Ben Ferencz Memorial Day: A Report
On 10 April 2024, a very special day took place at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice to commemorate the life and work of Benjamin “Ben” Ferencz, the last living prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials. The Academy actively participated in the commemoration event by organising two workshops aimed to honour Ben Ferencz’s contribution to international criminal justice and to German and European culture of remembrance.
The INPA Director, Professor Dr Christoph Safferling, moderated the workshop entitled “The contemporary heritage of Nuremberg: A paradigm shift in the culture of remembrance” by Professor Dr Constantin Goschler (Ruhr University Bochum) and Julia Reus (University of Bayreuth).
The second workshop, entitled “Ben Ferencz’s Contribution to Modern International Criminal Law: A Champion of Responsibility and Justice” (held in English), was led by project assistant Dr Pablo Gavira Díaz, who took part in the discussion together with Professor John Q. Barrett (St. John’s University), Professor Gregory S. Gordon (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Anja Listmann (Representative for Jewish Life in Fulda). Dr Viviane Dittrich, deputy director, and Klaus Rackwitz, former director of the Nuremberg Academy, also took part in the workshop and spoke about Ben’s special connection to Nuremberg and his significant and lasting contributions as a friend of the Academy. The format of both workshops was that of a lively conversation between the speakers and the participants, who exchanged anecdotes and memories of Mr Ferencz.
The workshops were followed by a street renaming ceremony at the Benjamin-Ferencz-Square and a memorial in the historic Hall 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice. The Academy Director Professor Dr Christoph Safferling gave a laudatory speech before presenting the results of the workshops led by Dr Gavira Díaz. Previously, Dr Thomas Dickert (President of the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court) and Marcus König (Mayor of the City of Nuremberg) gave the opening speech and greetings respectively.
At the conclusion of the memorial event, Mr Ferencz’s son, Donald M. Ferencz, presented the audience the most significant captures of his father and unveiled a bust of Ben made by the Danish multi-talented journalist and sculptor Bjørn Okholm Skaarup.
Nuremberg shall forever commemorate Ben Ferencz as an outstanding lawyer fighting for the rights of the oppressed.
The first workshop held in German (© LÉROT)
The second workshop held in English (© LÉROT)
Panel discussion: presenting the results of the both workshops (© LÉROT)