Former guard at Nazi death camp is charged with accessory to murder at 96

Lublin-Majdanek death camp in Poland. Photo / AP

A 96-year-old former guard at a Nazi death camp has been charged as an accessory to murder, as Germany rushes to try to bring suspects to trial before they die.

The man, who was 22 at the time of his alleged crimes, is accused of guarding prisoners at the Lublin-Majdanek death camp in Poland, who were believed to have been killed in 1943 and 1944.

Frankfurt's prosecutor's office, who has refused to release the identity of the suspected former guard, said in a statement: "According to the evidence available, the accused knew about the cruelty of the organised mass killings, just like all other members of the SS at the camp, reports Dail Mail.

"He also knew that these people, facing their fate innocently and defencelessly, were killed for inhuman reasons based on race."

The suspect also played a role in the "Erntefest" (Harvest Festival) executions on November 3 1943, which saw at least 17,000 deported Jewish prisoners shot dead after digging their own graves, according to the prosecutors office.

They said: "By being part of a chain of guards and a tower guard, he made a contribution to (the Erntefest) and knowingly and willingly supported the malicious and cruel acts."

The Majdanek camp saw tens of thousands of Jews and other victims killed within its gates.

The charges against the 96-year-old have come from evidence collected by the Central Office for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes based on historical documents.

Germany has come under fire for not prosecuting those who were in some way responsible but did not take an active role in the killing of six million Jews.

Former Auschwitz guard Reinhole Hanning and the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz" Oskar Groening were convicted of mass murder in recent years.