This is the tale of Klaus Barbie and the US. Why is this relevant to philosophy, religion and science? Well I consider Klaus Barbie to be the closest thing in recent times to what we could call the devil. So I sit here to examine what people do when they come in contact with the devil.

This is not particularly aimed at the US, in fact it’s only because the US is so open that I have some details to go on. The UK, Germany and Bolivia happily used Barbie’s services, knowing who he was. But still the US is probably the most culpable.

I find Barbie different to the standard middle mangers of the Nazi party, the banality of evil. Barbie didn’t just use his pen, he personally enjoyed the torture. He carried on torturing in Bolivia.

All from this history of the US government and Klaus Barbie (pdf).

This is how shit happens:

In the beginning, there was a plan,
And then came the assumptions,
And the assumptions were without form,
And the plan without substance,

And the darkness was upon the face of the workers,
And they spoke among themselves saying,
“It is a crock of shit and it stinks.”

And the workers went unto their Supervisors and said,
“It is a pile of dung, and we cannot live with the smell.”

And the Supervisors went unto their Managers saying,
“It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong,
Such that none may abide by it.”

And the Managers went unto their Directors saying,
“It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide by its strength.”

And the Directors spoke among themselves saying to one another,
“It contains that which aids plants growth, and it is very strong.”

And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents saying unto them,
“It promotes growth, and it is very powerful.”

And the Vice Presidents went to the President, saying unto him,
“This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor
Of the company With very powerful effects.”

And the President looked upon the Plan
And saw that it was good,
And the Plan became Policy.

And this, my friend, is how shit happens.

So lets begin…

“It is a crock of shit and it stinks.”…

Klaus Barbie was a truly evil man, the Butcher of Lyon, he was listed as an official war criminial to be handed over after the war (the CROWCASS list – see below). The UK got him to work for them but got rid of him, then the US were much nicer and kept him working for them to the point where they explicitly refused direct internal requests for his handing over to the French because they would be embarrassed that Barbie would be able to tell about the US spying on the French.

This is after there could be any denial that they knew what he had done.

“It is a pile of dung, and we cannot live with the smell.”…

But the French themselves watered it down, their second draft of the CROWCASS for Barbie accused him of only ‘murder’ watering it down from ‘murder of military personnel and torture of civilians’.

There was a Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects (CROWCASS) list:

the first CROWCASS list in July 1945 contained
French charges that Barbie was
wanted for murder of military personnel and torture of
civilians. But in 1946, the CROWCASS reporting system
was modified and the list of March 1947, which was in
effect when Barbie was recruited a month later, carried
only the blanket charge of “murder.” Previous lists were
ordered destroyed. Subsequent editions of the CROWCASS
list carried the murder charge without further change.

…

This offi-cial registry, developed and maintained by the Allied
authorities, was designed to prevent precisely the
situation described here – that one allied authority
would unwittingly have in its custody, or in its prison
camps, a person wanted by another country for war crimes.
By publication and dissemination of a central registry,
each command or government could have available to it a
“wanted list” of persons being sought by another.

“It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, Such that none may abide by it.”

The Attorney General tries to paint as reasonable but clear set of details as to what happened. But of course he doesn’t want to be critical of his government’s procedures.

The CIC captured Klaus Barbie, employed him then once they knew about who he was decided it would be too embarrasing to hand him over to the French transported him via the ratlines to Bolivia.

But the decision [by the CIC] to use a former
Nazi, even a former Gestapo officer, is one thing; the
decision to use a person wanted for war crimes is
another.
…
But I am persuaded as a result of this investigation
that CIC personnel had no reliable indication until at
least May 1949, some two years after Barbie was first
employed, that he was suspected of war crimes or crimes
against humanity.

Barbie being on a list of war criminals should be enough to convict the US of actively and knowingly using a war criminal. Apparently the Attorney General thinks that the US can weasel out of the ignoring the CROWCASS report because:

1. it was too big (70,000 war criminals, 80,000 security suspects)
2. there was “considerable confusion over the document”
3. it was believed to contain demands for the return of political enemies, disguised as accusations of “war crimes.”
4. because the charge in CROWCASS was ‘vague’ – it only listed his crime as ‘murder’ it was assumed this was murder of resistance.

