« Hebraei sunt, et ego ».

Abstract

A Jesuite of Jewish origin, Auguste Valensin felt a brotherly affection for the Jewish people, and moreover thought he had to carry on the duty of preaching unobtrusively and open-mindedly, but effectively towards this aim. However, this philo-semitic commitment remained very discreet and was expressed mostly in private meetings or under cover of the fight against the Action française. These feelings led him to adopt a behaviour though not risky, still steady and brave during the Occupation, in the city of Nice; that was the moment when he expressed constantly his solidarity with the persecuted Jews.