Herman Stern Papers, 1904-1979

Herman Stern Papers

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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

Languages: English, German

Abstract

1887-1980; Owner of Straus Clothing, with several locations in North Dakota, including Valley City and Casselton. Founding member of the Greater North Dakota Association, the State Chamber of Commerce. Assisted over 120 Jews in escaping Germany before the Holocaust

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The collection contains correspondence, documents, audio tapes, scrapbooks, and photographs related to Stern's work in helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi Germany prior to World War II, as well as his work on behalf of the American war effort. Further, the collection contains materials related to his civic and philanthropic efforts in North Dakota, including the Greater North Dakota Association, North Dakota Winter Show, Boy Scouts of America, and Rotary Club, as well as materials on his business dealings, specifically the Straus Company.

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

Business and Industry
Holocaust
Military History - World War II (WW2)
Religion - Jewish

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Accruals:

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 1: World War II

Contains correspondence, documents, and other materials related to Stern's work assisting Jewish refugees in escaping Nazi Germany, and, materials related to his work in North Dakota on behalf of the domestic war effort during World War II.

Sub-Series A: Jewish Emigrants from Nazi Germany Correspondence

This sub-series contains the correspondence between Stern and dozens of individuals he assisted in leaving Nazi Germany both before and after World War II.

Box 9

Folder 1: Correspondence - Foreign Doctors Placement 1938-1940.
Folder 2: Correspondence - German (undated and fragments).
Folder 3: Correspondence - German (1925-1978).
Folder 4: Correspondence - German - Eugene Caspary (1974-1976)
Folder 5: Correspondence - German - Elizabeth Dawes (1948-1950).
Folder 6: Correspondence - German - Agnes Heinrirhl (1947-1950).
Folder 7: Correspondence - German - Oberbrechner Inform (February-May 1974).
Folder 8: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Behr-Leske (1935-1940).
Folder 9: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Bein ( 1935-1940).
Folder 10: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Benjamin (1937-1940).
Folder 11: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Blumenthal (1937-1946).
Folder 12: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Eichengrun (1937-1943).
Folder 13: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Falkernstein-Kuhrau (1936-1946)
Folder 14: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Frankel (1918 -1940)
Folder 15: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Goldschmidt (1937-1939).
Folder 16: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Haas (1937-1943).
Folder 17: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Hammerschlag (1936-1939).
Folder 18: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Hayum-Schlafheimer (1935-1941).
Folder 19: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Heimann (1939).
Folder 20: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Henlein (1936-1941).
Folder 21: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Howell (1933 and 1940).
Folder 22: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Israel (1940)
Folder 23: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Jacob (1937 and 1941).
Folder 24: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Jonas (1937-1942).
Folder 25: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Kahn (1938 1940).
Folder 26: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Katz (1941-1942).
Folder 27: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Kaufmann- Schmitzler (1939)
Folder 28: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Klibansky (1938-1939).
Folder 29: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Kopfstein (1938-1941).
Folder 30: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Landburg (1939-1943).
Folder 31: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Levy (1938-1941).
Folder 32: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Lion (1936-19:39).
Folder 33: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Lowenstein (1938).
Folder 34: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Lucas (1938-1941)
Folder 35: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Moser (1936 and 1940).
Folder 36: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Oppenheimer (1935-1938).
Folder 37: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Oswald (1938-1939).
Folder 38: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Reichenberg (1936 1939).
Folder 39: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Rothenberg (1939).
Folder 40: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Schneider (1938-1940).
Folder 41: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Schwarz (1937).
Folder 42: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Spier (1938-1972).
Folder 43: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Alice (1938-1939).
Folder 44: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Arthur (1936-1940).
Folder 45: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Erich and Glare (1932-1942).
Folder 46: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Gustav and Adolf (1940- 1942).
Folder 47: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Gustav and Adolf (1914- 1939).
Folder 48: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Joseph (1938-1940).
Folder 49: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Julius (1928-1941).
Folder 50: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Kurt and Ilse (1938-1941).
Folder 51: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Stern, Moses (1922-1941).
Folder 52: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Strauss-Besmann (1927-1941).
Folder 53: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Vasen (1938-1941).
Folder 54: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: Wertheim (1938-1940).
Folder 55: Correspondence - German Political Refugees: General (1935-1950).
Folder 56: Correspondence: Jewish Resettlement (1938-1942).
Folder 57: Correspondence: United Jewish Appeal (1948, 1950-1951).
Folder 58: Correspondence: Relatives 1945-1966.

Box 20

Folder 7: Hugh Teller Personnel File
Folder 8: Samuel Honacker Personnel File
Folder 20: Miscellaneous Notes and Materials Related to Jewish Emigration

Sub-Series B: World War II-Domestic War Effort Materials

Contains correspondence and other materials related to Stern's work in North Dakota on behalf of the domestic war effort during World War II.

Box 2

Folder 3: Bulletins and correspondence 1943-1944
Folder 4: Correspondence, clippings, some USO, 1943-1944
Folder 5: State Board minutes, correspondence, pamphlets, 1943-1944
Folder 6: Scrap Book War Chest Drive clippings, 1944
Folder 7: Bulletins of national, state, and local drives, 1944
Folder 8: Fifth Bond Drive correspondence, 1943
Folder 9: Fifth and Sixth Bond Drives correspondence 1944-1945
Folder 10: Pamphlets, correspondence 1941-1942
Folder 11: Correspondence and county contribution lists, 1942-1943
Folder 12: Correspondence and county contribution lists, 1944-1945
Folder 13: Correspondence, state organization, state quotas, 1945-1947
Folder 14: Correspondence, newspaper articles, clippings, 1946

Box 12

Folder 33: War Bond Drives (l944-1945)
Folder 34: War Chest (1946-1949)

Box 13

Folder 4: Newspaper Clippings - Seventh War Loan Publicity (April-June 1945).

Department of Special Collections
Digital Finding Aids