Benjamin B. Ferencz collection
Extent and Medium
boxes
oversize boxes
oversize folders
book enclosures
171
39
4
3
31 videotape,
34 audiocassette,
Creator(s)
- Benjamin B. Ferencz
Biographical History
Benjamin Berell Ferencz (1920-2023) was born in Șomcuta Mare, Romania (Nagysomkút, Hungary) on March 11, 1920 to Joseph and Sarah Ferencz. At the time, Șomcuta Mare was part of Hungary, but was occupied by Romania. The city was ceded to Romania under the Treaty of Trianon shortly after Benjamin’s birth, and the Ferencz family immigrated to the United States at the end of 1920 and settled in New York City. Ferencz received a Bachelor of Science in Social Science from the City College of New York in 1940, and a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1943. Ferencz served in the United States Army from 1943-1945. During that time he held several positions, including with the anti-aircraft artillery battalion and the War Crimes Branch of the Army. After the war, the US Government recruited Ferencz to join a team working on the Nuremberg trials. Ferencz was sent to Berlin with a team to investigate official Nazi records, which would later be used in the trials, and was later appointed Chief Prosecutor for the Einsatzgruppen Trial. After the trial, Ferencz fought for compensation for victims and survivors and continued to dedicate his life to ending war and promoting Justice. He authored numerous monographs, articles, and commentaries, primarily on matters of international law, the need for an international criminal court, and world peace. Ferencz served in a variety of positions related to the Holocaust. Some of those positions included Executive Counsel, Office of the Chief of Counsel for War Crimes, Nuremberg, 1946-1948; Chief Prosecutor for the United States in the war crimes trial against Nazi extermination squads, 1947; Director General, Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, 1948-1956; Director of Operations, United Restitution Organization, Ltd., 1954-1956; Special Legal Advisor at Hague reparations negotiations, Germany-Israel, 1952; Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, 1953-1956; Counsel, International Council of B'nai B'rith, 1958-1961; Counsel, American Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants, 1959-1961; and numerous other councils and conferences related to the Holocaust. He held the position of Adjunct Professor of International Law at Pace University in White Plains, New York, and was the founder and Executive Director of the Peace Center. Ferencz married Gertrude Ferencz Fried (1919-2019) in 1946, and had four children: Carol, Robin Donald, and Nina. He passed away in Florida on April 7, 2023.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Funding Note: Digitization of this collection has been supported in part by a grant from Iron Mountain.
The Benjamin B. Ferencz Collection was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in two donations by Benjamin B. Ferencz in 1994. The accessions formerly cataloged as 1994.A.0037.1-20, 1994.A.0037.22, and 1994.97.6.1-.27 have been incorporated into this collection.
Scope and Content
The Benjamin B. Ferencz collection consists of the personal papers of Benjamin B. Ferencz, Chief Prosecutor of the Einsatzgruppen at the Nuremberg Trials. The collection includes materials relevant to the Second World War, the Nuremberg Trials, Holocaust-related restitution and indemnification issues, war crimes justice, the efforts to establish a permanent international criminal court for war crimes, and biographical information pertaining to Ferencz. For a more detailed scope note, please see the finding aid.
