Alumni Study Ethics in Auschwitz Fellowship

Sean J. Brennan, ’21, Assistant US Attorney, US Department of Justice, Washington, DC

Through his studies at Michigan Law and his externship in Geneva, Brennan was able to think critically about the Holocaust and its impact on contemporary legal practice.

“I was able to draw a direct line from the Holocaust to many of the major human rights treaties and even to how certain rights are interpreted to this day in national courts,” he said. 

The fellowship, however, helped him focus on stories of attorneys working for the Nazi regime and how they were often motivated by pressures and limitations similar to those lawyers face today.

“Being able to assess the ethics of their decisions with the benefit of hindsight has added important context to how I think about my daily decisions—and to how I assess my own ethics.”

The highlight of his fellowship was the site visit to the Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau concentration camps, an experience that hit him at a gut level. 

“I’m still emotionally processing the intensity of the two days we spent there. Of course, it was difficult to learn about the victims, but the focus on the Holocaust’s perpetrators added an extra layer to the experience,” he said. “It really drove home the importance of remembering the human stakes of the practice of law and not simply allowing ourselves to think about our work as intellectual puzzles to be solved.”

Elisabeth Brennen, ’21, Litigation Associate, Milbank LLP, New York City

One of FASPE’s core teaching methods is to challenge fellows to identify with those in their profession at the time. This experience forced Brennen to think about what her actions would have been in the lead-up to and during World War II.

“It is easy to imagine that everyone involved was committed to Nazism or essentially held at gunpoint to fulfill their roles and, thus, that you could never be like them. The truth is less comfortable,” she said. “Certainly, many people were committed to those principles. But many of those who were complicit in the Holocaust, particularly in the early stages, could have safely quit their jobs or resisted the new policies. Some did, but most people who disagreed with Nazi ideas prioritized their career advancement and other pretty mundane factors, without much regard for the atrocities being committed while they rubber stamped things.”

She found value in that exercise as well as in her interaction with fellows from business and design and technology, especially because she interacts almost exclusively with other lawyers in her work. Their perspective offered insights into how other professionals view their responsibilities.

“Our early discussions revealed how tempting it is to punt on an ethical issue and think that it’s the responsibility of some other group,” she said. “Through our interdisciplinary conversations, we learned about how each cohort thought about ethical issues, where they saw ethical problems and responsibilities in their work, and where we saw opportunities to address ethical concerns in our various spheres, individually or across disciplines.”

Chaila Fraundorfer, ’21, Associate, Linklaters, London 

The FASPE fellowship explores why the Holocaust was possible and how different parts of society enabled the Nazi regime. As part of the legal cohort, Fraundorfer examined specific rules and regulations and the legal framework that made the Holocaust possible. 

“The German legal system did not change overnight when Hitler came to power; rather, regulations from the Weimar Republic were changed to meet the objectives of the Nazi regime,” she said. “Seeing how words can be manipulated to justify atrocities not only deepened my understanding of World War II but also provided insights into the ethical questions professionals faced during the Holocaust and showcased how some courageous lawyers resisted the hateful rhetoric and legal reasoning employed by the Nazis.”

She added that the fellowship was an opportunity for her to define her ethical responsibility in her current role and what nonnegotiable values she holds for herself. 

“The fellowship reinforced the importance of surrounding myself with people I consider to be ethical and reminded me of the dangers of being complicit,” she said. “The FASPE fellowship reinforced how important it is to critically evaluate your decisions and how important it is for professionals to have an independent and strong ethical framework.”

Hinh D. Tran, ’19, Lead Counsel, Ramp, San Francisco

Before his fellowship experience, Tran did not think that the events of the Holocaust had any bearing on his work. But after the trip, he realized that broadly applicable principles of ethical behavior can apply to his work.

“My experience helped show me that many people can lack perspective on how the decisions they make can dramatically impact the people around them,” he said. “The day-to-day of my work, for example, requires me to approach issues thoughtfully and responsibly, taking into account the law, morals, and interests of all of the parties involved. My experience with FASPE has only reinforced the importance of the decisions lawyers make every day.”

Especially notable was an exhibit at Auschwitz I that included a book in which the names of every known Jewish Holocaust victim—4.8 million of them—was inscribed. 

“It impressed on me both the scale of the Nazis’ crimes, which they continued to perpetuate even when it became apparent that they would be defeated on the battlefield, as well as the effort to preserve and commemorate the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.”