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Dutch rail operator to pay reparations for trains that transported Jews during the Holocaust

Nederlandse Spoorwegen says it will set up a commission to look at making payments

November 29, 2018 10:38
A goods wagon used by the Nazis during the Second World War is lowered to the ground at the Memorial Centre in Westerbork, in the Netherlands

ByJC Reporter, JC Reporter

1 min read

The Netherlands’ national railway company has conceded it must pay reparations for its role in deporting Jews during the Second World War.

Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) said this week that its involvement was “a black page in the history of our country and our company”.

Over 100,000 Jews — nearly three-quarters of the Dutch Jewish community — were killed during the war, many deported to Nazi concentration camps elsewhere in Europe.

NS is estimated to have been paid an equivalent to €2.5 million (£2.2 million) today for running trains that transported Jews to the camps, drawing up special timetables without objecting to Nazi demands.