A 94-year-old former Auschwitz guard has spoken openly about the murder of at least 170,000 people at the death camp.

Reinhold Hanning is accused of overseeing the selection of prisoners who were sent either for labour or to the gas chambers.

He told the court in Germany he regretted being part of the "criminal organisation" that killed so many people and caused such suffering.

"I'm ashamed that I knowingly let injustice happen and did nothing to oppose it," the former Nazi SS officer said, while seated in a wheelchair in the court in Detmold.

Former SS guard Reinhold Hanning faces trial this week

Holocaust survivors have pleaded with the accused to break his silence in what could be one of the last Holocaust court cases heard in Germany.

Reading a statement to the court, he said: "I want to tell you that I deeply regret having been part of a criminal organisation that is responsible for the death of many innocent people, for the destruction of countless families, for misery, torment and suffering on the side of the victims and their relatives.

Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Show all 29 1 /29 Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Auschwitz death camp survivor Zofia Wareluk, 70, poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 12, 2015. Wareluk was born in Auschwitz two weeks before the camp was liberated. Her mother was sent to Auschwitz when she was four months pregnant. As the liberation of Auschwitz approaches its 70th anniversary this month, Reuters photographers took portraits of now elderly survivors. About 1.5 million people, most of them Jews, were killed at the Nazi camp which has became a symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two, which ravaged Europe. The camp was liberated by Soviet Red Army troops on January 27, 1945 and about 200,000 camp inmates survived. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Auschwitz death camp survivor Barbara Doniecka, 80, who was registered with camp number 86341, poses for a photo in Warsaw January 12, 2015. Doniecka was 12-years-old during the Warsaw Uprising when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau with her mother. As the liberation of Auschwitz approaches its 70th anniversary this month, Reuters photographers took portraits of now elderly survivors. About 1.5 million people, most of them Jews, were killed at the Nazi camp which has became a symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two, which ravaged Europe. The camp was liberated by Soviet Red Army troops on January 27, 1945 and about 200,000 camp inmates survived REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Doniecka holds up wartime photo of herself. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Auschwitz death camp survivor Imre Varsanyi, 86, holds up a photo of fellow survivors during World War Two, as he poses for a portrait in Budapest January 12, 2015. Varsanyi was 14-years-old when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was the only member of his family to survive. After the war Varsanyi did not talk about Auschwitz for 60 years because he felt ashamed of having survived. As the liberation of Auschwitz approaches its 70th anniversary this month, Reuters photographers took portraits of now elderly survivors. About 1.5 million people, most of them Jews, were killed at the Nazi camp which has became a symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two, which ravaged Europe. The camp was liberated by Soviet Red Army troops on January 27, 1945 and about 200,000 camp inmates survived. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Auschwitz death camp survivor Jerzy Ulatowski, 83, who was registered with camp number 192823, poses for a photo in Warsaw January 12, 2015. Ulatowski was taken by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau when he was 13-years-old. In January 1945 he managed to escape with his family, as there was a lack of power in the barbed wire surrounding the camp. As the liberation of Auschwitz approaches its 70th anniversary this month, Reuters photographers took portraits of now elderly survivors. About 1.5 million people, most of them Jews, were killed at the Nazi camp which has became a symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two, which ravaged Europe. The camp was liberated by Soviet Red Army troops on January 27, 1945 and about 200,000 camp inmates survived. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Auschwitz death camp survivor Erzsebet Brodt, 89, poses for a portrait in Budapest January 12, 2015. Brodt was 17-years-old when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau along with her family. Remembering the journey to the camp she said that those who were "sick or about to give birth were forced out and put into one wagon. When the wagon was opened in Auschwitz we saw that everyone was dead inside." As the liberation of Auschwitz approaches its 70th anniversary this month, Reuters photographers took portraits of now elderly survivors. About 1.5 million people, most of them Jews, were killed at the Nazi camp which has became a symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two, which ravaged Europe. The camp was liberated by Soviet Red Army troops on January 27, 1945 and about 200,000 camp inmates survived. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Brodt holds a picture of her family, who were killed in the concentration camp during World War Two. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Jacek Nadolny, 77, who was registered with camp number 192685, poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 7, 2015. Nadolny was seven during the Warsaw Uprising, when he was sent with his family to Auschwitz-Birkenau by train. In January 1945 the family was moved to a labour camp in Berlin. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Nadolny holds up a wartime photo of his family. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Laszlo Bernath, 87, poses for a portrait in Budapest January 12, 2015. Bernath credits his father being a practical man with his survival of Auschwitz. He was 15 when they were taken but his father told him to lie about his age so that they would not be separated. Even whilst in the camp, Bernath had no idea about the gas chambers. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Bernath holds up a picture of his family, who were all killed in the concentration camp during World War Two. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Janina Reklajtis, 80, who was registered with camp number 83043, holds a photo of herself taken during the war as she poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 7, 2015. Reklajtis was 12-years-old during the Warsaw Uprising when she and her mother were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They were sent to a labour camp in Berlin in January 1945 and were kept there until they were liberated. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Danuta Bogdaniuk-Bogucka (maiden name Kaminska), 80, poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 5, 2015. Bogdaniuk-Bogucka was 10-years-old when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau camp with her mother. Bogdaniuk-Bogucka was part of Josef Mengele's experiments when she was in Auschwitz. After the war she met her mother again and they discovered they had both been at Ravensbruck camp at the same time, but they had not realised this. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Maria Stroinska, 82, gestures as she poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 12, 2015. Stroinska was 12-years-old during the Warsaw Uprising when she and her sister were sent from their house to a camp in Pruszkow before she was moved alone by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Stroinska holds a family photo taken before the war. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Janos Forgacs, 87, holds a document as he poses for a portrait in Budapest January 12, 2015. Forgacs recalls that he was in a group transported to a camp in a cattle wagon, with the windows sealed with barbed wire. An military officer told them to hand over their belongings, telling them they would not need them anymore. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Bogdan Bartnikowski, 82, who was registered with camp number 192731, poses for a portrait in Warsaw December 18, 2014. Bartnikowski was 12-years-old during the Warsaw Uprising, when he and his mother were sent to Auschwitz Birkenau camp. They were moved between camps several times. After the war Bartnikowski worked as a pilot and then became a journalist and writer. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Bartnikowski holds a family photograph. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Henryk Duszyk, 80, who was registered with camp number 192692, poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 12, 2015. Duszyk was 10-years-old during the Warsaw Uprising in August, 1944. He was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau with his father, brother and stepmother. The family were separated and Duszyk only saw his father once more before he was killed at the camp. Duszyk, his brother and stepmother were kept at Auschwitz-Birkenau until the camp was liberated. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Halina Brzozowska, 82, who was registered with camp number 86356, poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 12, 2015. Brzozowska was 12-years-old during the Warsaw Uprising when her family were sent to a camp in Pruszkow, she and her 6-year-old sister were then moved by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Brzozowska said that it was hard to say what had happened to them, that they were taken from their homes, family and lost their childhood. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Brzozowska holds a picture of herself which was taken during the war. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Lajos Erdelyi, 87, holds a drawing made by a campmate as he poses for a portrait in Budapest on January 13, 2015. Erdelyi was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in May 1944 and was later moved to another camp. When he was freed he weighed under 30kg, but tried to walk home. He collapsed, and was taken to a hospital by a farmer. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Stefan Sot, 83, who was registered with camp number 192705, poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 5, 2015. Sot was 13-years-old during the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, when he was sent from his home to a camp in Pruszkow prior to being sent by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. He was later moved to a labour sub-camp, where he worked in a kitchen for S.S. officers. After the war he worked as a typesetter at a printing house. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Sot holds a picture of himself taken during the war. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Elzbieta Sobczynska (maiden name Gremblicka), 80, who was registered with camp number 85536, gestures as she poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 7, 2015. During the Warsaw Uprising, when Sobczynska was 10-years-old, she was sent with her mother and brother from their home to a camp in Pruszkow and then moved by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There they were separated into blocks for woman, girls and boys. Sobczynska said that she was robbed of her childhood, and lost the chance to experience a different kind of life. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Sobczynska holds her father's watch, which was kept by her brother while they were in the camp. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Eva Fahidi, 90, holds a picture of her family, who were all killed in the concentration camp during World War Two, as she poses for a portrait in Budapest January 12, 2015. Fahidi was 18 in 1944 when she and her family were moved from Debrecen to Auschwitz-Birkenau. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Jadwiga Bogucka (maiden name Regulska), 89, who was registered with camp number 86356, poses for a portrait in Warsaw January 12, 2015. During the Warsaw Uprising in August, 1944, when Bogucka was 19, she and her mother were sent from their house to a camp in Pruszkow and then moved on August 12, 1944 by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They were liberated by the Red Army on January 27, 1945. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Beautiful portraits of survival show Auschwitz prisoners 70 years later Auschwitz survivors, 70 years on Bogucka holds a picture of herself from 1944. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

