The SNCF During the Occupation

You will find here a selection of documents on the theme of the occupation that can be found in our collections:

0026LM0018-007

This map from the Central Movement Service represents the operational districts of the WVD (Wehrmachtverkehrsdirektion: German Army Transportation Directorate) and the 5 EBD (Eisenbahnbetriebsdirektion: regional directorates) Paris-nord, Paris-sud, Paris-ouest, Paris-est, and Bordeaux (1941).

The headquarters of the WVD is in Paris, except for a portion of the Nord and Est networks, which are under the jurisdiction of the WVD in Brussels. In June 1942, the WVD became a civilian authority known as the HVD (Hauptverkehrsdirektionen), “main directorates.”

0026LM0033-007 (pages 7 to 9)

Letter from the President of the Board of Directors, Mr. Fournier, addressed to the Secretary of State for Communications regarding the attitude to be adopted by SNCF personnel in the event of air attacks causing damage to rolling stock.

SNCF requests the approval of the Secretary of State for Communications on two points. The first is that SNCF personnel do not intervene in geographical areas or construction sites where military activity alone constitutes prime targets for air attacks, and only military railway units go there. The second, related to the demands of the WVD in Paris, is that the obligations to maintain the communication network, as stipulated in the armistice convention and its execution instructions, do not apply to damages caused by wartime events.

0505LM0531-008 (page 4)

Letter from the State Councilor, Secretary-General Mr. Schwartz, to the Director-General of the SNCF regarding the establishment of a Technical Delegation of the SNCF in Vichy

The General Directorate of Railways and Transportation (1st Bureau) of the Ministry of Communications approves a solution on which the SNCF has agreed with the 4th Bureau of the Army General Staff following the establishment of the demarcation line: the installation of a technical delegation at the SNCF Agency in Vichy to ensure communication with the Ministry of Communications in Vichy, with the Army General Staff, and other ministries.

0252LM0007-002 (pages 16-17)

General Notice T Periodic Travel No. 11 on the Transportation of Prisoners of War, Deportees, and French Workers Repatriated from Germany.

This notice provides information on transport conditions, the use of the transport sheet (whose model is located at the very end), itineraries and passenger classes, as well as stops along the way.

0045LM0103-001 (pages 200-201)

Excerpt from the minutes of the SNCF Board of Directors meeting on September 30, 1942

This document is an excerpt from the stenographic transcription and edited minutes of the SNCF Board of Directors meeting held on September 30, 1942. During these meetings, the assessment of traffic was one of the main topics discussed. This document specifically references the traffic developments in August 1942. During the war, the ‘passenger traffic’ category includes a subcategory called ‘special traffic,’ which includes, for example, Red Cross trains, STO (Service du Travail Obligatoire) trains, and so on. In three of these meetings, held on September 30 and October 28, 1942, and July 8, 1943, trains chartered to transport ‘Israelites’ are mentioned and accounted for.

0067LM0001-050

Agenda item number 49 pertains to the German military transport secrecy.

Agenda item number 49 emphasizes the need for discretion regarding German military transportation matters and outlines the penalties for any breaches.

0025LM0256-003 (pages 6 et 7)

This document pertains to the decision made by the Nazi regime to expel non-Aryans and French citizens from the Alsace and Lorraine territories.

The Franco-German armistice agreement of June 22, 1940, provided for the occupation of northern France by German forces. The Nazi regime seized this opportunity to annex Alsace and Moselle, whose railway network was integrated into the Reichsbahn on July 1, 1940. In accordance with German legislation, as detailed in this letter-telegram, non-Aryans and French individuals who were not born in Alsace or Moselle were expelled in the weeks that followed.

0045LM0105-001 (pages 181-182)

Excerpt from the minutes of the SNCF Board of Directors meeting on October 28, 1942.

This document is an excerpt from the stenographic transcription and edited minutes of the SNCF Board of Directors meeting held on October 28, 1942. During these meetings, the traffic report is one of the main topics discussed. This document specifically references the traffic developments in August 1942. During the war, the ‘passenger traffic’ category includes a subcategory called ‘special traffic,’ which includes, for example, Red Cross trains, STO (Service du Travail Obligatoire) trains, and so on. In three of these meetings, held on September 30 and October 28, 1942, and July 8, 1943, trains chartered to transport ‘Israelites’ are mentioned and accounted for.

