Sarah Federman, an AUP graduate with an MA in International Affairs, who went on to complete a Ph.D. in Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, will speak about her research on the SNCF and the Shoah.
This research which began as an AUP masters thesis, grew into a doctoral dissertation, and will soon be a widely accessible book! The SNCF, now a leading global expert in rail transport, has been a source of pride for France since its inception in 1937. For 50 years after World War II, the country only spoke of its role in the Resistance, neglecting the horrific truth that the company also facilitated the transport of 78 convoys, carrying 75,821 people, to the German border where they were then taken to Auschwitz. 2000 returned. The SNCF's role in the war has become a question of great debate in the United States where the company continues to bid for commuter and regional rail contracts. The company finds itself barred from doing business in certain states for its Holocaust complicity. The French Jewish community thinks the SNCF has paid for its wrongs. Was the company complicit? Has it made amends? Who decides?
Sarah Federman, PhD spent a decade as a global advertising executive who in 2008 found herself transferred from Manhattan to Paris. Within a few years, she became fascinated by the echoes of the Holocaust she felt throughout Paris and Europe. She discovered the American University of Paris and began a part-time master's program in International Affairs. Her resulting thesis "Aller Simple: Restoring Justice and the French Railroads" led Sarah to continue on for her doctorate at George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The resulting dissertation draws on 120 interviews, pro bono for the State Department and the House of Representatives, and many other sources. She is currently working on a book that makes this exciting story and complicated dilemma widely accessible. She is thrilled to be back at AUP where her project -- and life change -- began.