A square in Nuremberg has been named after Benjamin Ferencz, one of the chief prosecutors at the Nuremberg Trials. In the presence of Ferencz’s family, Mayor Marcus König (CSU) inaugurated the square at a ceremony on Wednesday, as a city spokeswoman announced.
“The name Benjamin Ferencz will always be remembered in close connection with the desire for peace between peoples, for justice and international understanding,” said König. “In memory of a great lawyer and peace advocate, the square in front of the Memorium Nuremberg Trials will now bear his name.” The square in front of the memorial site is to be redesigned in the future, and a visitor center on the significance of the place is also planned.
Ferencz was chief prosecutor in one of the twelve follow-up trials that followed the trial against major war criminals such as Hermann Göring and Rudolf Heß from 1946 to 1949. When he was just 27 years old, he accused 24 high-ranking SS men of crimes against humanity and war crimes, among other things. In the decades that followed, Ferencz fought tirelessly for the establishment of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. On April 7, 2023, Ferencz died at the age of 103 in a care facility in the US state of Florida.