Klaus Stern, 1921—2013
In spite of World War II closing in around them, Klaus and Paula Stern married in Germany in 1942, because, as Klaus stated in a short documentary about their survival, “two people can fight whatever comes better than one person.”
The Sterns were deported to Auschwitz nine months later. Over the next two years, Klaus survived Sachsenhausen, Flossenburg, Leonberg, and Mühldorf concentration camps, as well as death marches. Sick with typhoid when the Americans arrived, Klaus rallied through and made the slow journey back to Ahrnstadt, Germany, where he and Paula promised to meet again — if they survived. Klaus sent a note with a soldier going in the general direction of her town in the hopes it would reach her hands. It read: “Paula, I’m still alive. Wait for me.”
Klaus and Paula reunited and were married 70 years until Klaus’s passing on May 12 due to complications from pneumonia. He was 92.
After liberation it took Paula six weeks to return to Ahrnstadt. She knew her family was gone, but she was sure Klaus would be there waiting for her. “There was no doubt about it,” she said in a film segment that appeared on ABC’s Nightline. Every night in Auschwitz, Klaus sent his thoughts to her to stay strong.
“Maybe I would have gotten the feeling that Klaus was gone, and I would have given up, too,” she said.
Miraculously, the letter found its way to her, and so, eventually, did Klaus.
Klaus and Paula moved to Seattle a year later, where Klaus found work with Langendorf Bakeries. They had two children, Marvin and Marion, and later were blessed with four grandchildren.
Shortly after the Sterns hit American soil in 1946, Klaus began speaking about his experiences during the Holocaust, and in 1989 helped found the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center. Part of the center’s speakers bureau, he educated the public — particularly school groups — about the war and the consequences of intolerance up until his health began to fail in the past year.
In a comment to the Seattle Times’ obituary on May 16, a former high school teacher paid tribute to the survivor:
When queried at the end of the school year on what were the best things about the class, Klaus’ visit was always at the top of the list. He changed more lives than anyone else I’ve ever known, encouraging students to be tolerant of others and always respect human life as sacred. His horrific story of surviving Auschwitz showed kids they also could survive almost anything and come out on the other side to have a happy life. God bless dear Mr. Stern.
“Klaus Stern led by example,” said Dee Simon, executive director of the Holocaust Center. “With his support, the center now reaches over 40,000 students each year. He served on the center’s board of directors since 1989 providing a moral compass for the center’s leadership, and keeping the survivor’s perspective at the forefront. Klaus was not only a leader but a dear friend of the center. He will be missed.”
Tributes can be made to the Klaus Stern Holocaust Education Fund at
http://www.wsherc.org or by mail to 2031 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121. The fund will support speaker outreach throughout the Pacific Northwest.
— Emily K. Alhadeff