This story is the first in a new series called “The Hidden Museum,” which explores remarkable artifacts from St. Louis museums, pieces of history rarely seen by the public. The St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum holds more than 660 artifacts in its collection, though only about 125 appear in the permanent exhibit. The rest remain in carefully preserved storage, waiting to share their stories.
A trunk filled with hope
Before Israel and Fania (Katz) Berwald began their lives in St. Louis, their story was packed carefully inside a burlap-covered wicker trunk.
Israel and Fania were from small towns in Poland. He was a medical student who studied in France, Switzerland and Italy. She trained as a midwife. They married on Nov. 19, 1933, and the trunk held her trousseau, the linens, keepsakes and small tokens of a new life she was building…