Congresswoman Maloney led fight to compensate SNCF Holocaust deportation victims
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) this week hailed a victory in a decade’s long fight to secure compensation for Holocaust victims who were deported to Nazi death camps aboard Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) trains. A historic agreement reached by U.S. and French diplomats would establish a $60 million fund to compensate several thousand U.S. citizens and others around the world. Maloney worked to bring the French to the bargaining table by pursuing legislation that would have exposed SNCF to lawsuits and by working to block government contracts from flowing to SNCF subsidiaries in the United States.
“When I was in Auschwitz earlier this year, standing on the rail tracks that were used by the Nazis to cart in Jews and others to their deaths, I learned that SNCF-subsidiaries were bidding on rail projects in the U.S. that would be paid for with U.S. tax-dollars,” said Maloney. “Such a concept was detestable to me and that’s why I began protesting these contracts. I’m glad those efforts, along with the Holocaust Rail Justice Act, helped finally bring the French to the negotiating table and bring about this deal.”
Under the agreement, which must still be approved by the French parliament, France would provide a $60 million lump sum payment to the U.S. Government for distribution to eligible claimants. There are three categories of persons eligible to receive payments:
- Those who survived deportation from France and are nationals of a country other than France (with the exception of those from countries covered by bilateral agreements with France: Belgium, Poland, the United Kingdom, and former Czechoslovakia) will be eligible to apply. It is estimated that each of these eligible survivors would receive a payment of over one hundred thousand dollars.
- Spouses of those who were deported from France and are nationals of a country other than France (or one of the four countries mentioned above) will be eligible to apply. It is estimated that each spouse would receive a payment of tens of thousands of dollars.
- Estates “standing in the shoes” of survivors or spouses who died after the end of World War II would be eligible to apply for compensation on their behalf. These estates would need to show that the deported survivor or the surviving spouse was a national of a country other than France (or one of the four countries mentioned above). The amount of payments to the estates of survivors and spouses would depend upon the year when the survivor or spouse died.
French citizens, who are not covered by this agreement, may continue to apply under the French pension program, even if they have never applied before, or applied and were turned down. Moreover, all individuals who were minors at the time of the deportation and lost a parent who was deported and died during the Holocaust are eligible for a pension or lump sum payment through a French program created for such orphans of any nationality. France has already paid over $60 million to over 1,000 eligible orphans in the United States, and additional amounts to orphans from Israel and other countries. Others who lost one or both parents may apply.
“This is a breakthrough in a decades-long struggle for justice waged by Holocaust survivors who were brought to death camps on SNCF trains hired by the Nazis,” said Maloney. “This settlement will deliver fair compensation to these victims and to the loved ones of those who did not live to see this deal finalized.”
Maloney applauded the Special Adviser to the Secretary on Holocaust Issues Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat and the French Ambassador at Large for Human Rights Patrizianna Sparacino-Thiellay for their diligent efforts to reach a deal.
Background:
Maloney worked aggressively to bring the French to the bargaining table by working to block government contracts with SNCF subsidiaries in the United States and by pursuing legislation that would have exposed SNCF to lawsuits from victims living in the United States. Similar agreements were previously struck for survivors living in France, Belgium, Poland, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.
Timeline of Maloney Actions:
April 28, 2014 - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) joined City Council Members Mark Levine and Benjamin Kallos in support of a New York City Council resolution in support of barring contracting with companies that profited from the Holocaust, but have never compensated victims.
March 12, 2014 – Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) write to Secretary of State John Kerry to stress the urgency of delivering fair and reasonable reparations to Holocaust survivors and their families.
February 5, 2014 – Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) applaud new legislation introduced in the Maryland state legislature to deny contracts to companies that were complicit in the Holocaust unless those companies have paid restitution to the victims.
January 30, 2014 – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) visits the rail lines in Poland that brought over a million men, women and children to their death. Maloney was in Poland to observe the 69th anniversary of liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
January 27, 2014 - Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) send a letter to Maryland’s Department of Transportation requesting that the state sever ties with a French rail firm that aided the Nazi’s during World War II. SNCF subsidiary Keolis had been selected to bid on the Purple Line rail extension project in Maryland.
April 11, 2013 - Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) re-introduce the Holocaust Rail Justice Act (H.R. 1505), which would provide Holocaust survivors their day in court against SNCF, the French rail company that transported more than 75,000 Jews and thousands of others-- including U.S. air pilots—to concentration camps during World War II.
November 16, 2011 - Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in support of her bill, the “Holocaust Rail Justice Act” (H.R. 1193), which would provide Holocaust survivors their day in court against the French rail company, SNCF, for its role in transporting thousands to their deaths during World War II.
March 17, 2011 - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY14) re-introduces bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1193) to hold railroad companies that worked with the Nazis accountable in U.S. courts.
December 9, 2009 - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY14) re-introduces bipartisan legislation (H.R. 4237) to hold railroad companies that worked with the Nazis accountable in U.S. courts.
October 9, 2007 - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY14) re-introduces bipartisan legislation (H.R. 3713) to hold railroad companies that worked with the Nazis accountable in U.S. courts.
February 1, 2005 - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY14) re-introduces bipartisan legislation (H.R. 474) to hold railroad companies that worked with the Nazis accountable in U.S. courts.
July 25, 2003 - Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY14) introduces bipartisan legislation (H.R. 2954) to hold railroad companies that worked with the Nazis accountable in U.S. courts.