:Ben Ferencz

{{Infobox person

| name = Benjamin Ferencz

| image = File:Prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz at the Einsatzgruppen Trial portrait.JPG

| alt = Black-and-white photograph of Ferencz, aged 27, wearing a black pinstriped suit and a dark tie

| caption = Ferencz, 1947 or 1948

| birth_name = Benjamin Berell Ferencz

| birth_date = {{birth date|1920|3|11}}

| birth_place = Nagysomkút, Kingdom of Hungary

| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|4|7|1920|3|11}}

| death_place = Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S.

| nationality = American

| education = {{plainlist|

{{nowrap|City College of New York (BA)}}
Harvard University (LLB)

}}

| known_for = Prosecutor at the Einsatzgruppen trial

| spouse = {{marriage|Gertrude Fried|1946|2019|end=died}}

| children = 4

| module = {{Infobox military person

| embed = yes

| allegiance = United States

| branch = United States Army

| serviceyears = 1943–1945

| rank = Sergeant

| battles = World War II}}

}}

Benjamin Berell Ferencz (March 11, 1920 – April 7, 2023) was an American lawyer. He was an investigator of Nazi war crimes after World War II and the chief prosecutor{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/actors/prosecuting-evil-director-nuremberg-trials-ben-ferencz-1203419991/ |title='Prosecuting Evil' Director Barry Avrich on the Race to Complete Nuremberg Trial Doc |author=Jazz Tangcay |newspaper=Variety |date=January 22, 2020 |access-date=December 2, 2019 |archive-date=December 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203071351/https://variety.com/2019/tv/actors/prosecuting-evil-director-nuremberg-trials-ben-ferencz-1203419991/ |url-status=live}} for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen trial, one of the 12 subsequent Nuremberg trials held by US authorities at Nuremberg, Germany. When the Einsatzgruppen reports were discovered, Ferencz pushed for a trial based on their evidence. When confronted with a lack of staff and resources, he personally volunteered to serve as the prosecutor.{{Cite web |date=2019-10-24 |title=The Making of a Prosecutor |url=https://benferencz.org/stories/1946-1949/the-making-of-a-prosecutor/ |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=Benjamin B. Ferencz |language=en}}

Later he became an advocate of international rule of law and for the establishment of an International Criminal Court. From 1985 to 1996, he was an adjunct professor of international law at Pace University.

Biography

=Early life and education=

Ferencz was born on March 11, 1920,Gale Reference Team: Biography – Ferencz, Benjamin B(erell) (1920–):, Thomson Gale, April 6, 2006.Logli, Ch.:{{cite web |title=Benjamin Ferencz |url=http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/programs/youth-outreach/peace-heroes/ferencz-benjamin.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060113182050/http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/programs/youth-outreach/peace-heroes/ferencz-benjamin.htm |archive-date=January 13, 2006 |access-date=December 12, 2006}}, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 1999? URL last accessed December 12, 2006.Ferencz, B.: [http://www.benferencz.org/photos.html Photos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406203119/http://www.benferencz.org/photos.html |date=April 6, 2017 }}. One of the captions reads "On March 11, 2003, his 83rd birthday, ..." URL last accessed December 13, 2006. in Nagysomkút in the historical Transylvania region, into a Jewish family.{{Cite web |last=Mink |first=Andreas |date=10 April 2023 |title=Benjamin Ferencz verstorben {{!}} Tachles |url=https://www.tachles.ch/artikel/news/benjamin-ferencz-verstorben |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=Tachles |language=de}} A few months later the Treaty of Trianon allocated greater Transylvania, including Nagysomkút, to Romania from the Kingdom of Hungary. The new name of the town was Șomcuta Mare.

