Palka was one of the leading figures of the Polish poster school. He produced some of the famous posters for the French and Italian ‘new wave’ movies, which were so important in Poland’s cultural life in the fifties. He studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts until 1951. Two years later he was employed by the Academy, where he served twice as rector. He was one of the pillars of that institution; even when retired, he still frequented the diploma shows. He also lectured at the European Academy of Art. He won the Gold Medal at the Warsaw International Poster Biennale 1968 and the All-Poland Biennial in Katowice 1967. He was involved with exhibitions and designed Polish pavilions at international fairs. His commemorative posters for the Auschwitz victims are an outstanding achievement. Palka collaborated on the design of the Auschwitz memorial and the monument for the 1939 defenders of Warsaw. He died after a long illness. Palka and Tomaszewski were truly two of a kind.