The Dutch national railway company will pay tens of millions of dollars to the relatives of thousands of people it transported to Nazi death camps during the Holocaust.

"It is estimated that several thousand people are eligible for the allowance, including an estimated 500 survivors," state-owned Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) said in a statement.  "NS will set aside several tens of millions of euros for this in the coming years."  It is believed the payouts could total 50 Million Euros, which is more than AU$80 Million.

Some 500 survivors of the nazi death camps were who transported aboard NS trains in the 1930s and '40s would be eligible for almost AU$25,000 each.  Spouses would get more than AU$12,000, and children would get settlements of around $8,000 to $12,000.

The settlement is the end result of a crusade by 83-year old Salo Muller, a former physiotherapist at Ajax football club.  His parents dropped him off at kindergarten during the nazi occupation of The Netherlands, but they were picked up by the SS soon after, transported to Auschwitz, and murdered.  Muller wrote about his experience in the 2017 book, "See You Tonight and Promise to Be a Good Boy," which took its title from the last words Muller's mother would say to him.

"Maybe I would have preferred the amounts to be higher but it's about the plaster on the wounds, not so much about the financial interest," Muller said.