Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
French rail sorry for deporting Jews to Nazi camps
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Africa
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America
French rail sorry for deporting Jews to Nazi camps
AFP - Saturday, November 13
Send
IM Story
Print
French rail sorry for deporting Jews to Nazi camps
PARIS (AFP) - – France's state-owned rail company SNCF has expressed remorse for hauling thousands of Jews to their deaths in Nazi camps, after US lawmakers threatened its chances of winning lucrative contracts.
Until recently, the company has insisted it had been forced by France's World War II German occupiers to help deport 75,000 French Jews to the gas chambers, and noted that 2,000 of its own rail workers were executed.
But, with SNCF and its main train-builder Alstom seeking work in the United States, the company's chairman Guillaume Pepy earlier this month met in Florida with elected representatives and Jewish community groups to express his regret.
Pepy told them he wished to express "his profound pain and regret for the consequences of acts ... carried out under order".
But this time, according to a copy of his statement issued by SNCF, Pepy appeared to go further.
He quoted a speech made by France's then president Jacques Chirac at a 1995 memorial.
"These dark hours will stain our history forever, and are an insult to our history and tradition. Yes, the criminal insanity of the occupier was seconded by the French, by the French state," Chirac said then.
"As an arm of the French state, SNCF adopts these words as its own and accepts the pain that they reflect for the victims, survivors and their families, who suffered because of our role in the war," Pepy added.
SNCF also has an English-language website, which seeks to explain its role in the Holocaust: http://www.sncfhighspeedrail.com/heritage. SNCF archives were opened to Americans in 1996.
As recently as August, Pepy 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".
But the issue has been taken up by US lawmakers, and with big contracts like that of Florida's proposed Tampa to Orlando high-speed rail line in the balance, SNCF has now apparently decided to go a little further.
Had it not, it might have found itself excluded from the US market.
In California, where SNCF is eyeing another high-speed project, state assemblyman Bob Blumenfield sought to pass a law requiring companies bidding on the contract to reveal their role in prisoner transport between 1942 and 1944. But Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the legislation.
Florida's Congressman Ron Klein, another Democrat, has proposed a similar law at the federal level. Neither text mentions SNCF by name, but both clearly target the firm seeking to export France's world class TGV technology.
With deals worth tens of billions of euros (dollars) at stake, former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, chairman of the French Senate's Franco-US friendship committee, has sought to defuse the row.
He told his US colleagues that French rail workers had no choice but to collaborate.
Some listeners have been unimpressed however.
"If they want to issue an apology, they should issue an apology directly to the survivors," said Rositta Kenigsberg, executive vice president of the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Florida.
"Who are they issuing the apology to?" she asked.
"They are spending so much money coming here, paying a PR campaign, they are talking with everybody except the people directly involved. I don't understand."
Even in France, campaigners for Holocaust remembrance have criticised the timing of these statements.
"It's an obvious step towards establishing historical truth," said Alain Lipietz, a former member of the European parliament who sued SNCF on behalf of four family members hauled to their deaths on board French trains.
"But what's regrettable is the fact that he did what he did in the United States solely to improve his position in a contract negotiation, and not in order to ensure that it doesn't happen again one day," he said.
On the other hand, France's senior human rights official Francois Zimeray has accused protectionist politicians in the United States of exploiting the issue to exclude French products from US markets.
"I encourage SNCF to face up to this page in its history, and to break down any myths," he added, while insisting that France had acted in an exemplary way in terms of Holocaust remembrance and reparations.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
UK-World Summary Reuters - 46 minutes ago
Junta silent as Myanmar awaits Suu Kyi release Reuters - 49 minutes ago
Japan protesters rally during China's Hu visit Reuters - 55 minutes ago
Taliban attack airport, base in east Afghanistan Reuters - 1 hour 1 minute ago
Zsa Zsa Gabor rushed to hospital for blood clot AFP - 1 hour 42 minutes ago
News Search
Top Stories
Zsa Zsa Gabor rushed to hospital for blood clot
Britain launches fresh drive on tax havens
After Fed boost, global woes hit Wall Street
'Naked' airport scanners may be 'dangerous'
Obama mounts strong defence of US economic policy
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
Most Recommended
EU fines 11 airlines 800 million euros for air cargo cartel
DNA test raises doubts over Texas man's execution
Boeing blames Dreamliner fire on faulty power panel
Asian Games open with China set to dominate
EU heavyweights move to calm bond markets
More Most Viewed »
Alcohol more harmful than heroin, crack cocaine: study
Toddler survives seven-floor fall in France
Spectacular unknown species found in Amazon
EU fines 11 airlines 800 million euros for air cargo cartel
Be fit, have fewer colds: study
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Weekend Edition
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo!
