Out-of-date considerations during the Occupation: Cogito down from Helene Berr

Written in Paris during the darkest moments of the German Occupation, but only published in 2008, Helene Berr's Journal was immediately hailed for its dramatic testimony and striking insights. With precision and lucidity, the young Jewish student at the Sorbonne records the human tragedies unfolding all around her in the wake of the Holocaust, while at the same time reviewing her own manner of experiencing these traumatic events through her personal reflections and emotions. The present article analyses her astute and poignant observations in the light of Emmanuel Levinas's notion of the ethically grounded subject. Beyond its documentary value, Helene Berr's Journal thus takes on significant philosophical dimensions. At the same time, Levinas's concept of the Other's incursion into the realm of the self proves to be firmly anchored in the firsthand experience of the twentieth century's greatest historical catastrophe. Ecrit aux jours les plus sombres de l'Occupation de Paris, mais publie en 2008 seulement, le Journal d'Helene Berr s'est tout de suite presente comme un insigne temoignage. De maniere aussi precise que perspicace, Helene note les drames qui se deroulent tout autour d'elle tout en revenant sur tout ce qu'elle parvient a vivre et a penser au jour le jour. Nous nous proposons de lire ce Journal a la lumiere d'Emmanuel Levinas et de decouvrir ainsi la profondeur non seulement humaine mais aussi philosophique de ce carnet intime tout en confirmant l'ancrage de la pensee de l'Autre dans le vecu historique de la plus grande catastrophe du XXieme siecle.