News In Brief

Martin Niemoller, who defied Hitler

The Rev. Martin Niemoller, a Protestant church leader who defied Hitler and crusaded against US involvement in Vietnam, passed on here, the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church said Wednesday.

Pastor Niemoller was German submarine commander in World War I. His later pacifist views and outspoken opposition to persecution of the Jews earned him the hatred of Hitler's Nazis, who placed him in concentration camps.