Elizabeth Bellak
- Actress
Ariana Spiegel was born into a Jewish family in Poland. Her mother, Roza, took her to Warsaw in the mid-1930s to pursue a career in theater and film as a child actress. She had some success in the theater and appeared in several films. By the end of the decade, the press had dubbed her the "Polish Shirley Temple." Unfortunately, the invasion by the Nazis put an end to her career.
She and her sister, Renia Spiegel, were in Przemysl, Poland, when the war broke out. She survived under a new name, Elzbieta, and hid within the identity of a Catholic girl at a convent school. Her sister, unfortunately, was killed by the Nazis in 1942. Ariana/Elzbieta escaped Poland via Austria and translated Elzbieta into Elizabeth--becoming Elizabeth Bellak when she married George Bellak.
Against all odds, a diary that Renia kept was not destroyed during the Nazi occupation. In the 2010s, Elizabeth and her family decided the diary was a historical document that deserved to be shared with the world. It was published as "Renia's Diary" by St. Martin's Press in an English translation and became a bestseller--featuring commentary by Elizabeth. It was also published in the original Polish and translated into many other languages.
She and her sister, Renia Spiegel, were in Przemysl, Poland, when the war broke out. She survived under a new name, Elzbieta, and hid within the identity of a Catholic girl at a convent school. Her sister, unfortunately, was killed by the Nazis in 1942. Ariana/Elzbieta escaped Poland via Austria and translated Elzbieta into Elizabeth--becoming Elizabeth Bellak when she married George Bellak.
Against all odds, a diary that Renia kept was not destroyed during the Nazi occupation. In the 2010s, Elizabeth and her family decided the diary was a historical document that deserved to be shared with the world. It was published as "Renia's Diary" by St. Martin's Press in an English translation and became a bestseller--featuring commentary by Elizabeth. It was also published in the original Polish and translated into many other languages.
