To learn more about the SNCF 1939-1945 fund…

The archives of the Secretary of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.

The SNCF is administered by a Board of Directors and a General Directorate. The Board of Directors has the broadest powers. During World War II, it consisted of twenty members: ten representatives of the Public Authorities, five members appointed by the former railway companies’ Board of Directors, and five employee representatives proposed by labor unions.

The archives originating from the Secretary of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee constitute a very rich documentary base for any historical research on the company.

Content

Among the archives useful for the study of World War II, we can mention:

• Social records of the Board of Directors (final minutes, session notes, distributed working documents, final and provisional agendas with their amendments).
• Social records of the SNCF Executive Committee until October 1940, the year of its abolition (draft agendas and final agendas, lists of attendees and absentees, distributed working documents, stenographic transcripts of debates, draft minutes, and final texts).
• Social records of the General and Special Shareholders’ Meetings of the SNCF (notice of convocation, letters of convocation, reports from the Board of Directors to the Meeting, reports from the Accounts Commission, attendance sheets, seating plans, session notes, draft minutes, and final minutes).
• Annual business activity reports.
• Correspondence from the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the period 1939-1945 (that exchanged between the Ministry of Public Works and the Chairman of the Board of Directors and that addressed to the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee), along with the accompanying thematic file.
• Documentary files created by the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the documentation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee members (excerpts from the Board of Directors or Executive Committee minutes, regulatory texts, and correspondence, especially between the SNCF and the Ministry of Public Works).

The archives of the General Directorate’s Secretariat

The Secretariat of the General Directorate was responsible, on behalf of the Director-General and Deputy Director-General, for receiving and sending mail, managing affairs, maintaining archives, liaising with Regional Directorates and Central Services, coding, printing, and distributing instructions, as well as preparing official trips.

Content

It is important to highlight the significance of the thematic files created by this service as part of its activities. It is in these collections that the correspondence of Secretariat W, a special office of the Secretariat of the General Directorate responsible for translating correspondence exchanged between the SNCF and German authorities, is scattered.

Additionally, there is a significant number of files related to military affairs, as well as elements from the Central Commission of Railways dealing with war preparations. Finally, readers will find information on commemorations, Legion of Honor awards, military medals, and acts of merit.

The documentary typology is diverse and includes correspondence, notes, ministerial orders, protocols, agreements, decrees, directives, memoranda, guidelines, laws, projects, programs, and conferences.”

The archives of the Legal Department

At the inception of the SNCF, the Legal Department succeeded the activities of the Common Legal Department, established in 1933 during the era of the Great French Railway Networks. It was responsible for studying legal issues arising from railway operations, representing the National Company in all civil, administrative, criminal, and social courts, and managing all real estate transactions.

The Legal Department consisted of three subdivisions: a Legal Secretariat, a Subdivision of Commercial and Accident Matters, and a Subdivision of Civil, Administrative, Criminal, and Fiscal Matters, all organized into Bureaus.

The transfers we have were created by:

• The subdivision of the Legal Secretariat.
• The Bureau of General Affairs, which originated from the subdivision of the Legal Secretariat.
• The Bureau of Common Law Accidents, which originated from the subdivision of Commercial Affairs, Accidents, Criminal Matters, and Insurance.

Content

The subdivision of the Legal Secretariat These are records of railway jurisprudence from 1939 to 1945. They were initially compiled by the Common Legal Department of the Great Railway Networks, then continued by the Subdivision of the Legal Secretariat. The Jurisprudence collections aimed to inform the services about precedent-setting decisions to avoid unnecessary and often costly litigation.

The Bureau of General Affairs Its role was to provide consultations and conduct studies in response to questions from other sections of the Legal Department or different SNCF regions, offer consultations to employees, monitor proceedings before the Council of State, Prefecture Councils, arbitration tribunals, criminal courts, or the Court of Cassation.

