MUNICH (VInnews) — German prosecutors say they have identified the man believed to have carried out a 1970 antisemitic arson attack on a Jewish community center in Munich that killed seven Holocaust survivors, but the case has been closed because the suspect died in 2020.

According to Deutsche Welle (DW), prosecutors and police said Thursday that a renewed investigation pointed clearly to the involvement of the man, who was 25 at the time of the attack. The case was reopened in April 2025 after a witness came forward with information about the suspect.

The fire broke out on Feb. 13, 1970, at the Jewish religious community’s building on Reichenbachstrasse, which included a retirement home. Prosecutors said a gasoline mixture was poured and ignited at several points in a stairwell, causing the flames to spread rapidly through the building.

Seven people were killed and 15 others were injured, including four seriously. All seven victims had survived the Holocaust, and two had previously been imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps.

DW reported that the suspect was known to have been part of Munich’s far-right scene and was described by witnesses as an antisemite with an obsession with Adolf Hitler. Investigators also found evidence of previous explosives-related offenses and other incidents demonstrating his extremist views.

According to prosecutors, a witness said the man had complained that “the Jews have everything” while standing near the Jewish retirement home shortly before the fire. He allegedly expressed a desire to set the residents on fire. The building erupted in flames within about 15 minutes.

The witness’s account was based on information reportedly told to her by a relative who knew the suspect. Prosecutors said additional relatives corroborated the information.

Authorities reopened the investigation after the witness came forward following the death of her relative. Investigators reviewed historical case files and interviewed people connected to the suspect.

Prosecutors said the new investigation “speaks clearly” for the suspect’s involvement. However, investigators could not establish with certainty whether he acted alone. They said they found no evidence indicating that accomplices were involved.

Because the suspect died in 2020, he cannot be prosecuted under German law. Prosecutors also stressed that the presumption of innocence applies even after a suspect’s death.

The investigation has therefore been closed, more than 56 years after the attack that killed seven Jewish Holocaust survivors.