Publication Date: September 6, 2026
She wrote their story so no one could forget the devastation they endured.
Warsaw, 1942. Fifteen-year-old Alina Kaufer has watched her world collapse. After escaping from Nazi-occupied Lwów, she saw her home destroyed, neighbors vanish, and German raids sweep whole communities, seizing people from the streets. The only place Alina feels safe to be herself and make sense of the horrors around her is in the blue notebook where she secretly records everything she sees.
Desperate to save his family, Alina’s father, Oskar, makes a deal with the Polish resistance. A mathematics professor, he agrees to take on a dangerous job as a translator for a German army contractor in exchange for forged identities, secretly passing stolen blueprints back to the resistance. To keep them all alive, Alina must become someone she is not, burning the diary that holds their real name and keeping a new one in secret, recording the truth of their days without ever betraying who the Kaufers were.
But their false name buys only the illusion of safety. As rumors of the Warsaw Uprising spread through the streets, the family must decide whether to protect themselves, or risk everything to help those fighting for their lives.
Based on the real diary of a Holocaust survivor, The Warsaw Diary Keeper is an unforgettable story of courage, resilience, and the power of family. Perfect for readers of The Nightingale, We Were the Lucky Ones, and All the Light We Cannot See.
A rare family testimony highlighting the atrocities of World War II unfolds through the diaries of a teenage girl.
Author Avi Dobzinski shares the story of Alina Kaufer inThe Warsaw Diary Keeper. Through the eyes of a 15-year-old, readers get a glimpse into a world turned upside down.
Not only does her family have to leave their home, but their identities are discarded in favor of false names. Alina’s observations highlight her younger sister and parents as they wrestle with change brought on by circumstance.
Relationships play a significant role in the story, particularly the tight bonds of family. One of the biggest challenges the family faces pertains to survival vs. aiding the resistance movement.
It’s the day-to-day details, though, reminding readers that life continues. Not every moment was full of adrenaline. The times of stillness, as reflected in Alina’s diary entries, bear witness to a tale of survival marked with heartbreak.
The Warsaw Diary Keeper gives voice to a teenager’s perspective as she and her family face conditions that threaten to destroy them.
 
Avi Dobzinski is an Israeli novelist. The Warsaw Diary Keeper, his debut in English, is based on the real wartime diaries kept by his wife’s aunt, Alina, as a teenager in Nazi occupied Warsaw. Avi holds the original diaries and spent years transcribing and translating them before turning them into a novel. The book was first written in Hebrew and then in English.
