Thomas Buergenthal

Thomas Buergenthal

Judge Thomas Buergenthal, 89, passed away on May 29 at his home in Miami, Florida with his loving wife, Marjorie (Peggy) by his side. He was born on May 11, 1934 in Lubochna, Czechoslovakia to Gerda and Mundek Buergenthal.

A child of the Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camps, Tom survived by approaching the head of the Camps and offering to be his errand boy. He would use one of the Nazi soldier’s bikes to deliver correspondence to Nazi officers, and often was charged with retrieving the empty gas cannisters the Nazi’s used to slaughter thousands of Jews, including his father and many relatives. On April 22, 1945, at the age of 11, Tom was liberated from Sachsenhausen by the Polish Army, who made him their mascot and took him to Poland, where he was placed in an orphanage for children of the war.

The head of the orphanage in Poland thought about sending Tom to Israel and sent a letter to a clerk at the Joint Distribution Committee. By chance, the same clerk also received a telegram from a woman who was looking for her young son, which led to Tom being smuggled out of Eastern Europe to finally be reunited with his mother, Gerda, in her hometown of Gottingen, Germany. Gerda wanted a better life for Tom and sent him by boat to America. On December 4, 1951, he arrived in Paramus, New Jersey where he lived with his aunt, uncle and cousin and began his life in America.

After completing a few years of High School in New Jersey, Tom was offered a scholarship to Bethany College, where he graduated in 1957. From there, he received a JD from the New York University Law School and LLM and SJD degrees from the Harvard Law School. Considered a pioneer in international human rights law, his expertise served the US Holocaust Museum, International Court of Justice at the Hague, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the UN Truth Commission for El Salvador and the Claims Tribunal which distributed funds the Nazi’s seized to Holocaust survivors. He served as Dean of the American University Washington College of the Law (1980 to 1985) and was the Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law & Jurisprudence at The George Washington University School of Law (1989-2000 and again 2010-2016).

As he wrote in his memoir, A Lucky Child, “My Holocaust experience has had a very substantial impact on the human being I have become.” This is evident in his life’s work as an international law professor, human rights lawyer and international judge.

Tom is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Marjorie Buergenthal, his sons, Robert, John (Randi) and Alan (Hope) Buergenthal, stepchildren Cristina (Miguel) De las Casas and Sebastian Dibos, and grandchildren Eliza and Chloe Buergenthal, Ruth and Aaron Buergenthal, Laura, Sebastian (Gabriella) and Tomas De las Casas and Adrian and Mariel Dibos.

A funeral will be held on Wednesday, May 31 at 2pm at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels at Mount Nebo/Kendell Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory can be made to The Thomas Buergenthal Scholarship Fund at The George Washington University Law School (link below), The United States Holocaust Museum or Save the Children.

The family will be receiving at 7900 S.W. 96th Street, Miami, Florida on Wednesday directly after the funeral until 7pm.

The Thomas Buergenthal Scholarship Fund at The George Washington University Law School: https://connect.gwu.edu/site/Donation2?df_id=3562&3562.donation=form1&set.SingleDesignee=5192&utm_campaign=giving-law&utm_source=buergenthal-scholarship&utm_medium=website

A graveside service for Thomas will be held Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels at Mount Nebo (Kendall), 5900 SW 77th Ave, Miami, FL 33143.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.RiversideGordonMemorialChapels.com for the Buergenthal family.