"Obsessed with Hitler": 56 years later, neo-Nazi identified as the arsonist of the Jewish nursing home in Munich
New testimony from a woman, according to which the suspect declared his desire to "set the Jews on fire," and shortly thereafter the building went up in flames, led local police to a German citizen who died in 2020, who belonged to far-right circles and was sentenced to prison for blowing up telephone booths. 7 Holocaust survivors were murdered in the arson and 15 people were injured.
56 years after the arson of a Jewish nursing home in Munich, in which seven Holocaust survivors were murdered, authorities in Germany announced that the suspicion against a neo-Nazi who was involved in one of the deadliest antisemitic attacks in the country after World War II has strengthened significantly, reported the AFP news agency.
The attack took place on the evening of February 13, 1970, at the Jewish community building of Munich and Upper Bavaria on Reichenbach Street. Flammable material was poured and ignited in the wooden stairwell, which served as the only access route to the nursing home and the guesthouse operating in the building — and as a result, the fire spread rapidly and blocked the escape route.
Five men and two women who lived in the nursing home perished — after surviving the hardships of the Holocaust. Another 15 people were injured, four of them seriously.
According to the Munich prosecution and police, the suspect was a 25-year-old German citizen at the time of the arson, who belonged to far-right circles and was known to hold antisemitic views. The authorities did not release his name, but the German weekly "Der Spiegel" partially identified him as Bernd V.
"The Jews have everything - they need to be set on fire"
The investigation was reopened in April 2025 following new testimony provided by a woman, after the death of her relative who was in close contact with the suspect in the 70s. According to her, shortly before the arson, the suspect stood near the nursing home and said that "the Jews have everything" and that he wanted to "set them on fire" — and about 15 minutes later the building went up in flames.
Investigators re-examined historical investigation files and collected testimonies from people who knew the suspect. Witnesses described him as an antisemite with an "obsession with Hitler," who used to listen to records of the Nazi dictator's speeches and conduct shooting practice in the Obersalzberg area — where Hitler's vacation home was located.
The suspect also had a history of using explosives. In the 60s, he was sentenced to juvenile detention after blowing up two telephone booths in Munich. A school principal told of a violent incident in which he allegedly used a Hitler Youth dagger he received from his father, and a former classmate described his hatred for Jews as a central trait of his personality.
According to AFP, the suspect had already come to the attention of investigators in the 70s. A prisoner who sat with him then claimed that he hinted at his involvement in the arson, but the suspect denied it and the evidence was not enough to establish charges. A renewed investigation conducted by the German Federal Prosecutor's Office was also closed in 2017 without result.
"The findings clearly point to his guilt"
In a joint statement by the prosecution and the police, it was stated that the new investigation provides "well-founded reasons" to suspect that he is the perpetrator, and that the findings "clearly point to his guilt." However, it is not possible to reach a legal verdict: the suspect died in 2020, and simultaneously with the publication of the suspicion, the authorities emphasized that the presumption of innocence applies to him even after his death.
Investigators were also unable to determine with certainty whether he acted alone, although no well-founded evidence was found for the involvement of other people. Due to the suspect's death, the investigation file is now closed, without an indictment or a judicial verdict.
