High-speed rail. Late apology
Photo: AP
French rail firm regrets WWII role
State-owned SNCF apologizes for first time for deporting thousands of Jews to Nazi camps. Company hopes statement will pave its way to deals worth tens of billions of dollars in US
France's national state-owned railway company, SNCF, has for the first time expressed regret over activity in the service of the Nazis, French newspaper Le Monde reported Friday.
According to the report, Pepy expressed his "profound pain and regret for the consequences of acts ... carried out under order".
SNCF Chairman Guillaume Pepy made the statement during a meeting with elected representatives and Jewish community groups in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while presenting the company's plan for a high-speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando.
Historical Record
Associated Press
California governor says while his sympathizes with Holocaust victims, suggested law 'needlessly places the state in a position of acknowledging the activities of companies during that time'
The French rail company has so far stated time and again that it was not responsible for these actions, as it was forced to transport Jews. Pepy's statement is the first expression of regret on behalf of SNCF.
During World War II, the company transported some 75,000 Jews living in occupied France to concentration and death camps.
In August, Pepy opened SNCF archives to American historians and said that he took concerns over the company's role "very seriously" - but stuck to the company line that it had been "acting under the Nazi yoke".
The apology came after US lawmakers threatened SNCF's chances of winning lucrative contracts. In California, where SNCF is eyeing another high-speed project, state assemblyman Bob Blumenfield passed a law requiring companies bidding on the contract to reveal their role in prisoner transport between 1942 and 1944.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
