Everyone has heard about Nuremburg, where the notorious trials of Nazi war criminals like Goering and Frick occurred, but few recall the war crimes trial at Dachau, where interviews with concentration camp survivors were just as terrible.
The UB law community got a taste of upholding justice at its grizzliest on Monday, as the law school filled with people to see and discuss "Justice at Dachau: The Trials of an American Prosecutor" presented by Joshua M. Greene, a professor of religious studies at Hofstra University.
The lecture focused on the Nazi war crimes trials at Dachau - a court setup 65 miles south of Nuremburg in a former concentration camp - and on Col. William Denson, the intelligent but na??ve prosecutor sent by the United States to oversee the trials of 1,600 Nazi camp guards, officers, doctors and capos.
The book, sharing the title of the presentation, was a labor that Greene explains took over two years of research and compilation of court transcripts. His facts are presented through the eyes of Chief Prosecutor Denson. His documentation was given to him after being contacted by Denson's widowed wife.
Greene outlined the lecture into three major points: what the Dachau trials were, what challenges faced the young Col. Denson, and what Greene calls "an enriched sense of integrity and character in the disposition of law."
Using an array of multimedia including original film footage of the trials, audio reenactments made from the case transcripts, and a projected slide show running concurrent with the speech, Greene made an effort to fully include all of the senses of the audience.
By using hand-drawn images created by Jews formerly detained at the camps instead of images, Greene cited that the impact was two-fold: to increase the connection to those who were there, and to respect the graphic nature of the reality that went on in the camps, avoiding the overly-visual and detailed photographs.
Reactions in the audience were still emotional though, as gasps and choked crying could he heard during a couple of the more intense descriptions of degradation that were brought to trial.
Questions flowed from law students and visiting community members alike at the end of the lecture. Discussions moved from World War II to the current war in Iraq, to friendly debates over the education of Intelligent Design and other current events shaping the world today.
"I never knew about the tribunal at Dachau, only the one at Nuremburg," said first-year law student Josh Hurwit, a member of the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA), which sponsored the lecture. "Nuremburg overshadowed this, but this was the important one."
Jennifer Katz, also a first-year law student, agreed.
"It's amazing to hear things like this outside of the classroom," Katz said.
Visitors from outside the UB community were just as moved.
"The whole issue of the Holocaust is compelling," said visiting Health Care Attorney Susan Piver, who attended the lecture as part of a continuing education program. "I bought his book (after the lecture), doesn't that say it all?"
JLSA President Larry Rosenthal was among those impressed by the presentation, an effort coordinated by his organization along with underwriting by the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies and the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy.
"I wanted to present a presentation that would reflect well on the Law School, the university, the community and the students; and this did that," said Rosenthal.
Just before leaving the post-lecture reception, Greene offered advice to law students.
"A career in law is not just any career," he said. "You are presenting yourself as a guardian to the foundation of democracy. If you can't give yourself to that completely, you might want to consider other career options."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
