BERLIN (AP) — Ulrich Renz, the former head of the Associated Press’ German-language broadcasting service, was also following the leaders’ hearings. Auschwitz death camp He died in World War II at the age of 90.

Renz died on Monday, according to Peter Gehrig, his close friend of 50 years and a former AP colleague who lived in the same old people’s home in Frankfurt. No cause of death was stated.

Renz, commonly known as “Uli,” began working for the AP in Germany in 1971, following a stint at United Press International. At AP, he first worked on the foreign desk and eventually headed the German language service at headquarters in Frankfurt from 1986-92.

The German-language news service was launched after World War II to help establish a free press and promote democracy in post-war West Germany. It was sold to German news agency DDP in 2009.

Renz was born in Stuttgart in 1934 and grew up in the village of Giengen an der Brenz in southwestern Germany. After graduating from high school, he worked as a reporter for the Heidenheimer Zeitung newspaper, where he remained until moving to UPI in 1959.

During his decades as a journalist in Germany, he focused on reporting on the Federal Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, and wrote extensively about the trials of many former Nazis, including the Auschwitz trials.

Trial of 22 people who helped run the case in Frankfurt in 1963-65 Auschwitz death camp The trial in German-occupied Poland was one of the largest trials since the Nuremberg war crimes trials opened by the Allies immediately after World War II. It confronted people in then-West Germany with its Nazi past and is considered a turning point in Germany’s efforts to address crimes at the time.

After retiring in 1992, Renz devoted his time to researching the life of carpenter Georg Elser, who tried to kill Hitler in Munich but was thwarted when the Nazi leader unexpectedly left the room minutes before the bomb exploded. Renz published several books about Elser’s life and his failed venture, gaining recognition from scholars and political leaders. He was honored with the German Cross of Honor for his work.

“Renz’s passion for researching the Third Reich stemmed at least in part from his father’s refusal, as a civilian administrator in Nazi-occupied Poland, to talk about his role in it,” Gehrig said. “In defeated Germany, there was little interest in investigating the dark past. Uli was among the young Germans who thought otherwise.”

Former AP Bonn correspondent Terrence Petty said that “as a journalist and an investigator of disturbing truths, Uli was an inspiration to those who knew and worked with him, including me.”

He added that Renz enjoys cycling, visiting cafes in Frankfurt and reading books, although his eyesight has been declining recently.

Renz is survived by his son, daughter-in-law and grandson.