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Entertainment
Photos
Yahoo! News Network
Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Service |
Privacy Policy |
Community |
Intellectual Property Rights Policy |
Help
Other News on Saturday, 13 November 2010 Suicide car bomb targets foreign troops in Kabul
Some 200,000 at risk of cholera in Haiti, U.N. says
|
James Murdoch says apps cannibalize newspapers
Russia's quarterly growth slows sharply due to drought
Qantas plane turns back after engine problem: report
|
Asian Games open with China set to dominate
Mexico hunting 12-year-old drug gang hitman
|
Lebanon gives absent Islamist leader life sentence
|
Nigeria will report Iran if arms broke U.N. sanctions
|
'Breakthrough' ceremony opens Asian Games
Chinese vase fetches record 69 million dollars in Britain
N.Korea 'giving nuclear material to Iran, Syria'
Laos summit sets targets on cluster bombs
UN refugee agency signals more fighting in Myanmar
Acer, Ferrari unveil joint smartphone model
|
Finnish state church sanctions prayer for gay marriages
China's Hu makes first Japan visit since island row
Cyprus tourism income spikes 10 percent in September: data
Newsweek and Daily Beast agree merger
|
Chinese dissident's release urged at peace summit
"Garfield" creator apologizes for Veterans Day strip
Fund manager Heebner turns back on Apple
|
"Deathly Hallows" conjures up holiday movie season
Japan's Mizuho to buy BlackRock stake, sees profits soar
India's Power Grid issue oversubscribed nearly 15 times
India's Tata Steel turns Q2 net profit
Nvidia eyes higher sales, talks up Tegra
|
Orlando Bloom, Beth Ditto win German Bambi awards
|
Palin's email hacker gets one year in jail: US court
Newsweek, Daily Beast in old-new media marriage
WikiLeaks registers company in Iceland
US-TECH Summary
Nvidia eyes higher sales, talks up Tegra
Newsweek and Daily Beast agree merger
Acer, Ferrari unveil joint smartphone model
EU accepts Iran talks offer, suggests venue
EU official calls Roma's situation in Europe 'scandalous'
Junta silent as Myanmar awaits Suu Kyi release
|
Oracle case winds down without HP CEO
Maliki faces dispute over Iraqi power-sharing deal
Taliban attack airport, base in east Afghanistan
|
Zsa Zsa Gabor rushed to hospital for blood clot
Nigeria will report Iran if arms broke U.N. sanctions
Basque separatist leader renews 'rejection of violence'
Google and Facebook rivalry takes centerstage
Britain launches fresh drive on tax havens
Conan O'Brien Averages Nearly 3 Million Viewers For First Week Of "Conan"
U.N. council gets Sudan report that infuriated China
|
Cisco hires former Apple executive Papermaster
After Fed boost, global woes hit Wall Street
Russia says open to missile defence cooperation with NATO
U.N. council gets Sudan report that infuriated China
Commodities Prices Fall On Chinese Interest Rates Fears
Facebook to revamp messaging service: source
'Naked' airport scanners may be 'dangerous'
Japan protesters rally during China's Hu visit
|
Supreme Court Allows Military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy to Continue
Radical Lebanon cleric Omar Bakri jailed for life
Obama mounts strong defence of US economic policy
Experts Predict Republican Opposition to Health Care Reform Law
Newsweek, Daily Beast in old-new media marriage
Pirates hijack ship with 29 Chinese sailors: report
|
Lebanon gives absent Islamist leader life sentence
Ireland has not asked for EU bailout: Juncker
Palin Email Hacker Gets 366 Days In Jail
Facebook may be poised to launch email service
First Debate Of 2012 White House Race Set For Next Spring
Afghan officials: Kabul attack kills 1, wounds 2
Fund manager Heebner turns back on Apple
North Korea is building light-water reactor: report
|
NYC Man Sues Former Landlords For $21M After A/C Unit Falls On Head
