Heinrich Stern collection

The Heinrich Stern collection contains primarily immigration documents related to Heinrich and Charlotte Stern. Heinrich was a lawyer who was arrested on Kristallnacht and sent to Buchenwald. He was released after his wife obtained travel permits, and the couple immigrated to Bolivia, where they lived until they moved to the United States in 1944. Documents include visa applications, identity cards, police documents, letters of recommendation, and other documents needed to immigrate. Other various items include the certificate Heinrich obtained to be a notary and practice law, his disbarment, and handwritten manuscript. The Heinrich Stern collection contains primarily documents Heinrich and his wife used to immigrate to Bolivia and ultimately the United States. These include affidavits of support, visa applications, medical clearances, police documents, testimonies, and employee documents allowing Heinrich to begin a business. The various documents not related to immigration include the handwritten manuscript by Heinrich, his certificate to become a notary and to practice law, papers issued by the government after the Nazi takeover, prohibiting him from practicing law, news clippings, and correspondence regarding book publishing. Heinrich Stern (1882-1949) was born and lived in Nordhausen, Germany. He would eventually marry Charlotte Herzog, and they had one child, Eva. Heinrich became a notary and lawyer, and practiced in Nordhausen. In 1935, after Hitler’s rise to power, Heinrich was not allowed to practice law, and being forced to close his business, he later turned to work in a factory as a bookkeeper. During the Kristallnacht, Heinrich along with 50 other Jews from Nordhausen were arrested and taken to Buchenwald. Soon after, Eva was sent to England on a domestic permit. Charlotte was able to obtain visas to Peru from a travel bureau, and Heinrich was released from the concentration camp. Those visas, however, turned out to be fakes, but the travel bureau that those visas were purchased from was able to obtain visas for Bolivia. They left in 1939, and resided in Bolivia until 1944, when the couple was able to immigrate to the United States.