German rail chief called 'Nazi at heart'

BERLIN, March 12 (UPI) -- A Jewish leader in Germany has called the head of the country's railway "a Nazi at heart" after a disagreement about fees for a traveling Holocaust memorial.

Jewish community leader Michael Szentei-Heise said at the opening of the Zug der Erinnerung, or Train of Commemoration, in Dusseldorf that if Deutsche Bahn chief Hartmut Mehdorn "had held the same position in the Third Reich he would have arranged the deportation of Jews with great conviction," Deutsch Welle reported Wednesday.

Deutsche Bahn said in a statement Wednesday that it is considering legal action against Szentei-Heise.

"The remarks are unforgivable and we will ask our lawyers to look into the matter," the statement said.

The Train of Commemoration exhibit, which is contained in several old railway cars, is expected to visit 15 cities before making its final stop at Auschwitz in May.

The disagreement concerns the fee of $166,000 that Deutsche Bahn is charging the exhibit for use of rails and stations, Szentei-Heise said.

"We have nothing against serious exhibitions," a Deutsche Bahn representative said Tuesday. "But we are obligated by law to collect fees."