German prosecutors probe 105-year-old former guard for complicity in wartime murders

German prosecutors in Dortmund have launched an inquiry into a 105-year-old former Wehrmacht soldier accused of facilitating multiple murders while serving as a guard at Stalag 326 VI K Senne, a World War II POW camp in North Rhine-Westphalia. The investigation was triggered after the Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg referred the case in February. The camp, located about 13 miles southeast of Bielefeld, processed more than 300,000 Allied prisoners, many of whom perished from starvation, disease, beatings and forced labour; estimates of deaths range from 15,000 to 70,000.

Most victims were Soviet troops, but French, Polish, Serbian, Italian and Belgian soldiers were also held there. A previous probe into another former guard, who was 100 at the time, was also underway. German law imposes no limitation period on murder or complicity, though any trial will depend on the suspect’s medical fitness.