.
Miron Zlatin and two of the oldest youngsters were ultimately sent to Tallinn, Estonia, where they were shot to death. The rest of the children were deported to Auschwitz , where they were gassed immediately upon arrival. He made his way back into Germany, where he joined the fighting until the war ended. After the war, the French government filed charges against Barbie.
