SENNE — German prosecutors are investigating a 105-year-old man on suspicion of being an accessory to multiple murders at the Stalag 326 VI K prisoner of war camp in Senne during World War II. The investigation is being handled by the public prosecutor’s office in Dortmund.

The suspect is a German citizen who is alleged to have served at the facility located in the Senne region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes in Ludwigsburg initiated the investigation and passed its preliminary findings to public prosecutors. "The man is accused of being an accessory to multiple murders owing to his activities there," prosecutors said. Sonja Frodermann is a public prosecutor in Dortmund involved with the office handling the case.

American troops liberated the Senne camp in April 1945. Approximately 9,000 living prisoners remained in the Senne camp when it was liberated in 1945. Multiple mass graves have been discovered at the Stalag 326 VI K site since 1945.

Stalag 326 VI K housed between 180,000 and 200,000 Soviet prisoners of war between 1941 and April 1945. A separate investigation involving another former guard at the Senne camp was underway until the suspect died at age 99.

Between 5.3 million and 5.7 million Soviet prisoners of war were held in German captivity during World War II. Between 2.3 million and 3 million Soviet prisoners of war died in German captivity. Many surviving Soviet prisoners of war were treated as traitors upon returning to their home countries.

Why It Matters

Germany has not had a statute of limitations for murder or accessory to murder since 1979, allowing authorities to pursue cases decades after the events occurred. The scale of mortality at Stalag 326 VI K reflects broader patterns of systematic neglect documented in historical archives, where mortality rates for Soviet prisoners reached 40 to 50 percent.

The investigation follows a series of convictions in recent years that established legal precedents for prosecuting accomplices. These cases demonstrate that the German judicial system continues to process allegations against elderly defendants based on their roles within the camp infrastructure rather than specific acts of violence.

Timeline

Germany has not had a statute of limitations for murder or accessory to murder since 1979. John Demjanjuk, a former guard at the Sobibor death camp, was convicted in 2011 of being an accomplice to murder despite a lack of evidence that he directly killed anyone. Oskar Groening, a former Auschwitz guard, was convicted in 2015 as an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Jews. Oskar Groening died in 2018 before beginning his four-year sentence.

Irmgard Furchner, a former secretary at the Stutthof concentration camp, was convicted in 2022 of abetting murder and given a suspended jail term. Josef Schütz died in 2023 at age 102. Prosecutors in Dortmund opened an investigation last year into a 100-year-old former guard at the Hemer prisoner of war camp. Irmgard Furchner died last year at age 99.

What's New

Additional reporting provides further detail on the suspect and the camp. "The 105-year-old suspect is thought to have been a guard at the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag 326 VI K in the Senne region of western Germany," prosecutors said. The suspect is thought to have been a guard at the prisoner of war camp Stalag 326 VI K in the Senne region of western Germany, and is accused of being an accessory to multiple murders owing to his activities there.

The man is accused of being an accessory to multiple murders owing to his activities there. Stalag 326 VI K was located in the Senne region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

How Sources Differ

Sources also differ on details regarding Soviet prisoners. Germany investigates 105-year-old over murders at Nazi camp reports that between 1941 and 1945, 5.3–5.7 million Soviet prisoners of war were held in German captivity, with 2.3–3 million dying—a 40–50% mortality rate—due to systematic neglect, as documented by historical archives and survivor testimonies.