East West Street: Philippe Sands in conversation with Daniel Finkelstein

Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands will discuss his book, newly available in paperback, East West Street, which explores the creation and development of world-changing legal concepts that came about as a result of the unprecedented atrocities of Hitler’s Third Reich, with Daniel Finkelstein OBE. Winner of the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, East West Street is part historical detective story, part family history, part legal thriller. Philippe Sands guides us between past and present as several interconnected stories unfold in parallel. The first is the hidden story of two Nuremberg prosecutors who discover, only at the end of the trial, that the man they are prosecuting may be responsible for the murder of their entire families in Nazi-occupied Poland, in and around Lviv. The two prosecutors, Hersch Lauterpacht and Rafael Lemkin, were remarkable men, whose efforts led to the inclusion of the terms 'crimes against humanity' and 'genocide' in the judgement at Nuremberg. The defendant, Hans Frank, Hitler's personal lawyer and Governor-General of Nazi-occupied Poland, turns out to be an equally compelling character. A Professor of law at University College London, Philippe Sands QC has written widely on the subject of international law as well as participating in major legal cases with global implications, including taking part in the 1992 Climate Change Convention and legal cases concerning the Belmarsh and Guantánamo detainees. Daniel Finkelstein OBE is a Conservative Member of the House of Lords and weekly columnist, leader writer and Associate Editor of The Times. Before joining the paper in 2001, he was adviser to both Prime Minister John Major and Conservative leader William Hague. Daniel was named Political Commentator of the Year at the Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards 2011 and 2012.
Admission
£5.00, tickets available via The Wiener Library website

Website
http://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/Whats-On?item=313

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/am52233?id=EVENT568257