The Bureau of Common Law Accidents These are legal cases related to railway accidents involving passengers or third parties, across all SNCF regions. They contain accident reports, inquiry reports, correspondence between the Legal Department and regional Operational Services, medical examination reports, supporting documents for medical expenses, pleadings from the SNCF’s lawyer or one of its agents, copies of court judgments (civil, criminal, or Court of Appeal), receipts for indemnity payments to victims, notices of payment for lawyer’s fees, and reports on the case submitted by the Legal Department to the Director-General of the SNCF.”

The archives of the Budget Department

Since its establishment in 1937, the Budget Department has been part of the General Secretariat. General Order No. 2 of January 1, 1938, outlines its responsibilities, stating that it is “responsible for preparing annual budgets, conducting quarterly revisions, monitoring revenue and expenses to identify threats of imbalance.” It is also tasked with “monitoring expenditure commitments for various budgets,” “controlling the allocation of all expenses,” and “verifying the assets of various establishments.”

In 1939, its activities were organized around three areas of expertise: the operating budget, the establishment budget, and controls and investigations. In 1941, the department underwent a slight reform, reorganizing into three subdivisions: General Affairs, Operations, and Establishment.

Content

We can identify files related to establishment and operating budgets, establishment investment projects, establishment expenses, and operating results. Additionally, there are several documents, often prepared by the Central Personnel Department, regarding staffing levels. These documents provide interesting statistical and sociological insights during this challenging period for the company. Furthermore, it’s important to note that these budgetary archives are the first of the SNCF, as the company was relatively new at the time.”

The archives of the Central Technical Organization Department, later the Technical Department of the General Directorate

The Technical Department of the General Directorate was responsible for conducting studies related to organizational matters as prescribed by the Director-General, and the annual or future programs of the SNCF. It also centralized matters related to data processing, statistics, technical documentation, transport costs, and the utilization of large equipment.

It included:

• The Central Organization Commission, responsible for general organizational studies (mergers, unifications, simplifications of services, and modernization of methods).
• The Central Studies Division, responsible for:
  • Studying, in principle, on behalf of the Director-General or at the request of the Chiefs of the Central Services, the annual and future programs (operations, equipment, and fixed installations), in close collaboration with the Heads of these Services.
  • Establishing transport cost prices, balance sheets for major completed works, utilization rates of large equipment and tools.
  • Monitoring general technical progress made in France and abroad.
• The Central Documentation Division, responsible for collecting general technical or non-technical documentation and disseminating the most interesting points through periodic notes or bulletins.
• The Central Statistics Division, responsible for centralizing all requests for statistics sent to the Regions by the central services of the SNCF to avoid duplication and also for preparing the summarized statistics needed by the Committee, the President, the Director-General, and the Annual Statistical Report.

Content

The files of the Technical Department of the General Directorate contain a significant amount of correspondence from Secretariat W. The topics covered are diverse:

• General organizational matters, especially the organization of relations with the German authorities in accordance with the Armistice Convention.
• Equipment matters: leasing, orders, and deliveries of railway equipment, especially to the German authorities; fleet numbers and equipment inventories; amounts owed to the SNCF for equipment services; restitution of equipment confiscated by the Germans.
• Fixed installations (tracks, buildings, structures): files related to the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance work carried out at the request of the Occupation authorities.
• Commercial matters: files related to German and Allied transports (military, special, etc.) and their execution.
• Operations matters: prevention of sabotage acts as part of traffic safety, protection of personnel against air bombings.
• Financial matters: files related to the services provided by the SNCF, especially to the German authorities (but also to the Allies), their billing, and expense settlement.

