Ulrich Renz, the former head of The Associated Press German-language service who also covered the significant trials of leaders from the Auschwitz death camp during World War II, has passed away at the age of 90.
Renz died on Monday, as confirmed by his close friend of 50 years, Peter Gehrig, a former AP colleague who also resided at the same senior citizens’ residence in Frankfurt. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Affectionately known as “Uli,” Renz began his career with the AP in Germany in 1971 after working with United Press International. Initially working on the foreign desk, he eventually led the German-language service at AP’s Frankfurt headquarters from 1986 until 1992.
The German-language news service was established after World War II to promote a free press and support the democratic process in postwar West Germany. The service was eventually sold to the German news agency DDP in 2009.
Renz was born in Stuttgart in 1934 and grew up in the small village of Giengen an der Brenz in southwestern Germany. After completing high school, he began his journalism career at the Heidenheimer Zeitung newspaper before moving to UPI in 1959.
Throughout his extensive career in journalism, Renz’s reporting often centered on Germany’s highest judicial body, the Federal Constitutional Court. He wrote large amounts of material on the trials of former Nazis, most notably the Auschwitz trials.
The Auschwitz trial held in Frankfurt from 1963 to 1965 was one of the most significant post-World War II trials following the Nuremberg war crimes trials. It involved 22 men who had roles in running the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. This trial was pivotal in confronting the Nazi past within then-West Germany and is recognized as a turning point in German attempts to address the atrocities of that period.
After his retirement in 1992, Renz dedicated his time to researching the life of Georg Elser, a carpenter who famously attempted to assassinate Hitler in Munich but failed when Hitler unexpectedly left the room minutes before Elser’s bomb detonated. Renz published several books on Elser’s life and his assassination attempt, earning acclaim from scholars and political figures. His work earned him the German Cross of Honor.
“Renz’s dedication to researching the Third Reich was driven in part by his father’s refusal to discuss his role as a civilian administrator in Nazi-occupied Poland,” Gehrig explained. “Many in defeated Germany were reluctant to unearth the darker aspects of their history. Uli stood out among those young Germans who believed it was necessary.”
Former AP Bonn correspondent Terrence Petty noted, “As a journalist and an investigator of uncomfortable truths, Uli was an inspiration to those who knew him and worked with him, myself included.”
Gehrig shared that Renz enjoyed biking, frequenting coffee shops in Frankfurt, and reading, although he experienced issues with his sight in recent years.
