The stepson of former Holmfirth man Stanislaw Chrzanowski was convinced he was a Nazi war criminal after gathering evidence over many years, it is claimed.

John Kingston became convinced his stepfather had killed civilians for the Nazis in his native Belarus and spent years campaigning for a prosecution and seeking witnesses.

Mr Kingston, of Netherthong , who died last week, believed his stepfather was involved in the murder of civilians during his time as an auxiliary policemen in Slonim, Belarus.

The pensioner was quizzed by police in 1998 but the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

This week it emerged that investigators in Munich had started a probe last year which was the first time a suspected Nazi war criminal living in the UK has been targeted by German prosecutors.

A federal court in Germany ruled in July that he could be tried in Germany but Mr Chrzanowski, who was facing more than 30 charges of murder, died in October aged 96.

Stanislaw Chrzanowski, formerly of Holmfirth, who was being investigated for Nazi war crimes

Mr Chrzanowski, who is thought to have lived in Holmfirth during the 1950s, was never told about the German investigation and had previously denied committing war crimes.

Mr Kingston’s widow Shelia, 77, and still living in Netherthong, said her husband had died last week aged 73.

“He had done all this research and had been to Belarus and to Russia. He had given his files to the BBC.”

Mrs Kingston, a retired cleaner, said John, a clerical worker, had been convinced that his stepfather had carried out murders during the war.

“He knew in his heart it was true, although he (Mr Chrzanowski) denied it all.

“John believed that he did actually kill people in the war.”

Mrs Kingston said her husband had spoken about his childhood during which his stepfather had told him stories about atrocities.

His stepfather had allegedly described how people were shot and children were killed by being thrown against walls.

Stanislaw Chrzanowski

Mr Kingston had tracked down people in Slonim who claimed to have witnessed his stepfather shooting prisoners in the forests.

In an interview in 1995 he recalled Mr Chrzanowski talking about “bodies being burned, piles of bodies by barbed wire and having to climb over them.”

He added: “My father used to tell me about killing people, and how it was done, in quite graphic detail.”

Mr Chrzanowski, who had been living in Telford, was one of 20 alleged Nazi war criminals named in the House of Commons in 2006.

In Slonim, people were tracked down who claimed to have seen the killings.

Modern-day Slonim in Belarus

One woman, Alexandra Dalevsky, said her husband was among civilians murdered by Mr Chrzanowski and another guard in 1942.

She said: “We knew him as a butcher. That’s what he did, kill people. I swear on my life I’m telling the truth.

“He was very proud of wearing the uniform and carrying a weapon at such a young age. He was extremely cruel.”

Mrs Kingston, who only met ‘Stan’ on her wedding day in 1965, said: “John said he used to tell him about the war but as if he wasn’t part of it.

“I think he told him about rounding people up but said he was just a guard, a policeman.”

Mrs Kingston said her husband hadn’t had a good childhood because Mr Chrzanowski wasn’t a good stepdad.