Watch FilmoFlix. "Malowany chlopiec" - The first major mystification of the Holocaust was the novel "The Painted Bird" by Polish Emigrant Jerzy Kosinski, who in his book describes himself as an abandoned child who became mute, ended up in an orphanage and only later discovers his Jewish origin. "The Painted Bird" has since its publication in 1965 been the subject of discussion on its authenticity.