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Stern, Guy (37413105): Difference between revisions
Revert erroneous timeline pilot publication pending identity-match fix Tag: Manual revert |
Add audited Dan Gross timeline enrichment |
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|birth_place=Hildesheim, Hanover, Prussia, Germany | |birth_place=Hildesheim, Hanover, Prussia, Germany | ||
|death_place=Detroit, Michigan, US | |death_place=Detroit, Michigan, US | ||
|rank_final=Capt | |||
}} | }} | ||
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His memoir ''Invisible Ink'' (2020) describes his training, Normandy landing, and later life. | His memoir ''Invisible Ink'' (2020) describes his training, Normandy landing, and later life. | ||
<!-- Dan Gross timeline enrichment --> | |||
The timeline research also records 1941-43 Completed 2 years of college (St. 1948 Married Margith __. 5/1/43 Became naturalized citizen. 5/2006 Married Susanna. 5/2006 Married Susanna Piontek. 6/1948 Married Margith __. 7/19/1979 Married Judith Edelstein Owens. | |||
== Research notes == | == Research notes == | ||
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| row_source || both | | row_source || both | ||
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== Timeline == | |||
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline"> | |||
<div class="soldier-timeline-body"> | |||
* 1/14/1922 Born in Hildesheim, Germany (as Guenther Stern). Parents Julius. | |||
* 5/17/1943 Started Class 8. | |||
* 9/10/43 Stern is assigned to an interrogation team for field training maneuvers with HQ Third Army at Leesville, LA. The other members of the Interrogation Team were: 1st Lt. Edward B. Klich, 2nd Lt. George. | |||
* 12/15/43 Promoted to S/Sgt. Assignment: III-653. | |||
* 106th Infantry Division attached to the Fifteenth Army. | |||
* 5/43 Assigned to Camp Ritchie. | |||
* Capt. Edgar Kann (1917-1995). | |||
* T/3 William Boekhaus (1907-1985). | |||
* ___?___ Assigned to Team 41 (1st Army). Other members of Team 41:. | |||
</div> | |||
</div><div style="clear: both;"></div> | |||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Stern Wikipedia: Guy Stern] | * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Stern Wikipedia: Guy Stern] | ||
* Camp Ritchie | * Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data | ||
* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records | |||
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present) | * NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present) | ||
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present) | * 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present) | ||
| Line 148: | Line 168: | ||
* Facebook-linked source: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdSGQ4y0Wi0&t=253s YouTube video] | * Facebook-linked source: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdSGQ4y0Wi0&t=253s YouTube video] | ||
* [[The Stories/Guy Stern|The Stories essay]] | * [[The Stories/Guy Stern|The Stories essay]] | ||
* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Guy Stern for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 2 source documents reviewed) | |||
* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Stern, Guy for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 2 source files: GUY STERN (2020).doc, GUY STERN.doc) | |||
Revision as of 03:29, 31 August 2026
| Guy Stern | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Günther Stern |
| Born | 14 January 1922 Hildesheim, Hanover, Prussia, Germany |
| Died | 7 December 2023 Detroit, Michigan, US |
| Nativity | Germany |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 37413105 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Rank at Ritchie | 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 |
{{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.
The timeline research also records 1941-43 Completed 2 years of college (St. 1948 Married Margith __. 5/1/43 Became naturalized citizen. 5/2006 Married Susanna. 5/2006 Married Susanna Piontek. 6/1948 Married Margith __. 7/19/1979 Married Judith Edelstein Owens.
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
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 |
Timeline
- 1/14/1922 Born in Hildesheim, Germany (as Guenther Stern). Parents Julius.
- 5/17/1943 Started Class 8.
- 9/10/43 Stern is assigned to an interrogation team for field training maneuvers with HQ Third Army at Leesville, LA. The other members of the Interrogation Team were: 1st Lt. Edward B. Klich, 2nd Lt. George.
- 12/15/43 Promoted to S/Sgt. Assignment: III-653.
- 106th Infantry Division attached to the Fifteenth Army.
- 5/43 Assigned to Camp Ritchie.
- Capt. Edgar Kann (1917-1995).
- T/3 William Boekhaus (1907-1985).
- ___?___ Assigned to Team 41 (1st Army). Other members of Team 41:.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Guy Stern
- Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
- Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
- 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
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Guy Stern for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 2 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Stern, Guy for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 2 source files: GUY STERN (2020).doc, GUY STERN.doc)