Prosecutors in Munich have reopened an investigation into a 1970 arson attack at a Jewish nursing home in Bavaria that killed seven Holocaust survivors, following new information provided to authorities, German newspaper Bild reported Wednesday.
On Feb. 13, 1970, a fire broke out at the home, killing seven residents and injuring 13 others. The attack also caused damage to an adjacent synagogue. Despite initial investigations, authorities never determined who was responsible for the blaze.
"The Munich prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the arson attack at the Jewish community’s nursing home on Jan. 31, 2025," Bavaria’s chief prosecutor Andreas Frank told German media. The probe was reopened after a private individual provided information to the Bavarian judiciary’s commissioner for antisemitism. Prosecutors confirmed to AZ, a German news outlet, that they had received new details but declined to disclose specifics, citing the integrity of the investigation.
The victims of the fire had survived the Holocaust and the Nazi regime, and two of them endured concentration camps. The perpetrator, motive and precise sequence of events have remained unknown for 55 years.
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In a 2019 interview with AZ, historian Olaf Kistenmacher said the nature of the fire suggested multiple perpetrators. "The arsonists poured gasoline and ignited several points in the stairwell," he explained.
No group ever claimed responsibility for the attack. "It could have been the far-left, neo-Nazis, or Palestinian terrorists. Police have never been able to determine the culprits," Kistenmacher said.
Frank, Bavaria’s antisemitism commissioner, will assess whether the newly received information is substantial enough to warrant a full investigation. A 2013 inquiry had focused on possible far-right involvement but did not yield new evidence. In 2017, authorities closed the case due to a lack of findings.