Board Chairman of the Florida Holocaust Museum, Michael Igel aims to keep Ben Ferencz's legacy alive
MIAMI - The world lost a hero, as Ben Ferencz was the last living Nuremberg trial prosecutor of the Nazis.
He died Friday evening at the age of 103.
He lived by his motto: Law, not war.
As we continue to lose witnesses to one of the biggest atrocities in history, many wonder how to keep their legacies alive.
It's on all of us to carry their message.
Sentiments Michael Igel shared with me tonight, he's the Board Chairman of the Florida Holocaust Museum.
As the world says goodbye to Ben Ferencz, Igel explains his legacy, the importance of preserving it, and the millions of other Holocaust survivors and liberators.
"We were blessed to have him for 103 years because we were given extra time with him as a society, to learn from somebody as special as him," shared Igel.
Igel remembers the first and only time he heard Ben Ferencz's story directly from Ferencz.
It was in 2017, in a video call at the Florida Holocaust Museum.
"He was somebody who saw humanity at its worst, but became and was humanity at its best," added Igel.
Ferencz served in the U.S. Army in World War II.
Shortly after, investigated Nazi war crimes.
By 1947, at 27 years old, he became a chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg trials.
"He was driven by what he saw at concentration camps during liberations," mentioned Igel.
"The evidence he saw is what really, he would say, was his main fuel to fight back."
22 Nazis he prosecuted were convicted of crimes against humanity.
"He taught as many people as he could how to live, how the law will always triumph, and that doing right and good will always triumph," shared Igel.
In his later years, Ferencz lived in South Florida and received the Governor's Medal of Freedom just last year.
"While we still have time with them, what's the importance of connecting with these survivors, continue to learn through their lens, their experiences while they're still with us," asked CBS News Miami reporter Joe Gorchow.
"We teach through individualized stories," said Igel.
"The only way people can begin to absorb what happened in the Holocaust." "Gives us what we need to carry those lessons forward, carry them on."
Lessons people can learn firsthand for generations to come through an exhibit, 'Dimensions in Testimony,' at the Florida Holocaust Museum. Visitors can have interactive experiences with a survivor, who pre-recorded answers to 1000s of questions.
"It's so important to remind people that these were people," said Igel.
"They weren't one dimension. Don't only talk about what happened to them. My grandparents would often say, make sure people know that our story didn't end when we survived. Our story continued because we preserved, and we came to America with nothing and rebuilt our homes. I think Ben Ferencz would be a champion of that. Make sure you tell my whole story. It didn't end with the Nuremberg trials. I kept going."
Igel adds Ferencz changed the world with his tenacity and passion for justice and helping humanity.