These archives also include:

• Files on the French Occupation Railway Detachment in Germany (preparation phase of the Occupation).
• Memos on decisions made by the Director-General during various conferences held during the 1939-1945 period.
• Files related to the classification of regulatory texts and archives

The archives of the Central Personnel Department

The Central Personnel Department develops the company’s general policy in personnel administration and maintains national-level connections with government authorities, labor organizations, and their representatives. This mission also includes the supervision of the special social security system for employees and the examination of medical and social action issues that this unique system entails. The Central Personnel Department deals with all matters of principle or concerning the entire SNCF. Starting from October 30, 1939, it is organized into two divisions:

• The Central Division of Personnel Administration, responsible for matters related to staffing, relations with labor organizations, interactions with the military authorities, personnel administration, and the preparation of instructions.
• The Central Division of Social and Medical Services, also responsible for preventing workplace accidents as well as issues related to leisure and housing for employees.

To conclude, it should be noted that the Retirement Service later constituted a third Central Division.

The department’s duties are outlined in General Order No. 18.

The archives of the Central Personnel Service primarily concern agent files and nominal cards. Here is an overview of the content of these documents:

Agent Files

• Military Affairs: They deal with the requisition of retirees, the mobilization of labor, the relocation and reorganization of services, the special assignment of agents, and sections of the Railway Corps.
• Granting of Relief: These files are related to agents wounded or killed in acts of war.
• Awarding Decorations or Citations: They contain information about the presentation of decorations and citations to agents for their actions during the war.

In addition to these topics, these files may also address subjects such as the communist and Gaullist activities of railway workers, disciplinary sanctions imposed during the period, administrative purges, amnesties, and career reviews after the war.

Nominal Cards

These cardboard cards contain information on various aspects related to SNCF personnel, including:

• Evolution of the Workforce: These cards may contain data on the evolution of the SNCF workforce over time.
• War and Occupation Victims: They list SNCF agents who were victims of the war and occupation.
• Railway Worker Resistance: These cards may contain information about agents who were involved in resistance against the occupier.
• Sanctions Applied to SNCF Personnel: They document disciplinary sanctions imposed on SNCF personnel.
• Forced Labor: These cards may concern SNCF agents forced to work under the occupation regime.
• Purge Measures: They document measures taken during the administrative purge period.

These archives provide a detailed perspective on SNCF agents, their activities during the war, and the consequences of that period on their careers and lives.

The archives of the Financial Services

During World War II, the Financial Services of the SNCF consisted of two divisions: the Central Finance Division and the Central Accounting Division. The majority of the documents from this period originated from the Debt Settlement Bureau, which was attached to the General Ledger Subdivision, itself part of the Central Accounting Division. This Subdivision was responsible for centralizing all of SNCF’s accounting, general expenditure accounting, monthly balance sheets, and year-end account settlements.

From a financial and accounting perspective, here are some of the themes that can be found in the records of the Debt Settlement Bureau:

• Financial reports of SNCF with the State and other third parties: annuities to be received or paid, advances to or from the Treasury
• Coverage of establishment expenses
• Opening and operation of establishment accounts, operating accounts, and various accounts
• Justification and verification of accounts
• Year-end settlements and final account closing
• Balances and accounting books
• Reconciliation of accounts from the former railway networks
• Copies of letters from the Debt Settlement Bureau and the General Ledger Subdivision

Other files that are useful for studying the period include:

• Formation, administration, and organization of SNCF
• Formation and administration of the Société Anonyme Royale des Chemins de fer Guillaume Luxembourg
• Budgetary matters
• Tax matters
• Statistics
• International organizations and foreign railways
• Issues related to services provided to the German authorities

The archives of the Procurement, Orders, and Contracts Service

The Procurement, Orders, and Contracts Service was established in 1937 and consisted of five divisions:

• The Procurement Division, responsible for managing the procurement of materials (excluding fuels) for the Société Nationale.
• The Orders Division, responsible for purchasing materials for which procurement falls under the Procurement Service.
• The Manufacture Control Division, responsible for tracking orders, ensuring technical supervision of work, and establishing or modifying technical specifications under the direction of the responsible technical services. It also played a role as a technical and commercial information provider for the Procurement and Orders Service and the Central Technical Services.
• The Fuels Division, responsible for fuel procurement.
• The Contracts Control Division, tasked with preparing unified contract establishment rules and controlling contracts of all kinds entered into by the Société Nationale.

