Hélène Berr's Diary

"People like Hélène spread a sense of beauty and give strength to those who understand them. For me, Hélène was the symbol of radiant strength, which is magnetism, beauty, harmony, persuasion, trust and loyalty. Yes, six months were enough to tie our two lives together with a bond that only death could undo, that only death undid. What remains of those six months that seemed to last an hour? An indefinable perfume, floating around us, a little lavender, I think...".

Letter from Jean Morawiecki to Denise Berr (June 20, 1946).


Hélène Berr's diary begins on April 7, 1942, with a dedication to her by Paul Valéry in a book: "Au réveil, si douce la lumière, et si beau ce bleu vivant." It ends on February 15, 1944 with a cry in the night borrowed from Macbeth, "Horror! Horror! Horror!", a few weeks before her deportation to a concentration camp. Over the course of these pages, the young student with a passion for literature and music sensitively recounts her joys, her love affairs, the wearing of the yellow star and the rumors from Drancy. At the invitation of the Quatuor Béla, composer Bernard Foccroulle paints an intimate and moving portrait of her, directed by Matthieu Cruciani. An essential monodrama for its historical significance and poetic force, presented as a world premiere on stage.



6-26€

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