Man, 105, being investigated over murders at Nazi PoW camp

In a move that underscores the relentless push by German prosecutors to bring Nazi‑era crimes to justice, a 105‑year‑old former guard is now under investigation for alleged complicity in the murders of Soviet prisoners of war at the Stalag 326 VI K camp in Senne.

The investigation was launched after the Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg referred the case to Dortmund prosecutors in February. The 105‑year‑old, whose identity remains undisclosed, is alleged to have served as a guard at the Stalag 326 VI K camp, a facility that held between 180 000 and 200 000 Soviet prisoners between 1941 and April 1945. The camp was liberated by American troops in April 1945, and the memorial on site estimates that roughly 30 000 Soviet POWs died there.

Media additions

German prosecutors say the suspect was “accused of being an accessory to multiple murders through his activities at the camp.” The case is part of a broader effort to prosecute former camp staff who, while not directly participating in killings, facilitated the Nazi killing system through routine guard duties.

Earlier this year, prosecutors in Dortmund had already opened an investigation into a 100‑year‑old former guard at a prisoner‑of‑war camp in Hemer, also in North Rhine‑Westphalia. The Hemer guard, suspected of participating in executions between December 1943 and September 1944, remains under scrutiny.

In December 2022, a 97‑year‑old former Stutthof concentration‑camp secretary, Irmgard Furchner, was convicted of complicity in 10 505 murders and five attempted murders, receiving a two‑year suspended sentence under juvenile law.

In June 2022, Josef Schütz, a 101‑year‑old former Sachsenhausen guard, was sentenced to five years in prison for accessory to murder; he died the following year without serving time.

Unlike many other jurisdictions, Germany has no statute of limitations for murder or accessory to murder, a legal provision that has enabled prosecutors to pursue cases even when the alleged perpetrators are in their nineties or beyond.

Prosecutors in Dortmund have not yet announced charges, and the suspect’s name remains undisclosed.

Mass graves discovered at the Senne camp since 1945 have reinforced the narrative of systematic murder. Estimates of deaths at the site range from 15 000 to 70 000, according to different reports. The camp’s brutal conditions—starvation, disease, beatings, forced labour and appalling sanitation—were a key factor in the high mortality rate. These conditions are widely documented by the camp memorial, which notes that Soviet prisoners suffered from malnutrition and inadequate medical care.

For readers interested in the broader implications of German prosecutions of Nazi crimes, the BBC’s in‑depth coverage and The Guardian’s detailed report provide comprehensive background.