In the early years of Nazi rule in Germany, one North Dakota businessman quietly helped save lives. Herman Stern, a Jewish immigrant who built a successful clothing business in Valley City, became an unlikely rescuer during the Holocaust. After receiving a desperate letter from his niece Klara in 1933, Stern worked with Senator Gerald Nye and Governor William Langer to secure her visa to the United States. As persecution of Jews intensified in Germany, Stern continued helping others escape by personally guaranteeing their visas and arranging jobs and sponsors across the Midwest and East Coast.

By the late 1930s, Stern had helped relocate dozens of Jewish refugees and eventually saved well over one hundred lives. In this interview. Stern’s son reflects on his father’s efforts, the partnerships that made the rescues possible, and what it was like growing up in a household that welcomed refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.

Herman Stern’s Son: He brought well over a hundred people from Germany, Jewish refugees, all of his relatives except one. Dad was one of ten, I think in the family. At any rate, there was one brother who didn’t make it out of Hitler’s clutches. But the rest of them, Dad brought over.

Herman Stern’s Son: And he did it with the help of Senator Nye of North Dakota, who was considered to be anti-Semitic because he was an isolationist. But he helped through the State Department. Dad was supposedly responsible for the finances of all these people that he brought over. Senator Nye worked it out with the State Department so they didn’t keep track of how many he brought over. So he was only responsible for the one he was applying for at the time.

Herman Stern’s Son: One of Dad’s disappointments was that none of them ever stayed in North Dakota. They all ended up going to Chicago or New York or Seattle. One of the fellows he brought over ended up as the conductor of the Seattle Symphony. He started out working in the store until he could learn the English language. But the son of a gun was absolutely worthless in the store. He would stand there and look out the window, and when somebody came in and said, “I’d like to look at a necktie, please,” he would say, “They’re over there.”

Although Herman Stern rarely spoke about his work as anything extraordinary, his actions had a lasting impact on many lives. The refugees he helped bring to America built new homes, careers, and families after escaping persecution in Nazi Germany. His story serves as a reminder that compassion, courage, and a willingness to help others can shape history in meaningful ways.