Nuremberg prosecutor at Holocaust remembrance

6:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 25. Free and open to the public. Auditorium, Atlanta Jewish Academy, 5200 Northland Drive, Atlanta. RSVP is requested but not required by e-mailing amyisraelchaiatlanta@gmail.com. www.amyisraelchaiatlanta.org/.

Benjamin Ferencz was 27 when he was the chief prosecutor responsible for convicting 22 men on trial for murdering 1 million men, women and children. Now 95, he is the only living prosecutor from the Nuremberg war-crime trials.

Over the past seven decades, Ferencz, who now lives in Florida, has been instrumental in the formation of the International Criminal Court. A human rights lawyer, he has led efforts to return property to Holocaust survivors after World War II, and he has written multiple books. He has dedicated himself to creating a more peaceful, humane world.

Ferencz will be a keynote speaker at a Holocaust remembrance event at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Atlanta Jewish Academy. The event is in commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and is free and open to the public.

Born in Transylvania, Ferencz was 10 months old when he and his family left Romania to escape persecution of the Hungarian Jewish minority (after Transylvania was ceded from Hungary to Romania). He grew up in New York.

After he graduated from Harvard Law School in 1943, he joined an anti-aircraft artillery battalion preparing for the invasion of France. As Nazi atrocities were unearthed, Ferencz was transferred to a newly created War Crimes Branch of the Army to gather evidence of mass murder and prosecute leading Nazis.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently interviewed Ferencz by phone.

Q: You were 27 years old and Nuremberg was your first case. Can you talk a little bit about the experience and some of your biggest impressions?

A: The defendants I selected were of the highest rank — I had six SS generals and most of them were Ph.Ds. These were intelligent men and otherwise decent men, I suppose, but they got caught up in the propaganda, and they were murderers. … People forget they have a duty to compromise. They forget about compassion. We must be able to settle disputes without going to war.

Q: What should the Nuremberg trials mean today?

A: My hope and my goal is the Holocaust crimes have not been in vain and we can view the lessons from these horrible crimes to build a more peaceful and humane world. I believe the rule of law is better than war. Those who violate the law need to be held accountable.

With our current system, if two heads of state can’t agree, they send young people from one country to kill other young people who they don’t even know, for reasons they don’t understand, in places they’ve never heard of. It’s crazy. I know what war is like. I know what a concentration camp is like. I have dedicated my life to preventing it from happening again. You owe an obligation to everyone not to see them persecuted and killed because of their race and religion. All people should learn to live in peace with human dignity.

Killing someone because of their race, religion or ideology is stupid.

You can’t kill an ideology with a gun. You have to change the way people think.

Q: How should people change the way they think?

A: Think rationally, outside the box and don't accept war is glorious. People need to be more willing to compromise, accept the other point of view. I am entering my 96th year, and if people don't change the way they think about things, I can't help them.

Q: You are known for your great sense of humor. How do you maintain it when you tackle such serious, difficult issues?

A: If you are crying on the inside, you better be laughing on the outside or you will drown in tears.

You have to do something. Crying is not enough. You try to change things. It won’t be easy or quick. But you do the best you can.