German prosecutors investigate alleged 105-year-old former-Nazi PoW camp guard over WWII crimes

German prosecutors are investigating a 105-year-old former guard at the Stalag VI K PoW camp in Senne, northwestern Germany, for alleged crimes committed during World War II, reports the BBC. The man is accused of being an accessory to multiple counts of murder at the camp, where an estimated 300,000 prisoners, including 180,000 to 200,000 Soviet soldiers, were held.

This case follows a similar investigation involving another former guard at Senne, who died at the age of 99, according to prosecutors. Germany has no statute of limitations for murder or accessory to murder since 1979, allowing the prosecution of Nazi-era crimes. A precedent for such investigations was set in 2011 with the conviction of John Demjanjuk, a former guard at the Sobibor death camp, who was found guilty of being an accessory to murder.

In 2020, a 93-year-old former concentration camp guard was also convicted of complicity in the murders of over 5,000 people. These recent convictions demonstrate that prosecutors are actively seeking justice for Nazi-era crimes, but the shrinking pool of surviving witnesses presents significant challenges for future prosecutions.