At age 27, with no prior trial experience, Ben Ferencz prosecuted what was then called “the biggest murder trial in history.”

At age 27, with no prior trial experience, Ben Ferencz prosecuted what was then called “the biggest murder trial in history.”

He secured guilty verdicts against 22 perpetrators, including Nazi officials, at the Nuremberg trials. They were tried for the murder of over a million people, most of whom were Jewish.

Ben was a recent Harvard Law graduate when he was tasked with helping to set up the United States’ first war crimes branch in Europe. He collected evidence of Nazi crimes as the Allies liberated concentration camps.

"I had peered into hell," Ben said of what he witnessed.

Ben became a prosecutor only because no one else was available when new evidence was uncovered. 

After the trials, he devoted his life to fighting for peace and justice. 

Photos 1 and 2: USHMM, courtesy of Benjamin Ferencz

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