Dutch Railway to compensate Holocaust survivors
The Dutch national railway company NS has announced that it will pay out compensation to those transported to Nazi death camps during World War II.
Compensation will be paid to survivors who were taken to the camps, and relatives of those who died.
NS earned millions of euros (by today’s terms) after being commissioned by the occupying Nazi forces to transport Jewish families to extermination camps.
Several thousand eligible
“It is estimated that several thousand people are eligible for the allowance, including an estimated 500 survivors. NS will set aside several tens of millions of euro for this in the coming years,” said NS in a statement.
In 2005, the rail company apologised for its role in World War II, but only announced that it would make compensation payments in November 2018. A special commission has since been deciding on the amounts.
Campaign by families
Families led by former Ajax football club physiotherapist Salo Muller, who lost both his parents during the war, have been campaigning for years for compensation.
An NS spokesman, speaking to Agence France-Presse, said: "It's €15,000 for survivors of the Holocaust and the transportations, and then €5,000 to €7,500 for children born before, during or after the war, and widows or widowers.
"The total group that is estimated who could get the individual allowance is approximately 5,000 to 6,000 people."