When Ferencz was ten months old, his family emigrated to the United States to avoid the persecution of Hungarian Jews by the Kingdom of Romania after Romania took control of Transylvania, Banat, Crisana, and Maramures.{{cite web |title=Benjamin B. Ferencz, A Prosecutor's Personal Account: From Nuremberg to Rome, September 23, 1998 |url=http://www.benferencz.org/arts/32.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202085442/http://www.benferencz.org/arts/32.html |archive-date=February 2, 2007 |access-date=December 13, 2006}}

The family settled in New York City, where they lived on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.USHMM: [https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/oral-history/benjamin-beryl-ferencz-describes-collecting-evidence-against-alleged-war-criminals "Chief prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz presents his case at the Einsatzgruppen Trial"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306235141/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/oral-history/benjamin-beryl-ferencz-describes-collecting-evidence-against-alleged-war-criminals |date=March 6, 2022 }}, encyclopedia.ushmm.org; accessed November 23, 2021. Ferencz studied crime prevention at the City College of New York, and his criminal law exam result won him a scholarship to Harvard Law School. At Harvard, he studied under Roscoe PoundThe Legal History Project: [http://www.legalhistory.com/LargeFrame.php?Choice=Interviews&N=Ferencz0506 Interview with Benjamin Ferencz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212001123/http://www.legalhistory.com/LargeFrame.php?Choice=Interviews&N=Ferencz0506 |date=February 12, 2021 }}, May 2006. URL last accessed December 12, 2006. and also did research for Sheldon Glueck, who at that time was writing a book on war crimes. Ferencz graduated from Harvard in 1943.Ferencz, B.: [http://www.benferencz.org/bio.html (Auto-)Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109011136/http://www.benferencz.org/bio.html |date=January 9, 2008 }}''. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.

After his studies, he joined the US Army. His time as a soldier in the army began with a job as a typist in Camp Davis in North Carolina; at that time, he did not know how to use a typewriter or fire a weapon. His job duties also included cleaning toilets and scrubbing pots and floors. In 1944, he served in the 115th AAA Gun Battalion, an anti-aircraft artillery unit. He fought in several major battles of the European theatre and was awarded five battle stars.{{Cite web |date=April 17, 2023 |title=Remembering the Last Nuremberg Trial Prosecutor |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJTUEJxDmcc |access-date=June 20, 2023 |website=YouTube |publisher=Vice News}}

In 1945, he was transferred to the headquarters of General George S. Patton's Third Army, where he was assigned to a team tasked with setting up a war crimes branch and collecting evidence for such crimes. In that role, he was sent to the concentration camps the US Army had liberated.

=Nuremberg trial prosecutor=

File:Attorneys Bergold and Aschenauer with Prosecutor Ferencz at the Einsatzgruppen Trial.jpg), Ferencz, and Rudolf Aschenauer (attorney for Otto Ohlendorf) during the Einsatzgruppen Trial]]

On Christmas 1945, Ferencz was honorably discharged from the Army with the rank of sergeant. He returned to New York, but was recruited only a few weeks later to participate as a prosecutor (with the simulated rank of Colonel) on the legal team of Telford Taylor in the subsequent Nuremberg trials.{{cite web|title=Last living Nuremberg Trial prosecutor recalls his work on the Einsatzgruppen Trial|interviewer=Michael Scharf|work=Judicature|date=2021|url=https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/last-living-nuremberg-trial-prosecutor-recalls-his-work-on-the-einsatzgruppen-trial/|accessdate=April 10, 2023}} Near the Tempelhof in a building belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin, in the spring of 1946, Ferencz found reports that described in detail, day by day, the Einsatzgruppen's killing of at least one million people from June 1941. Ferencz then flew to Nuremberg and demanded that the men be put on trial. Taylor hesitated, since there was a shortage of people and money. However, after Ferencz offered to personally handle the case, he agreed to have a trial held. Taylor appointed him chief prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case—Ferencz's first case. Of the 24 men he indicted,{{Cite news |title=Benjamin Ferencz: Ankläger der Nürnberger Prozesse tot |language=de |work=FAZ.NET |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/ausland/benjamin-ferencz-anklaeger-der-nuernberger-prozesse-tot-18809577.html |access-date=2023-04-10 |issn=0174-4909}} all were convicted; 13 of them received death sentences, of which four were eventually carried out. Apart from East Germany, they were the last executions performed on German soil, and in the Federal Republic.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

In a 2005 interview for The Washington Post, he revealed some of his activities during his period in Germany by way of showing how different military legal norms were at the time:

{{quotation|Someone who was not there could never really grasp how unreal the situation was ... I once saw DPs [displaced persons] beat an SS man and then strap him to the steel gurney of a crematorium. They slid him in the oven, turned on the heat and took him back out. Beat him again, and put him back in until he was burnt alive. I did nothing to stop it. I suppose I could have brandished my weapon or shot in the air, but I was not inclined to do so. Does that make me an accomplice to murder?[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/21/AR2005072101680_5.html Matthew Brzezinski, Giving Hitler Hell] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205141124/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/21/AR2005072101680_5.html |date=December 5, 2010 }} The Washington Post, Sunday, July 24, 2005; Page W08

You know how I got witness statements? I'd go into a village where, say, an American pilot had parachuted and been beaten to death and line everyone one up against the wall. Then I'd say, "Anyone who lies will be shot on the spot." It never occurred to me that statements taken under duress would be invalid.}}

Ferencz stayed in Germany after the Nuremberg trials, together with his wife Gertrude, whom he had married in New YorkHarvard Law School: [http://www.law.harvard.edu/conferences/nuremberg_legacies/ferenczbio.php Benjamin Ferencz] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910030725/http://www.law.harvard.edu/conferences/nuremberg_legacies/ferenczbio.php |date=September 10, 2006 }} : Speaker's biography from the [http://www.law.harvard.edu/conferences/nuremberg_legacies/ Pursuing Human Dignity: The Legacies of Nuremberg for International Law, Human Rights & Education] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107170819/http://www.law.harvard.edu/conferences/nuremberg_legacies/ |date=January 7, 2007 }} conference, November 2005. URL last accessed December 12, 2006. on March 31, 1946. Together with Kurt May and others, he participated in the setup of reparation and rehabilitation programs for the victims of Nazi persecution, and also had a part in the negotiations that led to the Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany signed on September 10, 1952,USHMM: [http://www.ushmm.org/uia-cgi/uia_query/photos?hr=null&query=11019 Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signs the reparations agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120050130/http://www.ushmm.org/uia-cgi/uia_query/photos?hr=null&query=11019 |date=January 20, 2008 }}, USHMM photograph #11019. URL last accessed December 13, 2006. and the first German Restitution Law in 1953. In 1956, the family—they had four children by then—returned to the US, where Ferencz entered private law practice as a partner of Telford Taylor.Ferencz, B.: [http://www.benferencz.org/arts/33.html Telford Taylor: Pioneer of International Criminal Law] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202053204/http://www.benferencz.org/arts/33.html |date=February 2, 2007 }}, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 37(3), pp. 661 – 664; 1999. URL last accessed December 13, 2006. While pursuing claims of Jewish forced laborers against the Flick concern (the subject of the Flick trial), Ferencz observed the "interesting phenomenon of history and psychology that very frequently the criminal comes to see himself as the victim".{{cite book|last=Priemel |first=Kim C. |editor1-last=Priemel |editor1-first=Kim C. |editor2-last=Stiller |editor2-first=Alexa |title=Reassessing the Nuremberg Military Tribunals: Transitional Justice, Trial Narratives, and Historiography |date=2012 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-0-85745-532-1 |language=en|chapter=Tales of Totalitarianism. Conflicting Narratives in the Industrialist Cases at Nuremberg|pages=161–193}}

=Role in forming the International Criminal Court=

Experiences just after World War II left a defining impression on Ferencz. After 13 years, and under the influence of the events of the Vietnam War, he left the private law practice and worked for the institution of an International Criminal Court that would serve as a worldwide highest instance for issues of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

He also published several books on this subject. Already in his first book, Defining International Aggression: The Search for World Peace (1975), he argued for the establishment of such an international court. From 1985 to 1996, Ferencz also worked as an adjunct professor of international law at Pace University at White Plains, New York.

An International Criminal Court was indeed established on July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court came into force. Under the Bush administration, the US signed the treaty, but didn't ratify it. The administration concluded a large number of bilateral agreements with other states that excluded US citizens from being brought before the ICC.Coalition for the International Criminal Court: 2006. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060825183919/http://www.iccnow.org/documents/CICCFS_BIAstatusCurrent.pdf Status of US Bilateral Immunity Acts]. 2006. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.