In January 1939, a sixth division was established:

• The Electrical Energy Division, responsible for production, high-voltage transportation, electricity procurement and sales.

The Service was also responsible for managing the procurement account of the SNCF and monitoring industrial mobilization issues. In 1943, this service changed its name to the Procurement Service.

Content

The records originate from Mr. Kipfer’s office, a Chief Engineer of the 2nd class in the Procurement, Orders, and Contracts Service.

The documentary collection addresses the functioning and role of this service during and immediately after World War II, covering the following topics:

• Organization of the service during wartime
• Special assignments
• Armament issues
• Service relocation
• SNCF procurement status
• Role of Organization Committees
• Contracting and price regulation
• Relations with German authorities
• Relations with Allied authorities

The archives of the Commercial Service

During World War II, the Commercial Service consisted of several divisions: Passenger Traffic, Coordination, Freight Traffic, as well as General Affairs and Advertising. It was responsible for designing, in collaboration with other departments of the General Directorate, the services to offer to customers and participating in their implementation.

At its creation, the Commercial Service encompassed both goods and passengers. In 1976, it was split into two entities: the Passenger Commercial Department (later known as the Long-Distance Department in 1992) and the Freight Commercial Department (later known as the Freight Department in 1991).

Content

The Central Division of Passenger Traffic

This division was responsible for monitoring passenger traffic trends and overseeing important issues, particularly those related to passenger tariffs. The records provide insights into tariff changes during that period and their application.

The Central Division of Coordination (of transportation)

These archives consist of passenger transport plans in peacetime and during hostilities, primarily for various French departments.

The Freight Commercial Department

Communication materials

• A collection of posters
• Brochures. These are promotional documents affixed to cardboard sheets originally placed in binders by the commercial service, indicating the number of copies (goods commercial brochures, tourist brochures, advertising materials)

The archives of the Central Service for Fixed Installations (and Construction)

The Central Service for Fixed Installations was responsible for infrastructure, tracks and surroundings, level crossings, bridges, buildings, electrical installations, telecommunications, switch posts, as well as signaling and other safety installations. It studied and oversaw major construction and modifications based on the needs expressed by the Regions and other bodies of the General Directorate. It also defined the policy and methods for maintaining the installations. In 1972, it became the Equipment Department.

We currently have limited archives from the 1939-1945 period from this service. A few files have been gathered by Raymond Amisse, a member of the Equipment Department (General Studies Department) and a museum correspondent for the Mulhouse Railway Museum.

Content

The collection contains files on various topics:

• Construction or development of different railway lines
• Route and maintenance of tracks
• Civil engineering structures
• Fixed equipment (technical documentation)
• Training of district chiefs and the Railways and Buildings departments of the SNCF Regions

The archives of the Central Service for Operations

Becoming the Transport Department in 1972 and then the Infrastructure Department in 1995, the Operations Department, in coordination with the commercial departments, was responsible for the development of services to offer to customers. It assumed the responsibility for organizing the transportation of passengers and goods and oversaw its execution. In this capacity, it defined qualitatively and quantitatively, in coordination with the relevant bodies of the General Directorate, the necessary means: installations and equipment for stations, lines, and the Transport sections of mixed Material and Transport facilities. In agreement with foreign railways, it established the general conditions for using these means (including safety regulations and work organization) and oversaw the general control of train circulation. Additionally, it organized and coordinated the prevention and combat of theft and fraud.

Content

Department of Operations Systems, Central Division of Regulations and Safety

The files in this collection cover the following topics:

• Preparation of safety regulations or instructions for the Regions
• Review of regional reports on accidents and incidents

The Safety and Transport Department

This collection contains files related to equipment and telecommunications, including regulatory texts from the 1939-1945 period.

