I am now more aware of.....

I am still wondering about....

I am confused by.....

I want to know more about....

I can not believe that....

This concept compares or is similar to....

This reminds me of.....

Are the reasons for which young people wrote diaries the same reasons for which a novelist

writes? Or for which a person writes a letter? Do the differences in intent shape content, and if

so, how?

Does a “diary” imply something private? How does context determine or change genre? Is it any

less of a diary if the writer intends for it to become a public document 

If you are writing for yourself, or for comfort, or for other personal reasons, does it matter how

well you write? Where does literary talent or skill come into play here? Does the beauty of the

language or the literary expressiveness matter in this context? 

Does the purpose of the diary (as the writer stated it) shape how historically valuable it will be

for the study of history? What details would be revealed? What would be missing from a diary

that would be found in other historical documents? 

SEARCH YOUR LAST NAME!

November 24, 1942
“It is because I hate being idle that I have started this diary so that I can write in it every day
what I do and think; in this manner I shall be able to account for all I have done each day.
Now the introduction is over, and I shall begin my diary tomorrow.” —Moshe Flinker
(Salvaged Pages, p. 100.) 

June 12, 1942
“I hope I will be able to confide everything in you, as I have never been able to confide in
anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.” —Anne Frank
(Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Translated by B. M. Mooyart.
Originally published in Dutch.

February 9, 1945
 “Today I’m really in the mood for writing. I’d like to have someone to whom I could tell
everything, absolutely everything, someone to open my heart to. My Mummy is the only
person to I could tell everything, but unfortunately I’m not with her, so I’ll have to confide
in my diary.” —Eva Ginzova
(Salvaged Pages, p. 185) 

November 1, 1944
“…I will try to bear written witness as best I can so that it will survive me. That is what
occupies my thoughts—not to have the world take notice of me—not to say: there was one
who was beautiful and smart and open to the world, and she was seventeen and was snuffed
out before her life could even start. No, to say to the world and time what was accomplished
here; to read to them a chapter out of the Golah [exile] dated 1944…”—Alice Ehrmann
(Salvaged Pages, p. 406)