Ask your questions. It was pure luck that he survived the war, he later said. Benjamin Ferencz: He gave me a bunch of binders, four binders. 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. A testament to his commitment to these efforts, Mr. Ferencz partnered with the Museum to launch the Ferencz International Justice Initiative in 2017 to coincide with the 70-year anniversary of the Einsatzgruppen Trial at Nuremberg, in which he was Chief Prosecutor. He recalls in his writingshow at the trial's start, the rows were packed with people, but as the trial progressed, the seats emptied out asthe Germans failed to keep upinterest. Even today, when I close my eyes, I witness a deadly vision I can never forget-the crematoria aglow with the fire of burning flesh, the mounds of emaciated corpses stacked like cordwood waiting to be burned. Ferencz describesitas "a gold mine" in the documentary, adding that he and his team systematically searched all Nazi archives. They ended up being reports from SS special unitsdisguised under the name "Einsatzgruppen," the term used to refer to SS mobile death squads. Powered by. 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. Now he tells Amanpour it pains him to once again see atrocities in Europe. They [the Russian oligarchs and the businessmen who colluded with the Nazis] have a lot of common, said Ferencz. Benjamin Ferencz, Nuremberg Prosecutor and Peace Advocate. Nothing new ever happened before. appreciated. Ten months later, his family moved to the United States, where he grew up in Manhattan. As U.S. forces liberated concentration camps, his job was to rush in and gather evidence. Lesley Stahl: We've had Rwanda, we've had Bosnia. Ferencz told us he is still haunted by the things he saw. So Ferencz has spent the rest of his life trying to deter war and war crimes by establishing an international court like Nuremburg. He was carrying out his government's instructions. Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg war-crimes prosecutor, gave $1 million through his Planethood Foundation to the museums Simon-Skjodt Center for the But Telford said it wasnt possible. Ferencz is legendary in the world of international law, and he's still at it. Ben Ferencz: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 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Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, two New York Democrats, and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Benjamin B. Ferencz, 27, presents his case in Nuremberg in 1947 at what the Associated Press called the biggest murder trial in history.. Soon thereafter, the US Government recruited Mr. Ferencz to join the team working on the Nurember tribunals, a novel independent court established to try top-ranking Nazi officials for crimes perpetrated during the Holocaust. Benjamin Ferencz: They were 3,000 SS officers trained for the purpose, and directed to kill without pity or remorse, every single Jewish man, woman, and child they could lay their hands on. But it's a reality today. Many people ask about the amount of money Ben Ferencz makes from Instagram. They included detailed reports on the Einsatzgruppen, special SS units that roamed Nazi-occupied Europe and killed more than 1 million people. Ask your questions.. Mr. Ferencz served for the United States under Benjamin Ferencz Was Born in the Transylvanian Mountains But Grew Up in Hells Kitchen Despite his critical role for the U.S. forces, Ben Ferencz was actually born in Transylvania. Benjamin B. Ferencz was born in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania in 1920, his website biography reads. When he was ten months old his family moved to America. I've got here mass murder, mass murder on an unparalleled scale." also know about his Social media accounts i.e. He flew to Nuremberg and told Telford Taylor, the chief counsel for the prosecutions, that they must add another trial. Without calling a single witness, he entered into evidence the defendants' own reports of what they'd done. Ferencz married his teenage sweetheart Gertrude, in New York in 1946, and they stayed married for more than 70 years, until Gertrudes death in 2019. Hitler's top lieutenants were prosecuted first. High Commissioner Dialogue with Ben Ferencz. These were people who could quote Goethe, who loved Wagner, who were polite--. Ferencz was six months shy of his 28th birthday and stood barely 5 feet tall. And they're chasing them. The Holocaust Memorial Museum says on its website that Ferencz has published books on the top of world peace, listing the following publications: Defining International Aggression: The Search for World Peace (Oceana Publications, 1975), An International Criminal Court: A Step Toward World Peace (Oceana Publications, 1980), Enforcing International Law: A Way to World Peace (Oceana Publications, 1983), A Common Sense Guide to World Peace (Oceana Publications, 1985), PlanetHood by Ben Ferencz and Ken Keyes (Mass Market Paperback, 1988).. The Jews were shot? At the very least, their names shouldnt be gracing the boards of our most respected institutions. Germanys business elites met with Hitler before the March 1933 election, intoxicated by his vow to eradicate trade unions and communists (code for Jews). On the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Nuremberg Trials, Mr. Ferencz reflected on the impact the trial had on him and shared his inspiring story about devoting his life to pursuing peace, demanding justice for victims, and preventing genocide. The fact that Yad Vashem, a nonprofit, non-partisan foundation, would do the bidding for a man linked to corrupt financial activity and the Kremlin proves dirty money can soil even the cleanest of hands. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. I'm a realist. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Even today, when I close my eyes, I witness a deadly vision I can never forget []. Ferencz has donated millions to the U.S. Many people ask this question about the money Ben Ferencz makes from Facebook. US Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Marines, they just looked at me and said, "Forget it, kid.". Their job had been to follow the German army as it invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and kill Communists, Gypsies and especially Jews. Ben Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials, answered the phone in bright spirits. Holocaust Memorial Museum and other organizations that promote peace, vowing to end his life the way it started as a poor boy. And he traveled the world into his 90s, spreading his motto of law, not war., I was damn lucky to live this long, said Ferencz, who turns 103 in March. Exhibit 179, from Kiev in 1941: "The city's Jews were ordered to present themselves about 34,000 reported, including women and children. He says he's grateful for the life he's lived in this country, and it's his turn to give back. It was his first case, his website says. WebStephen Levitt. