H-DIARIES BLOG
The H-Diaries Blog shows our research activities. How we do research at archival centers, our contributions at conferences and many more activities.
Working with Memory: The H-Diaries Team at the Jewish Historical Institut (ŻIH) in Warsaw
In October 2025, the H-Diaries team spent an intensive period at the archive of the ŻIH. The stay was structured in two phases:
an initial joint visit with the full team, followed by a more focused research period with two team members, Stefan Leicht and
Juliane Niklas, who continued working directly with selected archival holdings.
A Shared Framework: Concepts and Methods
The first part of the visit was dedicated to exchange and reflection. Together with colleagues from the ŻIH, the team engaged
in in-depth discussions about the definition of diaries. Rather than treating diaries as static objects, the conversation emphasized
diary-writing as a process: the act of recording, the practice of daily (or irregular) entries, and the question of dating.
These methodological reflections are central to the H-Diaries project, which seeks to understand diaries not only as sources,
but as lived practices shaped by historical conditions.
Alongside these discussions, the team held internal meetings to refine project goals, coordinate ongoing work, and present
current research activities. This combination of external dialogue and internal planning proved essential for aligning
conceptual approaches with practical research tasks.
A particularly impactful moment was the joint visit to the exhibition on the Emanuel Ringelblum archive. The exhibition vividly illustrates the extreme conditions under which documents were created, preserved, and ultimately saved. It underscored the fragility of these sources and the extraordinary efforts required to ensure their survival.
Research in the Archive: Encounters with the Material
The second phase of the stay focused on hands-on archival research. One key observation was that the specific focus of H-Diaries,
which is ego-documents in the form of diaries, is only partially reflected in existing archival classifications. For instance,
within the Pamiętniki collection, only about ten percent of the materials can be identified as diaries in the narrower sense
the team discussed on. Moreover, some diaries are located outside this collection altogether, requiring broader and and technically
advanced search strategies.
The research conditions were exceptionally supportive. The archive staff provided continuous assistance, facilitating access to
materials and offering guidance whenever needed. The team was able to consult original documents directly and without complication
– an invaluable aspect of the work, as the physical characteristics of the sources often reveal details not captured in catalog
descriptions. These traces offer important insights into the archival history of the documents and open further perspectives for interpretation.
In some cases, the documents themselves contained additional layers of information: notes by former archivists, annotations, or
contextual remarks that shed light on the trajectory of the materials, their preservation, classification, and transmission over time.
At the same time, the direct encounter with the originals left a particularly strong impression. Holding these materials in one’s hands
made their material fragility tangible: diaries such as those by Irene Hauser, measuring only 6x9 cm, or pages whose writing has been
rendered illegible by water damage, testify the precarious conditions of their preservation.
The diary by Irena Glück has a recognizable cover with barbed wire around a plastic flower. Also the diary
by Renia Knoll is very remarkable with its illustrations.
Such moments underscore the unique value of archival work, where the physical presence of the documents
conveys meanings that extend beyond the written text.