Lawyers without Rights Exhibit and Event Series Coming to W&L The exhibit provides a portrait of the fate of Jewish lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich and during the Holocaust.
Attorney Dr. Michael Siegel complained to police on behalf of a client whose property was destroyed by Nazi Stormtroopers. He was beaten and then paraded through Munich with the sign around his neck: “I shall never again complain to the police.”From March 20 through mid-April, the American Bar Association’s Lawyers without Rights exhibit will be on display at Washington and Lee School of Law. In conjunction with the visit, W&L will hold a series of discussions and film screenings exploring the issues surrounding the exhibit.
The Lawyers without Rights exhibit provides a portrait of the fate of Jewish lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich and during the Holocaust. The exhibit is jointly sponsored by the ABA and the German Federal Bar.
An event series consisting of lectures, panel discussions and movie screenings, titled “Lawyering in Dark Times: Courage and Cowardice at the Bar” will run concurrently with the exhibition.
W&L law professor Russell Miller is coordinating the visit of the exhibit as well as the discussion series. “Lawyers are a fundamental part of civic life and the integrity of the rule of law,” said Miller. “Unfortunately, the bar’s power means they can contribute to the erosion of those values, too. The horrors of the National Socialist regime in Germany offer poignant examples — and warnings — of both. Those seem like useful lessons for all lawyers for all times, but especially in these tumultuous times in our civic life.”
Below is a listing of the events in the series. All events are free and open to the public.
UPDATE: Note change in time for exhibit opening to 4:00 pm.
Monday, March 20
Opening Reception and Remarks
Moot Court Lobby – 4:00 PM
Sarah Horowitz
Associate Professor of History
W&L University
Linda Klein ’83L
President, American Bar Association
Managing Shareholder, Baker Donelson Beraman Caldwell & Berkowitz
W&L Law Alumnus
Thursday, March 23
Film Screening and Discussion
Lewis Hall Classroom C – 7:30 PM
“The People vs. Fritz Bauer”
Monday, March 27
Reception and Discussion
Lewis Hall, Classroom E – 5:00 PM
Peggy Fiebig (W&L Law LLM)
Press Secretary – Berlin Justice Minister Dirk Behrendt
“Lawyers without Rights” Team of Curators
“The Origin of Lawyers without Rights”
Friday, March 31
Reception and Discussion
Lewis Hall, Classroom E – 5:00 PM
Prof. Mark Drumbl
Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law & Director, Transnational Law Institute
W&L Law
“The Kapo on Film: Tragic Perpetrators and Imperfect Victims”
Monday, April 3
Reception and Discussion
Lewis Hall, Classroom E – 5:30 PM
Panel Discussion: The Lawyer as Hero
Prof. Jon Shapiro
Prof. J.D. King
Prof. Margaret Hu
Friday, April 7
Reception and Discussion
Lewis Hall, Classroom E – 5:00 PM
Prof. Christoph Safferling
University Erlangen-Nürenberg
Co-Author of the Rosenburg Report
“A Comprehensive Assessment of the National Socialist Legacy of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Justice”
Friday, April 14
Reception and Discussion
Lewis Hall, Classroom E – 5:00 PM
Ginna Anderson
Senior Counsel – ABA Center for Human Rights
“American Bar Association’ Justice Defenders Program”
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