Ferencz repeatedly argued against this procedure and suggested that the US join the ICC without reservations, as it was a long-established rule of law that "law must apply equally to everyone", also in an international context. In this vein, he suggested in an interview given on August 25, 2006, that not only Saddam Hussein should be tried, but also George W. Bush, because the US had begun the Iraq War without the UN Security Council's permission. He also suggested that Bush should be tried in the International Criminal Court for "269 war crime charges" related to the Iraq War.Glantz, A.: "[http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/138319/1/ Bush and Saddam Should Both Stand Trial, Says Nuremberg Prosecutor] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401072801/http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/138319/1/ |date=April 1, 2013}}", OneWorld U.S., August 25, 2006. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.{{cite book |last=Haas |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Haas (political scientist)|year=2008 |title=George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration's Liability for 269 War Crimes |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-36499-0}}

In 2013, Ferencz again said that the "use of armed force to obtain a political goal should be condemned as an international and a national crime".{{cite web |url=http://www.geschichte-menschenrechte.de/personen/benjamin-ferencz/ |title=Benjamin Ferencz |publisher=Quellen zur Geschichte der Menschenrechte |access-date=December 21, 2016 |archive-date=December 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222195023/http://www.geschichte-menschenrechte.de/personen/benjamin-ferencz/ |url-status=live }}

Ferencz wrote in 2018, in a preface to a book on the future of international justice, that "war-making itself is the supreme international crime against humanity and that it should be deterred by punishment universally, wherever and whenever offenders are apprehended".{{cite book |last1=Albert |first1=Jean |title=L'avenir de la justice pénale internationale |date=2018 |publisher=Bruylant |isbn=9782802753452 |pages=398}}

=Later years=

File:Benjamin Ferencz - Chief Prosecutor in 1947 Einsatzgruppen Trial - In Courtroom 600 Where Nuremberg Trials Were Held - Palace of Justice - Nuremberg-Nurnberg - Germany - 02.jpg

In 2009, Ferencz was awarded the Erasmus Prize, together with Antonio Cassese; the award is given to individuals or institutions that have made notable contributions to European culture, society, or social science.Stichting Praemium Erasmianum: [http://www.erasmusprijs.org/index.cfm?lang=en&page=2009:+ANTONIO+CASSESE,+BENJAMIN+FERENCZ 2009: Antonio Cassese, Benjamin Ferencz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301072522/http://www.erasmusprijs.org/index.cfm?lang=en&page=2009:+ANTONIO+CASSESE,+BENJAMIN+FERENCZ |date=March 1, 2016 }}. URL last accessed November 15, 2012.

On May 3, 2011, two days after the death of Osama bin Laden was reported, The New York Times published a Ferencz letter that argued that "illegal and unwarranted execution—even of suspected mass murderers—undermines democracy".[http://www.benferencz.org/index.php?id=2&artikel=30&jaar=2011 Ferencz Weighs in on Bin Laden Killing] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525215654/http://www.benferencz.org/index.php?id=2&artikel=30&jaar=2011 |date=May 25, 2011 }} May 3, 2011[http://www.benferencz.org/index.php?id=4&article=105 Letter to NY Times re: Bin Laden's Killing] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525210210/http://www.benferencz.org/index.php?id=4&article=105 |date=May 25, 2011 }} May 3, 2011 Also that year he presented a closing statement in the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo in Uganda.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-last-surviving-nuremberg-prosecutor-has-one-ultimate-dream/2016/08/31/3b1607e6-6b95-11e6-ba32-5a4bf5aad4fa_story.html "The improbable story of the man who won history's 'biggest murder trial' at Nuremberg"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503203459/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-last-surviving-nuremberg-prosecutor-has-one-ultimate-dream/2016/08/31/3b1607e6-6b95-11e6-ba32-5a4bf5aad4fa_story.html |date=May 3, 2022 }}. The Washington Post, By Karen Heller August 31, 2016.

