It may sound like a cliché, but this gripping, educational (in the best sense of the word), moving and powerful documentary by Barry Avrich (disclosure: Barry is my brother-in-law) about Ben Ferencz, a Jewish New York lawyer (by way of Romania, from where he and his family came), via Harvard Law, who ended up as a 27-year-old prosecutor (in his first trial) at the Nuremberg war tribunal, should be considered essential viewing. Ferencz’s academic study of war crimes prior to Nuremberg, and his work at that tribunal, propelled him into a lifelong career (he still is going strong in his 99th year) as a tireless warrior for justice — “law, not war” is a catch-phrase of his. Just listening to Ferencz speak is inspiring, and the archival footage is terrific.
