The Prosecution of Klaus Barbie in 1987

Trials: Colonialism and Nazism on Trial
The trial of the former Gestapo chief in Lyon did not take place until decades after the crimes he had committed and following protracted international interventions. His defense attorney, Jacques Vergès, consistently challenged the legitimacy of the court by pointing to France’s history of colonial violence. What connections between Nazism and colonialism were drawn during the trial? And how did these arguments, within public discourse, shape perceptions of the war and occupation periods—and, not least, of the present?
With Jan Gerber, Annette Wieviorka, and others
Moderated by Claus Leggewie
Trials: Colonialism and Nazism on Trial
The United States v. Otto Ohlendorf et al. (1947–48), the Military Tribunal v. Djamila Boupacha (1960–61), the Prosecution v. Klaus Barbie (1987), Mutua et al. v. the United Kingdom (2012): Four trials that dealt with colonial and Nazi violence—and, both in the courtroom itself and in the accompanying debates, with comparisons between the two. What were the charges, and how were the defendants defended? Which social and historical-political controversies of the 1940s, 1960s, 1980s, and 2010s were also at stake here?
All datesTranslated with DeepL

Price info: Free admission

Next date:

• Date Wednesday, 03/March/2027 18:30 bis 20:00
• Venue Deutsches Historisches Museum
• Address Hinter dem Gießhaus 3, 10117 Berlin-Mitte