I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1193 
To ensure that the courts of the United States may provide an impartial 
forum for claims brought by United States citizens and others against 
any railroad organized as a separate legal entity, arising from the depor-
tation of United States citizens and others to Nazi concentration camps 
on trains owned or operated by such railroad, and by the heirs and 
survivors of such persons, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2011 
Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. DEUTCH, 
Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. WEST, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To ensure that the courts of the United States may provide 
an impartial forum for claims brought by United States 
citizens and others against any railroad organized as 
a separate legal entity, arising from the deportation of 
United States citizens and others to Nazi concentration 
camps on trains owned or operated by such railroad, 
and by the heirs and survivors of such persons, and 
for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Holocaust Rail Justice 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) During World War II, more than 75,000 
Jews and thousands of other persons were deported 
from France to Nazi concentration camps, on trains 
operated for profit by the Socie´te´ Nationale des Che-
mins de fer Franc¸ais (in this Act referred to as 
‘‘SNCF’’), including deportations to Auschwitz and 
Buchenwald. Numerous citizens and residents of the 
United States were among those who were on the 
trains or had relatives on the trains. United States 
servicemen who were pilots shot down over France 
were also among the persons deported on the SNCF 
trains to Nazi concentration camps. 
(2) United States citizens and others have 
sought redress against SNCF by filing a class action 
suit in the United States District Court for the 
Eastern District of New York. The named plaintiffs 
and class members include United States Army Air 
Force pilots and United States citizens. 
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(3) The complaint filed alleges that SNCF, a 
separate corporate entity that remained independent 
during World War II, operated the deportation 
trains for a profit, as ordinary commercial trans-
actions. SNCF remained under French civilian con-
trol throughout World War II and is alleged to have 
collaborated willingly with the German Nazi regime. 
(4) The complaint alleges that SNCF provided 
the necessary rolling stock, scheduled the depar-
tures, and supplied the employees to operate the 
trains bound for the concentration camps. SNCF al-
legedly charged an ordinary passenger coach fare for 
the deportations, calculated per person and per kilo-
meter, and considered these trains as ordinary com-
mercial activities. The plaintiffs further contend that 
SNCF herded as many people as possible into each 
car, requiring passengers of all ages and sexes, in-
cluding the elderly and young children, to stand 
throughout the trip of several days’ duration, with 
no provision for food or water and no sanitary facili-
ties. The complaint further alleges that SNCF 
cleaned the trains after each trip, removing the 
corpses of persons who perished during transit due 
to the execrable conditions of the train cars. The 
destination was in each case a camp in which the de-
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