He fought in every campaign in Europe, according to his website, and he was later tranferred to the War Crimes Branch of the Army that was charged with documenting Nazi atrocities and arresting those responsible. When Ferencz was ten months old, his family emigrated to the United States, which, according to his own account, was to avoid the persecution of Hungarian Jews by Romania after Romania gained formal control of Transylvania. Yes. 2023 Cable News Network. I hope that Ive done some good during that lifetime.. He delivered the closing argument in the court's first case. Each had its own criminal prosecution methods. The Cold Warbetween the Eastern Bloc and the Western powers had begun, putting the horrors of World War II in the shadows. Ferencz attendedHarvard Law School on a merit scholarship. Germanys business elites met with Hitler before the March 1933 election, intoxicated by his vow to eradicate trade unions and communists (code for Jews). Nuremberg taught me that creating a world of tolerance and compassion would be a long and arduous task, Ferencz says on his website. At theInternational Military Tribunal (IMT)andSubsequent Nuremberg Proceedings, documentation ofevidenceand prosecution of crimes were intertwined. You're the sunniest man I've ever met. War makes murderers out of otherwise decent people. Would he like me to say that he was sorry that he brought disgrace on the family or something along those lines?. To tell somebody a man can become a woman, a woman can become a man, and a man can marry a man, they would have said, "You're crazy." And these were daily reports from the Eastern Front-- which unit entered which town, how many people they killed. Ferencz was also involved in pushing the Germans to agree to maintain cemeteries where Holocaust victims were buried. Goodbye, Mr. Ohlendorf., What did he think about the war in Ukraine and the uptick in antisemitic incidents around the globe? Judge: How do you plead to this indictment, guilty or not guilty? The stock, which was direct listed on the NYSE this morning, closed at $69.47, 54% above its reference price of $45. Indelibly seared into my memory are the scenes I witnessed while liberating these centers of death and destruction. And get your ass out of there.. The last Nuremberg prosecutor still alive, Ferencz is turning 100. Ben Ferencz receives the Legion of Honor Insignia at an awards ceremony to honor World War II veterans in New York in 2015. The defendants were the cruel executioners whose terror wrote the blackest page in human history, he said in his opening statement. Please scroll down to see information about Ben Ferencz Social media profiles. At age 27, he was the youngest chief prosecutor involved with the twelve subsequent Nuremberg Trials. You know? Now, at 102 years old, he was sitting at his desk in Delray Beach, Florida, answering a reporters questions with wit and remarkable recall. He soon received a telegram from the Pentagon summoning him to see General Telford Taylor, an esteemed lawyer who had been appointed by President Truman as the person responsible for subsequent Nuremberg Trials that were to pick up where thefirst one had left off. Nothing new ever happened before. The courtroom was Nuremberg; the crime, genocide; and the defendants, a group of German SS officers accused of committing the largest number of Nazi killings outside the concentration camps -- more than a million men, women, and children shot in their own towns and villages in cold blood. 2. As per our current Database, Benjamin Ferencz is still alive (as per Wikipedia, Last update: May 10, 2020). Currently, Benjamin Ferencz is 102 years, 10 months and 7 days old. Benjamin Ferencz will celebrate 103rd birthday on a Saturday 11th of March 2023. Isnt it time to stop pretending theres anything benevolent about men whose fortunes are enabling one of the worst humanitarian disasters to hit Europe since World War II? The omcuta Mare March 11, 1920-born lawyer and pacifist expert is arguably the worlds most influential Ben Ferencz is expert, with a wide-ranging social media outreach. Any institution, regardless of its area of focus, should refrain from taking Russian oligarchic money, Michel said. He didn't deny the killings -- he had the gall to claim they were done in self-defense. So you see these human stories which are not -- they're not real. The last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials against Nazi leadership, he has worked tirelessly as a champion of international law and human rights. Lesley Stahl: Ben? I am naive? Lesley Stahl: They're making them run to their own death? Benjamin Ferencz: Of course, is my answer. will introduce the legislation on Friday, according to Gillibrands office. In that role, he was sent to the concentration camps that had been liberated by the U.S. army. But on his 100th birthday, an email landed in his inbox from a descendant of one of the men he had prosecuted. Now he tells Amanpour it pains him to once again see Ferencz learned quickly. The Germans relented shortly thereafter, according to Ferencz. It also raises the question: should nonprofits be taking money from those linked to criminal enterprises, let alone lobby for them? But he is still in good spirits, still has his sense of humor and, when not too tired, is still perfectly cogent and well-reasoning.. During the advance of the UStroops, Ferencz and his unit broke through the Nazis' western line of defense, the Siegfried Line,fought onthe front line of the Battle of the Bulge and crossed the Rhine river over the Remagen bridge in the spring of 1945. The father had died just as we were entering the camp. The German government ultimately agreed to compensate Holocaust victims around the world. Lawyer And Pacifist As an authorized representative of the Jewish Claims Conference, he later worked tirelessly for the reparations agreement between Israel and West Germany, which was signed in Luxembourg in 1952. But Telford said it wasnt possible. That must end now. Throughout his career, he has made use of every tool in the justice toolbox: collecting evidence and documenting the atrocities of the Holocaust; prosecuting cases against war criminals; representing victims in their restitution claims; developing new norms, laws, and treaties; helping to build the political will for new international courts; and writing, teaching, and inspiring the next generation of justice champions. And you're full of energy and passion. The budget had already been set and the Pentagon wasnt keen on any more trials. No German, no American nobody. They should remember, from me, it takes courage not to be discouraged. Ben Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials, answered the phone in bright spirits. As