This story is part of The Hidden Museum, a continuing series from the Jewish Light that explores remarkable artifacts held by St. Louis museums. These pieces represent only a fraction of what institutions like the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum preserve behind the scenes. Through this series, we surface the stories attached to objects not always on public display and examine how history lives on through archives, artifacts and memory.
A book drawn in the shadow of Auschwitz
Right now, on the lower level of the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, a small book sits quietly inside a glass case as part of the museum’s Artifact Spotlight.
It does not demand attention. There are no dramatic lights or large crowds gathering around it. At first glance, it looks modest,, easy to pass by.
But this rare, signed edition of “Kwiaty Oświęcimia (Flowers of Auschwitz)” carries something a larger than its size. It’s the kind of book that rewards those who stop. Those who look just a bit closer.
Created in 1945 and 1946 by Soviet-Jewish artist Zinowij Tolkaczew, the portfolio and book are considered one of the earliest illustrated artistic records of Auschwitz-Birkenau after liberation. Tolkaczew entered the camp shortly after Soviet forces arrived in January 1945 and what he saw became the basis for a series of immediate, emotional drawings.
What the artist saw
Tolkaczew was a painter and graphic artist serving in the Red Army when he arrived at Auschwitz. Deeply shaken by what he encountered, he began drawing survivors, ruined camp spaces and the evidence left behind by mass murder.
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The title “Flowers of Auschwitz” is bitterly ironic. It does not refer to beauty or renewal. It points instead to the wasted human beings Tolkaczew encountered, especially children, whose suffering shaped the work’s emotional center.
First editions of the book and portfolio typically included dozens of illustrations. Published in Kraków in the immediate postwar period, the work circulated with text in multiple languages.
Why this artifact matters
The copy now on display at the Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum is notable not only as a work of Holocaust documentation but also because of its direct connection to a survivor whose story eventually reached St. Louis.
“This copy of the book is unique because its previous owner was Marion Poleski, a Holocaust survivor who was on Schindler’s List,” said Amy Moorman, director of the museum’s archives and collections. “Poleski was gifted the book, signed by the author, as well as the version containing original sketches because he assisted with the publication of the original edition.”
Poleski’s connection to the museum came through family ties. His granddaughter, Chrissy Laycob, now serves on the museum’s board of directors and helped facilitate the donation.
“She helped facilitate the donation of the book to the museum as a gift from her family,” Moorman said.
Moorman said the display was intentionally designed to help visitors understand not just the finished book, but how it came into existence.
“I wanted visitors to be able to see the printed book alongside the version with the original sketches,” she said. “This is a way to directly compare the two versions and show the process of creation of the book from Tolkaczew’s artwork to final production.”
An artifact that does not let the viewer look away
Museum collections often preserve official records, letters and family objects that tell stories over time. This artifact does something different. It compresses horror into line, shadow and paper.
“Flowers of Auschwitz” was created before the Holocaust had settled into historical narrative, when the reality of the camps was still immediate and raw.
“ ‘Flowers of Auschwitz’ is one of the earliest publications with direct imagery and descriptions of the conditions in the camps at the time of liberation,” Moorman said. “It is a powerful artifact that captures the immediacy of those moments. Though the book’s text is in Polish, there is no translation needed for the raw emotion portrayed in Tolkaczew’s drawings.”
For visitors in St. Louis, seeing the book in person turns a familiar historical name into something more immediate. Not abstract history. A hand-drawn record made by someone who walked through Auschwitz just after liberation and tried to show what remained.
Donating artifacts
The St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum continues to collect photographs, documents, objects and family stories connected to the Holocaust and Jewish life in St. Louis.
Anyone who believes they may have historically significant materials is encouraged to contact the museum’s archives and collections department to discuss preservation and donation options.
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