Gustav Gabriel STERN

1880 - 1955  (74 years)

• Name	Gustav Gabriel STERN
  Birth	19 Nov 1880	Meudt, Germany
  Gender	Male
  Death	2 Aug 1955	Denver, CO, USA
  Person ID	I82	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	5 Jun 2025

  
  

  Father	Alexander STERN,   b. 9 Nov 1845, Meudt, Germany d. 29 Sep 1923, Montabaur, Germany (Grave No 71) (Age 77 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Fanny Frumat HECHT,   b. 5 Jun 1850, Rennerod, Germany d. 13 Feb 1887, Meudt, Germany (Age 36 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	24 Aug 1876	Rennerod, Germany
  Family ID	F13	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Friederika (Rika) MINKEL,   b. 8 May 1889, Mayen, Germany d. 22 Mar 1984, Denver, CO, USA (Age 94 years)
  Children	1. Hilde STERN,   b. 24 Mar 1913, Montabaur, Germany d. 7 Dec 1996, Aurora, Denver, USA (Age 83 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Edith STERN,   b. 4 Sep 1914, Montabaur, Germany d. 14 Jan 2016, Denver, CO, USA (Age 101 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   3. Gretel STERN,   b. 6 Oct 1918, Montabaur, Germany d. 22 Sep 2016, Denver, CO, USA (Age 97 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F64	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	5 Jun 2025

  
  

• Notes

  Gustav and Friederike owned a large department store in Montabaur, Germany. When the Nazi's came to power in 1933 there was concern for the daughters safety. In 1935 Hilde went to an agriculture school in the town called Goodwinkle and once her skills were learned she went to Palestine to work on a kibbutz. It was there that she met Heinz Tannchen. He was from Braunschweig, Germany. In 1936 Edith received her affidavit to leave Germany from a Mr. Sherman who was a successful bird seed salesman from New York. She arrived in the United States with her cousin Johnny Stern and began to work as a maid in a Hotel. She lived with Elsie and her husband Sali. That left Gretel at home and she was 18 years old in 1936. The Nazi's were becoming more and more powerful and concerning so Gustav and Friederike sent Gretel to a school in Berlin to become a teacher and they made attempts to sell their business and home. The store was on the bottom level and the house was on the second floor. They found buyers for each entity and then Kristallnacht occurred November 9 1938. Gustav and Friederike's store and home were ransacked by the Nazi's. These were people who had previously been their neighbors and friends. Because the items they owned were rather nice the Nazi's chose to move them out to use as their own instead of destroying them. Then in the dark of the night Gustav and Friederike were taken away by the Nazi's with other Jewish Men and Women. The men were taken to Concentration Camps and the Women were set free to walk home alone. Gustav was taken to the Concentration Camp called Buchenwald. Also during Kristallnacht Gretel hid her future husband Heinrich Tepper. After Krystallnacht Friederike worked hard to get Gustav out of the concentration camp. She was able to liquidate the home and store to the same men who were interested in purchasing them, but for a much lower price due to the destruction. After some time and lots of worry and a large payment of money, Friederike was able to have Gustav freed. He was very ill upon leaving Buchenwald. He had boils all over his body and his intestinal system was a mess. Friederike was concerned about nursing Gustav back to health in Montebaur because the Nazis might have recaptured him. She sent him to Mayan to live with her sister, Tante Bette. During this time Gretel made plans to leave Germany. Uncle Ernst Stern and his wife helped Gretel get a job as a household helper for a family called the Goldmans in London. Around 1939 Gretel boarded a train in Frankfurt and said good-bye to her parents. At that time a large sum of money was needed to leave the country 750 Marks for the ticket + 750 Marks to convince the Nazi's to allow to buy a ticket, and the same large sum if you wanted to take any valuable out of the country. Gretel took a coat her mom wanted her to have (750 Marks) and a camera she thought she could trade with in England or the US which was the place they hoped to live. At that time a person leaving Germany could only take 10 Marks out of the country as pocket change. On the way to the coast at Enchede on the border between Germany and the Netherlands, Gretel was forced off the train and strip searched! The Nazis checked her body and suitcase for items she was smuggling out of the country. Then the train went on without her. She had no more money for a ticket or anything. Luckily the Nazis allowed her on the next train. When she arrived in London she began working for the Goldman family. Gustav and Friederike now made plans to leave Germany themselves. The Nazis watched as they packed what household goods they could take on giant crates which they called lifts. Gustav and Friederike paid the Nazis to send these lifts to the U.S. and they also paid an equal price to ensure the lifts came to the U.S. Gustav then came to London and Friederike came last. They stayed in an apartment in the Golders Green area in London. Next they needed to have their medical papers recorded by the consulate of London. When they took them Gustav's showed he had a terrible disease. He didn't, but another Gustav Stern switched medical records secretly with his. He now needed to get new medical records drawn up. Once that was done they were ready to leave England. In March of 1940 they boarded a ship called the Sythia in Liverpool Harbour and arrived in New York Harbour by the Statue of Liberty a week later. Gustav, Friederike, and Gretel became naturalized citizens of the United States in 1945. In that time period Gustav's job was stuffing toys for dogs and cats to play with; Friederike arranged artificial flowers, and Gretel was a secretary. They lived together in an apartment. The lifts that Gustav and Friederike packed with their household goods never came to the U.S.!