Robert Stephens Jr., a former Congressman who helped prosecute Nazi war criminals, died Thursday.

Stephens, a Georgia Democrat who served in the House from 1961 to 1977, died in a hospital in Athens, Ga. The cause of death was not reported.

Stephens, 89, also practiced law and served as city attorney for Athens from 1947 to 1950. He served in both chambers of the Georgia Legislature, and the federal building in downtown Athens is named after Stephens.

While in the House, Stephens served on the Interior and Insular Affairs and the Banking and Currency committees. On the Banking Committee, he was viewed as a spokesman for banking and real estate interests.

The former Congressman served in the Army during World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. His last assignment was at Nuremberg, where he prepared cases against the S.S., Adolf Hitler’s elite storm troopers and operators of the Nazi death camps, and the S.A., which helped bring Hitler to power.

Survivors include his wife, Grace, of Athens, as well as two sons and two daughters.

— Sara Faiwell