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Benjamin Ferencz
Black-and-white photograph of Ferencz, aged 27, wearing a black pinstriped suit and a dark tie
Born
Benjamin Berell Ferencz

(1920-03-11)March 11, 1920
Nagysomkút, Kingdom of Hungary
DiedApril 7, 2023(2023-04-07) (aged 103)
Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Education
Known forProsecutor at the Einsatzgruppen trial
Spouse
Gertrude Fried
​
​
(m. 1946; died 2019)​
Children4
Military career
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1943–1945
RankSergeant
Battles / warsWorld 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[1] 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.[2]

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

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Early life and education

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Ferencz was born on March 11, 1920,[3][4][5] in Nagysomkút in the historical Transylvania region, into a Jewish family.[6] 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.[7]

The family settled in New York City, where they lived on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.[8] 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 Pound[9] and also did research for Sheldon Glueck, who at that time was writing a book on war crimes. Ferencz graduated from Harvard in 1943.[10]

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.[8] He fought in several major battles of the European theatre and was awarded five battle stars.[11]

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.[8]

Nuremberg trial prosecutor

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Friedrich Bergold (attorney for Ernst Biberstein), Ferencz, and Rudolf Aschenauer (attorney for Otto Ohlendorf) during the Einsatzgruppen Trial

On Christmas 1945,[9] 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.[12] 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.[2] Taylor appointed him chief prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case—Ferencz's first case.[8] Of the 24 men he indicted,[13] 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]

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:

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?[14] 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.[14]

Ferencz stayed in Germany after the Nuremberg trials, together with his wife Gertrude,[8] whom he had married in New York[15] on March 31, 1946.[4] 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,[16] and the first German Restitution Law in 1953.[8] In 1956, the family—they had four children by then—returned to the US, where Ferencz entered private law practice[15] as a partner of Telford Taylor.[17] 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".[18]

Role in forming the International Criminal Court

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Experiences just after World War II left a defining impression on Ferencz.[15][6] 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.[15]

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.[10] From 1985 to 1996, Ferencz also worked as an adjunct professor of international law at Pace University at White Plains, New York.[7]

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.[19]

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.[15] 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.[15] He also suggested that Bush should be tried in the International Criminal Court for "269 war crime charges" related to the Iraq War.[20][21]

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".[22]

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".[23]

Later years

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Ferencz in 2012

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.[24]

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".[25][26] Also that year he presented a closing statement in the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo in Uganda.[27]

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".[28]

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.[29]

In 2018, Ferencz was the subject of a documentary on his life, Prosecuting Evil, by director Barry Avrich, which was made available on Netflix.[30] In the same year, Ferencz was interviewed for the 2018 Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 11/9.[31]

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.[32]

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".[33] He became a centenarian two months later.[34] 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.[35]

On June 22, 2021, he became the first recipient of the Pahl Peace Prize[36] in Liechtenstein.[37]

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".[citation needed]

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.[38] He said that Vladimir Putin should be "behind bars" for his war crimes,[39] and that he was "heartbroken" over atrocities in Ukraine.[40]

On April 7, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis awarded Ferencz the Governor's Medal of Freedom[41] at a ceremony held at Florida Atlantic University.[42][43]

In September 2022, Ferencz appeared in the Ken Burns documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust.[44]

In December 2022, Ferencz was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.[45]

In January 2023, Ferencz appeared in the David Wilkinson documentary Getting Away with Murder(s).[46]

In March 2023, in one of his last public appearances, Ferencz presented a video clip of welcome[47] 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.[48]

Personal life

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In 1946, Ferencz married his girlfriend, Gertrude Fried, in New York.[8][15][4] For a total of 73 years, they were married "without a quarrel"[49] until her death in 2019.[50] They had four children.[51]

Ferencz died at an assisted living facility in Boynton Beach, Florida, on April 7, 2023, at the age of 103.[52] He was the last surviving prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials.[53]

