Arnaud Etienne

Arnaud, Etienne Etienne Arnaud, a manufacturer by profession, often went for business to Mathieu Béja’s flourmill in the village of Solliès Pont (Var). These meetings, for the purchase of flour or grain by-products, went back to a time before the war, and soon took on a more political character, especially after the German invasion of the southern zone in November 1942. At the beginning of 1943, Mathieu Béja, his wife Nadia and their sons Albert and Georges, were obliged to flee their home in Solliès and go into hiding because they were Jewish and Mathieu himself barely concealed his support for General de Gaulle and Free France. A friend of the Béja family offered to put them up in a small isolated house in the forest near the village of Belgentier. Etienne Arnaud, who was also the village mayor, listed the family under a false name in the village registry of inhabitants. The Béja family could thus take advantage of ration coupons to obtain food. On several occasions, during investigations by the authorities, Etienne Arnaud, as well as his town clerk, protected them and revealed nothing of the identity of the village’s new inhabitants. Etienne Arnaud thus set an example for the other villagers, who kept their silence and also helped the Jewish fugitives. The testimonials of the Béjas reflect the gratitude they felt toward the villagers for their kind support for more than a year until the Liberation. On October 11, 2000, Yad Vashem recognized Etienne Arnaud as Righteous Among the Nations.