Thirty alleged former Auschwitz guards have been accused of Nazi war crimes by a special German prosecutors’ office, opening the possibility of a new wave of trials almost 70 years after the Second World War.

The special German prosecutors’ office which investigates Nazi war crimes has concluded a new probe of some 50 former Auschwitz guards and said it is preparing to recommend pursuing charges in most of the cases.

A German nurse was today charged over the deaths of 29 of his primarily elderly patients at a Bavarian hospital.