1. Gunther "Guy" Stern was a German-American decorated member of the secret Ritchie Boys World War II military intelligence interrogation team.
27 Facts About Guy Stern
1. 2.
Guy Stern worked at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
3.
Gunther Stern was born on January 14,1922, the son of Julius Stern and Hedwig Stern.
4.
Guy Stern's father owned his own business, working as a salesman of clothing materials.
5.
Guy Stern had a love for literature and music at a young age and enjoyed going to the theatre and opera with his parents on the weekends.
6.
Guy Stern worked as a busboy and dishwasher at two hotels in St Louis.
7.
Guy Stern became active in his school community, joining the newspaper team and landing interviews with figures like Benny Goodman and Thomas Mann.
8.
In 1942, Guy Stern volunteered for naval intelligence but was initially rejected because he was not born in the United States.
9.
Guy Stern wanted to join the war effort in hopes of defeating the Nazis and reuniting with his family.
10.
Guy Stern was later drafted in 1943, beginning weeks of basic training and legally changing his name from Gunther to Guy in case of capture by enemies.
11.
Guy Stern became close with another German-born interrogator, Fred Howard, and they formed new tactics to use like the good cop, bad cop routine to scare prisoners of war and defectors.
12.
Guy Stern earned the Bronze Star Medal for the intelligence he gathered during the war.
13.
Once the war was over, Guy Stern visited Hildesheim again where he learned that his family's home had been taken by the Nazi government in 1938 and they had been moved to a "Jew House".
14.
Guy Stern moved back to New York City and returned to his studies, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Romance languages in 1948 from Hofstra University, and then a Master of Arts in 1950 and Doctor of Philosophy in 1954 from Columbia University.
15.
Guy Stern was later professor and head of the department for German language and literature at the University of Cincinnati in the 1960s.
16.
In 1969, Guy Stern was elected president of the American Association of Teachers of German.
17.
Guy Stern was later head of the German and Slavic studies department at the University of Maryland, then until his retirement served as a distinguished professor of German literature and cultural history at Wayne State University and was vice president of academic affairs and provost from 1978 to 1980.
18.
Guy Stern was a visiting scholar at the German universities of Freiburg im Breisgau and Frankfurt am Main.
19.
Guy Stern was the director of the Harry and Wanda Zekelman International Institute of the Righteous at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.
20.
Guy Stern was one of the founders of the Lessing Society, acting as its president from 1975 until 1977.
21.
Guy Stern received several awards throughout his life, among them the Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Goethe Medal.
22.
Guy Stern was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor for freeing France during the war and was recognized as an honorary citizen of Hildesheim.
23.
Guy Stern received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hildesheim.
24.
Guy Stern was featured in the 2022 Ken Burns PBS documentary The US and the Holocaust.
25.
Guy Stern had an adopted son who proceeded him in death.
26.
Guy Stern turned 100 on January 14,2022, and died on December 7,2023, aged 101, in Detroit.
27.
Guy Stern was interred at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.