John Stern Family Collection

The John Stern Family Collection documents the life, immigration experience, and work of members of the Stern Family, particularly James Stern and his wife Charlotte ("Lotte") and their son John, but also including James Stern's father Siegmund, mother Guithella, and other members of the family. The collection consists of correspondence, business papers, travel and citizenship papers, writings, and personal papers.

The most prominent documents in this collection are personal correspondence, including not only letters but also postcards, greeting cards, and telegrams. Frequently correspondence is between family members, but some correspondence, particularly of James Stern, is also from friends or business associates. James Stern's correspondence is located in Series I, Subseries 2, although greeting cards and wedding telegrams are with other personal papers in Subseries 1 of the same series. The largest amount of James Stern's correspondence is between himself and Lotte Stern, his wife; topics include the planning of their wedding, raising of their son, other family members, and James Stern's work. Letters exchanged with Lotte Stern are primarily located within both Series I and Series II, but there are a few letters to individuals other than her husband or son in Series I, Subseries 4. John Stern's correspondence, which is almost entirely comprised of letters written to and from his mother, is in Subseries 2 of Series II. His correspondence dates from his time in the United States military when he was stationed in Germany. These letters detail life as an American soldier in occupied Germany as well as providing his mother with suggestions for the family business in Tangier. Other topics in John Stern's correspondence include the location of missing family members, family history and genealogy, restitution, and finding new German associates to work with his export and import company. A small amount of correspondence between Siegmund and Guithella Stern and other family members is in Series III, Subseries 1.

Business papers, including correspondence, are similarly located in various places in the collection dependant on their origination. Papers of James Stern, including contracts and a small amount of correspondence will be found in Subseries 3 of Series I. These papers include two account books featuring clients in Hamburg and several cities in Morocco. Correspondence in Series I, Subseries 2 additionally features James Stern's letters exchanged with Richard Hans, an associate in Romania. John Stern's business enterprise is primarily evidenced in the abovementioned correspondence exchanged with his mother. The business records of Siegmund Stern, to be found in Series III, Subseries 1, include a few letters, a copy of a ledger with listings of accounts, contracts, and an album and document announcing the anniversaries of the S. Stern business.

A few writings of family members are in this collection as well. James Stern's written pieces include numerous poems, usually for family members, and an essay. Diaries for John Stern and Siegmund Stern will be found in Series I, Subseries 1 and Series III, Subseries 1 respectively. A wedding choral (Tafellied) written by Siegmund and Guithella Stern for their niece Bertha Samuel is also located in Series III, Subseries 1.

Other types of personal papers in this collection predominantly feature official papers used for citizenship or travel memorabilia, documenting the family's forced emigration from Germany to Morocco. Primarily these include passports and documents from consulates as well as tickets, timetables, and menus for boats or trains. These will be found in several places in the collection, including Subseries 1 and 2 of Series I for James Stern, Subseries 4 of the same series for Charlotte Stern, Subseries 1 of Series II for John Stern and Subseries 4 of the same series for his wife Alia Stern. In addition, Subseries 1 of Series II holds John Stern's military memorabilia.