Ben Stern, a survivor of nine concentration camps, who spearheaded a defiance against a rally organized by a band of Nazis in Skokie, Ill., in 1977, died on Feb. 28, at his home in Berkeley, CA, where he had moved from his residence in Illinois. He was 102.

          The threat of Nazis rallying in his midst was intolerable to him, to many of his fellow Skokie residents, and to local government leaders. Efforts to block the demonstration failed. The Supreme Court denied the request for a stay, clearing the path for the Nazis to demonstrate.

Although Skokie lost the legal fight, the village was spared the Nazi rally The group moved the event to Chicago, knowing that a rally in Skokie would face a counterdemonstration, which Mr. Stern had helped to plan and which was expected to draw about 50,000 people.

In Chicago, an estimated 5,000 turned out to protest the really. In the end, the demonstration outside a federal building included 29 Nazis and lasted 10 minutes, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Mr. Stern was quoted saying “Today you prove we stand together against the threat of Nazism.”