Klaus Barbie was a German SS officer during World War II, known for his role as the head of the Gestapo in Lyon, France. He was involved in the torture and deportation of numerous resistance members and Jews, earning him the nickname "Butcher of Lyon." After the war, he escaped to South America, where he lived under various aliases. In the 1980s, Barbie was extradited to France to stand trial for crimes against humanity. His trial brought attention to the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and the post-war efforts to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. Barbie was convicted in 1987 and died in prison in 1991.