Hunting Down Klaus Barbie

SYNOPSIS

Historical archives shed light on the history of Klaus Barbie, head of the Gestapo in Lyon in 1943-44, and reveal the scandalous protections the German and American secret services provided him with.
Klaus Barbie caused more than 7,500 Jews to be sent to the gas chambers. He is also held responsible for the torture or deportation of 14,000 French Resistance fighters including Jean Moulin, their leader. His exceptionally well organised escape to Latin America was greatly facilitated by the cynical alliances forged during the Cold War. Recruited as an U.S.intelligence agent, Barbie took part - along with former Nazis - in arms trafficking and torture on behalf of Latin American dictators. Not only was Barbie involved in the hunt for Che Guevara, he also collaborated with German intelligence, and organised coups d'Etats financed by drug lords. Although he was eventually located in Bolivia by Beate and Serge Klarsfeld in 1971, he was only extradited to France ten years later. At the end of his trial held in Lyon, Barbie was sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment on 17 counts of crimes against humanity. He died in prison shortly after his incarceration.
Thanks to the unprecedented work of German historian Peter Hammerschmidt, the film uses exclusive archives.