Ben Ferencz, the last living prosecutor from the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals, recently became a centenarian — a wonderful milestone in an amazing life. Born in Hungary, his family emigrated to the U.S. to escape antisemitism. In Nuremberg, Ferencz was, among other things, the U.S. Army’s chief prosecutor of S.S. Einsatzgruppen officers who supervised the shooting deaths of one million people, most of them Jews. Ferencz became a passionate activist for the establishment of the International Criminal Court; he also has been a dedicated peace advocate ever since World War II.
Quote: “Nuremberg taught me that creating a world of tolerance and compassion would be a long and arduous task. 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.”
Sources: Wikipedia, AZ Quotes
Learn more about Benjamin Ferencz on Wikipedia. >>
Watch a profile of Ben Ferencz on 60 Minutes Rewind from when he was only 97 [14:36]. >>
Photo: The Wall Street Journal
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