Thomas Buergenthal (1934–2023)
Author of A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy
About the Author
Image credit: Courtesy of Allen & Unwin.
Works by Thomas Buergenthal
A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy {expanded edition} (2015) 162 copies, 2 reviews
Contemporary issues in international law : essays in honor of Louis B. Sohn (1984) — Editor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1934-05-11
- Date of death
- 2023-05-29
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Bethany College
New York University Law School
Harvard Law School - Occupations
- lawyer
law school professor
jurist
Holocaust survivor
memoirist - Organizations
- International Court of Justice
George Washington University Law School - Awards and honors
- Gruber Prize for Justice (2008)
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grand Cross, 2016) - Short biography
- Thomas Buergenthal er dommer i Den internasjonale domstolen i Haag og en av verdens fremste internasjonale jurister og menneskerettsforkjempere.
Thomas Buergenthal er født i 1934 i den slovakiske landsbyen Lubochna. Etter krigen studerte han jus ved New York University og Harvard, der han spesialiserte seg på internasjonal rett og menneskerettigheter. Han har vært professor ved en rekke velrenommerte universiteter, han har hatt en rekke høye akademiske verv og mottatt mange priser. Fra 1979 til 1991 var han dommer i den Inter-amerikanske domstolen for menneskerettigheter i Costa Rica. Fra 1992 til 1993 var han medlem av FNs sannhetskommisjon for El Salvador. Mellom 1995 og 1999 satt han i FNs menneskerettighetskomite. Fra år 2000 er han dommer i Den internasjonale domstolen i Haag. Han har skrevet en rekke bøker og artikler om internasjonal rett og menneskerettigheter.
Thomas Buergenthal was born to a German Jewish family that had moved to Lubochna, Czechoslovakia to try to escape the Nazi regime in Germany. His parents were Gerda (Silbergleit) and Mundek Buergenthal, a lawyer-banker. In 1938, Slovak soldiers who sided with Hitler took over the family's small hotel and the Buergenthals fled to the nearby city of Zilina, where they stayed until Thomas was five years old. Then his father took them across the border into Poland. On September 1, 1939, they boarded a train heading for a boat they hoped would take them to England. But that day, the German Army invaded Poland, and their train was bombed. Joining other refugees, they walked north to Kielce, Poland. Buergenthal spent his childhood in the Kielce Ghetto and in the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen. With the help of a few adults, he survived to be liberated by the Red Army in 1945. His father and grandparents died in the Holocaust. After the war, he was smuggled out of eastern Europe to Germany, where he was reunited with his mother. In 1952, at age 17, he went to the USA and studied law at New York University and Harvard University, specializing in international law and human rights. He became a professor of law at a number of prestigious universities, the dean of Washington College of Law at American University, and one of the world's foremost international lawyers and defenders of human rights. From 1979 to 1991, he was a judge of the Inter-American Human Rights Court in Costa Rica. From 1992 to 1993, he was a member of the United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador. Between 1995 and 1999, he was on the U.N. Human Rights Committee. From 2000 to 2010, he served a judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He wrote a number of foundational books and articles on international law and human rights. His memoir, A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy, was published in 2009. - Nationality
- Czechoslovakia
Slovakia - Birthplace
- Ľubochňa, Czechoslovakia
- Places of residence
- Kielce, Poland
Lubochna, Slovakia
Members
Reviews
I have read many memoirs of Jews who survived the Holocaust, but this one stands out in my mind, although I can't quite put my finger on why. It may be his extreme youth and the extraordinary fact of his having survived Auschwitz at the age of ten, even after losing the protective presence of both parents. It may be the unusual fate of the boy after his release from the camps: becoming a mascot of the Polish army and the miracle of being reunited with a family member thought perished. Or show more maybe it is simply the tone of the book, measured, thoughful, and reflective on the events that shaped his illustrious career as an international human rights judge. I think perhaps it may simply be the innocent joy and beauty present in the face of the little boy captured in photos with his parents that are included in the book. If this epitome of youthful exuberance and simple childish joy can be treated so callously and cruelly, with casual disdain, than how can we hope to avert less obvious evil?
"They have forced me to reflect on what it is that allows or compels human beings to commit such cruel and brutal crimes. It frightens me terribly that the individuals committing these acts are for the most part not sadists, but ordinary people who go home in the evening to their families, washing their hands before sitting down to dinner, as if what they had been doing was just a job like any other. If we humans can so easily wash the blood of our fellow humans off our hands, then what hope is there for sparing future generations from a repeat of th genocides and mass killings of the past?" show less
"They have forced me to reflect on what it is that allows or compels human beings to commit such cruel and brutal crimes. It frightens me terribly that the individuals committing these acts are for the most part not sadists, but ordinary people who go home in the evening to their families, washing their hands before sitting down to dinner, as if what they had been doing was just a job like any other. If we humans can so easily wash the blood of our fellow humans off our hands, then what hope is there for sparing future generations from a repeat of th genocides and mass killings of the past?" show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Thomas Buergenthal’s dispassionate memoir A Lucky Child is not just the story of concentration camps and hunger, the death march and frost-bitten toes later amputated, but also the story of learning to ride a bicycle, sneaking a drink of milk, and friends such as Michael, Janek and Odd Nansen. Buergenthal recounts two experiences in a train station in Berlin: a woman exclaiming “It stinks again of Jews” and a SS guard who shared a warm drink of coffee. He ponders the hatred of one and show more the compassion of the other and draws the conclusion that generalizations do not help us understand or explain the Holocaust or any of the other genocides or mass murders of more recent times. Now a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Buergenthal determined that the past would not have destructive but rather an inspirational effect on his life. A Lucky Child is an exceptional book, written with simplicity and clarity. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Thomas Buergenthal is an amazing example of someone who managed to survive the Holocaust in spite of being above all, a small Jewish child. He passed through a series of nightmarish hurdles that included routine extermination of children, train transports, forced marches, concentration camps, selections for elimination within the camps, and the perils of disease, starvation, and arbitrary murder.
He says he wanted to tell his story because “I have long believed that the Holocaust cannot be show more fully understood unless we look at it through the eyes of those who lived through it. To speak of the Holocaust in terms of numbers – six million – which is the way it is usually done, is to unintentionally dehumanize the victims and to trivialize the profoundly human tragedy it was.”
Buergenthal decided to “remember living it as the child I was, not as an old man reflecting on that life.” This is important, because his memoir is not characterized by an historical account of the Holocaust in a traditional sense, nor does it offer any sociological analysis of what happened. He does raise a number of moral questions that have occurred to him since childhood, because it was the seeking of answers to them that informed his choice of career (serving on a number of tribunals for international and human rights law).
To me, this perspective from a child’s point of view gives his account a uniqueness and verisimilitude that would not have been possible from the perspective of an adult. I believe it would be a mistake to consider such an approach as “minimizing” the horror of the Holocaust just because the landscape we see is filtered through the very narrow set of lenses of a young boy. This too, is truth, as it happened for Buergenthal.
Buergenthal tries to help pinpoint why it was that he was so “lucky” to have survived, and to have done so virtually unscathed. One reason was that he was very “Aryan” looking, which may have induced some of the German guards to have sympathy for him. Another is that he was multilingual, and therefore could make himself quite useful to camp officials. Third, his father taught him some tricks for surviving without fear, and encouraged him to fight back against any and all unjust circumstances. Fourth, his unique status in the camps as a young child (and apparently one quite likeable) seemed to draw other prisoners to him who gave him help. So many of the adults in the camps had seen their own young children literally turn to ashes. But Tommy, as he was known, was a golden promise of hope for the survival of another generation.
Buergenthal has tried and failed to understand the cycle of hate and violence that inexplicably can take hold of mankind. But he fervently wants to help disrupt it. He says we owe it to those who perished “to try to improve each in our own way, the lives of others.” In the field of international human rights law, Buergenthal has tried to work “for a world in which the rights and dignity of human beings everywhere would be protected.”
I think you can get an excellent, if partial, understanding of the Holocaust from this book. You will not get a cataloguing of names, numbers and atrocities, as you do in so many histories. You will not learn about the abuses and genocidal frenzy that went on in many countries or camps that were totally outside this young boy’s experiences. But if only you come to understand just how unique he was, merely to have survived as a young Jewish child, you will understand a great deal.
Highly recommended. show less
He says he wanted to tell his story because “I have long believed that the Holocaust cannot be show more fully understood unless we look at it through the eyes of those who lived through it. To speak of the Holocaust in terms of numbers – six million – which is the way it is usually done, is to unintentionally dehumanize the victims and to trivialize the profoundly human tragedy it was.”
Buergenthal decided to “remember living it as the child I was, not as an old man reflecting on that life.” This is important, because his memoir is not characterized by an historical account of the Holocaust in a traditional sense, nor does it offer any sociological analysis of what happened. He does raise a number of moral questions that have occurred to him since childhood, because it was the seeking of answers to them that informed his choice of career (serving on a number of tribunals for international and human rights law).
To me, this perspective from a child’s point of view gives his account a uniqueness and verisimilitude that would not have been possible from the perspective of an adult. I believe it would be a mistake to consider such an approach as “minimizing” the horror of the Holocaust just because the landscape we see is filtered through the very narrow set of lenses of a young boy. This too, is truth, as it happened for Buergenthal.
