Germany investigates 105-year-old alleged former guard at Nazi POW camp

German prosecutors are investigating a 105-year-old man suspected of serving as a guard at a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp during the Second World War and acting as an accessory to multiple murders.

The Dortmund public prosecutor’s office said the case concerns the man’s alleged activities at Stalag 326 VI K in the Senne region of western Germany. The investigation remains under way, and authorities have released no further details about the suspect.

Between 180,000 and 200,000 Soviet prisoners of war were registered at the camp from 1941 until its liberation by American troops in April 1945. Prisoners endured severe mistreatment, malnutrition and forced labour. Many died, and tens of thousands are buried at the site. Prisoners from France, Poland, Serbia and Belgium were also held there.

Dortmund prosecutor Sonja Frodermann said a separate investigation had involved another alleged former guard at the same camp, but that suspect died several months ago at age 99.

Germany has had no statute of limitations for murder or accessory to murder since 1979. Prosecutors continue to pursue cases connected to Nazi-era crimes, though the advanced age and deaths of remaining suspects increasingly complicate investigations and trials.