On March 16, 2012, in another letter to the editor of The New York Times, Ferencz hailed the International Criminal Court's conviction of Thomas Lubanga as "a milestone in the evolution of international criminal law".[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/opinion/crimes-against-humanity.html Letter to NY Times re: Crimes Against Humanity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720022548/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/opinion/crimes-against-humanity.html |date=July 20, 2018 }} March 16, 2012

In April 2017, the municipality of The Hague announced the naming of the footpath next to the Peace Palace the Benjamin Ferenczpad ("Benjamin Ferencz Path"), calling him "one of the figureheads of international justice". The city's Deputy Mayor Saskia Bruines (International Affairs) traveled to Washington D.C. to symbolically present the street sign to Ferencz.{{cite web|url=https://www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/to/Peace-Palace-path-named-for-Nazi-war-crimes-prosecutor.htm|title=Peace Palace path named for Nazi war crimes prosecutor|first=Den|last=Haag|website=www.denhaag.nl|access-date=April 26, 2017|archive-date=April 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427003954/https://www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/to/Peace-Palace-path-named-for-Nazi-war-crimes-prosecutor.htm|url-status=dead}}

In 2018, Ferencz was the subject of a documentary on his life, Prosecuting Evil, by director Barry Avrich, which was made available on Netflix.{{cite news |last1=Kenigsberg |first1=Ben |title='Prosecuting Evil' Review: At 98, His Passion for Justice Hasn't Dimmed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/movies/prosecuting-evil-review.html |work=The New York Times |date=February 21, 2019 |access-date=January 28, 2020 |archive-date=March 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306200522/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/movies/prosecuting-evil-review.html |url-status=live }} In the same year, Ferencz was interviewed for the 2018 Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 11/9.{{Cite web|title=Review: In 'Fahrenheit 11/9', Michael Moore asks the heartland to deliver us from Trump|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/09/25/review-fahrenheit-119-michael-moore-asks-heartland-deliver-us-trump|website=Americamagazine.org|date=September 25, 2018|access-date=November 3, 2020|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306195017/https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2018/09/25/review-fahrenheit-119-michael-moore-asks-heartland-deliver-us-trump|url-status=live}}

On June 20, 2019, artist and sculptor Yaacov Heller honored Ferencz—presenting him with a bust he created—commemorating his extraordinary life dedicated to genocide prevention.{{Cite web|last=Pamela|first=Weinroth|date=June 24, 2019|title=South Palm Beach County Social Scene|url=https://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2019/06/south-palm-beach-county-social-scene-8/|website=Boca Raton Tribune|access-date=September 19, 2020|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306195020/https://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/2019/06/south-palm-beach-county-social-scene-8/|url-status=live}}

On January 16, 2020, The New York Times printed Ferencz's letter denouncing the assassination of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, unnamed in the letter, as an "immoral action [and] a clear violation of national and international law".{{cite news |last1=Ferencz |first1=Benjamin |title='Immoral' Killing of Iranian |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/opinion/letters/us-iran-killing.html |access-date=January 17, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=January 16, 2020 |archive-date=January 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117005207/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/opinion/letters/us-iran-killing.html |url-status=live }} He became a centenarian two months later.[https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/benjamin-ferencz-surviving-nuremberg-prosecutor-200310100126998.html Benjamin Ferencz: The last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524143018/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/benjamin-ferencz-surviving-nuremberg-prosecutor-200310100126998.html |date=May 24, 2020 }}, aljazeera.com; accessed November 23, 2021. Six months later on September 7, the documentary Two Heads Are Better Than One: Making of the Ben Ferencz Bust, starring Ferencz and sculptor Yaacov Heller, had a world premiere, produced by Eric Kline Productions and directed by Eric Kline.{{Cite web|date=September 7, 2020|title=Two Heads Are Better Than One World Premiere|url=https://yiddishfest.org/speaker/two-heads-better-one/|website=YiddushFest.org|access-date=September 19, 2020|archive-date=September 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930213434/https://yiddishfest.org/speaker/two-heads-better-one/|url-status=dead}}

