Herman Stern Papers, 1904-1979
Collection Overview
Title: Herman Stern Papers, 1904-1979
ID: OGLMC217
Primary Creator: Stern, Herman (1887-1980)
Extent: 25.25 Linear Feet
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into the following series:
Series 1: World War II
Series 2: Civic Organizations
Series 3: Business
Series 4: Other Materials
Series 5: Scrapbooks
Series 6: Photographs
Series 7: Audio Tapes
Series 8: Oral History
Subjects: Business and Industry, Holocaust, Military History - World War II (WW2), Religion - Jewish
Abstract
Scope and Contents of the Materials
Collection Historical Note
Hermann Stern was born August 9, 1887, in Oberbrechen, Germany, to Samuel Loeb Stern and Mina (Strauss) Stern. The Orthodox Jewish family was very poor, as Samuel Stern was forced to eke out a meager existence by selling slaughtered cattle to a paste factory. As the youngest of eight children, Hermann Stern worked odd jobs until 1901 when he apprenticed with a clothing merchant in Mainz. In 1902, Stern's uncle, Morris G. Straus, asked him to come to America and enter the clothing business. Straus had left Germany many years before and operated a successful clothing store in Casselton, North Dakota. Unable to receive permission from his employer, Stern quit his training and left for America. He arrived in New York City on October 10, 1903, and traveled to Casselton later that year.
In Casselton, Stern dropped the second "n" from his first name, and thrived in the business of men's clothing. He became manager of the Straus store in Casselton in 1907, when Straus moved to Valley City to open a second location. In 1910, the two men switched positions. Two years later, Stern married Adeline Roth, Straus's sister-in-law. Straus retired in 1920, and Stern purchased half interest in the Valley City and Casselton stores. Additional stores were opened in LaMoure and Carrington. Stern had earned a strong reputation in the business community, and became an active member in the Valley City Chamber of Commerce. He was a founding member of the Greater North Dakota Association (the North Dakota State Chamber of Commerce), and served for many years as the President of the group.
The Great Depression brought tough times to Stern and his business. The stores in Casselton, LaMoure, and Carrington struggled to be profitable. Stern also grew increasingly concerned with Adolf Hitler's anti-Semitic ideology and the effect it had on his relatives back in Germany. In 1933, his niece Klara Stern wrote to him requesting a visit to America for her and her brother, Erich. Stern requested the assistance of North Dakota Governor William Langer and Senator Gerald Nye in acquiring a visa. Nye was especially helpful in helping Stern cut through the red tape, allowing Klara and Erich to enter the United States in 1934. In 1935, Stern's nephew, Julius, wrote and asked his uncle to arrange for him to come to the United States. Julius also requested that Gustav Stern and his wife, Selma, also receive visas. Again with the assistance of Nye, visas were issued to all three. Gustav and Selma Stern were then reunited with their children, Klara and Erich.
By 1937, Stern's success in acquiring exit visas had spread. He began to receive letters from distant relatives, as well as complete strangers, asking for work affidavits in the United States. Not only did Stern supply the affidavits, he also helped them find work. He secured jobs in North Dakota, Minnesota, Chicago, and elsewhere. Stern sponsored 50 people at one point in time, and another 50 already had jobs.
Individual effort could only go so far and, in 1938, Stern agreed to act as an organizer for the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigration Aid Society. While raising money and sponsors for the Society, Stern also led efforts to send Jews to the Middle East. He spoke to Jewish groups in every major city in North Dakota, as well as in the Twin Cities and other parts of Minnesota.
In 1940, Stern's brother, Adolf, with his wife and children, who had left Germany and traveled to France, asked for Stern's help. Slowed by red tape, he again asked Nye for assistance. Both Stern and Nye personally contacted Secretary of State Cordell Hull in an attempt to expedite the process. Two weeks before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the visas were issued.
When America entered the war, contact with much of Europe was completely cut off. Stern's other two brothers, Moses and Julius, as well as Julius's wife Frieda were unable to be saved. All three of them perished in the Holocaust. All told, Stern had assisted 125 Jews in escaping Germany from 1933-1941, although knowledge of his involvement was confined to a few relatives and friends.
Herman Stern then turned his focus back to the clothing business. Not only a successful business leader, Stern was a life-long patron to the Boy Scouts. He was awarded three distinguished service awards from the Boy Scouts: the Silver Beaver, the Silver Antelope, and the Silver Buffalo. Stern was also a member of the Red River Valley Council and the Northern Lights Council. He was a founding member of the North Dakota Automobile Association, and was also instrumental in the creation of the North Dakota Winter Show at Valley City.
Herman Stern died June 20, 1980, in Fargo.
Sources:
Shoptaugh, Terry L. "You Have Been Kind Enough to Assist Me: Herman Stern's Personal Crusade to Help German Jews, 1932-1941." North Dakota History. v64, n4 (Fall 1997): 2-15.
"Herman Stern Dies at Age 92." Fargo Forum. 22 June 1980: A-1.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections
Additional material was received from:
Edward Stern, Fargo, North Dakota, September 15, 1980; Acc.#80- 666
James Hetland, Grand Forks, North Dakota, August 17, 1985; Acc. #85-1392
Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.
Acquisition Method: Donation; The acquisition records are unavailable
Related Publications: "You Have Been Kind Enough to Assist Me": Herman Stern and the Jewish Refugee Crisis, by Terry Shoptaugh. Fargo: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 2008.
Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Herman Stern Papers. OGLMC 217, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.
Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in September 2015.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: World War II ],
[Series 2: Civic Organizations ],
[Series 3: Business ],
[Series 4: Other Materials],
[Series 5: Scrapbooks],
[Series 6: Photographs],
[Series 7: Audio Tapes],
[Series 8: Oral History],
[All]
- Series 6: Photographs
The following photographs were deposited in the Photograph File Cabinets:
Photo Number Description
OGL#217-1 Herman Stern and unidentified, Atlantic City, 1929
OGL#217-2 Carl Ewald, William R. Woods, Max Amberson, North Dakota Winter Show, 1956
OGL#217-3 Homme Dam, Park River, North Dakota
OGL#217-4 Homme Dam, Park River, North Dakota
OGL#217-5 Homme Dam, Park River, North Dakota
OGL#217-6 Unidentified dam
OGL#217-7 Unidentified dam
OGL#217-8 Unidentified railroad bridge
OGL#217-9 Unidentified railroad bridge
OGL#217-10 Unidentified railroad bridge
OGL#217-11 Unidentified railroad bridge
OGL#217-12 Unidentified railroad bridge
OGL#217-13 Henry Biel farm, Lefor, North Dakota
OGL#217-14 Wheat field, J. Scott farm
OGL#217-15 Bald Hill Dam, Lake Ashtabula (north of Valley City)
OGL#217-16 Bald Hill Dam, Lake Ashtabula (north of Valley City)
OGL#217-17 Bald Hill Dam, Lake Ashtabula (north of Valley City)
OGL#217-18 Bald Hill Dam, Lake Ashtabula (north of Valley City)
OGL#217-19 Peggy Lee publicity photograph
OGL#217-20 Peggy Lee and Dave Barbour (husband), at reunion in Valley City 6 March 1950
OGL#217-21 Peggy Lee and Leonard Egstrom (brother), at reunion in Valley City 6 March 1950
OGL#217-22 Peggy Lee, Leonard Egstrom (brother) and sister-in-law at reunion in Valley City 6 March 1950
OGL#217-23 Peggy Lee, Leonard Egstrom (brother) and sister-in-law at reunion in Valley City 6 March 1950
OGL#217-24 Dave Barbour, Peggy Lee's husband, circa 1950
OGL#217-25 Student judges, 1958 North Dakota Winter Show
OGL#217-26 Student judges, North Dakota Winter Show
OGL#217-27 Aerial view, North Dakota Winter Show building
OGL#217-28 North Dakota Winter Show
OGL#217-29 Hereford, North Dakota Winter Show
OGL#217-30 Herefords in show ring, North Dakota Winter Show
OGL#217-31 Herefords in show ring, North Dakota Winter Show, 1958
OGL#217-32 Open class crop exhibits, North Dakota Winter Show, 1958
OGL#217-33 4H Grand Champion Angus, North Dakota Winter Show, 1960
OGL#217-34 Grand Champion Chester White Gilt, North Dakota Winter Show, 1960
OGL#217-35 Grand Champion Hereford, North Dakota Winter Show, 1960
OGL#217-36 Grand Champion of All Breeds, North Dakota Winter Show, 1960
OGL#217-37 Horse, North Dakota Winter Show, 1960
OGL#217-38 Unidentified building
OGL#217-39 (first name unknown) Montgomery, North Dakota Winter Show, 1960
OGL#217-40 (first name unknown) Eastvold, North Dakota Winter Show, 1960
OGL#217-41 Remodeled Straus Store (exterior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-42 Remodeled Straus Store (exterior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-43 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-44 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-45 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-46 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-47 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-48 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-49 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-50 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-51 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-52 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-53 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-54 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-55 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-56 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-57 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-58 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-59 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-60 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-61 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-62 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-63 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-64 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-65 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-66 Remodeled Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1951
OGL#217-67 Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1961
OGL#217-68 Straus Store (interior), Valley City, 1961
OGL#217-69 Unidentified store interior
OGL#217-70 Unidentified gathering
OGL#217-71 Unidentified group of children
OGL#217-72 Herman Stern at unidentified gathering
OGL#217-73 Elke Dawes, 1949
OGL#217-74 Unidentified
OGL#217-75 Joseph, Frieda, Horst, and Trude Lucas, Germany, undated
OGL#217-76 Cemetery Weyer (?) - unidentified woman visiting a cemetery
OGL#217-77 Paul Hay, Gertrude, Jupp Kramm
OGL#217-78 L. Schafheimer, Leipzig
OGL#217-79 Trudl Howell, 1933
OGL#217-80 Trudl Howell, 1933
OGL#217-81 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-82 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-83 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-84 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-85 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-86 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-87 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-88 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-89 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-90 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-91 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-92 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-93 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-94 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-95 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-96 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-97 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-98 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-99 Rotary meeting, undated
OGL#217-100 Straus Company postcard of parade float, undated
OGL#217-101 Straus Company store (interior), Casselton, circa 1900
OGL#217-102 Straus Company store (interior), Casselton, circa 1900
OGL#217-103 Straus Company store (interior), Casselton, circa 1900
OGL#217-104 Straus Company store (interior), Casselton, circa 1900
OGL#217-105 Unidentified
OGL#217-106 Unidentified
Browse by Series:
[Series 1: World War II ],
[Series 2: Civic Organizations ],
[Series 3: Business ],
[Series 4: Other Materials],
[Series 5: Scrapbooks],
[Series 6: Photographs],
[Series 7: Audio Tapes],
[Series 8: Oral History],
[All]