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Stern, Guy (37413105): Difference between revisions

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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Wiki profile records list [[Stern, Guy (37413105)|Guy Stern]] (ASN 37413105), also known as [[Stern, Guy (37413105)|Günther Stern]], as born in 1922 in Germany, of Jewish faith, with Camp Ritchie Class 8 (section 5C, private), IPW Team 41, specialty POW interrogation, and Military Intelligence Service. He enlisted at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; civilian records list two years of college and an occupation as a waiter. He died in 2023.
[[Stern, Guy (37413105)|Guy Stern]] (ASN 37413105), also known as [[Stern, Guy (37413105)|Günther Stern]] was born in 1922 in Germany, of Jewish faith, with Camp Ritchie Class 8 (section 5C, private), IPW Team 41, specialty POW interrogation, and Military Intelligence Service. He enlisted at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; Records list two years of college and an occupation as a waiter.


He fled Nazi Germany for the United States and served in U.S. Army military intelligence as one of the German-Jewish Ritchie Boys. At Camp Ritchie he trained in interrogation methods that Bruce Henderson later summarized from Stern's account in ''Sons and Soldiers'': superior knowledge of enemy units, controlled incentives such as food or cigarettes, finding common interests with a prisoner, and exploiting a prisoner's fears—always under the Judge Advocate General admonition never to touch a prisoner.
He fled Nazi Germany for the United States and served in U.S. Army military intelligence as one of the German-Jewish Ritchie Boys. At Camp Ritchie he trained in interrogation methods that Bruce Henderson later summarized from Stern's account in ''Sons and Soldiers'': superior knowledge of enemy units, controlled incentives such as food or cigarettes, finding common interests with a prisoner, and exploiting a prisoner's fears—always under the Judge Advocate General admonition never to touch a prisoner.


With Fred Howard, and with help from Capt. [[Kann, Edgar W. (01183329)|Edgar Kann]], Stern also took part in the well-known "Commissar Krukov" ruse used to pressure German prisoners of war. Facebook posts on the Ritchie Boys of WWII page place him among the German-Jewish trainees highlighted by Henderson and identify him with IPW Team 41 teammates.
With Fred Howard, and with help from Capt. [[Kann, Edgar W. (01183329)|Edgar Kann]], Stern also took part in the well-known "Commissar Krukov" ruse used to pressure German prisoners of war.


Three days after D-Day (D+3), Stern landed at Normandy with a special military intelligence unit composed largely of German-, Austrian-, and Czech-born Jewish soldiers and interrogated prisoners of war on the front lines. After the war he remained a public interpreter of that experience: he was featured in the documentary film ''The Ritchie Boys'', spoke at events such as "Sunset on the Mountain" at the former Fort Ritchie Officers' Club, and served as director of the Harry and Wanda Zekelman International Institute of the Righteous at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He was also a long-time board member of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York.
Three days after D-Day (D+3), Stern landed at Normandy with a special military intelligence unit composed largely of German-, Austrian-, and Czech-born Jewish soldiers and interrogated prisoners of war on the front lines. After the war he remained a public interpreter of that experience: he was featured in the documentary film ''The Ritchie Boys'', spoke at events such as "Sunset on the Mountain" at the former Fort Ritchie Officers' Club, and served as director of the Harry and Wanda Zekelman International Institute of the Righteous at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He was also a long-time board member of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York.


His memoir ''Invisible Ink''—anticipated on the Facebook page through 2020 and released that August—describes his training, Normandy landing, and later life. The Ritchie Boys of WWII page reported his death in December 2023; contemporary coverage summarized his path from flight from the Nazis to wartime intelligence service and noted that he died at 101.
His memoir ''Invisible Ink'' (2020) describes his training, Normandy landing, and later life.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==

Revision as of 15:30, 26 August 2026

Guy Stern
Guy Stern
Personal details
Birth nameGünther Stern
Born14 January 1922
Hildesheim, Hanover, Prussia, Germany
Died7 December 2023
Detroit, Michigan, US
NativityGermany
ReligionJewish
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN37413105
RankPrivate
Camp RitchieClass 8 (17 May – 16 July 1943)
Section5C
EnlistedJefferson Barracks, Missouri
SpecialtyPOW interrogation
Unit / divisionMilitary Intelligence Service
TeamIPW 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 Germany, was a Jewish Ritchie Boy, interrogator, memoirist, and public educator. After Camp Ritchie Class 8 he landed in Normandy shortly after D-Day with IPW Team 41, interrogated prisoners on the front lines, and later became one of the best-known voices of the Ritchie Boys through the documentary The Ritchie Boys, Bruce Henderson's Sons and Soldiers, and his memoir Invisible Ink.

Biography

Guy Stern (ASN 37413105), also known as Günther Stern was born in 1922 in Germany, of Jewish faith, with Camp Ritchie Class 8 (section 5C, private), IPW Team 41, specialty POW interrogation, and Military Intelligence Service. He enlisted at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri; Records list two years of college and an occupation as a waiter.

He fled Nazi Germany for the United States and served in U.S. Army military intelligence as one of the German-Jewish Ritchie Boys. At Camp Ritchie he trained in interrogation methods that Bruce Henderson later summarized from Stern's account in Sons and Soldiers: superior knowledge of enemy units, controlled incentives such as food or cigarettes, finding common interests with a prisoner, and exploiting a prisoner's fears—always under the Judge Advocate General admonition never to touch a prisoner.

With Fred Howard, and with help from Capt. Edgar Kann, Stern also took part in the well-known "Commissar Krukov" ruse used to pressure German prisoners of war.

Three days after D-Day (D+3), Stern landed at Normandy with a special military intelligence unit composed largely of German-, Austrian-, and Czech-born Jewish soldiers and interrogated prisoners of war on the front lines. After the war he remained a public interpreter of that experience: he was featured in the documentary film The Ritchie Boys, spoke at events such as "Sunset on the Mountain" at the former Fort Ritchie Officers' Club, and served as director of the Harry and Wanda Zekelman International Institute of the Righteous at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He was also a long-time board member of the Leo Baeck Institute in New York.

His memoir Invisible Ink (2020) describes his training, Normandy landing, and later life.

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

  • and say they can have it if they cooperate.' 3) 'Play on their like and inclinations.' 4) 'Find out his anxieties and fears and make him think they will soon become a reality.' In the photo below, Ritchie Boy Martin Selling is Martin Selling questions German prisoners near the front in France, 1944.
    and say they can have it if they cooperate.' 3) 'Play on their like and inclinations.' 4) 'Find out his anxieties and fears and make him think they will soon become a reality.' In the photo below, Ritchie Boy Martin Selling is Martin Selling questions German prisoners near the front in France, 1944.

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

  • Wikipedia: Guy Stern
  • 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)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2014-01-18 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2017-08-13 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2017-09-01 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2019-03-11 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-02-09 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-06-01 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-06-09 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-08-06 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-09-16 (3 posts)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-06-01 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-12-08 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-12-14 (1 post)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2024-03-11 (1 post)
  • Facebook-linked source: bestdefensefoundation.org
  • Facebook-linked source: aussiedlerbote.de
  • Facebook-linked source: timesofisrael.com
  • Facebook-linked source: YouTube video
  • The Stories essay
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