On June 22, 2021, he became the first recipient of the Pahl Peace Prize{{Cite web|title=Pahl Peace Prize Foundation|url=https://www.pahlpeaceprize.com/en/|access-date=November 8, 2021|archive-date=April 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417145844/https://www.pahlpeaceprize.com/en/|url-status=live}} in Liechtenstein.{{Cite web|title=Ferencz: "Der Weltfrieden darf nicht unser Ziel bleiben, sondern muss Realität werden" – Liechtenstein|url=https://www.volksblatt.li/Nachricht.aspx?src=vb&id=280238&twLink=1|access-date=November 8, 2021|website=Liechtensteiner Volksblatt|language=de-DE|archive-date=November 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108082251/https://www.volksblatt.li/Nachricht.aspx?src=vb&id=280238&twLink=1|url-status=live}}

In January 2022, Ferencz appeared as an interviewee in the German documentary Ganz normale Männer - Der "vergessene Holocaust" which was based on the book Ordinary Men - Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning. An English language version of the documentary was released by Netflix in September 2023 as Ordinary Men - The "Forgotten Holocaust".{{cn|date=October 2024}}

In March 2022, an audio clip of Ferencz was played during the eleventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly and he later gave an interview to BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{cite episode| title= 04/03/2022| series= The World Tonight| station= BBC Radio 4| url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0014xyg| minutes= 37:38| airdate= March 4, 2022| accessdate= March 4, 2022| archive-date= March 4, 2022| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220304232953/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0014xyg| url-status= live}} He said that Vladimir Putin should be "behind bars" for his war crimes,{{Cite web|url = https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/last-surviving-nuremberg-trials-prosecutor-26389664|title = Last surviving Nuremberg Trials prosecutor says Putin should be 'behind bars'|website = Daily Mirror|date = March 4, 2022|access-date = March 5, 2022|archive-date = March 6, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220306205247/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/last-surviving-nuremberg-trials-prosecutor-26389664|url-status = live}} and that he was "heartbroken" over atrocities in Ukraine.{{Citation |title='I am heartbroken': Last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor on war in Ukraine – CNN Video |date=April 15, 2022 |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2022/04/15/amanpour-ukraine-was-benjamin-ferencz-holocaust-wwii.cnn |access-date=May 2, 2022 |archive-date=May 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502032028/https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2022/04/15/amanpour-ukraine-was-benjamin-ferencz-holocaust-wwii.cnn |url-status=live }}

On April 7, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis awarded Ferencz the Governor's Medal of Freedom{{Cite web |title=2021 Florida Statutes Title IV Chapter 14 Section 35 |url=https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2021/14.35 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409082421/https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2021/14.35 |archive-date=April 9, 2022 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |website=The Florida Senate}} at a ceremony held at Florida Atlantic University.{{Cite web |date=April 8, 2022 |title=Governor DeSantis Awards the Governor's Medal of Freedom to Benjamin Ferencz, the Last Surviving Nuremberg Prosecutor |url=https://www.flgov.com/2022/04/08/governor-desantis-awards-the-governors-medal-of-freedom-to-benjamin-ferencz-the-last-surviving-nuremberg-prosecutor/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220409080748/https://flgov.com/2022/04/08/governor-desantis-awards-the-governors-medal-of-freedom-to-benjamin-ferencz-the-last-surviving-nuremberg-prosecutor/ |archive-date=April 9, 2022 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |website=flgov.com}}{{Cite news |last=Holland |first=Courtney |date=April 7, 2022 |title=DeSantis awards Nuremberg trials prosecutor with Florida Medal of Freedom |work=WTSP |url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/nuremberg-trials-prosecutor-florida-medal-of-freedom/67-c5b8b7f4-6e71-4146-a8a6-1387ab31c83e |url-status=live |access-date=April 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220409080156/https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/nuremberg-trials-prosecutor-florida-medal-of-freedom/67-c5b8b7f4-6e71-4146-a8a6-1387ab31c83e |archive-date=April 9, 2022}}

In September 2022, Ferencz appeared in the Ken Burns documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust.{{Cite web |title="The U.S. and the Holocaust" |url=https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/ |website=PBS |access-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923180540/https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/ |url-status=live }}

In December 2022, Ferencz was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jns.org/bipartisan-bill-awards-congressional-gold-medal-to-last-living-nuremberg-prosecutor/|title=Bipartisan bill awards Congressional Gold Medal to last living Nuremberg prosecutor|first=Jacob|last=Kamaras|date=December 22, 2022|website=JNS.org|accessdate=April 9, 2023|archive-date=December 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225003019/https://www.jns.org/bipartisan-bill-awards-congressional-gold-medal-to-last-living-nuremberg-prosecutor/|url-status=live}}

