Exhibition opening: 28.06.2024, 17:00

„To Leave Something to the World. Beyond the Pages of Renia Spiegel’s Diary”

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.

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 twenty-minute film in which Renia’s entire story was told in a metaphorical way.

A continuation and extension of the film project is the exhibition “To Leave Something to the World. Beyond the Pages of Renia Spiegel’s Diary”. The film is an integral part of the exhibition. While the film focuses on Renia’s character and the authors give voice primarily to her, the exhibition contains contextual information, quotes and archival photographs that convey the fates of Renia’s loved ones and of the diary itself.

“Now one still has to live, has to strive, try, has to leave something to the world.” – these are the words of Renia Spiegel, written in her diary. And they became the title and main idea of the new temporary exhibition at the Galicia Jewish Museum. Renia left a lot to the world: a personal story about love, attachment, empathy, respect, universal values, and an important message about the threats to these values: hatred, exclusion, persecution.

The project The Diary of Renia Spiegel – Digital Storytelling and Education for Human Rights was made possible with the support from the US Consulate General in Krakow.