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The Butcher of Lyon: The Story of Infamous Nazi Klaus Barbie
Describes the oppression and persecution of Jews and French resistance fighters in Lyon by the Gestapo officer, Klaus Barbie
336 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1983
60 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 22, 2022
"They have described Barbie as a monster to cover up the betrayal of French officials during the Second World War... They have turned a thirty-year-old SS captain, who was the age he was then, into the devil, the most symbolic visible part of the German occupation in France." - Vergès
Klaus Barbie was truly a murderous animal who enjoyed torturing his victims in the most gruesome and cruel ways.
He, Barbie, embodies the Nazi prototype that American movies have shown us, cruel and visceral. However, Murphy's book shows us a man not so rooted in the political, traditional or military aspects of the Nazis of the time, rather a man obsessed with destroying his enemy, whether he (or she) is Jewish, French or Communist. This is a book that is written with very good historical data, with testimonies from characters very close to the narration timeline, but sometimes it moves too far from the main character, Klaus Barbie, which confuses and bores the reader a bit.
3.5 for this book
Klaus Barbie was truly a murderous animal who enjoyed torturing his victims in the most gruesome and cruel ways.
He, Barbie, embodies the Nazi prototype that American movies have shown us, cruel and visceral. However, Murphy's book shows us a man not so rooted in the political, traditional or military aspects of the Nazis of the time, rather a man obsessed with destroying his enemy, whether he (or she) is Jewish, French or Communist. This is a book that is written with very good historical data, with testimonies from characters very close to the narration timeline, but sometimes it moves too far from the main character, Klaus Barbie, which confuses and bores the reader a bit.
3.5 for this book
December 3, 2013
This book would have gotten a higher rating based on the the first 2/3 of the narrative......but it fell apart toward the end. It is a multi-layered story. Not only is it about Klaus Barbie, the SS Commander of Lyons, France, during the Nazi Occupation, it also tells the story of the resistance and the traitors/collaborators of Vichy. It is a fascinating story to that point but once the author begins to cover the time, after the war, when Barbie may have been working for the American intelligence service and then escapes to South America when things start to go awry, the book also starts to go awry. It crawls along until Barbie is deported back to France to face a war crimes tribunal.
This book was published in 1983, so the outcome of the trial was at that point unknown. History tells us that Barbie received a life sentence and died in prison in 1991 of natural causes. He would have, of course, gone to the gallows but France had just abolished the death penalty, An interesting but flawed book.
This book was published in 1983, so the outcome of the trial was at that point unknown. History tells us that Barbie received a life sentence and died in prison in 1991 of natural causes. He would have, of course, gone to the gallows but France had just abolished the death penalty, An interesting but flawed book.
September 16, 2017
"Su enjuiciamiento será una amarga victoria, pero en fin de cuentas, una victoria"
El Carnicero de Lyon es una gran investigación periodística, debido a que incorpora diversos testimonios, tanto víctimas de Klaus Barbie como también periodistas internacionales y agencias de seguridad (por ejemplo: la CIA).
El autor refleja su opinión con sutileza, porque prefiere que el contexto sea la única influencia en la conciencia del lector.
No obstante, Brendan Murphy tuvo un grave error: evitó la descripción. Aun cuando las acciones del nazi se revelan con claridad en la mente de cualquier individuo, éste no llega apreciar en totalidad el entorno físico de las locaciones-países o ciudades-, en otras palabras, el lector no utiliza correctamente sus sentidos.
Sin embargo, les recomiendo este libro porque narra la historia de un criminal de guerra, quien se burla de la justicia al ganar muchas batallas, pero que al final, la justicia gana la guerra. Más que una biografía es una novela de no-ficción, porque su objetivo no es contar una vida, es recordar la muerte de cada víctima.
Fabiola Nava
El Carnicero de Lyon es una gran investigación periodística, debido a que incorpora diversos testimonios, tanto víctimas de Klaus Barbie como también periodistas internacionales y agencias de seguridad (por ejemplo: la CIA).
El autor refleja su opinión con sutileza, porque prefiere que el contexto sea la única influencia en la conciencia del lector.
No obstante, Brendan Murphy tuvo un grave error: evitó la descripción. Aun cuando las acciones del nazi se revelan con claridad en la mente de cualquier individuo, éste no llega apreciar en totalidad el entorno físico de las locaciones-países o ciudades-, en otras palabras, el lector no utiliza correctamente sus sentidos.
Sin embargo, les recomiendo este libro porque narra la historia de un criminal de guerra, quien se burla de la justicia al ganar muchas batallas, pero que al final, la justicia gana la guerra. Más que una biografía es una novela de no-ficción, porque su objetivo no es contar una vida, es recordar la muerte de cada víctima.
Fabiola Nava
March 22, 2021
Lo dicho, es una auténtica infamia saber estas historias.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews