Judge of the International Court of Justice
(Democratic Undergound) As a young boy, Thomas Buergenthal recalls, his mother taught him to kneel every night and thank God for his love and his protection. It’s a habit, I suggest, that must have been difficult to maintain after August 1944 when, at the age of 10, he was transported to Auschwitz.
“It was,” says Buergenthal. “Very difficult. I’ve always known that I was a Jew. But after the war I found I had no religious faith. I began to wonder how God could permit some of the things that happened to us. I admire people who emerged with their belief intact.”
Some still believe that Western politicians including Tony Blair and Dick Cheney could end up in the dock at the International Criminal Court. Is this wishful thinking? Where Blair is concerned, Buergenthal says, he has no special expertise.
“But some of us have long thought that Cheney, and a number of CIA agents who did what they did in those so-called black holes should appear before the ICC. We could have tried them ourselves. I voted for Obama but I think he made a great mistake when he decided not to instigate legal proceedings against some of these people. I think – yes – that it will happen.”