By 1942, Irena remained in the ghetto with just her sister. The two of them were deported to Auschwitz in August 1944. She took with her four full books containing her diary: they were lost forever. Irena was taken to a series of concentration camps including Birkenau, Freiberg, and finally Mauthausen.
In May 1945, American troops liberated Irena in Mauthasuen. Immediately following liberation, Irena set out to recreate her diaries from memory. In 1946, she moved to Palestine where she married Joseph Liebman in 1949. There, she raised a family and wrote novels.