Revisiting A Legend: Nuremberg Trial Lawyer Ben Ferencz — Transcript

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1. 0:00seven and the u.s. Holocaust Memorial
2. 0:02Museum holding its 25th anniversary
3. 0:04dinner last night in Boca Raton I was
4. 0:06honored to be the emcee for the event
5. 0:08which also featured Benjamin Firenze he
6. 0:11is the last living prosecutor from the
7. 0:13Nuremberg trials where Nazis were
8. 0:15brought to justice for their atrocities
9. 0:17we first met Ben Firenze in December of
10. 0:202016 and he has been on our mind ever
11. 0:22since his age his size the twinkle in
12. 0:26his eye he stands out even before you
13. 0:28hear his story and then he tells you
14. 0:30about his work at Nuremberg and you
15. 0:32realize you're talking to a living
16. 0:34legend Ben Firenze
17. 0:38two months shy of his 98th birthday
18. 0:40showing me around his yard in Delray
19. 0:43Beach we'd met a little over a year ago
20. 0:46when I came to interview him about his
21. 0:48life's work I have a solution in three
22. 0:51words law not war Firenze enlisted in
23. 0:56the Army with a law degree from Harvard
24. 0:58that the US government put to use when
25. 1:01at 27 he was appointed lead prosecutor
26. 1:03at the Nuremberg trials
27. 1:10as the Allies liberated the
28. 1:12concentration camps firenze went in and
29. 1:15documented the evidence mass murder on
30. 1:18an unimaginable scale genocide he
31. 1:21presented that evidence in court
32. 1:27i convicted 22 defendants of murdering
33. 1:29over a million people in cold blood I
34. 1:32rested my case in two days and convicted
35. 1:34never match that record I showed him
36. 1:37that first story he hadn't seen it I
37. 1:40care about myself and hope knowing that
38. 1:43I did the best I could to change things
39. 1:46and that's all I care about
40. 1:49[Music]
41. 1:58I'm glad you approve it's amazing to see
42. 2:05the black-and-white footage from
43. 2:06Nuremberg 1947 his first ever trial I
44. 2:10see there's another objection coming
45. 2:12what do you remember about making that
46. 2:15opening statement I remember sitting by
47. 2:18myself on a Sunday morning in the
48. 2:20courtroom I was alone and asking myself
49. 2:25what am I going to ask for the case we
50. 2:28present is a plea of humanity law it
51. 2:33would be my plea of humanity to law to
52. 2:37create a new structure of society where
53. 2:39this couldn't happen and that's what I
54. 2:42was trying to do in my opening statement
55. 2:4413 of the men Firenze tried received
56. 2:47death sentences but Firenze says hearing
57. 2:50the punishments read aloud in open court
58. 2:52made him physically ill
59. 2:57what was so painful for you to hear
60. 3:00those words death by hanging
61. 3:01I think I realize them that had there
62. 3:05not been a war these men would never
63. 3:08have been tried for anything they were
64. 3:10not beasts and wild animals has the
65. 3:13public likes to know they were ordinary
66. 3:15patriotic citizens who believed in a
67. 3:18political system offered by Hitler and
68. 3:21they did whatever they felt was
69. 3:23necessary in the interests of their
70. 3:24country its awareness that every time
71. 3:28they were sent to death I felt somehow a
72. 3:32little bit guilty about that you felt
73. 3:35guilty I felt a little guilty yes it's
74. 3:38amazing to hear you say that
75. 3:40I suppose it is in Firenze view war is
76. 3:44the enemy not the people who fight in
77. 3:46them but the idea of war itself death is
78. 3:50the only Victor in law and that's the
79. 3:53current system law not war is Ben's
80. 3:56slogan his advice for the world settle
81. 3:59differences in a courtroom not on a
82. 4:01battlefield judges and juries not blood
83. 4:05and treasure you know people will listen
84. 4:08to your message of law not war and
85. 4:10they'll call you naive American foreign
86. 4:13policy for years has been concentrated
87. 4:15on peace through strength and so we have
88. 4:18built up our military and we continue to
89. 4:21do that are you saying that we're we're
90. 4:24we're wrong about all of that not only
91. 4:26am I saying you're wrong it's criminal
92. 4:29this is insane
93. 4:31I cannot imagine it if you more cruel
94. 4:33than to use your money get instruments
95. 4:37to kill the people not to use the
96. 4:38interests to help the people that is the
97. 4:40current state of the world am I gonna
98. 4:42change it no am I going to try damn
99. 4:45tootin I am
100. 4:47and been tries every day teaching
101. 4:51writing traveling the world preaching
102. 4:54law not war
103. 4:55you've met at your life mission to to
104. 4:57prevent another Holocaust and try to try
105. 5:00and you have been tirelessly and yet it
106. 5:04continues Myanmar Sudan other countries
107. 5:09yes it must break your heart it does but
108. 5:15I do the best I can to change it if I
109. 5:18did nothing that would really break my
110. 5:20heart
111. 5:21[Music]