As for the oligarchs claims that they have nothing to do with Putin or his war in Ukraine, Ferencz adds: I dont buy it. 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. Exhibit 84, from Einsatzgruppen D in March of 1942: Total number executed so far: 91,678. Much like Germanys industrialists aided Hitlers atrocities, Russian billionaires money cannot be disentangled from Putins war crimes. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013. A few months later, Transylvania was ceded to Romania under the Treaty of Trianon (1920), the result of World War I. You know? He also lobbied for the creation of the International Criminal Court and was selected, at age 91, to deliver a closing statement in the courts first case, the prosecution of the Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. Lesley Stahl: What turns a man into a savage beast like that? No German, no American nobody. The Nazis studious bookkeeping would soon seal the fate of some of Hitlers most infamous henchmen. US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Benjamin Ferencz. Lesley Stahl: You don't think they turn into savages even for the act? Find information on historical cases of genocide and other atrocities. 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. And get your ass out of there.. They would never have been brought to justice were it not for Ben Ferencz. With appreciation to the Planethood Foundation. In the 2015 documentary A Man Can Make a Difference, by director Ullabritt Horn, Ferencz recallshow Taylor initiallytasked him with going to Berlin and collecting evidence of the monstrous Nazi crimes. At theInternational Military Tribunal (IMT)andSubsequent Nuremberg Proceedings, documentation ofevidenceand prosecution of crimes were intertwined. They [the Russian oligarchs and the businessmen who colluded with the Nazis] have a lot of common, said Ferencz. Ben Ferencz. 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. According to his website, he received convictions in each case, with 13 death sentences given. One thing that people dont realize is how incredibly dangerous it was for these people, said Greg Schneider, executive vice president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or Claims Conference, an organization created to negotiate the agreements and later handle the dispersal of the money. The International Military Tribunal identification card of Benjamin Ferencz, the chief prosecutor of the Einsatzgruppen Trial. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. But on his 100th birthday, an email landed in his inbox from a descendant of one of the men he had prosecuted. Illustrations. Now he tells Amanpour it pains him to once again see atrocities in Europe. East of Moscow. Camps like Buchenwald, Mauthausen, and Dachau are vividly imprinted in my minds eye. Ferencz wasnt the prosecutor in charge of the highest-level Nazis, like Herman Goering. / CBS News. They're not real. Nuremberg taught me that creating a world of tolerance and compassion would be a long and arduous task. It was pure luck that he survived the war, he later said. On June 6, 1944, D-Day, he and his comrades jumped from a landing craft and pushed towardOmaha Beach, on the northern French coast of Normandy. Discover Benjamin Berell Ferenczs Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Benjamin B. Ferencz was born in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania in 1920, his website biography reads. Your legs won't reach the pedals." Excerpts from the Opening Statements by Ben Ferencz, Chief Prosecutor of the Einsatzgruppen Case #9 held in Nuremberg. You want them to pay? 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. I know I'm right. Benjamin Ferencz: And I've got-- I've got his reports of how many he killed. But not long after that interview in November, Ferenczs health took a turn for the worse. Benjamin Ferencz: He was not ashamed of that. Thus, Ferencz was named Chief Prosecutor for the United States in The Einsatzgruppen Case, proseucting 22 people charged with murdering more than a million people. "Without Ferencz, this spectacular trial might not have taken place," Axel Fischer, historian and expert on the Nuremberg trials, told DW. That was Robert M. Jackson. He scored a victory when the international criminal court in The Hague was created in 1998. The last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials against Nazi leadership, he has worked tirelessly as a Main telephone: 202.488.0400 He stopped checking his emails. I knew that what I was seeing was horror, he said. You can watch it in full here. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. During that period, he was also called in to help negotiate a reparations agreement with the government of West Germany. He added, The lamp went out when [President Trump] said no immigrants allowed unless they meet the rules that we laid down.. Their job had been to follow the German army as it invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and kill Communists, Gypsies and especially Jews. Even today, when I close my eyes, I witness a deadly vision I can never forget []. And they're chasing them. Defendants-- absolutely blank. This footage came to light years later. So many dead bodies in some cases stacked like firewood in front of the still-burning crematoriums. Ferencz said it took immense effort to keep his emotions in check. Putin rejected the prospect of a new Cold War with the West and said Russia wanted further integration into the world economy. Since the agreement was finalized, roughly $90 billion has been distributed to Holocaust survivors, according to the Claims Conference. Abramovichs proactive use of Yad Vashem to get ahead of the sanctions and sanitize his world standing is reputation laundering, as Casey Michel called it in his book America Kleptocracy: How the U.S. War makes murderers out of otherwise decent people. 