France has agreed to pay reparations to American Holocaust survivors who were deported to Nazi death camps in French trains, following a year of negotiations with the Obama administration.
The agreement, a bilateral accord with the U.S. government to be signed Monday, includes a $60 million lump sum payment that will be distributed to eligible survivors, their spouses and, if applicable, their heirs.
Stuart Eizenstat, the State Department’s special adviser for Holocaust issues, who negotiated the agreement, said that it was uncertain how many would apply for the compensation. But based on estimates and amounts paid in existing French government programs, survivors “could receive payment well over $100,000,” with “tens of thousands of dollars” for spouses of those who died in the camps or since World War II.
Amounts for heirs of camp survivors who have since died are to be determined based on the number of years they lived after their release. Eligible claimants can choose to be paid an annuity rather than a lump sum.
The agreement closes a loophole that has prevented some citizens of the United States and a number of other countries from receiving benefits from existing French compensation programs.
The agreement is also intended to close the door on pending state and federal legislation that would ban France’s state railway, SNCF, or its foreign subsidiaries from winning contracts in this country.
An SNCF subsidiary, Keolis North America, is part of a consortium of private companies bidding to build and operate a $2.45 billion light-rail system near Washington, D.C. The 35-year contract, which eventually could total up to $6 billion, is scheduled to be awarded by the Maryland Transit Administration next spring, unless it is canceled by Maryland’s Republican governor-elect Larry Hogan.
Keolis also operates Virginia Rail Express commuter trains.
While the French government recognized “the pressing nature” of the issue, and “indicated a desire to reach an agreement this year,” Eizenstat said in an interview, he declined to tie the urgency to the upcoming contract award.
“I don’t know their motives,” he said of the French government.
The French embassy said in a statement that the agreement was made possible because of “the spirit of friendship and cooperation between our two countries” and that “both sides will do everything possible to ensure that compensation is paid as quickly as possible and with as few formalities as possible.”
SNCF officials have formally expressed regret on a number of occasions for the railway’s role in carrying up to 76,000 people from France to the Nazi camps. But the state-owned company has consistently denied that it acted voluntarily in cooperating with the Nazis, noting that SNCF was placed under German command in 1940.
Holocaust survivors in this country have pursued compensation for more than a decade in a class action lawsuits. After those cases were dismissed on the basis of sovereign immunity for government-owned companies, survivors and their backers have pressed for legislation banning SNCF and its subsidiaries from contracts in this country.
In an indirect reference to any future lawsuits and legislation, the French embassy statement said that “the two governments consider this agreement to be the comprehensive and exclusive mechanism for responding to requests relating to Holocaust-era deportations from France, or any actions initiated in this regard, notable in the United States.
Eizenstat said that members of Congress and Holocaust groups have been briefed on the terms of the agreement and “we have reason to believe they’re all supportive.”
Rep. Carolyn Moloney, D-N.Y., who authored legislation that would allow Holocaust victims living in this country to sue SNCF and led opposition to public rail contracts with the company, called the agreement “a breakthrough in a decadeslong struggle for justice waged by Holocaust survivors who were brought to death camps on SNCF trains hired by the Nazis. 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.”
Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, welcomed the agreement, which must now be ratified by the French parliament. He called it “an important recognition by the Government of France of the suffering of those who have been excluded for decades from the French Holocaust victims compensation program.”
Those who apply for the new compensation program will have to sign a waiver agreeing not to pursue any lawsuit, Eizenstat said. As part of the accord, he said, the United States agrees to support French sovereign immunity in any future lawsuit.
Under its terms, the United States government is in charge of administering the program and distributing awards. Those eligible, Eizenstat said, will be able to apply online and at U.S. consulates in Israel, Canada and other countries. The United States will waive a 1.5 percent administrative fee for processing the benefit.
Although SNCF is not a party to the government-to-government agreement, he said, the state-owned company has said it will voluntarily make a $4 million contribution over the next five years to Holocaust museums, memorials, and education programs. One-quarter of that money, he said, is to be distributed to groups in the United States in 2015.
