President Macron awards top honor to Romanian-born Nazi hunter

French President Emmanuel Macron has awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor to Romanian-born Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld. His wife, German Beate Klarsfeld, received the National Order of Merit, after being awarded the Legion of Honor, the rank of Grand Officer, in 2014. Klarsfeld was born on September 17, 1935 in Bucharest. Together with his family, he left for France before the start of the Second World War. In 1943 his father was arrested and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he died. He received the French citizenship in 1950 and studied history and political science in Paris. For over 50 years, the Klarsfelds fought for the Holocaust to be recognized and for the condemnation of Nazi criminals.

Félicitations à Serge et Beate Klarsfeld qui se sont vus remettre ce soir les insignes de Grand' Croix et de Grand Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite par le Président de la République. pic.twitter.com/KGZ14xM9tp — Fondation Shoah (@Fondation_Shoah) October 8, 2018

In 1971, the two disclosed that the Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, a former Gestapo officer known as the “Butcher of Lyon,” was hiding in Bolivia. In 1983 Barbie was extradited to France, where he was convicted. They also helped in finding Kurt Lischka, a Gestapo chief and commandant of the Security Police and Security Service in Paris during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. The Klarsfelds also pursued Rene Bouquet, Jean Leguay and Marice Papon, members of the Vichy regime. (Photo: www.klarsfeldfoundation.org) editor@romania-insider.com