Link copiedBen Ferencz, the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials, answered the phone in bright spirits. “Good morning,” he hollered. “Ask your questions.”
What did he think about the war in Ukraine and the uptick in antisemitic incidents around the globe? “The world has still not learned the lessons of Nuremberg.”But not long after that interview in November, Ferencz’s health took a turn for the worse.“He declined very rapidly,” his son, Don, said last week. “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.
He landed on the beaches of Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. With the allied forces closing in on the center of Nazi power in Berlin, he was transferred to a unit responsible for gathering evidence of war crimes. “My goal was clear: grab the documents,” he recalled. “I headed straight to the main office and closed it off. ‘Nobody goes in or out without my permission. No German, no American — nobody. I want complete control of the archives,’ which I got.”“I knew that what I was seeing was horror,” he said.
The U.S. decided to hold 12 more trials in Nuremberg against Nazi judges, doctors and other top figures.By the time Ferencz found the Einsatzgruppen records, the U.S. had already finalized plans for the other trials.He flew to Nuremberg and told Telford Taylor, the chief counsel for the prosecutions, that they must add another trial. But Telford said it wasn’t possible. The budget had already been set and the Pentagon wasn’t keen on any more trials.
“The defendants were the cruel executioners whose terror wrote the blackest page in human history,” he said in his opening statement. “Death was their tool and life their toy. If these men be immune, then law has lost its meaning and man must live in fear.” But Ohlendorf wasn’t interested. He launched into a diatribe defending the Nazis, saying they were right to resist the “communists” seeking to take over Germany and the rest of the world.
“One thing that people don’t 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.
typo_cat Was he at Nuremberg trials?
God bless him and Dr. Victor F. Frankl who survived the war camps even though he was a Jew. Those men demonstrated true valor in times of adversity and many innocent people were rescued because of both were obedient to humanitarian God.
correction: REPS have not 'learned the lesson'... dems try each year to diminish hatred by constantly advocating equal rights for all.. the RW, however constantly seeks ways to NOT condemn the MANY hate groups on RW which literally believe others are lesser
Most of MAGA think the Holocaust is a hoax
Why is Laster Hall start on Dateline why?
Never forget
We should all read the Bible to get an honest history of the jews. That's the jew history people should pay attention to.
The world should have been listening to Ben for the last 80 years. He is an architect of peace and one of the smartest people to have ever lived. Unfortunately, we do not/did not listen. He is my hero
🥰🥰 a very honorable man, God bless Mr. Ferencz!
Darkest hour is right now - 45,000,000 Ukrainians being burned alive by russians in their homes -
Darkest what now?
Great article- thank you for sharing Mr. Ferencz’s incredible story
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With conservatives burying inconvenient historical facts via school boards - history will repeat.
We can not let the Holocaust die with them.
💕✔️
Wellll, this will make the republican party happy since they want to deny history has occurred!!