portees were to be exterminated, worked to death, or 
made to suffer terrible and inhuman conditions. 
(5) The complaint contends that SNCF’s ac-
tions violated the Principles of the Nuremberg Tri-
bunal, 1950, relating to crimes under international 
law (earlier recognized by the Martens Clause of the 
Hague Convention IV of 1907), and aided and abet-
ted the commission of war crimes and crimes against 
humanity. SNCF has not denied its actions and has 
never disgorged the money that it was paid for the 
deportations or otherwise compensated the deportees 
or their heirs. 
(6) SNCF’s records concerning the deportation 
trains have not been made available to the plaintiffs, 
and SNCF archives concerning its wartime activities 
are not accessible to the general public. 
(7) SNCF moved to dismiss the lawsuit on a 
claim of sovereign immunity under the foreign sov-
ereign immunities provisions of title 28, United 
States Code (28 U.S.C. 1330 and 1602 et seq.), 
even though it is one of the 500 largest corporations 
in the world, earns hundreds of millions of dollars 
from its commercial activities in the United States, 
and is not accorded sovereign immunity under the 
laws of France. SNCF’s motion to dismiss the law-
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suit was granted by the United States District Court 
for the Eastern District of New York. Plaintiffs ap-
pealed the decision, their appeal was granted, and 
the case was remanded for further proceedings. Sub-
sequently, in light of Republic of Austria v. 
Altmann, 541 U.S. 677 (2004), in November 2004, 
on remand, the Court of Appeals for the Second Cir-
cuit recalled its prior mandate and determined that 
SNCF was entitled to immunity and affirmed the 
dismissal of the complaint. The Second Circuit stat-
ed that ‘‘the railroad’s conduct at the time lives on 
in infamy’’ but concluded that ‘‘the evil actions of 
the French national railroad’s former private mas-
ters in knowingly transporting thousands to death 
camps during World War II are not susceptible to 
legal redress in Federal court today.’’. 
(8) This lawsuit, which arises from the unique 
historical facts of the deportation of persons to Nazi 
concentration camps, presents issues of substantial 
importance to citizens and veterans of the United 
States. Many of those who have sought redress 
against SNCF are elderly and would have difficulty 
traveling outside the United States in order to pur-
sue their claims elsewhere. The courts of the United 
States are and should be a proper forum for this 
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lawsuit. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 
1976, which had not been enacted at the time of 
SNCF’s actions during World War II, was not in-
tended to bar suit against the SNCF. 
SEC. 3. ACCESS TO UNITED STATES COURTS FOR HOLO-
CAUST DEPORTEES. 
(a) JURISDICTION
OF
DISTRICT
COURTS.—The 
United States district courts shall have original jurisdic-
tion, without regard to the amount in controversy, of any 
civil action for damages for personal injury or death 
that— 
(1) arose from the deportation of persons to 
Nazi concentration camps during the period begin-
ning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 
31, 1944; and 
(2) is brought by any such person, or any heir 
or survivor of such person, against a railroad that— 
(A) owned or operated the trains on which 
the persons were so deported; and 
(B) was organized as a separate legal enti-
ty at the time of the deportation, whether or 
not any of the equity interest in the railroad 
was owned by a foreign state. 
(b) OTHER LAWS NOT APPLICABLE.—Sections 1330 
and 1601 through 1611 of title 28, United States Code, 
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or any other law limiting the jurisdiction of the United 
States courts, whether by statute or under common law, 
shall not preclude any action under subsection (a). 
(c) INAPPLICABILITY
OF STATUTES
OF LIMITA-
TION.—An action described in subsection (a) shall not be 
barred by a defense that the time for bringing such action 
has expired under a statute of limitations. 
(d) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to any 
action pending on January 1, 2002, and to any action 
commenced on or after that date. 
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
In furtherance of international education relating to 
the Holocaust and in light of historic and continuing Anti- 
Semitism in Europe and throughout the world, the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the Congress, not later than 
the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, a report describing the extent to which the 
public has access to records, including archived informa-
tion, of any railroad described in section 2(a)(2) with re-
spect to the deportation of persons to Nazi concentration 
camps during the period beginning on January 1, 1942, 
and ending on December 31, 1944, on trains owned or 
operated by that railroad. 
Æ 
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