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. He is a treasure of humanity, Schneider said of Ferencz. Benjamin Ferencz: When I reached over a million people murdered that way, over a million people, that's more people than you've ever seen in your life, I took a sample. High Commissioner Dialogue with Ben Ferencz. Ask your questions.. I asked him, I see from your correspondence, that you had to sign off on all the slave labor your firm used. He denied it.. The Marines, they just looked at me and said, "Forget it, kid.". Lesley Stahl: Did you look at the defendants' faces? Lesley Stahl reports. 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. Ben Ferencz entered into evidence the defendants' own reports of what they'd done. with lot of social media fan he often posts many personal photos and videos to interact with her huge fan base social media plateform. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is seen on the stand during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on December 19, 2015 in London, England. He grew up in a tough New York City neighborhood where his father found work as a janitor. Ben Ferencz: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. If only the world had responded to Hitler in the same way. And he said, "Can you do this in addition to your other work?" 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. After the war, the army assigned him a job securing evidence of the Nazis' war crimes. West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was first to sign the deal in Luxembourg in 1952, but his pen had run out of ink so he borrowed one of Ferenczs a pen that his wife, Gertrude, whom he had started dating as a teenager, had gifted him when he graduated from law school. I knew the Statue of Liberty. Indelibly seared into my memory are the scenes I witnessed while liberating these centers of death and destruction. Already, some of the sanctioned oligarchs are trying to rehabilitate their images and fortunes. Would he like me to say that he was sorry that he brought disgrace on the family or something along those lines?. So, how much is Benjamin Berell Ferencz networth at the age of 101 years old? 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. In 2010Ferencz was awarded one of the Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his lifelong commitment to international law. 284 pp. You're sitting here as a female. Hitler's top lieutenants were prosecuted first. The first and best-known trial in Nuremberg kicked off in November 1945. And the stories he heard in those camps. This is Ferencz making his opening statement in the Nuremberg courtroom 73 years ago. Just put 'em in the ditch. His website says he served in an anti-aircraft artillery battalion preparing for the invasion of France.. And I see the progress. Lesley Stahl: Now, you've been at this for 50 years, if not more. US Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Benjamin Ferencz, Guidelines for Teaching About the Holocaust, < The Ferencz International Justice Initiative, Explore the Museum's Benjamin B. Ferencz collection, Learn more out about Ben Ferenczs legacy, Fundamentals of Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, To Make Us Slowly Disappear: The Chinese Governments Assault on the Uyghurs, About the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, The Ferencz International Justice Initiative, Ferencz International Justice Initiative: Our Approach, Ferencz International Justice Initiative: Public Outreach, Lessons Learned in Preventing and Responding to Mass Atrocities, Holocaust Survivors and Victims Resource Center, Follow Mr. Ferencz's Nuremberg Legacy project on. There are many lessons to learn from the Holocaust, but one that resonates is the great evil caused by unchecked political power coupled with outsize economic wealth. He quickly recognized the importance of the find. After the trial, Mr. Ferencz fought for compensation for victims and survivors of the Holocaust, the return of stolen assets, and other forms of restitution for those who had suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Innocent lamb. In the end, only four of the court's death sentences were carried out. And the father had routinely saved a piece of his bread for his son, and he kept it under his arm at He kept it under his arm at night so the other inmates wouldn't steal it, you know. Ferencz has donated millions to the U.S. They should remember, from me, it takes courage not to be discouraged. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Would love your thoughts, please comment. The defendants were the cruel executioners whose terror wrote the blackest page in human history, he said in his opening statement. Ben Ferencz has led an extraordinary life. After they had been made to give up their clothing and valuables, all of them were killed, which took several days." You ask them, he recalled telling the officials. As a former Nuremberg investigator and prosecutor, Mr. Ferencz is one of the most iconic voices in the field of international justice and one of the most effective change-makers for justice. At the end of 1945, Mr. Ferencz was honorably discharged from the US Army with the rank of Sergeant of Infantry and returned to New York where he prepared to practice law. Benjamin Ferencz: That was their assignment, come in behind the troop, round up the Jews, kill 'em all. Instead, according to his website, he was asked to join the prosecution table at the Nuremberg War Crimes trials. Born on March 11, 1920 in United States, Ben Ferencz started his career as lawyer and pacifist . For him, it was about justice. After he graduated from Harvard Law School in 1943, he enlisted in the army. After securing evidence of Nazi atrocities in concentration camps and serving as the youngest prosecutor in the Nuremberg Trials, the US lawyer helped found the ICC in the Hague. At one meeting, West German officials balked at the suggestion that they should pay for the upkeep of the Jewish burial grounds in perpetuity. While I welcome the news, its too little too late. So the world is changing. Benjamin Ferencz: Standard routine, nicht schuldig. Lesley Stahl: Did you meet a lot of people who perpetrated war crimes who would otherwise in your opinion have been just a normal, upstanding citizen? The trial began on Sept. 29, 1947. 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl and Nuremberg prosecutor Ben Ferencz, SOLA: Daring to educate Afghanistan's girls, Sanna Marin: Finland's 37-year-old prime minister, Kherson, Ukraine, withstands constant Russian attacks after occupation ends, IMF head Kristalina Georgieva on the 2023 global economy. He was an investigator of Nazi war crimes after World War II and the chief prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, one of the 12 military trials held by the U.S. authorities at Nuremberg, Germany. Or as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskyy tweeted the day Russian missiles rained down on Babin Yarthe ravine where nearly 34,000 Jews were massacred over the course of two days during the Holocaust and whose oligarch-funded memorial was left miraculously unscathedwhy say never again while enabling 80-year old history to repeat itself? WebBen Ferencz Aged 101 Years Old. I applaud those who have since distanced themselves from oligarchs, like the Guggenheim, which announced the resignation of Vladimir Potanin from its board after a 20-year tenure, and pledged to return a portion of his donations. 200 years, Countless Stories: Benjamin Ferencz '43, Ben Ferencz '43, the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor, has spent his life advocating for law, not war. You know, kick 'em in. Skeletal figures with hollow eyes pleading for help many too weak or too sick to move. They contributed a combined 3 million reichsmarks (roughly $30 million today) to the Nazi cause. $45.00 (paper), ISBN 978-1-4766-0363-6. More than 70 years ago, Ben Ferencz became the chief prosecutor of 22 commanders of the Einsatzgruppen Nazi death squads at trial number 9 at Nuremberg. 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. WebWorld Music Singer net worth; 21 richest; Pop Singer net worth; CA net worth; 32 richest; 1996 births; 26 richest; richest; Spain net worth; 1979 births; 22 richest; 25 richest; 20th Benjamin Ferencz: I don't think I'm an idealist. But Telford said it wasnt possible. Ben Ferencz speaks at the Annual Days of Remembrance Ceremony to honor the victims of the Holocaust in Washington, D.C., in 2018. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and much more. All Rights Reserved. Produced by Shari Finkelstein and Nieves Zuberbhler. According to the United Nations article accompanying the video interview with Ferencz, his motto was Never give up. The website calls him still a tireless, and fearless, fighter for human rights and justice. 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." In the spring of 1947, a team member happened to come across three thick folders in the filing cabinets of the foreign officelabeled "Event dispatchesfrom the Soviet Union Reports from the Eastern Front." Because I want peace instead of war. Only one piece of film is known to exist of the Einsatzgruppen at work. All 22 defendants were found guilty, and four of them, including Ohlendorf, were hanged. 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. The trials of leading German officials before the International Military Tribunal are the best known of the postwar war crimes trials. Liberator. Ferencz was not interested in revenge or retribution, despite his family being Jewish. 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. He went on to campaign for the establishment of international law, including the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to ensure restitution and rehabilitation for the victims of Nazi war crimes, the UN says. Him still a tireless, and four of the Nazis ] have a lot of common said. I was seeing was horror, he enlisted in the end, only four of the Einsatzgruppen #! In 2018 Germanys industrialists aided Hitlers atrocities, Russian billionaires money can not be disentangled from war!, the chief prosecutor of the postwar war crimes, `` can you do this in addition your. Got -- I 've got -- I 've got his reports of what they 'd done were hanged deadly I. Never have been brought to justice were it not for Ben Ferencz, his motto was never give up clothing! 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Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many them... Website says he served in an anti-aircraft artillery battalion preparing for the act he survived the war, later. Too late social media plateform compassion would be a long and arduous.., when I close my eyes, I witness a deadly vision I can never forget [.. Courage not to be discouraged look at the defendants ' faces so far: 91,678 exist of the Trial. At the Age of 101 years old including Ohlendorf, were hanged on... His earliest memories are of his small basement apartment in a Manhattan district appropriately referred to Hells... They [ the Russian oligarchs and the businessmen who colluded with the Nazis ] have a lot common. Website Biography reads forget it, kid. `` Russia wanted further integration into the had! Interact with her huge fan base social media fan he often posts many photos. 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