Justice in Lyon : Klaus Barbie and France's first trial for crimes against humanity

Author / Creator

Golsan, Richard Joseph, 1952- author

Available as

Online

Summary

"The 1987 trial of SS Lieutenant Klaus Barbie in France for crimes against humanity was a watershed moment not only in France's efforts to come to terms with its wartime past, but also in the evolu...

"The 1987 trial of SS Lieutenant Klaus Barbie in France for crimes against humanity was a watershed moment not only in France's efforts to come to terms with its wartime past, but also in the evolution of international justice. It was the first major French war crimes trial after the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. "Justice in Lyon" is the first substantial study of the trial and how it shaped French Holocaust and Resistance memory culture. Golsan argues that, despite a lukewarm reception to the trial from both lawyers and the public at the time, the court helped opened the way towards a reconsideration of France's wartime history in both law and culture. After initial chapters on Barbie himself and the development of war crimes law from 1945 to 1980, Golsan analyses the interplay between the prosecution, Barbie's maverick defense (from the same lawyer who defended terrorist Carlos the Jackal), and the lawyers representing the victims (both Jews and Resistance fighters, who disagreed about the relative significance of Barbie's crimes.)"--Provided by publisher.

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