To leave something to the world… Beyond the pages of Renia Spiegel’s diary

Now one still has to live, has to strive, try, has to leave something to the world.

– Renia Spiegel

 

 

The diary of Renia Spiegel (1924-1942), written in Przemyśl from January 1939 to July 1942, is undoubtedly a valuable historical source, an important work of literature, a piece of personal document literature of Polish Jews, and a unique record of the last years of the life of this young, talented, ambitious woman, murdered by German Nazis in July 1942. The traveling exhibition of the Galicia Jewish Museum “To Leave Something to the World… Beyond the Pages of Renia Spiegel’s Diary” allows the visitors to learn about the historical context of the events described by Renia: from the mounting tension in 1939, through the outbreak of the Second World War and the two occupations of Przemyśl – first by the Soviets, then by the Germans – to the annihilation of the city’s Jewish community. Against this backdrop, the exhibition presents the fate of Renia and her loved ones, including the story of the survival of her mother and sister, and her great love, Zygmunt Schwarzer, thanks to whom Renia’s diary survived.

In order to bring Renia's diary closer to audiences in Poland and abroad, in 2023 the Galicia Jewish Museum, in cooperation with the Foundation for Education and Art, thanks to the support of the US Consulate General in Krakow, implemented a project to create a series of short films and an accompanying educational program. First, eight episodes combining animation and live action were created, directed by Miłosz Kozioł and Tomasz Głodek. Each episode also contains fragments of an interview with Renia's surviving sister – Elizabeth Bellak, conducted in May 2023 in the USA. The next stage was the production of a thirty-minute film in which Renia’s entire story was told in a metaphorical way. The film focuses on Renia's character and the authors give voice primarily to her.

The exhibition is currently on display at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies between October 3 until November 15th 2026, before returning to the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków.

This project has been supported with a grant from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.