The Traction and Circulation Department

The collection includes various types of documents: statistics, driving schedules, timetables, circulation reports, daily reports, and accident-incident records.

The General Affairs Department, Budget and Management Control Division

These files address issues related to the conventions and operational treaties between SNCF and its European partners, such as Deutsche Bahn (DB), Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), Chemins de fer du Luxembourg, Red Nacional de los ferrocarriles Españoles (RENFE), and others.

The archives of the Northern Region

At its inception, SNCF included the General Directorate, Central Services, and Regional Directorates. In 1938, the entire railway network was divided into five Regions: East, North, West, Southeast, and Southwest, with their headquarters in Paris. These regions represented the territorial expression of the company.

Each Regional Directorate comprised three major services: Material and Traction, Track and Buildings, and Operations. The Directors of Operations, at the helm of each SNCF Region, were responsible for ensuring railway service, managing the staff, maintaining close contact with customers and their qualified representatives, taking or proposing measures to develop traffic, improve service, and achieve cost-effective operations. They ensured the execution of orders or instructions given by the Director-General or by delegation from the Directors of the Central Services.

The Regions, in turn, were divided into districts: Material and Traction districts (MT), Operations districts (EX), and Track and Buildings districts (VB). The latter covered two or three departments and were headed by a district chief.

The Track and Buildings Service is the origin of most of the archives of the Northern Region held by the National Center for Historical Archives.

Contents

Northern Region Track and Buildings

“Service General Affairs”

Files of interest to the entire network, addressing various topics:

• Level crossings
• Tracks
• Accidents and incidents
• Buildings and various constructions
• Transport
• Rails
• Tools
• Circulars
• Conferences
• Public domain occupancy
• Cross-ties
• Committees, commissions, and congresses
• Signaling

“Line”

Local Affairs Files related to specific lines or sections of a line:

Works Damages Taxes Fires Claims Lands and properties (acquisitions, disposals, exchanges, etc.) Special branches or third-party works Public domain occupancy Level crossings

“Station, Stop, Halt, and Stop”

Local Affairs Files related to stations, stops, halts, and stops:

Works in operation Maintenance work Special branches Urban branches Port tracks Occupancy of the public domain Domain Affairs

Railway Signaling

Internal archives and documentation related to railway signaling: conferences of Track and Buildings District Chiefs, signaling inspectors, signaling services, and a collection of general and regional orders, etc.

Operations Service of the Northern Region

CNAH preserves a collection of archives from the Administrative Secretariat of the Director of the Northern Region. It consists of individual files of agents arrested, imprisoned, and deported by the Germans for various reasons (including acts of resistance and theft), general documents on citations and decorations (military medals, Order of Merit, Legion of Honor), and weekly regional conferences.

Archives of the Southwest Region

At its creation, the SNCF included the General Management, Central Services, and Regional Directorates. In 1938, all the lines of the network were divided among five Regions: East, North, West, Southeast, and Southwest, with their headquarters in Paris. These Regions symbolized the company’s territorial expression.

Each Regional Directorate included three major services: Equipment and Traction, Track and Buildings, and Operations. The Directors of Operations, at the head of each SNCF Region, were responsible for managing the railway service, commanding the staff, maintaining close contact with the clientele and their qualified representatives, proposing measures to develop traffic, improving service, and achieving economic operation. They executed orders or instructions from the General Director, delegated by the Directors of the Central Services.

In turn, the Regions were subdivided into districts: Equipment and Traction districts, Operations districts, and Track and Buildings districts. The latter covered two or three departments and were headed by a district chief.

Content

Equipment and Traction Service of the Southwest Region

Personnel These archives allow for a historical study of the situation of the railway workers of the Equipment and Traction Service in the Southwest region during World War II. They contain documents dealing with the following topics:

• Evolution of staff across SNCF
• Authorized frame
• Mobilization classes
• Disciplinary sanctions on employees during the occupation
• Alsatians and Lorrainers temporarily or definitively transferred to the Southwest
• Employees arrested, imprisoned, and sometimes deported by the Germans
• Railway workers victims of acts of war (bombing, strafing, sabotage)
• Employees subject to administrative purification at the Liberation

The document typology is varied and includes instructions, regulatory texts, correspondence, individual files, lists of employees, and statistical tables.

