The Dutch national railway company is setting up a commission to investigate how it can pay individual reparations for its role in mass deportations of Jews by Nazi occupiers during World War II.
In a written statement, the rail company, NS, said that its involvement in the deportations “is a black page in the history of our country and our company.”
Company spokesman Erik Kroeze said Wednesday that the commission will look at making payments to Dutch Holocaust survivors and direct family members of Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis. He said it is not yet clear how many people could be eligible.
Kroeze said it is too early to say when the commission, which has yet to be appointed, will reach conclusions. “For us it is important to put care ahead of speed,” he said.
More than 100,000 Jews — 70 percent of the Dutch Jewish community — did not survive the war. Most were deported from the Netherlands and killed in Nazi concentration camps.
(c) The Washington Post
{Matzav.com}
