A New York Times bestseller A USA Today bestseller The long-hidden diary of a young Polish woman’s life during the Holocaust, translated for the first time into English Renia Spiegel was born in 1924 to an upper-middle class Jewish family living in southeastern Poland, near what was at that time the border with Romania. At the start of 1939 Renia began a diary. “I just want a friend. I want … began a diary. “I just want a friend. I want somebody to talk to about my everyday worries and joys. Somebody who would feel what I feel, who would believe me, who would never reveal my secrets. A human being can never be such a friend and that’s why I have decided to look for a confidant in the form of a diary.” And so begins an extraordinary document of an adolescent girl’s hopes and dreams. By the fall of 1939, Renia and her younger sister Elizabeth (née Ariana) were staying with their grandparents in Przemysl, a city in the south, just as the German and Soviet armies invaded Poland. Cut off from their mother, who was in Warsaw, Renia and her family were plunged into war.
Like Anne Frank, Renia’s diary became a record of her daily life as the Nazis spread throughout Europe. Renia writes of her mundane school life, her daily drama with best friends, falling in love with her boyfriend Zygmund, as well as the agony of missing her mother, separated by bombs and invading armies. Renia had aspirations to be a writer, and the diary is filled with her poignant and thoughtful poetry. When she was forced into the city’s ghetto with the other Jews, Zygmund is able to smuggle her out to hide with his parents, taking Renia out of the ghetto, but not, ultimately to safety. The diary ends in July 1942, completed by Zygmund, after Renia is murdered by the Gestapo.
Renia’s Diary has been translated from the original Polish, and includes a preface, afterword, and notes by her surviving sister, Elizabeth Bellak. An extraordinary historical document, Renia Spiegel survives through the beauty of her words and the efforts of those who loved her and preserved her legacy.
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Thank you to Renia’s sister, you are taken into the life of Renia Spiegel and her life during the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Poland. This is truly a diary of a teenage girl with all of her infatuations, girlfriend relationships, etc. But her angst over being separated from her mother and her fears as the Nazis began the intense persecution of the Jews in her town.
Renia’s poetry was beautiful, sad, and touching. Though I think some of the wording was lost in translation. I know some people do not bother reading an epilogue. But in this book, it is extremely important to read this. In fact, I think it would help the reader to read it BEFORE reading the actual book. It will allow you to understand what was happening in Ariana, Renia’s sister, and Renia’s lives.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
This book was difficult for me to follow – multiple names for just about every person mentioned made it difficult to understand and comprehend the relationships. Much of the entries seemed truncated – perhaps a translation issue – where she talks about a party or a test or a contest, etc., but there’s no context – just I had fun, I didn’t go, I won. Seems like it would be a great reminder of times someone experienced, but not enough detail for me to understand her life. Tragic end, and I am thankful that some of these books can put a face to the many people who suffered and died during the war. The narrative from her sister was the easiest and most enjoyable portion to read. Definitely would not compare it to Anne Frank’s diary.
Renia Spiegel, a young girl so filled with a zest for life and possessed of an ability to describe in prose and in poetry the beauty of the world around her, was denied with one bullet what she so wanted: a future… Those who saved the diary and those who worked to bring it to print, have “rescued” her. They could not save her from a cruel fate. Nor could they give her that future she so desired. But they have rescued her from the added pain of having been forgotten.
Renia’s Diary, a true diary written by a young Jewish teen that lived in Poland, is a true diary of her own words. The beginning and followup pages to delve into more information, is written by her sister who’s name is now Elizabeth.
This, like all other Holocaust memoirs whether survivor or victim, is a remarkable and touching tribute to a woman taken too early.
This document is touching, heart-wrenching, and absolutely needed to keep these wonderful souls known to our generation and for the generations hereafter.
I loved this diary. It means so much to me as a fellow Jewish woman. It means everything.
My favorite part of this book was the Commentary by Renia’s younger sister, Ariana (Elizabeth) near the end of the book. Renia’s diary read much like what I remember from when I was a teenager which consisted of relationships with male and female friends and acquaintances, school difficulties, parties and worrying about boyfriends. Renia was obviously a very gifted writer and her diary included a lot of poems most of which I just skimmed over because I am not into poetry. The book was good but I thought quite sad especially when she talks about her mother being gone for such long periods of time. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this very interesting book.