German prosecutors have opened an investigation into a 105-year-old man suspected of being an accessory to murder at Stalag 326 VI K, a Nazi prisoner of war camp located in Senne in northwestern Germany during World War Two. According to Dortmund public prosecutor Sonja Frodermann, a parallel investigation involving a second former guard at the same facility concluded earlier this year when that suspect died at age 99.
Stalag 326 VI K was one of the largest prisoner of war camps operated by Nazi Germany. Records indicate that approximately one in three Soviet prisoners of war who entered German captivity between 1941 and 1945 passed through the Senne complex, where many subsequently performed forced labor in the surrounding region. The camp also held prisoners from France, Poland, Serbia, and Belgium. Of the 180,000 to 200,000 Soviet prisoners registered at the facility, a significant portion died, with tens of thousands buried at the site.
Conditions at the camp were severe, with prisoners subjected to malnutrition and systematic mistreatment. Across all German-held Soviet prisoners during the war, more than 5.3 million soldiers were captured, with approximately half estimated to have perished in captivity. Survivors frequently faced accusations of treason upon returning to the Soviet Union.
German law has contained no statute of limitations for murder or accessory to murder charges since 1979, enabling prosecution of Nazi-era offenses regardless of age. The investigation of the 105-year-old represents part of broader efforts by authorities in Dortmund and Ludwigsburg to pursue remaining perpetrators. Similar cases have involved other centenarian camp guards, including recent investigations at other facilities. Previous prosecutions have occasionally resulted in convictions of elderly defendants, though enforcement has proved challenging given advanced age and subsequent deaths during legal proceedings.
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