German prosecutors in Dortmund are investigating a former guard who served at one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps on Nazi territory during World War II. Andreas Brendel, the senior prosecutor at the North Rhine-Westphalia central office for the prosecution of mass Nazi war crimes, confirmed the case to the German newspaper taz. The suspect is being examined on suspicion of aiding murder or murder itself, although his identity has not been made public.
The inquiry is being handled by the Nazi crimes specialist unit based at the GHR in Dortmund, in western Germany. According to the report, the man was stationed at Stalag 326 in East Westphalia from 1941 to 1945. Investigators suspect camp personnel knew that thousands of prisoners died there from hunger, disease, and brutal neglect.
Stalag 326 operated from 1941 to 1945 and mainly held Soviet prisoners of war, but also Poles, French, Serbs, and Italians. The camp’s conditions were described as horrific. According to the Stalag 326 documentation center, prisoners initially lived in earth pits and in barracks they dug themselves. Food, hygiene, and medical care were completely inadequate.
More than 300,000 prisoners of war passed through the camp, and most were sent to forced labor. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, from 15,000 to 70,000. The guards were often older Wehrmacht soldiers or men no longer fit for frontline service because of injuries, and their role was to prevent escapes, even by using firearms. The suspect is 100 years old, and no further details about him have been released.
