93-year-old ex-concentration camp guard convicted of being accessory to murder of 5,232 at Stutthof

Stutthof, where guards began using gas in June 1944, was liberated by the Soviets in May 1945. It is thought that more than 65,000 died there, from gas, execution and malnutrition.

The court accepted the prosecutor representing Stutthof victims Lars Mahnke’s argument that that Mr Dey should have “climbed down from his watchtower, handed over his rifle and said: I cannot do this anymore.”

In his statements to the court, Mr Dey said that he had been “shaken” by the witness’ accounts and apologised to those that had suffered.

He denied knowledge of the “extent of the atrocities” and the specific methods used to murder at Stutthof.

The Holocaust Educational Trust welcomed the court’s sentence. Chief Executive Karen Pollock said: “The passage of time is no barrier to justice when it comes to the heinous crimes of the Holocaust.

"The Holocaust was a unique episode in our history where six million men, women and children were systematically murdered simply because they were Jewish. Many who survived were the only survivors of their families, towns and communities. Stutthof was infamous for its cruelty and suffering, with survivors calling it “hell on earth”.

"Tragically, the victims of the Holocaust did not have the luxury of growing old or having families, as this perpetrator did."