Train and Rolling Stock Derailments and Collisions In submission 0084LM, you will find documents of various kinds: requests and reports on accidents, photographs, judgments, etc.

Staff, Asset, and Locomotive and Rolling Stock Utilization Status Submission 0086LM provides inventories of rolling stock as well as statistical information on train journeys and tonnages.

Track and Buildings Service of the Southwest Region

This collection contains records of military affairs and civil defense that concern fixed installations (tracks, train stations, halts), most of which were created during the Paris-Orléans Company era. The document typology is varied and includes plans, technical notices, correspondence, and ministerial instructions. It also contains files on the relocation of services and weekly reports on events of interest to the French delegations to the Eisenbahn Betriebs Direktion (railway operations directorate) in Paris-South, Bordeaux, and Toulouse.

Operations Service of the Southwest Region

Treaties and conventions for line operation These files, created mainly during the era of the Paris-Orléans Company, contain treaties, plans, and correspondence.

Operations District of Bordeaux

The submitted archives primarily deal with the detachment of agents to the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

Regional Directorate of Limoges

This collection consists of documents from the three regional services (Track and Buildings, Operations, Equipment and Traction) covering topics such as disciplinary councils, disciplinary measures, amnesties (punishments and amnestied sanctions), fatal work accidents, or accidents during commuting, and deaths in service.

Regional Real Estate Agency of Bordeaux

Submission 1318LM is made up of files dealing with the acquisition of lands requisitioned by the Germans and damages caused to fixed installations due to acts of war. It mainly includes photographs of destructions.

Archives of the West Region

At its creation, the SNCF included the General Management, Central Services, and Regional Directorates. In 1938, all the lines of the network were divided among five Regions: East, North, West, Southeast, and Southwest, with their headquarters in Paris. These Regions symbolized the company’s territorial expression.

Each Regional Directorate included three major services: Equipment and Traction, Track and Buildings, and Operations. The Directors of Operations, at the head of each SNCF Region, were responsible for managing the railway service, commanding the staff, maintaining close contact with the clientele and their qualified representatives, proposing measures to develop traffic, improving service, and achieving economic operation. They executed orders or instructions from the General Director, delegated by the Directors of the Central Services.

In turn, the Regions were subdivided into districts: Equipment and Traction districts, Operations districts, and Track and Buildings districts. The latter covered two or three departments and were headed by a district chief.

Content

Operations Department of the West Region

This submission consists of individual personnel files:

• Agents penalized for communism and anti-national activities
• Agents arrested, imprisoned, deported by German authorities for various reasons (theft, acts of resistance, etc.)
• Agents injured by acts of war (work-related accidents)
• Medical files for interruptions of work and disability

It is worth noting that the Centre national des Archives du Personnel holds career files and pension files, which may provide additional information about agents whose files are included in this submission.

Track and Buildings District of Nantes

Submission 0432LM consists of photographic albums:

• Reconstruction of structures after the destruction of 1944-1945 (classified by lines)
• Building destructions

Equipment and Traction District of Le Mans

This primarily includes reports from the depots in Le Mans, Chartres, Alençon, Château-du-Loir, and Laval.

Several themes are covered:

• Daily staff situation
• Daily bombing situation
• Civil defense and reconstruction
• Machine status
• Agents arrested and imprisoned for various reasons (theft, anti-German acts, resistance, unknown motives, etc.)

Archives of the Southeast Region

At its creation, the SNCF included the General Management, Central Services, and Regional Directorates. In 1938, all the lines of the network were divided among five Regions: East, North, West, Southeast, and Southwest, with their headquarters in Paris. These Regions symbolized the company’s territorial expression.

