Benjamin B. Ferencz papers

Benjamin B. Ferencz Collection

Film Collection

Claims against industrial firms records

Document

The series includes but is not limited to notes, correspondence, memoranda, telegrams, reports, and other documents related to Benjamin B. Ferencz's legal representation of individual and group claims brought against German industrial firms after World War II. Primarily, the material concerns the efforts of Ferencz to obtain restitution for slave laborers from the German industrial firms which forcibly employed them.

Slave labor related records

Document

The series consists of correspondence related to Benjamin B. Ferencz's efforts to obtain restitution for slave laborers employed by Nazi industrial firms during the war. The series also includes notes, drafts, research materials, annotated copies, and other materials related to the publication of Benjamin B. Ferencz's monograph, "Less than slaves."

Claims against the East German Republic

Document

The series pertains to efforts of Benjamin B. Ferencz and others to obtain restitution from the German Democratic Republic (the former East Germany) for victims of Nazi oppression. The series details the legal arguments Ferencz and others made to this end. The case was argued until the reunification of Germany in 1990.

Records relating to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc

Document

The series includes correspondence, notes, memoranda, and news clippings related to the Final Compensation Law (Wiedergutmachung Schlussgesetz) and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. The Conference existed to aid Jewish persons and organisations victimized by Nazi persecution in matters relating to the restitution of personal and property rights. The series notably includes materials related to the Goldmann Hardship Fund. The Fund was established in 1981 for victims of Nazi persecution who emigrated from East Europe after 1965 (the cutoff date for restitution claims).

Correspondence and related records regarding the Jewish Restitution Successor organization

Document

The series consists of correspondence related to the the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization. Primarily, the correspondence deal with internal J.R.S.O. matters, such as funding and operations budgets. The series includes materials detailing the disposition of the desecrated Jewish cemetery at Fulda, Germany, and Ferencz's efforts to arrive at a solution that violated neither civil nor Talmudic law. Also included in the series is the court decision of J.R.S.O. vs. Augsburg, a case concerning the destruction of 800 synagogues in Bavaria and Hesse, Germany, and the resulting obligations for restitution.

Correspondence and related records regarding the history of restitution (Wiedergutmachung)

Document

Includes correspondence, notes, critical reviews, and draft letters related to Dr. Walter Schwarz's "Rückerstattung Nach den Gestzen der Allüerten Mächte," a history of restitution. Also included are correspondence and notes related to the publication of a pamphlet on the history of the United Restitution Organization by Norman Bentwich.

United Restitution Organization budget files

Document

Chiefly correspondence between Benjamin B. Ferencz and others involved with the United Restitution Organization Ltd., regarding U.R.O. budgetary matters; together with notes, financial statements, reports, memoranda, minutes of board meetings, board meeting agendas, U.R.O. staff lists, U.R.O. salary schedules, and independent auditor reports as to the disposition of U.R.O. operations expenses and capital obligations. Also includes the files of several precedent setting cases which either altered, or significantly influenced U.R.O. policy, including those of David Karpf, Genia Rotenstein, Lucien Ludwig Kozminski, and Violet Dattner.

Correspondence and related records regarding the Bundesentschädigungsgesetz (BEG), the war claims act of 1948, and the German-American social security agreement

Document

Chiefly correspondence concerning the (West) German Federal Indemnification Act of 1965 (Bundesentschädigungsgesetz or BEG), its synthesis, amendments, and implementing regulations, together with correspondence concerning the United States War Claims Act of 1948 and the German-American Social Security Agreement. Each legislative action was designed to provide compensation for deprivation of life and liberty and related persecution measures.

Correspondence and related records regarding restitution for victims of medical experiments

Document

Consists chiefly of correspondence concerning the efforts of Ferencz and others to obtain restitution for victims of Nazi medical experiments; together with memoranda, clippings, articles, affidavits, reports, power of attorney documents, and other papers detailing the nature of the medical experiments, the efforts to obtain restitution, and the response of the German government. Of particular historical interest are materials relating to Dr. Hertha Oberheuser, the only female tried and convicted at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Following her early release from prison, Dr.Oberheuser resumed her medical practice until her licence was revoked by German medical authorities, largely as the result of protests by British medical authorities. Also see the Caroline Ferriday collection (1994.A.334) for further information on Dr.Oberheuser and the Ravensbrück Lapins.

Correspondence and other records regarding the establishment of an International Criminal Court

Document

The series details the efforts of a variety of institutions and individuals in bringing about an international criminal court. Chiefly correspondence between Benjamin B. Ferencz and others allied to this effort. Mr. Ferencz pressed the United Nations and other supranational institutions for the establishment of an international criminal court, both as the result of his experiences as a war crimes prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials as well as his convictions rising from his personal response to the Vietnam War in general and the My Lai massacre in particular. Includes, but is not limited to correspondence, memoranda, pamphlets, speeches, articles, news clippings, United Nations publications, legislative publications, and newsletters.

Records regarding international law

Document

Chiefly correspondence, newsletters, financial reports, meeting agenda, meeting minutes, and other materials related to the American Society of International Law (ASIL), an organization dedicated to educating and engaging the public in international law and to advance international law as a vehicle for resolving international disputes. Also includes syllabi for law courses taught by B.B. Ferencz at Pace University Law School, as well as copies of speeches by Ferencz and documents related to the Peace Center at Pace University where Ferencz was Executive Director.

Correspondence regarding human rights

Document

The series pertains to Benjamin B. Ferencz's efforts at advancing the cause of universal human rights. Primarily correspondence between Ferencz and other individuals and organizations involved in human rights. Also includes, but is not limited to, news clippings, articles, essays, public statements by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other organizations, memoranda, draft copies of scholarly submissions, ACLU activity reports, and other miscellaneous materials concerning human rights.

Correspondence and other records regarding world peace organizations

Document

The series pertains to Benjamin B. Ferencz's efforts at advancing the cause of world peace. Primarily correspondence between Ferencz and other individuals and organizations involved in promoting international dialogue and cooperation as a means of conflict resolution. Also includes, but is not limited to news clippings, articles, essays, meeting agenda, financial reports for world peace organizations, meeting minutes, memoranda, and other miscellaneous materials concerning world peace. Includes correspondence and other materials related to Benjamin B. Ferencz's active solicitation for a position with the United States Institute of Peace.

Benjamin B. Ferencz papers

Document

The series largely consists of previously published materials, together with notes, correspondence, clippings, pamphlets, and other ephemeral materials peripherally related to the Benjamin B. Ferencz collection as a whole.

Benjamin B. Ferencz photographs

Document

The entire series consists of 287 photographs, primarily in black and white, spanning 1926 to 1990. The photographs relate to a wide variety of topics pertaining, primarily, to the life and career of Benjamin B. Ferencz. Many of the photographs are annotated, some by Benjamin B. Ferencz. Five photographs (with original negatives) show Benjamin Ferencz at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, and were accreted to the collection in 2007. Therefore, they are not included in the microfiche.