The last surviving lawyer to prosecute war criminals during the Nuremberg trials has a message for humanity: war is not the answer.

The son of Jewish immigrants to the United States, Ben Ferencz was the first person in his family to attend college. After the attack on Pearl Harbor Ben Ferencz attempted to join the military. However, his first two choices the Air Force and the Marines rejected him as he did not meet the minimum height, Ferencz was only 5’2”.

After his rejections Ferencz returned to his studies at Harvard. Upon completing his degree he joined the army and participated in both the landing at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge.

Due to his degree from Harvard law Ferencz was transferred to the newly formed unit under General Patton. His task was to gather as much evidence as possible from newly liberated concentration camps for future use in prosecuting war crimes.

Ferencz says that he is still disturbed by the sights and stories he heard during his time serving under General Patton.

Ferencz returned to the United States following the completion of his service. However, his return the States was short lived as General Telford Taylor requested Ferencz’s legal expertise in the impending Nuremberg trials. Ferencz began his new position by combing through multiple binders of top secret Nazi documents. As Ferencz put it:

“He gave me a bunch of binders, four binders. And these were daily reports from the Eastern Front — which unit entered which town, how many people they killed. It was classified, so many Jews, so many gypsies, so many others.”

In these documents Ferencz discovered the reports of secret SS units Einsatzgruppen. The reports detailed the killing of communists, gypsies, and jews as german forces invaded the Soviet Union. It is important to note that the killings that Ferencz discovered took place outside of concentration camps. As Ferencz stated;

“They were 3,000 SS officers trained for the purpose, and directed to kill without pity or remorse, every single Jewish man, woman, and child they could lay their hands on.”

Ferencz’s new finding resulted in him persecuting the members of the Einsatzgruppen. All 22 members of the Einsatzgruppen on trial pleaded “not guilty.”

Luckily for Ferencz the Einsatzgruppen had meticulously documented the atrocities they committed. The extent which the Einsatzgruppen incriminated themselves is evident in the Ferencz’s prosecution;

“Exhibit 111: ‘In the last 10 weeks, we have liquidated around 55,000 Jews.’ Exhibit 179, from Kiev in 1941: ‘The city’s Jews were ordered to present themselves… about 34,000 reported, including women and children. After they had been made to give up their clothing and valuables, all of them were killed, which took several days.’ Exhibit 84, from Einsatzgruppen D in March of 1942: Total number executed so far: 91,678.”

Ferencz successfully prosecuted all 22 Einsatzgruppen members with 4 of the members being hanged as a result.

Ferencz always made a point to not dehumanize the soldiers he prosecuted. Instead he laid the blame on the influence of patriotism and a corrupt military culture or as Ferencz stated; “War makes murderers out of otherwise decent people. All wars, and all decent people.”

Ferencz dedicated the rest of his life to attempting to stop war crimes from being committed. He has donated his life savings to genocide prevention initiatives. And continues to champion for peaceful resolutions to conflicts. When asked if he ever feels naive when faced with the genocides continuing to happen around the world Ferencz replied;

“Well, if it’s naive to want peace instead of war, let ’em make sure they say I’m naive. Because I want peace instead of war. If they tell me they want war instead of peace, I don’t say they’re naive, I say they’re stupid. Stupid to an incredible degree to send young people out to kill other young people they don’t even know, who never did anybody any harm, never harmed them. That is the current system. I am naive? That’s insane.”