I noted articles in the Guardian this weekend recording, in the first instance, the death of Ben Ferencz, who was the last surviving prosecutor from the post-war Nürnberg trials. The second was from Nadia Khomami, his co-author of a book written when he was 100, entitled 'Parting Words'.
What is clear from the articles is that as a young man he was thrust into situations that no one should witness in Nazi death camps, as a result of which he rose to the moment, used the skills and training he had been given in law at Harvard and then as a US infantryman in Europe to become a legal prosecutor, almost overnight. He led the trial of the Nazis who had commanded death squads at the age of 27.
What was just as notable was his lasting commitment to the rule of law and its use as an alternative to war. His work inspired the creation of the International Criminal Court. He was as tireless in seeking reparations for those who had suffered wrongs at the hands of the Nazis.
I love the comment his co-author made on the three pieces of advice that he always offered to anyone who asked what he had learned from living as long as he did. He said first, never give up. Second, never give up. And third, never give up. The message was, of course, that there is always hope.
It is hard not to be awed by a person who lived their life in pursuit of a greater purpose. That seems to be what Ben Ferencz did.
I will heed his advice.
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Powerful stuff for all those who give a damn – thank you.
Ditto, PSR.
It’s especially important to remember this lesson when opposing forces are throwing everything they’ve got at you, by every means at their disposal, to try to induce you to give up.
Never give up.
Hear, hear. I’ve just read the Guardian article you’ve linked to Richard, and I’m lost in admiration of this man. Extraordinary. I feel utterly insignificant in comparison with him, especially as faced with our rotten UK political situation I often feel like dismissing the whole wretched business with disgusted contempt.
And then reading this I feel that there is hope, as long as we don’t give up. I noticed, incidentally, his opinion ‘”Brexit is a mistake, and in time they will look back at this and think: ‘Oh my God, how could we have been so backward?”
And I read at the weekend that faced with siginificant opposition in the Lords and from numerous charities, business groups, and pressure groups, that the government is going to water down or postpone until after the GE, the Retained EU Law bill. So, for once, some good news, precisely because some people haven’t given up.
“Never give up”, indeed.
Or, to put it in a more colourful way, “keep buggering on”.
“I will not cease from mental fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, till we have built Jerusalem, in England’s green and pleasant land.”
Indeed