0067LM0001-036

One month after the signing of the armistice, the Wehrmachtverkehrsdirektion (WVD), the German Army Transportation Directorate, was established. This agenda item number 35 requests compliance with the ‘Prescription of the Armistice Convention’ (1940).

According to Article 13 of the Franco-German armistice convention of June 22, 1940, the railways in the occupied zone and their personnel are placed under the ‘full and complete control’ of the Chief of Transportation of the German Army (Wehrmacht). Starting from July 15, 1940, the establishment of the WVD (Wehrmacht Verkehrsdirektion), the German Army Transportation Directorate, was ordered by him. Agenda item number 35 requests compliance with the prescriptions of Colonel Goeritz, the Commandant of the WVD (Wehrmacht Verkehrsdirektion), and reminds of the nature of the relationships that SNCF agents must have with German authorities and the penalties they face in case of violations.

0067LM0001-037

Agenda item number 36 aims to address the ‘Implementation of Armistice Obligations’ (1940).

Agenda item number 36 is intended solely for the northern part of the demarcation line. It reiterates that the obligations stemming from the implementation provisions of Article 13 of the Franco-German armistice convention of June 22, 1940, must be faithfully adhered to. It further states that military transports requested by the German authorities take precedence over all other transports and that strict secrecy must be observed for all transports carried out at the request of the occupying authorities, under penalty of severe punishment.

0025LM0256-003 (page 82)

The enforcement of the Law of June 2, 1941, concerning the status of Jews (1941)

This circular (P 5628) from the Director of the Central Personnel Service addressed to the Directors of the Regions and Central Services and the General Secretaries of the railway companies outlines the procedures for the registration of Jews at the SNCF in accordance with the Law of June 2, 1941.

0375LM0009-001 (page 28)

This document requests the exclusion of Jews from meetings.

A note from Goeritz, Colonel in Command of the WVD in Paris, requests the General Directorate of SNCF to exclude Jews from negotiations and conferences with officers and officials of the WVD. This directive is then forwarded to the central services and regions of SNCF, which are obligated to implement it.

0025LM0256-003 (page 80)

This letter P5300, an implementing text for SNCF, pertains to the status of Jews (1941)

In accordance with the ordinances of the Militärbefehlshaber from 1940 and 1941 of German legislation, the General Director reminds the Directors of the Regions and Central Services Operations, as well as the General Secretaries of the companies, that employees who have subscribed to declarations regarding the status of Jews must be removed from positions related to railway clients and have their signing authority revoked.

0390LM0038-001 (page 113)

Document regarding the implementation of the law on the status of Jews at SNCF (1941)

The letter from the Central Finance Directorate addressed to the Legal Department refers to the implementation of a note from the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs regarding the payment arrangements to Jewish creditors in accordance with the Law of June 2, 1941.

0505LM0181-002

This letter specifies the interactions of the personnel with the occupying authorities (1943).

This letter from the Minister and Secretary of State for Industrial Production and Communications, Jean Bichelonne, to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, specifies the relationships in the execution of service between the German authorities and the personnel of SNCF, in accordance with the agreement developed with General Kohl and ratified on June 10, 1943.

0067LM0001-039

Agenda item number 38 concerns the ‘prohibition of facilitating passages to the free zone’ (1940)

Agenda item number 38 warns railway employees about the penalties they may face for aiding in the escape of French prisoners of war. These actions fall under the jurisdiction of German military tribunals, and regardless of the sanctions imposed, they result in immediate dismissal by the SNCF.

fondscartepostalelm2

On September 11, 1942, the Germans organized the deportation of 500 Jews from Lille Fives train station to the Auschwitz extermination camp.

On September 11, 1942, the Nazis carried out a raid on Jews from the Lille region, primarily foreigners and stateless individuals, with the intention of deporting them to Auschwitz. At Lille-Fives train station in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, railway workers organized the rescue of 34 people, mostly children, whom they hid with the assistance of the local population.

Producer: La Vie du Rail

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The German Minister of Communications, Julius Dorpmüller, addresses German railway workers at the Gare de l’Est in Paris on July 18, 1940.

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Site of departure for deportation trains between the summer of 1943 and the summer of 1944.