Karl Carstens, a former president of West Germany who came under criticism for his Nazi past, died Saturday at age 77.
The cause of death was not given, though he suffered a stroke two weeks ago. Carstens died at his home in Meckenheim near Bonn, the government press office said.Despite his membership in the Nazi party during World War II , Carstens helped build good postwar relations with the United States and played a significant role in unifying Europe.
"He was a patriot who unwaveringly strived for German unity. And he was just as convinced of the importance of Europe's politi cal union," said Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
"Karl Carstens was one of the best German statesmen of the postwar era," said Carstens' successor, current President Richard von Weizsaecker.
Carstens served as an officer in the German army in 1939-45, and was harshly criticized later by some for his Nazi affiliation. Carstens said his membership was a formality and that he was not an active member of the party.
Others defended Carstens, pointing out that many Germans who served during World War II had become good democrats. Carstens was never accused of any war crimes.
Carstens was born in Bremen on Dec. 14, 1914, and received a law degree from Yale University. He opened a legal practice in Bremen soon after the war and began his political career at the local level.
He was helped along by West Germany's first postwar chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. A member of Adenauer's Christian Democratic party, he joined the Foreign Ministry in 1955 and became the No. 2 official there in 1961.
In 1979, he became president, a largely ceremonial position.