Dr. Stern was born Gunther Stern in Germany before moving to the U.S. as a teenager to escape the rising wave of antisemitism. In 1943, Stern was drafted and changed his name to Guy in case of capture. In 1944, he was sent to Camp Ritchie, Maryland to become a member of the celebrated World War II military intelligence unit known as the “Ritchie Boys.” After training, he and his team returned to Europe on D-Day as POW interrogators, gaining some highly valuable intelligence for the Allies. For his wartime service, Stern was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and French Medal of Honor. After the war, Stern became a comparative literature scholar and university administrator at Wayne State University and the University of Cincinnati. He also served as the director of the International Institute of the Righteous at the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Great Lakes National Cemetery

Guy Stern was born Gunther Stern in Germany in 1922.  In 1937 as antisemitism was on the rise in Germany, his parents arranged to send him to the United States.  He attended St. Louis University and studied Romance Languages.  In 1943 Stern was drafted and changed his name to Guy in case of capture.  In 1944, he was sent to Camp Ritchie, MD to become a member of a special military intelligence unit called the Ritchie boys.  After training in interrogation tactics, he and his team returned to Europe on D-Day as an interrogator of Prisoners of War resulting in some of the most highly valuable intelligence gained at that time.  Following the war, Stern returned to the States where he became both a professor and head of the departments for German studies at many Universities and colleges.  Stern later was awarded the French Medal of Honor.

GUY STERN

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