II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4587 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Berell Ferencz, in recognition of his service to the United States and international community 

during the post-World War II Nuremberg trials and lifelong advocacy 

for international criminal justice and rule of law. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2022 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Berell 

Ferencz, in recognition of his service to the United 

States and international community during the postWorld War II Nuremberg trials and lifelong advocacy 

for international criminal justice and rule of law. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Benjamin Berell 

5 Ferencz Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Benjamin ‘‘Ben’’ Berell Ferencz was born 

2 on March 11, 1920, in Transylvania, now modern 

3 day Hungary. 

4 (2) In 1920, Ben and his family fled anti-Se5 mitic persecution and emigrated to the United 

6 States. Ben grew up in New York City, and in 1940, 

7 was awarded a scholarship to Harvard Law School 

8 where he graduated with honors. 

9 (3) After the onset of World War II, Ben en10 listed in the United States Army in 1943, and joined 

11 an anti-aircraft artillery battalion preparing for the 

12 invasion of France. As an enlisted man under Gen13 eral Patton, he fought in most of the major cam14 paigns in Europe. 

15 (4) As Nazi atrocities were uncovered, Ben was 

16 transferred to a newly created War Crimes Branch 

17 of the Army to gather evidence of war crimes that 

18 could be used in a court of law to prosecute persons 

19 responsible for these crimes. Ben documented the 

20 horrors perpetrated by Nazi Germany, visiting con21 centration camps as they were liberated. 

22 (5) At the end of 1945, Ben was honorably dis23 charged from the United States Army with the rank 

24 of Sergeant of Infantry. He had been awarded 5 

25 battle stars. 


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1 (6) In 1946, the United States Government re2 cruited Ben to join the team working on the Nurem3 berg tribunals, a novel independent court established 

4 to try top-ranking Nazi officials for crimes per5 petrated during the course of the war, including 

6 those crimes we now call the Holocaust. Mr. Ferencz 

7 was sent to Berlin to oversee a team of 50 research8 ers investigating official Nazi records, which pro9 vided overwhelming evidence to implicate German 

10 doctors, lawyers, judges, generals, industrialists, and 

11 others in genocide. 

12 (7) By 1948, at age 27, Ben had secured 

13 enough evidence to prosecute 22 SS members of 

14 Nazi killing squads charged for the murder of over 

15 1,000,0000 Jewish, Roma, Soviet, and other men, 

16 women, and children in shooting massacres in occu17 pied Soviet territory. He was appointed chief pros18 ecutor in the Einsatzgruppen Trial, in what the As19 sociated Press called ‘‘the biggest murder trial in 

20 history’’. The court found 20 Nazi officials guilty of 

21 war crimes, crimes against humanity, and member22 ship in a criminal organization for their roles in the 

23 murder of over a million people. An additional 2 de24 fendants were found guilty for membership in a 

25 criminal organization. 


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1 (8) After the Nuremberg trials ended, Ben 

2 fought for compensation for victims and survivors of 

3 the Holocaust, the return of stolen assets, and other 

4 forms of restitution for those who had suffered at 

5 the hands of the Nazis. 

6 (9) Since the 1970s, Ben has worked tirelessly 

7 to promote development of international mechanisms 

8 to outlaw and punish aggressive war and the crimes 

9 of genocide, crimes against humanity and war 

10 crimes. His efforts contributed to the establishment 

11 of the International Criminal Court and to the rec12 ognition of aggression as an international crime. 

13 (10) Ben is a tireless advocate for international 

14 criminal justice and the conviction that the rule of 

15 law offers the world a sustainable path to stem con16 flict and reach peaceful conclusions to geopolitical 

17 disputes. His unwavering goal has been ‘‘to establish 

18 a legal precedent that would encourage a more hu19 mane and secure world in the future’’. 

20 (11) Ben, at age 101, is still active, giving 

21 speeches throughout the world about lessons learned 

22 during his extraordinary career. He is compelled by 

23 the imperative to ‘‘replace the rule of force with the 

24 rule of law’’, promoting judicial mechanisms that 

25 can resolve conflict. He often tells young people to 


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1 ‘‘never give up’’ because the fight for peace and jus2 tice is worth the long struggle ahead. 

3 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

4 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

5 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem6 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

7 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 

8 medal of appropriate design to Benjamin Berell Ferencz, 

9 in recognition of his service to the United States and inter10 national community during the post-World War II Nurem11 berg trials and lifelong advocacy for international criminal 

12 justice and rule of law. 

13 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

14 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

15 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec16 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

17 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec18 retary. 

19 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may strike and sell 

21 duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant 

22 to section 3 at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, 

23 including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 

24 overhead expenses. 


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1 (b) UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MU2 SEUM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

4 a duplicate bronze medal described under subsection 

5 (a) to the United States Holocaust Memorial Mu6 seum. 

7 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

8 Congress that the United States Holocaust Memo9 rial Museum should make the duplicate medal re10 ceived under this subsection available for display to 

11 the public whenever the United States Holocaust 

12 Memorial Museum determines that such display is 

13 timely, feasible, and practical. 

14 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

15 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu16 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

17 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

18 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

19 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

20 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

22 SALE. 

23 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

24 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

25 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Jul 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4587.IS S4587

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1 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

4 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

5 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

6 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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