System of Arrangement
The Benjamin B. Ferencz collection is arranged as 20 series with additional subseries. Series 1: Ferencz family biographical information, 1919-1993 (12.001) Subseries 1: Benjamin B. Ferencz biographical, education, and career information, 1933-1993 (12.001.01) Subseries 2: Gertrude F. Ferencz biographical, education, and career information, 1919-1972 (12.001.02) Subseries 3: General Correspondence, 1944-1994 (12.001.03) Subseries 4: Mitzvah correspondence file ("good deeds"), 1956-1994 (12.001.04) Subseries 5: Day files, 1955-1973 (12.001.05) Series 2: War crime trials and related papers. 1939-1994 Subseries 1: International Military Tribunal and Einsatzgruppen trial related records, 1945-1993 (12.002.01) Subseries 2: War crime trial related records, 1939-1994 (12.002.02) Subseries 3: War trials: United States of America v. Otto Ohlendorf Series 3: B'nai B'rith records, 1937-1994 (12.003) Subseries 1: B'nai B'rith correspondence, 1956-1978 (12.003.01) Subseries 2: B'nai B'rith International Council correspondence, 1959-1970 (12.003.02) Subseries 3: B'nai B'rith International Council Plenary Sessions proceedings, 1960-1968 (12.003.03) Subseries 4: B'nai B'rith International Council, Survey, 1960-1968 (12.003.04) Subseries 5: B'nai B'rith International Council Executive Committee meetings, 1960-1966 (12.003.05) Subseries 6: B'nai B'rith war damage claims records, 1959-1994 (12.003.06) Subseries 7: Foreign Claims Settlement Commission records, 1960-1980 (12.003.07) Subseries 8: B'nai B'rith records relating to lodges, 1937-1972 (12.003.08) Subseries 9: Miscellaneous B'nai B'rith records, 1937-1971 (12.003.09) Subseries 10: Publications, 1959-1978 (12.003.10) Subseries 11: B'nai B'rith research notes, 1958 (12.003.11) Series 4: Claims against industrial firms records, 1941-1994 (12.004) Subseries 1: General correspondence, 1957-1961 (12.004.01) Subseries 2: Claims against Allgemeine Elektricitäts Gesellschaft (AEG), 1957-1972 (12.004.02) Subseries 3: Claims against Argus TheMaschinbau 1962 (12.004.03) Subseries 4: Claims against Auto Union A. G. 1962-1989 (12.004.04) Subseries 5: Claims against Braunkohle-Benzin Aktiengesellschaft Berlin, 1957-1969 (12.004.05) Subseries 6: Claims against Büssing-Werke 1957- 1965 (12.004.06) Subseries 7: Claims against Daimler-Benz 1941-1990 (12.004.07) Subseries 8: Claims against Dynamit-Nobel records, 1962-1992 (12.004.08) Subseries 9: Claims against Hansa Werke (12.004.09) Subseries 10: Claims against Ernst Heinkel A. G., 1957-1976 (12.004.10) Subseries 11: Claims against Philip Holzman, 1955-1968 (12.004.11) Subseries 12: I. G. Farbenindustrie records, 1952-1994 (12.004.12) Subseries 13: Claims against Kabel, 1960 (12.004.13) Subseries 14: Claims against Krupp International, 1957-1984 (12.004.14) Subseries 15: Claims against Messerschmidt-Bölkow-Blohm, 1962-1990 (12.004.15) Subseries 16: Claims against Messerschmidt (Willi Messerschmidt), 1961-1984(12.004.16 Subseries 17: Claims against Moll A. G., 1957-1963 (12.004.17) Subseries 18: Claims against Rheinmetall-Borsig AG, 1957-1989 (12.004.18) Subseries 19: Claims against Siemens AG, 1957-1991 (12.004.19) Subseries 20: Claims against Telefunken, 1957-1964 (12.004.20) Subseries 21: Claims against Compensation Treuhand G.m.b.H., 1976-1990 (12.004.21) Subseries 22: Claims against Volkswagen AG 12.004.22 Subseries 23: Claims against Westfälische Metallindustrie KG 12.004.23 Subseries 24: Claims against Würtembergische Metallwaren Fabrik 12.004.24 Series 5: Slave labor related records, 1957-1994 (12.005) Subseries 1: Correspondence relating to slave labor, 1962-1993 (12.005.01) Subseries 2: Max Stein case, 1963-1964 (12.005.02) Subseries 3: Drafts and Notes for the book, 1957-1987 Less Than Slaves (12.005.03) Series 6: Claims against the East German Republic, 1972-1991 (12.006) Series 7: Records relating to the Conference On Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc., 1952-1993 (12.007) Subseries 1: Correspondence 1952-1993 (12.007.01) Subseries 2: Records Relating to the Goldman Hardship Fund 1972-1990 Subseries 3: Special Trust Fund Reports. 