Philanthropy

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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.[54] According to a 2017 interview with Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes, Ferencz pledged to will his life savings to genocide prevention initiatives.[55]

Selected bibliography

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  • 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.: "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

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Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jazz Tangcay (January 22, 2020). "'Prosecuting Evil' Director Barry Avrich on the Race to Complete Nuremberg Trial Doc". Variety. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "The Making of a Prosecutor". Benjamin B. Ferencz. October 24, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Gale Reference Team: Biography – Ferencz, Benjamin B(erell) (1920–):, Thomson Gale, April 6, 2006.
  4. ^ a b c Logli, Ch.:"Benjamin Ferencz". Archived from the original on January 13, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2006., Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 1999? URL last accessed December 12, 2006.
  5. ^ Ferencz, B.: Photos Archived April 6, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. One of the captions reads "On March 11, 2003, his 83rd birthday, ..." URL last accessed December 13, 2006.
  6. ^ a b Mink, Andreas (April 10, 2023). "Benjamin Ferencz verstorben | Tachles". Tachles (in German). Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Benjamin B. Ferencz, A Prosecutor's Personal Account: From Nuremberg to Rome, September 23, 1998". Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved December 13, 2006.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g USHMM: "Chief prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz presents his case at the Einsatzgruppen Trial" Archived March 6, 2022, at the Wayback Machine, encyclopedia.ushmm.org; accessed November 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b The Legal History Project: Interview with Benjamin Ferencz Archived February 12, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, May 2006. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.
  10. ^ a b Ferencz, B.: (Auto-)Biography Archived January 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.
  11. ^ "Remembering the Last Nuremberg Trial Prosecutor". YouTube. Vice News. April 17, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  12. ^ "Last living Nuremberg Trial prosecutor recalls his work on the Einsatzgruppen Trial". Judicature. Interviewed by Michael Scharf. 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  13. ^ "Benjamin Ferencz: Ankläger der Nürnberger Prozesse tot". FAZ.NET (in German). ISSN 0174-4909. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Matthew Brzezinski, Giving Hitler Hell Archived December 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post, Sunday, July 24, 2005; Page W08
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Harvard Law School: Benjamin Ferencz Archived September 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine : Speaker's biography from the Pursuing Human Dignity: The Legacies of Nuremberg for International Law, Human Rights & Education Archived January 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine conference, November 2005. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.
  16. ^ USHMM: Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signs the reparations agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and Israel Archived January 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, USHMM photograph #11019. URL last accessed December 13, 2006.
  17. ^ Ferencz, B.: Telford Taylor: Pioneer of International Criminal Law Archived February 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 37(3), pp. 661 – 664; 1999. URL last accessed December 13, 2006.
  18. ^ Priemel, Kim C. (2012). "Tales of Totalitarianism. Conflicting Narratives in the Industrialist Cases at Nuremberg". In Priemel, Kim C.; Stiller, Alexa (eds.). Reassessing the Nuremberg Military Tribunals: Transitional Justice, Trial Narratives, and Historiography. Berghahn Books. pp. 161–193. ISBN 978-0-85745-532-1.
  19. ^ Coalition for the International Criminal Court: 2006. Status of US Bilateral Immunity Acts. 2006. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.
  20. ^ Glantz, A.: "Bush and Saddam Should Both Stand Trial, Says Nuremberg Prosecutor Archived April 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine", OneWorld U.S., August 25, 2006. URL last accessed December 12, 2006.
  21. ^ Haas, Michael (2008). George W. Bush, War Criminal?: The Bush Administration's Liability for 269 War Crimes. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-36499-0.
  22. ^ "Benjamin Ferencz". Quellen zur Geschichte der Menschenrechte. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  23. ^ Albert, Jean (2018). L'avenir de la justice pénale internationale. Bruylant. p. 398. ISBN 9782802753452.
  24. ^ Stichting Praemium Erasmianum: 2009: Antonio Cassese, Benjamin Ferencz Archived March 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. URL last accessed November 15, 2012.