In January 2023, Ferencz appeared in the David Wilkinson documentary Getting Away with Murder(s).{{Cite news |title=Getting Away with Murder(s) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/30/getting-away-with-murders-review-holocaust/ |website=The Guardian |date=September 30, 2021 |access-date=March 13, 2023 |archive-date=March 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313230437/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/sep/30/getting-away-with-murders-review-holocaust |url-status=live |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Peter }}

In March 2023, in one of his last public appearances, Ferencz presented a video clip of welcome{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g94I365qDg|title=Ben Ferencz Introduction|date=October 20, 2022 |accessdate=April 9, 2023|via=www.youtube.com|archive-date=April 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409130806/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g94I365qDg&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}} to participants at The Nuremberg Principles: The Contemporary Challenges Conference, an event sponsored by the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America.{{Cite web |title=The Nuremberg Principles Conference |url=https://www.catholic.edu/nuremberg/index.html |website=The Catholic University of America |access-date=April 9, 2023 |archive-date=January 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127185928/https://www.catholic.edu/nuremberg/index.html |url-status=live }}

Personal life

In 1946, Ferencz married his girlfriend, Gertrude Fried, in New York. For a total of 73 years, they were married "without a quarrel"{{Cite web|title=Criminal: Episode 177: Palace of Justice on Apple Podcasts|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-177-palace-of-justice/id809264944?i=1000542442574|access-date=November 20, 2021|website=Apple Podcasts|language=en-US|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127151838/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-177-palace-of-justice/id809264944?i=1000542442574|url-status=live}} until her death in 2019.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/parting-words-nine-lessons-for-a-remarkable-life-by-benjamin-ferencz-review-what-you-know-when-youre-100-vbk5tmnr7|title=Parting Words: Nine Lessons for a Remarkable Life by Benjamin Ferencz review — what you know when you're 100|last1=Finkelstein|first1=Daniel|access-date=December 26, 2020|archive-date=December 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226120541/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/saturday-review/parting-words-nine-lessons-for-a-remarkable-life-by-benjamin-ferencz-review-what-you-know-when-youre-100-vbk5tmnr7|url-status=live}} They had four children.{{Cite web|url=https://benferencz.org/biography/|title=Biography|website=Benjamin B. Ferencz|accessdate=April 9, 2023|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306195020/https://benferencz.org/biography/|url-status=live}}

Ferencz died at an assisted living facility in Boynton Beach, Florida, on April 7, 2023, at the age of 103.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/08/world/europe/benjamin-b-ferencz-dead.html|title = Benjamin B. Ferencz, Last Surviving Nuremberg Prosecutor, Dies at 103|last = McFadden|first = Robert D.|newspaper = The New York Times|date = April 8, 2023|accessdate = April 8, 2023|url-access = limited|archive-date = April 8, 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230408145153/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/08/world/europe/benjamin-b-ferencz-dead.html|url-status = live}} He was the last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials.BBC World Service radio report, aired on October 5, 2021, using recordings of interview from 2017.

Philanthropy

In 2016, it was revealed by the Associated Press that Ferencz donated $1 million to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's genocide prevention center and had earmarked a further $1 million to the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, plus the option for an annual gift renewable for up to $10 million per year.{{Cite web |date=2016-08-31 |title=Nuremberg prosecutor gives $1 million to Holocaust Museum |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-0b6ef193080049f0a750e5f42048f850 |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=AP News |language=en}} According to a 2017 interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, Ferencz pledged to will his life savings to genocide prevention initiatives.{{Citation |title=Remembering the Last Nuremberg Trial Prosecutor | date=April 17, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJTUEJxDmcc |access-date=2024-03-16 |language=en}}

