Stern, Guy (37413105)

Guy Stern
Personal details
Birth name	Günther Stern
Born	1922
Died	2023
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	37413105
Rank	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 8 (17 May – 16 July 1943)
Section	5C
Enlisted	Jefferson Barracks, Missouri
Specialty	POW interrogation
Unit / division	Military Intelligence Service
Team	IPW 41

Interviews Watch Guy Stern in 2 recordings on Ritchie Boy Interviews: Zekelman Holocaust Center (part 1) · Zekelman Holocaust Center (part 2).

On film Guy Stern appears in The Ritchie Boys (Christian Bauer, 2004).

Teammates

Team — IPW 41

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Guy Stern (1922–2023), born Günther Stern in Hildesheim, was a German-born American interrogator, psychological-warfare soldier, and scholar. A Camp Ritchie graduate and master sergeant, he served from Normandy through the Battle of the Bulge and received the Bronze Star.

Biography

Guy Stern — German literature scholar; Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University. Summary from a Notable Ritchie Boys slide (source).

Guy Stern was born Günther Stern in Hildesheim, Germany, on January 14, 1922. He grew up in a Jewish family under increasingly violent Nazi persecution. In 1937, at age fifteen, he was sent alone to the United States in the hope that he could establish himself and help his family escape.

Stern tried from America to create a path out for his parents and siblings, but the war and immigration barriers closed that possibility. His family was deported into the Warsaw ghetto and murdered in the Holocaust. Their loss remained central to his understanding of his wartime service and his later work as an educator and witness.

After entering the U.S. Army, Stern was selected for Camp Ritchie because of his command of German and knowledge of German society. He trained as a prisoner-of-war interrogator and was promoted through the enlisted ranks to master sergeant. He reached Normandy roughly two or three days after D-Day and began questioning German prisoners close behind the advancing front.

Stern distinguished himself by organizing efficient mass interrogations that separated prisoners, identified useful sources, and extracted time-sensitive military information. That work brought him the Bronze Star. During the Battle of the Bulge he also took part in psychological-warfare operations intended to weaken German morale and encourage surrender.

After the war, Stern earned a doctorate in German literature and built a distinguished academic career. He became a leading scholar of exile literature and served at Wayne State University, where he was a professor and later Distinguished Professor Emeritus. His scholarship and public speaking connected German studies with the experience of refugees and the history of the Holocaust.

Stern published his memoir, Invisible Ink, in 2020. His many honors included the French Legion of Honour as well as American, German, and academic distinctions recognizing his military service and scholarship. He died on December 7, 2023.

See the full story.

Research notes

• OTC;SO 217 (9/7/43)
• Ritchie Boy
• 1/14/1922-A
• German literature scholar; Professor Emeritus, Wayne State University
• Portrait and summary from Notable Ritchie Boys slides (source).

Gallery

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Technical record

Field	Imported value
Nara ASN	37413105
Nara Name	STERN GUY
Nara State	75
Nara County	191
Nara POE	7545
Nara DOE	210143
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	N1
Nara Year of Birth	22
Nara Race	1
Nara Race Description	White citizen
Nara Education	6
Nara Civilian Occupation	227
Nara Marital Status	1
Nara Height (inches)	66
Nara Weight (lbs)	138
Class_ASN	37413105
Class_Name	STERN, Guy
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• The Stories essay