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(CNN) Benjamin Ferenc, the last public prosecutor to survive the Nuremberg trials, has died at the age of 103.
Ferenc fought in Europe during World War II and helped liberate several concentration camps before heading to court.
At the age of 27, he was named chief prosecutor for the Einsatzgruppen trials in Nuremberg, which tried 22 Nazis for crimes against humanity.
The Nuremberg Trials were held by the Allies after Germany’s defeat in 1945 to try the Nazis for crimes committed during World War II.
The Einsatzgruppen trial was his first lawsuit, but because the evidence Ferenc discovered was fully recorded and documented at Nazi headquarters, Ferenc was able to successfully close the case in just two days. rice field.
The tried men commanded Hitler’s roaming SS extermination squad, killing an estimated 1 million victims.
At home in Delray Beach, Florida, 2016.
“Revenge is not our goal, and we are not simply looking for just retribution. The case we present is a plea to humanity.”
All defendants were convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is often considered the largest murder trial in history.
Ferenc was the first prosecutor to use the term “genocide” in court, introducing the term in his opening statement: being part of another crime, a more serious crime, genocide, or a crime against humanity. It’s a distinction in our petition. It’s practical and most important.
For Ferenc, “Law, not war” was more than a motto, it was his life mission.
For decades he advocated for the establishment of the International Criminal Court and is considered one of the founders of the ICC.
In 2011, he gave closing statements in the indictment at the ICC’s first trial, stating: by the impartial International Criminal Court. ”
Ferencz speaking with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
Ferenc was awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal in January, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to failing health.
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour last year, Ferencz said he was “heartbroken” by the war in Ukraine.
“When you see something very similar to children being shot and houses being blown up happening again, you don’t realize how little we’ve learned from the Holocaust and the trials,” he said. said.
Ferenc fought for justice all his life, “so that the world could continue to use it.” [war] Tools of persuasion are so stupid and unbelievable that even at 103 years old, I can’t stop using them. ”
At the end of the interview, he asked for help in creating a more human world.
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