A Slain Jewish Girl’s Diary of Life Under the Soviets and the Nazis

She was a Jewish teenager in a small trade city in southeastern Poland when she began writing her diary, months before the advent of World War II. By the time she was shot in the head by Nazi soldiers, she had chronicled life under two totalitarian regimes: the Soviets who advanced from the east and the Nazis who came from the west.

Her journal, hidden in a safe deposit box in New York City fordecades, has been described as a counterpart to Anne Frank’s diary, a valuable historical document and a poignant coming-of-age story.

Now, the journal of the teenager, Renia Spiegel, all 700 perfectly preserved pages, is to be published in English for the first time. Released on Thursday, it was to arrive in bookstores in 13 countries on Sept. 24, including Britain, Germany, Russia and the United States.

At a moment when basic agreement over simple truths has become a political battleground and history a weapon, the publication of the book, “Renia’s Diary,” offers a reminder of the power of bearing witness.