"I have remained silent for a long time. I have remained silent all my life," he added.

Hanning was sent to Auschwitz after being wounded in battle, and having his request to rejoin the front had been rejected twice.

"I've tried to repress this period for my whole life. Auschwitz was a nightmare; I wish I had never been there," he said, in a statement read by his lawyer.

Hanning in court in Detmold, western Germany, today (GETTY)

"People were shot, gassed and burned. I could see how corpses were taken back and forth or moved out.

"I could smell burning bodies; I knew corpses were being burned," the statement added.

The former SS sergeant denies he was involved in the mass killings in the infamous camp, maintaining he was stationed in the part of the camp where the gassing of victims did not actually take place.

Last Holocaust-Related Case? 94-Year-Old Former Auschwitz Guard Stands Trial

Auschwitz survivor and co-plaintiff Leon Schwarzbaum, 95, said: "I accept his apology, but I can't forgive him."

He said Hanning should have recounted everything that happened in Auschwitz and "what he took part in".

Although Hanning is not charged with having been directly involved in any killings in the camp, prosecutors accuse him of facilitating the slaughter in his capacity as a guard.

Auschwitz survivor Leon Schwarzbaum attended court in Germany to give evidence (EPA)

A precedent for such charges was set in 2011, when Auschwitz guard Ivan Demjanjuk was convicted.

Last year, a German court sentenced Oskar Groening, 94, to jail for four years over his role in the murder of 300,000 people in the death camp.

A third man, who was a member of the Nazi SS guard team at the concentration camp, died at the age of 93 earlier this month, days before his trial was due to start.

More than six million people, mostly Jews, were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust – their "Final Solution to the Jewish Question".

Other victims included gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled and those considered to be political opponents.

A verdict is expected on 27 May.