Selected bibliography

Parting Words (Hardcover), Benjamin Ferencz, Published by Little, Brown Book Group, London, 2020; {{ISBN|9780751579918}}
Ferencz, B.: "The 'Immoral' Killing of the Iranian General", New York Times Letter to Editor, January 16, 2020.
Ferencz, B.: "[https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/themen-entdecken/geschichte/zeitgeschichte-ab-1949/54407/kriegsverbrechen-restitution-praevention?c=1548 Kriegsverbrechen, Restitution, Prävention. Aus dem Vorlass von Benjamin B. Ferencz]", ed. by Constantin Goschler, Marcus Böick, Julia Reus, Göttingen 2019 (collection of documents, open access).
Ferencz, B.: Mémoires de Ben, procureur à Nuremberg et avocat de la paix mondiale, (an autobiography), Michalon, Paris, 2012. {{ISBN|978-2841866748}}
Ferencz, B.: New Legal Foundations for Global Survival: Security Through the Security Council, Oceana 1994; {{ISBN|0-379-21207-2}}.
Ferencz, B.: Keyes, K. Jr.: Planethood: The Key to Your Future, Vision Books 1988. Reprint 1991; {{ISBN|0-915972-21-2}}.
Ferencz, B.: A Common Sense Guide to World Peace, Oceana 1985. {{ISBN|9780379207972}}
Ferencz, B.: Enforcing International Law: A Way to World Peace, Oceana 1983. {{ISBN| 0379121476}}
Ferencz, B.: Less Than Slaves: Jewish Forced Labor and the Quest for Compensation, Harvard 1979. Reprint 2002, Indiana University Press & USHMM; {{ISBN|0-253-21530-7}}.
Ferencz, B.: An International Criminal Court: A Step Toward World Peace, Oceana 1980. {{ISBN|0-379-20389-8}}.
Ferencz, B.: Defining International Aggression: The Search for World Peace, Oceana 1975. {{ISBN|0-379-00271-X}}.

Lectures

[http://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Ferencz.html "The Evolution of International Criminal Law – A Personal Account"] in the [http://legal.un.org/avl/lectureseries.html Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law]

Awards

1980: National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust category for Less Than Slaves: Jewish Forced Labor and the Quest for Compensation{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30757|title=Past Winners|website=Jewish Book Council|language=en|access-date=January 21, 2020|archive-date=March 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307125351/https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/awards/national-jewish-book-awards/past-winners?category=30757|url-status=live}}
2018: Medal of Honour of the International Association of Prosecutors{{cite web |title=IAP Awards: IAP |website=International Association of Prosecutors |url=https://www.iap-association.org/About/Co-operation-With-Others/IAP-Awards/Medal-of-Honour |access-date=2023-04-13}}
2021: Honorary Doctorate awarded by the faculty of law of the University of Cologne{{Cite web|url=https://www.lto.de/recht/hintergruende/h/benjamin-ferencz-chefanklaeger-nuernberger-prozesse-internationaler-strafgerichtshof-ehrendoktorwuerde-uni-koeln/|title=Recht statt Krieg: Uni Köln ehrt Benjamin Ferencz|website=Legal Tribune Online|accessdate=April 9, 2023|archive-date=March 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327212550/https://www.lto.de/recht/hintergruende/h/benjamin-ferencz-chefanklaeger-nuernberger-prozesse-internationaler-strafgerichtshof-ehrendoktorwuerde-uni-koeln/|url-status=live}}
2021: Awardee of the Pahl Peace Prize in Liechtenstein
2022: Governor's Medal of Freedom of the State of Florida

References

External links

{{Official website|https://benferencz.org}}
[http://www.c-span.org/person/?benjaminferencz Benjamin Ferencz on Nuremberg War Crimes Trials on C-SPAN]
[http://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn507286 Oral history interview with Benjamin Ferencz at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZHTtfTXjrA "Ben Ferencz, known as the last living Nuremberg prosecutor, has died"] | 60 Minutes
{{Internet Archive author |sname= Benjamin Berell Ferencz}}
{{IMDb name|id=2290541}}

Category:1920 births

Category:2023 deaths

Category:People from Maramureș County

Category:Lawyers from New York City

Category:Military personnel from New York City

Category:Writers from Manhattan

Category:Nuremberg trials

Category:American autobiographers

Category:American anti-fascists

Category:American men centenarians

Category:American male non-fiction writers

Category:American pacifists