This archive report was first published on 30 September 2019.
Renia Spiegel, a young girl from Przemysl, Poland, lived through one of the darkest periods in human history. Her diary, which spans from 1939 to 1942, is a testament to her courage and resilience in the face of unimaginable horror.
Spiegel began writing her diary at the age of 14, when she was living with her grandparents while her mother was in Warsaw promoting her younger sister, a child star known as Poland's Shirley Temple. Over the next three years, she filled over 660 pages of notebooks with longing for her mother, daydreaming about her boyfriend Zygmunt Schwarzer, and dozens of poems.
Her diary entries are a poignant reminder of the human cost of war. Spiegel writes about the Soviet and Nazi occupations of Przemysl, the killings, and the bloodshed. She ends almost every diary entry calling on her mother and God for help, like a mantra.
Spiegel's story is a powerful reminder of the importance of remembering the past. Her diary is a window into a world that was torn apart by hatred and violence. It is a testament to the human spirit's ability to endure even in the darkest of times.
Spiegel's diary was discovered by her niece, Alexandra Bellak, who had been searching for it for years. The diary was published in Poland a few years ago through the Renia Spiegel Foundation, and it has since been translated into several languages. A documentary film about Spiegel's life, entitled 'Broken Dreams,' was also made and premiered in Warsaw this month.
Spiegel's story is a powerful reminder of the importance of remembering the past. Her diary is a window into a world that was torn apart by hatred and violence. It is a testament to the human spirit's ability to endure even in the darkest of times.
As Elizabeth Bellak, Spiegel's sister, said, 'Nationalism, populism, anti-Semitism. All these -isms are coming back again. And we don't want the repeat of millions of people dying.' Her words are a poignant reminder of the importance of learning from the past and working towards a more compassionate and inclusive future.