1962-1973 (12.007.03) (12.007.02) Series 8: Correspondence and related records regarding the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, 1938--1993 (12.008) Series 9: Correspondence, related records, and clippings regarding the history of restitution (Wiedergutmachung), 1957-1989 (12.009) Series 10: United Restitution Organization budget files, 1948-1993 (12.010) Subseries 1: United Restitution Organization chronological files, 1962-1993 (12.010.01) Subseries 2: URO "Legal" Correspondence 1948-1992 (12.010.02) Subseries 3: Records Relating to Genia Rotenstein v. Federal Republic of Germany1984-1990 Subseries 4: Records Relating to URO Branches 1961-1993 (12.010.04) Series 11: Correspondence and related records regarding the Bundesentscheadigundsgesetz (BEG), the War Claims Act of 1948, and the German-American Social Security Agreement, 1948-1992 (12.011) Subseries 1: Correspondence Relating to the Bundesentschädigungsgesetz (BEG) ([German] Federal Indemnification Law) 1967-1992 (12.011.01) Subseries 2: Statistical Reports 1971-1983 (12.011.02) Subseries 3: Reference Materials Regarding Indemnification 1950-1988 (12.011.03) Subseries 4: Correspondence and Related Records Regarding the German-American Social Security Agreement (Deutsche-amerikanische Sozialversicherungsabkommen) 1966-1983 (12.011.04) Subseries 5: Correspondence and Related Records Regarding Amendments to the War Claims Act of 1948, 1948-1982 (12.011.05) Series 12: Correspondence and related records regarding restitution for victims of medical experiments,1946-1990 (12.012) Subseries 1: Correspondence and Related Records Regarding the New York Association for New American (NYANA) (12.012.01) Subseries 2: Correspondence and Other Records with the Association Nationale des Anciennes Déportées et Internées de la Résistance (ADIR), Relating to Compensation for Victims of Medical Experimentation (12.012.02) Series 13: Correspondence and other records regarding the establishment of an International Criminal Court 1949-1992 (12.013) Subseries 1: Correspondence and Miscellaneous Records Concerning Vespasian V. Pella (12.013.01) Subseries 2: International Criminal Court Reference Subject File (12.013.02) Series 14: Records regarding international law, 1956-1993 (12.014) Subseries 1: Correspondence and Related Records (12.014.01) Subseries 2: American Society of International Law Committee Meeting, Apr 16, 1974 (12.014.02) Subseries 3: American Society of International Law Human Rights (12.014.03) Subseries 4: Bar and International Law Association (12.014.04) Subseries 5: PACE Law School and Peace Center (12.014.05) Subseries 6: Studies on International Law (12.014.06) Series 15: Correspondence regarding human rights, 1962-1983 (12.015) Series 16: Correspondence and other records regarding world peace organizations, 1977-1994 (12.016) Series 17: Speech file, 1977-1991 (12.017) Series 18: Alphabetical subject reference file, 1939-1994 (12.018) Subseries 1: Alphabetical Reference Subject File (12.018.01) Subseries 2: Articles and Books by Benjamin Ferencz (12.018.02) Subseries 3: Book Annotation(12.018.03) Series 19: Photographs, 1926-1990 Series 20: Video tapes and audio tapes, 1979-1994
People
- Haberstock, Karl, 1878-1956.
- Taylor, Telford.
- Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962--Correspondence.
- Glueck, Sheldon, 1896-
- Benjamin B. Ferencz
- Ferencz, Benjamin B., 1920-2023
- Ferencz, Gertrude, 1919-
Corporate Bodies
- B'nai B'rith
- United States. Army
Subjects
- Art treasures in war--Germany.
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews.
- War criminals.
- War crime trials.
- Art thefts--Germany.
- War crimes--History--20th century.
- World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities.
- War criminals--Germany.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Einsatzgruppen Trial, Nuremberg, Germany, 1947-1948.
- World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Germany.
- Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946.
- Art thieves--Germany.
- World War, 1939-1945.
Genre
- Diplomas.
- Document
- Reports.
- Stationery.
- Correspondence.
- Photographs.
- Certificates.