Buergenthal tries to help pinpoint why it was that he was so “lucky” to have survived, and to have done so virtually unscathed. One reason was that he was very “Aryan” looking, which may have induced some of the German guards to have sympathy for him. Another is that he was multilingual, and therefore could make himself quite useful to camp officials. Third, his father taught him some tricks for surviving without fear, and encouraged him to fight back against any and all unjust circumstances. Fourth, his unique status in the camps as a young child (and apparently one quite likeable) seemed to draw other prisoners to him who gave him help. So many of the adults in the camps had seen their own young children literally turn to ashes. But Tommy, as he was known, was a golden promise of hope for the survival of another generation.
Buergenthal has tried and failed to understand the cycle of hate and violence that inexplicably can take hold of mankind. But he fervently wants to help disrupt it. He says we owe it to those who perished “to try to improve each in our own way, the lives of others.” In the field of international human rights law, Buergenthal has tried to work “for a world in which the rights and dignity of human beings everywhere would be protected.”
I think you can get an excellent, if partial, understanding of the Holocaust from this book. You will not get a cataloguing of names, numbers and atrocities, as you do in so many histories. You will not learn about the abuses and genocidal frenzy that went on in many countries or camps that were totally outside this young boy’s experiences. But if only you come to understand just how unique he was, merely to have survived as a young Jewish child, you will understand a great deal.
Highly recommended. show less
A Lucky Child is a compelling, poignant, inspirational memoir. Thomas Buergenthal’s portrayal of ordinary human beings, both good and evil, is not to be missed. It is a beautiful story, and one that is extremely illuminating. It defines what life and survival is all about, and the importance of family within the confines of horror. He was a lucky child who became a forthright, honest and sensitive adult. It is a memoir of great historical value. I highly recommend A Lucky Child to show more everyone. In my opinion it not only belongs in every personal library, but in the libraries of all educational institutions.
Buergenthal has painted extremely descriptive word images of his experiences. He has given the reader an intimate look at daily life in concentration camps, including Auschwitz. Within the appalling situations, there are little snippets of humor, of man’s kindness, and of the fight and strong will to survive, survive in order to be reunited with his parents.
Thoughts of Buergenthal’s parents are what kept him motivated through the hours, days, weeks, months and years. A young boy learned the ropes, so to speak, the actions that were necessary in order for him to survive. He witnessed things that would make adults shudder, and here he was, a child, having to endure the fears and agonies of the Holocaust. Yet, throughout everything, he managed to rid himself of hatred.
As an added piece of information…Thomas Buergenthal’s experiences during the Holocaust shaped his life in more ways than one can imagine. He “has dedicated his life to international law and the protection of human rights.” At the end of the memoir, the reader is given an almost two-page biography of his career. In part, it reads: “Buergenthal served as judge and president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as well as a member of the U.N. Human Rights Committee and the U.N. Truth Commission for El Salvador. He was Chairman of the Committee on Conscience of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and vice chairman of the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland.” His experiences have lent him the insight and intensity necessary to oversee and empathize with not only Holocaust survivors, but the rights of all individuals, no matter their ethnicity. This lucky child has brought, and given, luck to other individuals through his humanistic efforts.
~~~~~~
© Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permission.
Friday June 12, 2009 – 20th of Sivan, 5769 show less
Buergenthal has painted extremely descriptive word images of his experiences. He has given the reader an intimate look at daily life in concentration camps, including Auschwitz. Within the appalling situations, there are little snippets of humor, of man’s kindness, and of the fight and strong will to survive, survive in order to be reunited with his parents.
Thoughts of Buergenthal’s parents are what kept him motivated through the hours, days, weeks, months and years. A young boy learned the ropes, so to speak, the actions that were necessary in order for him to survive. He witnessed things that would make adults shudder, and here he was, a child, having to endure the fears and agonies of the Holocaust. Yet, throughout everything, he managed to rid himself of hatred.
As an added piece of information…Thomas Buergenthal’s experiences during the Holocaust shaped his life in more ways than one can imagine. He “has dedicated his life to international law and the protection of human rights.” At the end of the memoir, the reader is given an almost two-page biography of his career. In part, it reads: “Buergenthal served as judge and president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as well as a member of the U.N. Human Rights Committee and the U.N. Truth Commission for El Salvador. He was Chairman of the Committee on Conscience of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and vice chairman of the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland.” His experiences have lent him the insight and intensity necessary to oversee and empathize with not only Holocaust survivors, but the rights of all individuals, no matter their ethnicity. This lucky child has brought, and given, luck to other individuals through his humanistic efforts.
~~~~~~
© Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permission.
Friday June 12, 2009 – 20th of Sivan, 5769 show less
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