…

In his conclusions to the report, there is the horrid ‘pragmatic’ argument for using Barbie:

The Counter Intelligence Corps, the only U.S.
intelligence agency in Europe in the immediate post-war
years, had an enormous responsibility. In order to
gather and analyze intelligence effectively, CIC, like
all intelligence organizations before and since, had no
choice but to depend upon experienced, knowledgeable and
politically reliable persons to provide information.
No one in CIC was soft on Nazism or Nazis, but the price of
turning away otherwise valuable assets simply on the
basis of past affiliations was a high one.

“It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide by its strength.”

In 1966, the US army still knew where he was and were asked by NBC why they still knew where he was. They sent this internally to the state department:

The Army did. On July 19, 1966, it sent a memo to
the Department of State:
BARBIE, Klaus was at one time a top level
counterespionage source of the 66th CIC Gp. Klaus
BARBIE was born in TRIER, Germany in 1913. He was
a high official in the Gestapo, and in charge of
the entire LYONS, France District, during the
German occupation. He was instrumental in some of
the top German intelligence operations, 1938-45.
From 1945-47, he was on top of the wanted list, but
was not apprehended. He was in charge of an
underground organization composed of former Gestapo
and SS officers who were hiding from the victors
after the war. Following the war, he was a witness
in several different trials involving war crimi-
nals. He was arrested by the Americans and his
wartime activities were investigated. However, he
was later released because the investigation was
inconclusive. He was recruited to work for US Army
Intelligence in 1948 [sic]. BARBIE’S performance
for US Army Intelligence was outstanding and he was
considered to be one of the most valuable assets
targetted against Soviet Intelligence operations
and the subversive Communist elements in southern
Germany. The French wanted to arrest BARBIE in
1951 [sic] to prosecute him for activities within
France during World War II. To have exposed BARBIE
to interrogation and public trial would not have
been in consonance with accepted clandestine
intelligence operational doctrine. Throughout his
efforts for US Army Intelligence, he was knowledge-
able of high level operations and operational
procedures which would have been compromised.
Through procedures in effect at the time, BARBIE
was therefor [sic] assisted in 1951 in leaving
Europe for resettlement. US Army Intelligence has
had no further contact with BARBIE subsequent to
his departure from Europe.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever read more weasily, bullshit words than these:

… would not have
been in consonance with accepted clandestine
intelligence operational doctrine

“It contains that which aids plants growth, and it is very strong.”…

The army cleans it up…

The reply that the Army drafted for State to send
to Senator Javits, however, was a different matter:
Dear Senator Javits:
I refer to your inquiry dated 21 June 1966 * * *.
An official of the National Broadcasting
Company has informed the Department of State that
the Gestapo official referred to is Klaus Barbie.
Barbie was arrested by united States Occupation
Forces in Germany and his wartime activities were
investigated. He was released when the results of
this investigation proved inconclusive. Barbie
served as a witness for the prosecution at several
trials involving war criminals. From 1948 to 1951
Barbie was, as were many other Germans, an infor-
mant for the united States Occupation Forces.
Since early 1951, the United States Government has
had no contact with him.

There you go they did nothing wrong, Barbie did nothing wrong, indeed he served as a witness for the prosecution and was an informant for the US.

Shit happens

The CIC used and protected a Nazi, leader of the Gestapo in Lyon, who personally enjoyed torturing in the worst possible ways, who they knew was wanted for war crimes. Then they helped him escape ensuring that he did not face justice for almost all his crimes due to the statute of limitations.

But according to the US…

They used an experienced, knowledgeable and politically reliable person. He was instrumental in some of the top German intelligence operations, 1938-45. They investigated his wartime activities, got in-conclusive results, so used him as an informant. His performance for US Army Intelligence was outstanding and he was considered to be one of the most valuable assets. During his time he was witness for the prosecution (the good guys) at several trials until 1951 and then let him go.

By the US Attorney’s own words:

But the decision [by the CIC] to use a former
Nazi, even a former Gestapo officer, is one thing; the
decision to use a person wanted for war crimes is
another.

1. In the CROWCASS list Barbie was wanted for war crimes
2. In the official requests for Barbie in 1951 the CIC now had no excuse that they knew he was wanted for war crimes

Whether the CIC thought he was innocent or guilty is irrelevant. He was wanted for war crimes, it was up to the French to decide.

This is all a crock of shit and it stinks. I’ll leave you with the most true words spoken in the report:

To actually employ a man who had
been the leader of the Gestapo in a city in France, and
to rely on him to advance the interests of the United
States, was incomprehensible and shameful.