Hispanics Decry Tennessee Lawmaker's "Rats" Comment
Mexico hunting 12-year-old drug gang hitman
|
Tennessee hacker of Sarah Palin's e-mail sentenced
Higher Corn Prices Mean Higher Turkey Prices As T-Day Approaches
Tight race in Guinea run-off as full results delayed
|
Obama makes free trade push at Pacific Rim summit
French rail sorry for deporting Jews to Nazi camps
China 'lays down gauntlet' at Asian Games
Pirates seize ship with 29 Chinese sailors aboard: Xinhua
DiCaprio attacker pleads no contest to assault
Pacquiao hopes to extend legacy, streak against Margarito
Female directors absent on Forbes Hollywood list
U.S. high court declines to lift military ban on gays
Aquino welcomes Philippine credit rating hike
Global minimum and maximum temperatures
China-US spat hobbles G20 push on world economy
Philippines appeals to Myanmar ahead of Suu Kyi release
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Google and Facebook rivalry takes centerstage
|
Chinese premier due in Macau for economic forum
Justin Bieber's new song, "Pray", debuts online
Suu Kyi supporters hope, pray for her freedom
Facebook to revamp messaging service: source
|
DiCaprio attacker pleads no contest to assault
Toll from volatile Indonesian volcano rises to 240
Zsa Zsa Gabor hospitalized with blood clot
Oracle case winds down without HP CEO
|
Chili Peppers dig up roots in "Oral/Visual History"
Cisco hires former Apple executive Papermaster
|
Big sales projected for Michael Jackson album
Sarah Palin gets down and dirty in new TV show
Argentina, China shore up trade relations
Eastern Europe's first science centre wows in Poland
Cruise ship tourists back in Cuba after 3-year slump
Female directors absent on Forbes Hollywood list
DiCaprio attacker pleads no contest to assault
|
Zsa Zsa Gabor hospitalized with blood clot
|
Justin Bieber's new song, Pray, debuts online
|
Sarah Palin gets down and dirty in new TV show
|
Chili Peppers dig up roots in Oral/Visual History
|
Deathly Hallows conjures up holiday movie season
|
Female directors absent on Forbes Hollywood list
|
Airbase attacked, 10 killed in Afghan market bombing
Taliban attack NATO base in east Afghanistan
Taliban mount series of attacks in Afghanistan
|
Saudi king delegates deputy PM to oversee Hajj
Iraq's Allawi: power-sharing deal is dead
|
Militants assault NATO base in eastern Afghanistan
Japan and China leaders aim to cool tensions
|
U.S. Briefed Pakistan Indian U.N. Endorsement
Violence in Bangladesh as ex-PM ordered from home
|
U.S. Hails Democracy In Iraq As Religious, Zonal Factions Get Active
Militants try to assault eastern Afghan airport
Pentagon Shaken, Secretary Condemns DADT Review Leak, Orders Probe
Militants battle Afghan forces in east
Nigerian military threatens action in delta
|
Race tightens in Guinea presidential run-off
|
US presence in Asia vital: Japan
US drone strike 'kills four militants in Pakistan'
Germany lifts passenger flight ban from Yemen
|
Myanmar frees democracy icon Suu Kyi
China to speed rare earth exports to Japan
UK holiday camp company goes into administration
Japan PM protests Kurils visit in Medvedev talks
Indonesia volcano death toll rises to 240
Medvedev seeks to strengthen dialogue with Japan
UN chief hails 'inspiration' Aung San Suu Kyi
China rebuffs US pressure at Asian economic summit
Japanese scientists arrive to aid Indonesian volcanologists
US looking for progress on yuan by January
Don't ask too much of emerging economies, says China's Hu
Russia, Japan, China firms in massive fertiliser deal
Japan to open economy after lagging behind on free trade: PM
Aquino welcomes Philippine credit rating hike
Chinese leader vows open trade, stable currency
After G-20 rancor, Pac Rim leaders push free trade
Hu: China to keep open trade, keep currency stable
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights