The last surviving Nuremberg Trials prosecutor BenFerencz, who at 99 is the subject of a new Barry Avrich documentary 'Prosecuting Evil,' reflects on taking on Nazis, his fight for an International Criminal Court and the Trump Administration
Born to Orthodox Jewish farmers in Transylvania, Ferencz, at just nine months of age, was brought to America by his parents aboard a ship, passing the torch of the Statue of Liberty. He grew up in poverty and around crime, but studied hard and gained admittance to City College of New York and then Harvard Law School, where he decided to pursue a career in crime prevention and studied with one of the world's leading experts on what we now call war crimes, Prof..
After Ferencz's honorable discharge on Christmas of 1945, he returned stateside — only to be summoned to Washington and recruited to assist in Nuremberg, where, in addition to international military tribunal trials, there were 12 additional trials against people from other segments of Nazi Germany's society.
Ferencz spent the rest of his career as a highly respected and successful lawyer. He was instrumental in the creation of the International Criminal Court in the Hague in 2002. And he continues to write and speak about war crimes to this day, just months shy of his 100th birthday. What is his secret? "There is no secret," he insists with a chuckle. "I've lived a wholesome life. This morning I did my usual 75 pushups, among other things.
While Ferencz feels that much progress has been made in the 75 years since World War II, he is far from satisfied. "Hitler's happening again and again all around the world," he laments. "I can look in the White House and pick a few out for you.[until recently Pres. Trump's National Security Advisor] is not a far cry from Hitler." Ferencz feels particularly strongly about the Trump Administration's separation of parents and child at the southern border.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Think You’re Smarter Than Ben Mathis-Lilley? Find Out With This Week’s News Quiz.Take this week's News Quiz and find out just how plugged in you are.
Read more »
HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media
Read more »
A.R. Rahman, Ken Kragen Go ‘Hand in Hand’ for Climate Change (EXCLUSIVE)Music industry veteran and humanitarian Ken Kragen, the driving force behind the “We Are The World” and “Hands Across America” campaigns, has joined hands with award-winning composer A.R. Rahman fo…
Read more »
Asante Blackk Scores Double, Apple TV+ Makes Awards Debut At Critics Choice TV Nominations, ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’, ‘The Unicorn’ & ‘Evil’ Among NewcomersAsante Blackk emerged as a double nominee at the Critics Choice Association’s TV Awards, with supporting actor noms in the drama series category for NBC’s This Is Us and in limited series/mov…
Read more »
Joni Mitchell to Receive Les Paul Innovation Award at NAMM TEC AwardsJoni Mitchell will receive the prestigious Les Paul Innovation Award at the 35th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards, to be held Saturday, January 18, 2020 in Anaheim, Californ…
Read more »
Macao Film Festival Crowns Industry Winners; Philippines Horror ‘Dear Wormwood’ Takes Best ProjectThe 2019 edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) closed its industry program last night (December 8), with the event’s Best Project Award going to Dear Wormwood,…
Read more »