A 93-year-old former SS sergeant charged with 170,000 counts of accessory to murder has been declared fit for trial in Germany.

Reinhold H, whose surname was not given for privacy reasons, is accused of committing the crimes at Auschwitz from January 1943 to June 1944.

The Detmold state court said on Monday that a doctor determined he was fit to stand trial so long as sessions were limited to two hours a day.

Defence lawyers and prosecutors have two weeks to submit responses to the opinion. The court will then decide whether to open a trial.

The suspect claims he was assigned to a part of the camp not involved in mass murders.