I prepare to drop the torch I am grateful to you and those like you who will follow my advice to never give up!. Bens income mostly comes from and basic source is being a successful American lawyer and pacifist. Illustrations. Below his face, his motto: "law, not war.". Chief prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz presents documents as evidence at the Einsatzgruppen Trial. Mr. Ferencz speaks at an event for the launch of the Ferencz International Justice Initiative. Stupid to an incredible degree to send young people out to kill other young people they don't even know, who never did anybody any harm, never harmed them. Its a well-known playbook, Michel argued, citing a litany of Russian oligarchs who have sought to whitewash their dirty deeds through philanthropy, turning our most vaunted cultural institutions into reputation laundering factories that attract the same sketchy agents who have already poured their ill-gotten funds into American hedge funds, real estate, and shell companies, according to a 2020 report by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective. Ask your questions.. September 21, 2021 And I also learned that if we did not devote ourselves to developing effective world law, the same cruel mentality that made the Holocaust possible might one day destroy the entire human race. Today, Ferencz is 99-years-old. But during his first semester, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and he, like many classmates, raced to enlist. WebAccording to The Boca Newspaper and the Sun Sentinel newspaper, Heller has created a wide range of Judaica statues and busts, and figural statuaries such as the Fiddler on the Roof, His persistence and experience with the Nuremberg Trials also led to the founding of the International Criminal Court (ICC)in T he Hague in 2002. And I said, "Sure." Ben is a phenomenal celebrity influencer. And he's been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. And I can't believe you're 97 years old. That's insane. He declined very rapidly, his son, Don, said last week. Benjamin Ferencz: Defendants' face were blank, all the time. In 1943, Mr. Ferencz graduated from Harvard Law School and soon thereafter he joined an anti-aircraft artillery battalion. "Without Ferencz, this spectacular trial might not have taken place," Axel Fischer, historian and expert on the Nuremberg trials, told DW. You're sitting here as a female. Later, he became an advocate for the establishment of an international rule of law and for the establishent of an International Criminal Court. Those businesses have blood on their hands, Altman said of the German industrialists that gave Hitler the raw materials he needed to kill millions. First published on June 27, 2021 / 6:54 PM. And he said, "Can you do this in addition to your other work?" Part of an artillery battalion, he landed on the beach at Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Benjamin Ferencz, who turned 100 in March, remains a fundamentally optimistic person. Although he witnessed atrocities as a US soldier in the Second World War, gathered evidence of Nazi war crimes after the war ended, and prosecuted Nazis in the subsequent Nuremberg Trials, his rosy outlook on life didn't change. TEDxTeen opening music by Madijuwon. 2. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Ferencz eventually moved his wife and four children to the U.S. and set up a law practice in New York focused on civil rights and civil liberties. But that didn't last long. Since the agreement was finalized, roughly $90 billion has been distributed to Holocaust survivors, according to the Claims Conference. He was carrying out his government's instructions. Main telephone: 202.488.0400 Nobody goes in or out without my permission. Nobody would take money from the Columbian drug cartel. And you shouldn't-- you know-- be despairing because it's never happened before. Lesley Stahl: You don't think they turn into savages even for the act? The Kennedy Center, MIT, the Museum of Modern Art and the Clinton Foundation all reported that they stopped receiving donations from oil tycoon Viktor Vekeslberg when he was sanctioned in 2018 for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. General Telford Taylor, in charge of the Nuremberg trials, asked him to direct a team of researchers in Berlin, one of whom found a cache of top-secret documents in the ruins of the German foreign ministry. If everyone thought the way we do it would be a more humane and peaceful world, he wrote, according to a copy of the email shared with NBC News. Since childhood, Mr. Ferencz has felt a burning desire to press for global peace; this same desire continues to motivate him today. 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW Benjamin Ferencz: We're marching forward. We've had genocide since then. Others crawling around garbage piles, digging for scraps of food. On Wednesday he will enter the history books in a new way. Some of his titles include: Mr. Ferencz lives in Florida and has four grown children. No, says anti-corruption activist Bill Browder, who created the Magnitsky Act to sanction Russian officials implicated in the death of his tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Moscow prison in 2009 for fighting oligarch theft and plunder. All Rights Reserved. It was a very poignant and moving letter of remorse that expressed deep thanks and appreciation for my fathers life work, said Ferenczs son, Don. Ferencz was one of the American service members who went into the camps at the end of the war. Liberator. Ferencz'sexperiences in postwar Germany were formative. This March, Ben Ferencz turned 101 and he's still in there fighting. At the time, Ferencz just had the documents, and he started adding up the numbers. Many people ask about the amount of money Ben Ferencz makes from Instagram. But only four were executed, including Otto Ohlendorf, a notorious SS commander. 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I got on the next plane, flew from Berlin down to Nuremberg, and I said to Taylor, "General, we've gotta put on a new trial.". Tells His Amazing Story Of How Became a Prosecutor At The Nuremberg Trials At Only 27 Years Old Instead, according to his website, he was asked to join the prosecution table at the Nuremberg War Crimes trials. 200 years, Countless Stories: Benjamin Ferencz '43, Ben Ferencz '43, the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor, has spent his life advocating for law, not war. Thetribunal prosecutesindividuals for war crimes; even heads of state are held legally accountable. Well, see here, this-- they rounded 'em up. Another company that was vital to the Nazis was I.G. 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