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Then a series of subsequent trials were mounted against other Nazi leaders, including 22 SS officers responsible for killing more than a million people -- not in concentration camps -- but in towns and villages across Eastern Europe. The scenes he witnessed would haunt him for the rest of his life. I thought of Ferencz and Altmans words as President Joe Biden announced sanctions last week, and the world rallied to enforce them, isolating Putin and Russian businesses to the point where the ruble has lost its value. For the past two weeks, Yad Vashem has defended its new long-term strategic partnership with Abramovich, which was announced on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Of course after the war, these titans of German industry disavowed knowledge of the war crimes their money fueled (and for which they were charged at the Nuremberg Trials), much in the way so many oligarchs now are claiming they have nothing to do with Putinand if anything are against the war and are working to broker peace and providing humanitarian aid. However, according to Ferenczs bio, the United States decided to hold a wider swath of Nazis responsible than just Hitlers highest profile henchmen. Lesley Stahl: Going on right this minute in Sudan. Ferencz says his goal from the beginning was to affirm the rule of law and deter similar crimes from ever being committed again. Ferencz had stumbled upon reports sent back to headquarters by secret SS units called Einsatzgruppen, or action groups. Nobody goes in or out without my permission. The story of the Holocaust isnt of great suffering and mass extermination, the late survivor Kitia Altman once told me as she tried to explain the mechanisms of the Nazi slave labor enterprise that imprisoned her and my own mother. Benjamin B. Ferencz was born in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania in 1920, his website biography reads. The defendants were 24 men from the "SS Einsatzgruppen,"representing a total of 3,000 members. Screenshot from film showing the Einsatzgruppen at work. TEDxTeen opening music by Madijuwon. Benjamin Ferencz: Going on right this minute, yes. Since the agreement was finalized, roughly $90 billion has been distributed to Holocaust survivors, according to the Claims Conference. It is as if the Vatican had interceded in favor of the Gambino [crime] family because they are all good Catholics.. Ben Ferencz is the last Nuremberg prosecutor alive and he has a far-reaching message for todays world. Beginning with his time as an investigator in World War II and chief U.S. Army prosecutor during the Nuremberg Trials, through his long, outstanding career as an advocate of the international rule of law. Benjamin Ferencz: Defendants' face were blank, all the time. Death was their tool and life their toy. This includes his steel company, Evraz, which supplies the Russian military with materials for its tanks, the same ones currently invading Ukraine, something his spokesperson has denied. The trial began on Sept. 29, 1947. What Dayan failed to disclose was that two weeks prior to the Russian invasion, he and other beneficiaries of Abramovichs largesse in Israel petitioned the U.S. embassy to keep him from being sanctioned. 2. Using his lawyer's eye, Ferencz and his team combed through documents found in SS and other Nazi officesand visited concentration camps that hadbeen liberated by the US army. Camps like Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau are vividly imprinted in my minds eye. Ferencz wanted to extend a favor. One of America's most recognized and experienced broadcast journalists, Lesley Stahl has been a 60 Minutes correspondent since 1991. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013. And you shouldn't-- you know-- be despairing because it's never happened before. During that period, he was also called in to help negotiate a reparations agreement with the government of West Germany. Family (1) Spouse Gertrude Fried (29 March 1946 - 2019) (her Mr. Ferencz was born in Transylvania in 1920. That sort of posturing reminds Ferencz of his dealings with Alfred Krupp, who reigned over an empire of slave labor camps while pleading innocent to war crimes. They could-- like, they're waiting for a bus. Look what's happened to the same-sex marriages. Although he witnessed atrocities as a US soldier in the Second World Gustav Krupp, who was the first to pledge 1 million reichsmarks, was made Hitlers fuhrer of industry, becoming a key arms supplier of the Wehrmacht. On Wednesday he will enter the history books in a new way. 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. You know? The world has still not learned the lessons of Nuremberg., What was his secret to living such a long life? The U.S. sent Ferencz and 50 researchers to Berlin to scour Nazi offices and archives. Indelibly seared into my memory are the scenes I witnessed while liberating these centers of death and destruction. Ferencz was tasked with securing them before they were destroyed. The Royal Academy of London also tendered the resignation of its trustee, Alfa-Bank head Petr Aven. The book, entitled Parting Words: 9 Lessons for a Remarkable Life,willbe published in English on December 31, 2020. Some of his titles include: Mr. Ferencz lives in Florida and has four grown children. Lesley Stahl: They're making them run to their own death? Ferencz cut him off midsentence and ended the conversation with three words uttered in German: Goodbye, Mr. Ohlendorf., There was no remorse whatsoever, Ferencz said. By the time Ferencz found the Einsatzgruppen records, the U.S. had already finalized plans for the other trials. His earliest memories are of his small basement apartment in a Manhattan district appropriately referred to as Hells Kitchen. Even at an early age, he felt a deep yearning for universal friendship and worldpeace., He went to college at Harvard Law School, graduating in 1943, according to his bio. Benjamin Ferencz and Barry Avrich at a screening of "Prosecuting Evil" in Los Angeles in 2019. You know? Disclamer: Ben Ferencz net worth displayed here are calculated based on a combination social factors. Even pro-democracy think tanks like the Atlantic Council and the Council of Foreign Relations have taken oligarchs cash. But the trials were already underway, and prosecution staff was stretched thin. 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