Renia's Diary: A Holocaust Journal

A touching story which should be required reading—it happened before and it could happen again

I've heard numerous comparisons to Anne Frank's book, so that was what I was expecting going into this story. However, that wasn't the case. Instead, it felt very much what is truly was: a diary written by a young school girl. I'd expected more about the war, but that wasn't the case. In fact, very little focused on the war. It was more about classmates, etc., and there are numerous people to try and follow with all the classmates and friends. There are numerous footnotes. but they weren't clickable in the electronic copy I read. Like most teen girls, Renia documented things such as her boyfriend and how much she missed being able to confide in her mother. A large portion of the book is poetry written by Renia, and the poetry was quite good. The book does give the reader insight into Renia's life, but for readers expecting to know about how the war impacted her, they may be disappointed. Overall, the pace is slow and it's hard to feel a connection to the characters. However, as it's based on a real person and her real diary, it's a bit hard to critique it.Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy, but I wasn't required to leave a positive review.

This book overwhelmed me. Renia was just fourteen years old when she started this diary, a young Jewish girl from a well-to-do family in Poland, whose life was full of school and parties. It was 1939, and rumors of war swirled around them. But that was far away, and Renia's life was typical of a young teenager then. Friendships that could be fickle at times. Boys and the art of flirting. The uncertainty every girl feels about how someone they like might feel about her, or if her own feelings should be more transparent to someone she cares about, but of whom she's unsure. As the diary (and the war) progresses, and they struggle to maintain a normal life, you start to feel the oppression as their world becomes smaller. Renia writes more and more in this journal that becomes her only real emotional outlet. And she relies on her true talent for writing poetry and her knack for putting words together to soothe and comfort her. Renia's sister, Elizabeth (Ariana), is releasing this diary all these years later and includes notes at the back of the book that explain the history and timelines and also add her perspective to the events that were happening then. I highly suggest that you read these notes, referenced by date, as you read through the diary, not after, because you will understand so much more about the events behind Renia's words that aren't always clarified in her narrative. Elizabeth's perspective puts things into a focus you may not get otherwise, and helps you to read between the lines. I will not forget this book. And I hope we never, ever repeat that vile part of our world's history. Ever.

I bought this book because I was interested in Holocaust stories and what it was like to survive the Holocaust. This book is not even in the same literary ballpark level as Anne Frank’s Diary. 98% of what this author talks about is her boyfriends or girlfriends , her teenage crushes, which boys she likes and those she doesn’t. She occasionally throws in a sentence about pogroms or people being taken away but then says she doesn’t really want to talk about it. Total waste of time if you’re interested in the survivors of the Holocaust because you could read this entire book and only get three or four sentences that contain facts about what it was like to live through it. if I hadn’t read the title, and I just read the entire book, I would not have been able to tell you that this was a book about surviving the Holocaust. I gave it one star because I was not given a choice of zero stars.

Renia’s Diary is one of the most heart-rending volumes of the Holocaust of World War Two. This young woman, in her diary, shares the loves, trials, fears and longing of any teenager. But, hers is filled with the horrors that eventually lead to her death. Her poetry is remarkable in its simplicity, yet carrying her emotions far better described than in her prose. Had she lived, one can imagine the wonderful writer she could have become. The notes, written by her sister, Ariana, are important to read to understand the factual events of each date. This is a very sad tale, but one that must not be forgotten.

I was puzzled by this book because, as several other readers have commented, the diary is mostly about Renia’s teenage angst with little said about the awful things happening around her. As I was reading it I told my wife that it would have been much more meaningful if it had included more of the historical context.Well... turns out that some of that historical content was provided in the footnotes which, no thanks to the Kindle app for iPad, I had missed. Let me explain: At the start of some diary entries there are numbered footnotes. On the Kindle app when you touch the hyperlink a window pops up that says “Footnote” and repeats the number. Below is another hyperlink that says “See all footnotes”. Well, stupid me, I just assumed a link to a footnote would take me to the actual footnote so after a few tries I gave up and never clicked on “See all footnotes” where you can actually read a footnote with a detailed account of what was happening at that time in the part of Poland where Renia was living. So... make sure to find the footnotes as you read this sad story.That said, I found it interesting that a teenager in Poland during the Holocaust would be as self-involved and concerned about her first love and relationship with her friends as a teenager today! Some things never change...

Bought this for a friend who lost family members in the Holocaust. He was unimpressed with the actual journal but thought the sections written by the sister were well written and informative.

An interesting trip into the past. Well written and will and can recommend to others

This book was a Christmas gift that was requested.