  25. ^ Ferencz Weighs in on Bin Laden Killing Archived May 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine May 3, 2011
  26. ^ Letter to NY Times re: Bin Laden's Killing Archived May 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine May 3, 2011
  27. ^ "The improbable story of the man who won history's 'biggest murder trial' at Nuremberg" Archived May 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. The Washington Post, By Karen Heller August 31, 2016.
  28. ^ Letter to NY Times re: Crimes Against Humanity Archived July 20, 2018, at the Wayback Machine March 16, 2012
  29. ^ Haag, Den. "Peace Palace path named for Nazi war crimes prosecutor". www.denhaag.nl. Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  30. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (February 21, 2019). "'Prosecuting Evil' Review: At 98, His Passion for Justice Hasn't Dimmed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  31. ^ "Review: In 'Fahrenheit 11/9', Michael Moore asks the heartland to deliver us from Trump". Americamagazine.org. September 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  32. ^ Pamela, Weinroth (June 24, 2019). "South Palm Beach County Social Scene". Boca Raton Tribune. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  33. ^ Ferencz, Benjamin (January 16, 2020). "'Immoral' Killing of Iranian". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  34. ^ Benjamin Ferencz: The last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor Archived May 24, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, aljazeera.com; accessed November 23, 2021.
  35. ^ "Two Heads Are Better Than One World Premiere". YiddushFest.org. September 7, 2020. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  36. ^ a b "Pahl Peace Prize Foundation". Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  37. ^ "Ferencz: "Der Weltfrieden darf nicht unser Ziel bleiben, sondern muss Realität werden" – Liechtenstein". Liechtensteiner Volksblatt (in German). Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  38. ^ "04/03/2022". The World Tonight. March 4, 2022. 37:38 minutes in. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  39. ^ "Last surviving Nuremberg Trials prosecutor says Putin should be 'behind bars'". Daily Mirror. March 4, 2022. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  40. ^ 'I am heartbroken': Last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor on war in Ukraine – CNN Video, April 15, 2022, archived from the original on May 2, 2022, retrieved May 2, 2022
  41. ^ a b "2021 Florida Statutes Title IV Chapter 14 Section 35". The Florida Senate. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  42. ^ "Governor DeSantis Awards the Governor's Medal of Freedom to Benjamin Ferencz, the Last Surviving Nuremberg Prosecutor". flgov.com. April 8, 2022. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  43. ^ Holland, Courtney (April 7, 2022). "DeSantis awards Nuremberg trials prosecutor with Florida Medal of Freedom". WTSP. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  44. ^ ""The U.S. and the Holocaust"". PBS. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  45. ^ Kamaras, Jacob (December 22, 2022). "Bipartisan bill awards Congressional Gold Medal to last living Nuremberg prosecutor". JNS.org. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  46. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (September 30, 2021). "Getting Away with Murder(s)". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  47. ^ "Ben Ferencz Introduction". October 20, 2022. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  48. ^ "The Nuremberg Principles Conference". The Catholic University of America. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  49. ^ "Criminal: Episode 177: Palace of Justice on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  50. ^ Finkelstein, Daniel. "Parting Words: Nine Lessons for a Remarkable Life by Benjamin Ferencz review — what you know when you're 100". Archived from the original on December 26, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  51. ^ "Biography". Benjamin B. Ferencz. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  52. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (April 8, 2023). "Benjamin B. Ferencz, Last Surviving Nuremberg Prosecutor, Dies at 103". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  53. ^ BBC World Service radio report, aired on October 5, 2021, using recordings of interview from 2017.
  54. ^ "Nuremberg prosecutor gives $1 million to Holocaust Museum". AP News. August 31, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  55. ^ Remembering the Last Nuremberg Trial Prosecutor, April 17, 2023, retrieved March 16, 2024
  56. ^ "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  57. ^ "IAP Awards: IAP". International Association of Prosecutors. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  58. ^ "Recht statt Krieg: Uni Köln ehrt Benjamin Ferencz". Legal Tribune Online. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
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