Klaus Barbie, otherwise known as "The Butcher of Lyon," was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians during World War II. As a Nazi leader in charge of the Gestapo in Lyon, France from 1942-1944, he rounded up Jews to be deported to the death camps. Under his orders, the Gestapo also tortured and killed thousands of French civilians whom the Nazis believed were aiding in the French Resistance. Among those French citizens tortured to death was the French resistance leader, Jean Moulin.

Nickolaus "Klaus" Barbie was born on October 25, 1913 in Bad Godesberg, a small village near Bonn, Germany. He struggled with his studies at the Friedrich-Wilhelm Institute, and in April of 1933, Barbie joined the Hitler Youth. After graduation, Barbie volunteered for six months at a Nazi Party work camp. It was there that he developed his undying commitment to the Party. In 1935 he joined the...