When Arlen Chaleff got a call from the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, she didn’t hesitate. Within moments, she was digging through old file cabinets, pulling out patterns along with naturalization papers and anything else she could find on Toby Lane Inc., the St. Louis garment company her parents founded in the late 1930s.
“I rushed them over to the Museum,” Chaleff said. “I was so honored that they chose my family’s story, because Washington Avenue and other downtown streets at the time were lined with thousands of Jewish immigrants and dress manufacturers. And then, I felt sad that the reason for the exhibit was a tragic one.”
Two designers, two different fates
The exhibit Chaleff is referring to is “Stitching History from the Holocaust,” which opens Friday, July 18, at the Museum.
The exhibition centers on Hedwig Strnad, a Czech Jewish dress designer whose life—and career—were cut short by the Holocaust. Through recreated garments and wartime letters, the show gives shape to a life interrupted.
While the core of the exhibit focuses on the loss of talent and life under the Nazi regime, the museum also created space to honor stories of survival—specifically those rooted in St. Louis’s own fashion history.
As part of the St. Louis presentation, the museum added several additional elements highlighting our city’s deep ties to the garment industry, once centered on Washington Avenue, where Jewish-owned factories and showrooms helped define the city’s fashion economy.
Toby Lane
The Chaleff family’s story is featured in a stand-alone display within the larger exhibit, highlighting Toby Lane Inc. as a local example of Jewish garment manufacturing during the same era. On view are original dress patterns, incorporation documents and Sam Chaleff’s naturalization papers—materials that trace a path of survival and success that contrasts sharply with the fate of the Strnads.
The display also includes a dress on loan from the Missouri Historical Society—a piece from a later iteration of the Chaleff brand called Tre Laine.
“We always intended to include local stories as part of this exhibition,” said Robb Nelson, exhibitions coordinator at the Museum. “We knew how important the history of St. Louis’ garment district was, especially in terms of Jewish-owned companies that found success in clothing and shoe manufacturing.”
Museum staff first discovered Chaleff’s story through a video by the St. Louis Fashion Fund called “Light Up the Zipper,” in which she speaks about her family’s legacy in fashion. “Her story really resonated with us,” Nelson said.
Opportunity and exclusion
Sam and Pauline Chaleff founded Toby Lane in the late 1930s, a few years before Arlen was born.
“I never heard about any challenges they may have faced. When I look back now, I only see the opportunities Jewish immigrants must have had in manufacturing,” said Chaleff. The industry was mostly Jewish-owned and so were most of the retail operations. It was a safe and welcomed place for the community at large. Country clubs, neighborhoods and certain businesses were not.”
The juxtaposition of stories—those who built lives and businesses in the U.S., and those who never got the chance—is at the heart of the exhibition.
“Arlen was wonderful in providing details and documents about her family,” Nelson said. “And we were struck by the similarities and differences to the Strnads’ experience.”
Chaleff hopes visitors feel that contrast. “Toby Lane’s story—with its freedom and opportunity—next to Hedwig Strnad’s story of tragedy and horror. They show two personal stories together, with the human touch.”
The exhibit also includes other St. Louis connections, such as the Senack Shoe Company and the story of Paul Berwald, a prominent Jewish business leader whose position allowed him to help relatives escape Poland in the late 1930s. The trunk they traveled with, donated by their son, is on display.
What: Stitching History from the Holocaust
When: Opens to public, Friday, July 18.
Where: St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, 36 Millstone Campus Dr.
More Info: Tickets can be purchased at the museum or online.
