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Benjamin Ferencz

Announcing: the Benjamin Ferencz Institute for ethics, human rights and the Holocaust

After much discussion both internally and with valued colleague and peers, we have decided to change the name of the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust to the Benjamin Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust. The name change will allow us to expand upon our programs and better respond to the world we find ourselves in today, in 2023, as opposed to 2015 when MIMEH was founded. While the core of our organization will always focus on the Holocaust as the singular example of medically sanctioned genocide and its repercussions for modern society, ultimately, we believe that justice is the bridge that can ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust transcend international, intergenerational, interfaith and interprofessional boundaries.

Benjamin Ferencz sought justice in the aftermath of the Holocaust and successfully persecuted Nazi officers for crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials. His dedication to the pursuit of justice and respect for human dignity continued throughout his long and meaningful life. We are honored that Mr. Ferencz's family has seen it fit to allow us to continue his legacy through our longstanding work to educate, empower and advocate with a focus on human dignity, ethical leadership and justice as the newly named Benjamin Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust.

FEATURED projects

Introducing Athletes Against Antisemitism and Discrimination

The Ferencz Institute Partners with USC Shoah Foundation to Develop Holocaust Education Programming for Medical Community

In the face of rising hatred and antisemitism, the goal of this project is to produce readily accessible resources on medicine, ethics, and the Holocaust that will empower students and in-service professionals internationally to become agents of change who prioritize ethical principles and human dignity in the medical and health professions. Resources include open access textbook and activity modules that incorporate academic materials and survivor testimony from the USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive, including the interactive Dimensions in Testimony interview with Holocaust survivor and Mengele twin, Eva Mozes Kor.

Click Here to Access "The Holocaust as an Inflection Point in the Development of Research Ethics" Activity Module
Click Here to Access "Medical Experimentation in Nazi Germany: A Survivor’s Story" Activity Module
Click Here to Access "The Rights and Responsibilities of the Physician to Uphold Bioethical Values in Society" Activity Module
Click Here to Access "Medicalization of Social Policies" Activity Module
Click Here to Watch "75 Years After Nuremberg: A Call for Physicians to Uphold Bioethical Values in Society," a CME Accredited Webinar

Holocaust, Genocide and Ethics Program Launched in Kurdistan

On April 23rd, 2025, coinciding with Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), the Benjamin Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights, and the Holocaust and the Kurdistan General Health Foundation launched the Holocaust, Genocide and Ethics Program in Erbil, Kurdistan Region. This initiative seeks to honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and foster dialogue about the importance of human rights, ethical responsibility, and the prevention of genocide. By addressing historical atrocities, the program aims to promote awareness and moral education, ensuring that such tragedies are never repeated.

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MEDICINE AND MORALITY: LESSONS FROM THE HOLOCAUST AND COVID-19

 

“Medicine and Morality: Lessons from the Holocaust and COVID-19” includes internationally known scholars discussing the nexus between medicine, ethics, and the Holocaust and how lessons learned from the past have been incorporated into the handling of COVID-19. The program also includes testimony from Holocaust survivors and stories of healthcare professionals whose lives have been shaped by the Holocaust.

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Activate

Our mission is to show how understanding the medical, legal, social and political atrocities of the Holocaust are important, not simply as history nor solely to remember the victims, but because it can inform how we can and should act today to better the world. We believe that Holocaust education can serve to promote justice and tolerance, equality and human dignity, for all people. The goal of our programs is to empower people to promote ethical practice in all aspects of their lives.

Learn More

Educate

The Benjamin Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust (formerly the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust) is a nonprofit organization that uses the Holocaust as the historical framework for exploring current issues in ethics and human rights. Since 2015, we have provided a unique approach that combines educational programming and advocacy to help create change agents who can impact society on a global level.

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Empower

The Ferencz Institute is proud to announce our Generations of Change Initiative. Consistent with our mission, this new program will help empower the next generation by identifying leaders who are actively working to remember the past and protect the future by acting now. We will provide mentorship and guidance as these emerging scholars and activists develop programs that promote human dignity, health care reform, human rights endeavors, and ethical leadership.

The Athletes Against Antisemitism and Discrimination Consortium was founded in July 2023 to engage athletes—both at the student level and beyond—and empower them to use their platform to help raise awareness regarding the Holocaust, antisemitism and other forms of identity-based hate. Through the use of a comprehensive, experiential program that includes books with accompanying guided curriculum, videos, interactive online discussions, in-person and virtual lectures utilizing our speakers’ bureau and immersive, guided tours to Auschwitz-Birkenau, we aim to create agents of change who stand up and speak out when faced with intolerance and injustice and serve as ethical role models for future generations.

Engage

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#RememberTogether

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we couldn’t be physically together to commemorate Yom Hashoah in 2020. We asked people all over the world to virtually commemorate this day by printing our slogan.

Virtual Reading

In collaboration with the Davidson College basketball team, we were able to conduct a virtual reading of the names of Holocaust victims.

A man holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect your future ".
A woman holding up a sign that says remember the first.
A man holding a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A man holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A girl holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect ".
A little girl sitting on the couch holding a sign.
A boy holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A boy holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A young boy holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A young boy holding up a sign that says " remember the first protect the future ".
A girl holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A man holding up a laptop with the words " remember, we must protect ".
A man holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A woman holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A young boy holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A girl holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
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Three children holding a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A young boy holding up a sign that says " remember to take this photo protect the trees ".
A woman holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A man holding up a sign that says " remember the past protect the future ".
A man holding up a sign that says remember.

Davidson College Basketball Reading of the Names of Victims of the Holocaust

#RememberTogether

Inspire

In 2018, MIMEH partnered with Davidson College and CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center for a life-changing trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

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A picture of the words remember, protect and future.
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