Each Regional Directorate included three major services: Equipment and Traction, Track and Buildings, and Operations. The Directors of Operations, at the head of each SNCF Region, were responsible for managing the railway service, commanding the staff, maintaining close contact with the clientele and their qualified representatives, proposing measures to develop traffic, improving service, and achieving economic operation. They executed orders or instructions from the General Director, delegated by the Directors of the Central Services.

In turn, the Regions were subdivided into districts: Equipment and Traction districts, Operations districts, and Track and Buildings districts. The latter covered two or three departments and were headed by a district chief.

The archives stored at the Centre national des Archives historiques SNCF were partially formed by the Exploitation Districts of the Southeast Region and the Mediterranean Region.

Content

Social Affairs

These files pertain to different stations within the Exploitation District of Valence and revolve around three main themes:

• Personnel strength
• Changes in the authorized framework
• Organization of personnel work

Transport

Coordination of rail and road passenger transport in the departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Vaucluse, Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Hautes-Alpes, and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Establishment or implementation of transport plans and traffic sharing agreements.

Individual Personnel Files

Various themes can be identified:

• Work-related accidents for the Exploitation District of Lyon
• Disciplinary measures for the Exploitation District of Valence (sanctions imposed by the occupation authorities, repression, followed by amnesties for collaborationist acts, instructions addressed to personnel, information about deported agents).

General Warehouse in Villeneuve-Prairie

These are archives from the General Warehouse in Villeneuve-Prairie (during the time of PLM and then the Southeast SNCF region), including files related to the military situation of personnel and files on trade unions.

Regional Directorate of Clermont-Ferrand

Several themes stand out:

• Military organization of the Railways (relationship with the military, technical delegation, military commissions, mined installations)
• Facilities (equipment, national defense, civil defense)
• Management of military documents and regulations (demobilization of the army)

Archives of the Eastern Region

At its inception, the SNCF comprised the General Management, Central Services, and Regional Directorates. In 1938, all the lines of the network were divided among five Regions: East, North, West, Southeast, and Southwest, with their headquarters in Paris. These Regions symbolized the company’s territorial expression.

Each Regional Directorate included three major services: Equipment and Traction, Track and Buildings, and Operations. The Directors of Operations, at the head of each SNCF Region, were responsible for managing the railway service, commanding the staff, maintaining close contact with the clientele and their qualified representatives, proposing measures to develop traffic, improving service, and achieving economic operation. They executed orders or instructions from the General Director, delegated by the Directors of the Central Services.

In turn, the Regions were subdivided into districts: Equipment and Traction districts, Operations districts, and Track and Buildings districts. The latter covered two or three departments and were headed by a district chief.

Content

Service of Track and Buildings

These files were created during the time of the Compagnie des Chemins de fer de l’Est (East Railway Company) and continued during the SNCF era under the Service of Track and Buildings. They include numerous records and address the following topics:

• Signals, interlockings, and safety measures
• Telegraphy and telephony
• Operations
• Accidents and incidents
• Maintenance of embankments, tracks, works of art, and buildings
• Acquisitions
• Real estate
• Stations, halts, and stops, including military installations
• Works of art
• Level crossings and gatekeeper’s houses
• Special connections and concessions in stations
• Damages to the network (service dispatches, reports, photographs, plans, surveys, notes, correspondence). Under reference 0111LM0036/021, we find a classification plan related to this topic.

Service of the Eastern Region Operations

Here you’ll find files on the organization of the Eastern Region, instructions, and service notes from the era, presentations made, and conferences held by various SNCF officials, as well as some reports on operational accidents.

Matériel District in Noisy-le-Sec

The archives from deposits 0414LM and 0434LM come from the Personnel Office of the 1st Matériel District established in Noisy-le-Sec in the Eastern SNCF Region.

Deposit 0434LM contains archives of the Personnel Office related to three essential themes:

• Career progression
• Employee representation
• Social services

Deposit 0414LM consists of archives related to the personnel of the District during the 1939-1945 War.

Matériel and Traction Establishment in Belfort: History of the Depot

The Belfort Establishment had a dual role: both Depot and Maintenance. Until 1945-1946, it was attached to the Traction District of Vesoul for the Depot part and to the Matériel District of Nancy for its Maintenance part.

The wartime archives pertain to the Maintenance personnel in Belfort and address the following themes:

• National defense (use of labor in companies)
• Personnel mobilization
• Prisoners of war
• Detachment to the Deutsche Reichsbahn
• Requisition under the Compulsory Labor Service
• Hiring conditions in wartime
• Personnel remuneration
• Agents incarcerated or deported
• Disciplinary measures
• Civil defense
• Liberation of the Belfort territory
• Granting aid to agents or families of agents wounded or killed in action
• Reintegration and awarding of decorations
• Social work

Regional Directorate of Alsace

Recurring themes include:

• Delimitation of the Franco-German border
• Military affairs
• Some regulatory texts
• Special connections

SNCF Regulatory texts

The National Center for Historical Archives provides the reader with a significant number of regulatory texts. This rich collection helps to understand the period from 1939 to 1945, as well as the complex organization of the company. You can refer to OG No. 3; IG EX MT VB 3 dated September 20, 1938 (OG3) “Classification of Instructions,” which is useful for understanding regulatory texts.

The documentary fund

The document collection includes various types of materials related to the SNCF (French National Railway Company) during the 1939-1945 period:

Directories (Annuaires):

The 0393LM and 0487LM collections contain directories of the directions and services within the company between 1939 and 1945.

Posters (Affiches):

The collection includes advertising and propaganda posters from 1939-1945, many of which were subject to German control and had the mention ORAFF followed by numbers. The main themes include safety, the battle of coal, solidarity week, theft, and machine sabotage.

Bachelier Report (Rapport Bachelier):

“La SNCF sous l’Occupation allemande (1940-1944).” This is a five-volume documentary report by Christian Bachelier.

• Complete Report (in 2 volumes, 914 pages)
• Volume 1 of Annexes: This contains general documents (87 pieces) related to the Bachelier report.
• Volume 2 of Annexes: Specifically focuses on “Les déportations” (212 pages), but most documents in this volume are from various sources, not just SNCF historical archives.
• Final Report of C. Bachelier: Titled “Le rôle de la SNCF dans les déportations, 1942-1944,” dated February 1994 (73 pages).

“Our Trade” (Notre Métier):

This is a professional and social information magazine of the French railway workers, published by SNCF. It was called “La Vie du Rail” in modern times. Issues from November 1939 to May 1940 (numbers 1 to 7), September 1944 to December 1945 (numbers 1 to 42), and the entire year 1946 (numbers 43 to 86) are included.

“The East Region of SNCF” (La Région de l’Est de la SNCF):

This is a publication printed by Imprimerie des dernières nouvelles de Strasbourg in 1947, totaling 113 pages. It provides insights into the organization and activities of the East Region during this period.

Honor Roll of War Victims 1939-1945 (Le tableau d’honneur des victimes de la guerre 39-45):

A nominal registry containing information like the employee number, names, occupations, residences, ages, family statuses, SNCF entry dates, date and circumstances of injuries, and any additional remarks. It includes various categories of employees affected by the war.

History of the Technical Delegation of SNCF in Vichy (Histoire de la Délégation technique SNCF à Vichy):

This is a two-volume work, covering various chapters regarding the transportation activities during the period, including transporting prisoners, the expelled population, and more.

District Bulletins (Bulletins d’arrondissements):

Compiled by the 9th and 10th Traction Districts in the Southeast during 1941-1946.

Photographic Album of Bischheim (L’album photographique de Bischheim):

Documents the Bischheim workshops during the Nazi era from 1940-1944. It was created by C. Jehlé and contains 94 color pages.